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backslidden or unsaved?
How can you tell the difference between being backslidden, and being unsaved?
I'm sure both the backslidden and the unsaved have "nudges" on their conscience to get into a closer walk with Christ each day. So how do you determine if these "nudges" are saying "you're backsliding, come back", verses, "you aren't saved. Come to Jesus for salvation."
I hope I was able to articulate this so it makes sense.
Thanks in advance for any input,
Jenny
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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Jenny,
The unsaved are lost people who are spiritually dead and completely separated from God. They do not know Him and cannot follow Him unless God calls them and the Spirit of God opens their minds and hearts. There are many people who seek out meaning to life, most in fact do. In the process of searching for meaning some will find religion and embrace the form of religion and its activity. Many of these religions present a name and that name is "Jesus." The unfortunate part is that many of those present the religion and never actually seek to introduce people to the living Savior. They will talk about their church/organization, talk about all they do or are expected to do and may even proclaim that they do it in the name of Jesus, but at the end of the day they are not in union with the living Savior.
With that as a backdrop we can now state that a spiritually dead person cannot backslide because they have no living relationship with Jesus in which to backslide from. They can only appear more moral at times than others, they can appear more religious at time than others, but the reality is that they were and are still spiritually dead. Nothing has happened in their life to change that. Romans 8 is a great read on this and you could really add chapters 6 and 7 and to build on that go back to chapter 1 and read through chapter 8.
The only people who can backslide are those who actually have a living relationship with Jesus that the can actually drift away from intimacy with Him. They can choose to rebel and walk in ways that do not align with God and His Word. At this point we could journey into can they lose their salvation, but I will refrain as this opens another discussion altogether.
So spiritually dead people are, well ... spiritually dead and cannot backslide. Born again children of God can be growing or rebelling against God and His Word which is termed backsliding. The question you asked was how can we tell the difference. There are a couple of signs, but the heart of man is known to himself and to God. We have to be careful about assuming who is and who is not saved. Here are three of the signs. 1) Does the person really "love" Jesus. 2) Are the Fruit of the Spirit showing in their lives? 3) Do they love the brethren?
It takes time for these things to be revealed. Many people, because of religion, can fake it for a while, but time will reveal if they really love Jesus, love the brethren and are demonstrating signs of the Fruit of the Spirit.
Hope that helps a little.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by Jenny on
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Thanks LT, that is helpful.
For the sake of "examining ourselves, whether we be in the faith", how are we to tell the difference between being backslidden and being unsaved?
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Jenny,
I have come to believe that one of the greatest questions we can ask ourselves is "Do I really love Jesus?" I am not talking about loving the concept of Jesus, or loving the things of God, but do I love HIM. Am I in awe of HIM. This will reveal two things. 1) It helps to break through religion and all the jargon, because Christianity really is about having a living vibrant relationship with Jesus our Savior. 2) It tends to reveal our maturity level. Here is an example. When I met my wife many years ago I fell in love with her. At that time there were all kinds of emotions and feelngs that ran wild (which I trust is normal :-) As time passes those emotions and feelings take on a different character. I love my wife today more than when I first met her and she is second in my life only to Jesus, but I do not ride the emotional rollercoaster. My love is deep and stable. When a person first meets Jesus they tend to experience a high level of emotions and feelings, but over time these emotions and feelings level off. We are emotional beings, but we do not live on emotions. Thus, it is not an emotion we are looking for, but a deep seeded love/connection with Jesus. Jesus is our focus and without Him we would be lost. Not sure all that made sense and if it does not I will try to clarify.
We also can look at our lives over time. Are we seeing the Fruit of the Spirit starting to flow from us. I say flow from us because the Fruit described in Galatians 5 is speaking about a state of being and not actions. These fruit are who we are becoming in Christ and from that state of being our outward actions will begin to conform to these things. You see, many can attempt to force these fruit in their lives and live them as a type of code, but true Christianity involves transformation. This transformation is about God changing us intially and then expanding us from on the inside. The inner transformation will alter our outward behavior. Thus, a person should be able to look at their life and see these things being experienced in the inner being and affecting the outward action.
Love for the brethren. Do we love other Christians or are we all about "ME." Christ set the example by giving His life for those He loved. In this love for others there will be a concern for their good. We want what is best for them and want to see them grow in the Lord. Again a sign of maturity is not age, but rather do we have a love for our fellow Christians?
Summary covers the three basic points: Do I love Jesus and am I growing in that love? Do I love the brethren and am I growing in my love for my fellow Christians? Is their evidence of the Fruit of the Spirit in my inner being and does this inner change affect my outer actions?
There are many various sub points we could discuss at this point, but I will address one and let you ask others if you feel led to. A person can meet Jesus and become a born again Christian and find themselves under the teachings of those who miss the mark. The group they spend time with may focus heavy on the church and responsibilities to the church and living in alignment with the church. There is two problems with this. 1) We are the church, the bride of Christ. The church needs to be a living organism and not a stiffled organization. 2) Our mark is Jesus ... it is always Jesus. Be wary of any group that is not directing you into a greater relationship with Him.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by Seek on
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"Do I really love Jesus?"
Amen! That's a question I have often asked and myself doubted that I did, or did enough or something. But a friend shed some light on it earlier this week that made me realize that I do and God has spoken to me on it to confirm it. And my spirit has been really lifted for days from this revelation for myself. But once you can start to realize that, you can begin to stop doubting whether or not God loves you. It's just a process of overcoming our doubts, fears, insecurities, and wrong programming.
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"But once you can start to realize that, you can begin to stop doubting whether or not God loves you. It's just a process of overcoming our doubts, fears, insecurities, and wrong programming."
Amen.
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Seek,
You said you have often asked yourself if you love Jesus, or love Him enough, and that, "a friend shed some light on it earlier this week that made me realize that I do and God has spoken to me on it to confirm it."
Do you mind sharing what your friend said, and how God confirmed it for you?
That's my main question too: do I truly love Jesus, do I love Him enough?
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Well she began mentioning that I'm faithful to attend church, get involved, pray, read my Bible, etc. Yet I know all that and still questioned. So she just outright asked me. At first, I just gave it as a standard response. But then I started to cry and she asked again and I said it again knowing that I did. I realized that long to hear Him when I have my quiet times and feel I've missed something vital if I don't get a Word from Him. I hang onto those moments because I DO love Him and love hearing from Him.
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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LT - Thanks for sharing. Your post placed a smile on my face.
I love my Jesus! He is amazing. God is so good to me, to us.
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LT, thanks for this, I really appreciate it.
I am asking myself, do I truly love Jesus?
And so my question is, how do we know if we love Him enough? Sometimes I feel my love for Him is very strong and I can't wait to finish this life and go crawl into His lap, and want to "wash His feet with my life", and I heard one woman say. But other times (like lately) He feels afar off, and so I have to wonder: am I backslidden, or was my heart playing tricks on me and I actually don't love Him?
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Jenny,
A backslider, one who is in rebellion towards God's ways, will not ask what you are asking. They are living for self and do not wonder if they are pleasing to God. They will not desire to, as you said, I can't wait to finish this life and go crawl into His lap, and want to "wash His feet with my life." There are two baisc lives we as believers can live. We can live the self life (carnally minded) or the crucified life (Christ focused). We are never static ... we are moving in one direction or the other. When we are moving one way we are concerned about what pleases Him and when the other way we are concerned with what pleases self. Ask yourself (and you need not reply to me or the community on this) "Who do you wish to please?"
Lord Bless,
LT
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Thanks LT,
You've given me things to ponder on and pray about here. What you say makes me think how even the desire to please God and to wonder if we're pleasing to Him is in itself a gift from God.
One thing that really stands out in this discussion is how much God really loves us. He's so merciful.
God bless,
Jenny
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