I Failed Again. Am I a Backslider?
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 2 min read
One of the cruelest lies, Professor Gary Maxey teaches, is that a single failure means you have left God. He draws a careful line between a failing pilgrim and a backslider.
The definition
In his book on the Highway of Holiness, Professor Maxey writes that backsliders are not people who have fallen prey to a temporary temptation. They are those who have deliberately set their faces against God and determined to leave the faith and not come back. That is different from a holy pilgrim who has been overwhelmed by temptation, doubt or fear, and who is now badgered by Satan into believing that God is against him.
What to do when you fall
His advice is to fall forward. By that, he means flee immediately back to the arms of a loving and compassionate Savior who is more than ready to receive you. He quotes John, who wrote so that we would not sin, and adds, "If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father" (1 John 2:1). There is no reason to wait.
Peter's example
He points out that even after Pentecost, Peter failed. In Galatians 2, Peter drew back from eating with Gentile believers because of pressure from Jerusalem. Paul confronted him. This is a clear biblical example of the failure of a transformed saint. Peter was not cast off. He was corrected.
Other kinds of failure
Professor Maxey notes failures that come from lack of discipline or from human weakness. There is no reason, he writes, for someone who fails this way to assume he is cut off from God. We must learn quickly and return to the full nurture of the faith.
The duty of the church
He says one of the greatest privileges of the church is restoring those who have fallen. He quotes Galatians 6:1: "You who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness."
A distinction that heals
Ask yourself two things. Am I running from God, or running to him in sorrow? If I am sorry and want to return, I am not a backslider. I am a pilgrim who has stumbled. Go back at once, tell God plainly what you did and take his forgiveness.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.
