The word 'backslide' literally means to 'turn back' or 'turn away' from God, our first love, or the Word of God to satan, the world, the flesh, or evil. Backsliding is a sliding back. Though backsliding is not sudden in onset, it may escalate rapidly. Backsliding is different from falling away or apostasy, which is the extreme end of backsliding. Apostasy or falling away is the act or state of rejecting the Christian Faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. But backsliding has to do with going into sin, getting lukewarm, leaving your first love, living in compromise and worldliness, and such things. It is a sliding back − a going back − from our former good state.
What is backsliding, really? Is it serious? What can be done about it? The Christian life is a race, a marathon. Through the gospel, God summons us to sustained and persevering effort. He empowers his children by grace--free and undeserved blessing through Christ. But he does not carry them to heaven on flowery beds of ease. Faith is a living, athletic grace. God's mercy motivates Christians and energizes them to press on and overcome great obstacles. Christ blazed the trail before us. He now calls us to follow Him to the end (Hebrews 12:1-2). Looking unto Jesus--that is how we persevere. In him is everything we need. But realistically speaking, Christians are not always pressing forward. Sometimes they wander off the narrow path, slip, and injure themselves. To the confused and injured runner, this book says, "God can help you. You can finish this race--and finish it well." Drawing from the wisdom of the Scriptures and aided by the insights of godly Bible teachers through the centuries, Getting Back in the Race addresses the age-old problem of backsliding. Backsliding is a season in the life of a professing Christian when his sin grows stronger and his obedience to God declines. The beginning of the book uncovers signs of sliding into a spiritual rut, for this is often more subtle than falling into scandalous sins. The rest of the book shows that there is hope for the backslider. God is so amazing! Even though our backsliding insults him, dishonors him, grieves him, and pushes away his love, still he calls us to return to him. When you grasp hold of God's methods by faith, you discover that Christ has grasped hold of you. Our spiritual Physician has potent medicines to heal his people from their injuries and get them back on track to finish the race. This book is a wake-up call to careless Christians and an encouragement to all believers to keep running to the Lord.
David Servant has been ministering to Christian leaders in conferences around the world for over three decades. From his experience of speaking to tens of thousands of pastors in over forty countries, he has complied biblical teaching in this book that addresses the most important issues that Christian leaders are facing today. Servant covers topics such as church growth, spiritual warfare, divorce and remarriage, biblical interpretation, house churches, women in ministry, church government, spiritual gifts, evangelism and many more. He often questions the prevailing opinion, always considering what Scripture says. His conclusions may sometimes surprise you. Servant's foundational condition is that every Christian leader should be making disciples who obey all of Christ's commandments. Translated into many languages, The Disciple-Making Minister is helping Christian leader around the world be more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission.
The majority Evangelical view is that once someone has accepted Christ as Saviour they are guaranteed salvation. But is it safe to assume that once we are saved, we are saved for always? David Pawson investigates this through biblical evidence, historical figures such as Augustine, Luther and Wesley, and evangelical assumptions about grace and justification, divine sovereignty and human responsibility. He asks whether something more than being born again is required so that our inheritance is not lost. This book helps us decide whether ‘once saved, always saved’ is real assurance or a misleading assumption. The answer will have profound effects on the way we live and disciple others.
“If there were a Guinness Book of World Records entry for ‘amount of times having prayed the sinner’s prayer,’ I’m pretty sure I’d be a top contender,” says pastor and author J. D. Greear. He struggled for many years to gain an assurance of salvation and eventually learned he was not alone. “Lack of assurance” is epidemic among evangelical Christians. In Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart, J. D. shows that faulty ways of present- ing the gospel are a leading source of the confusion. Our presentations may not be heretical, but they are sometimes misleading. The idea of “asking Jesus into your heart” or “giving your life to Jesus” often gives false assurance to those who are not saved—and keeps those who genuinely are saved from fully embracing that reality. Greear unpacks the doctrine of assurance, showing that salvation is a posture we take to the promise of God in Christ, a posture that begins at a certain point and is maintained for the rest of our lives. He also answers the tough questions about assurance: What exactly is faith? What is repentance? Why are there so many warnings that seem to imply we can lose our salvation? Such issues are handled with respect to the theological rigors they require, but Greear never loses his pastoral sensitivity or a communication technique that makes this message teachable to a wide audience from teens to adults.
Can you lose your salvation? All believers have wrestled with this question at some point in their spiritual walks. So what answers does God provide to challenging questions like: Am I really saved? Am I going to heaven? How can I know for sure? Renowned pastor and author John MacArthur believes every Christian should enjoy the reality and security of being saved without a doubt. Drawing from a background rich in Bible study and teaching, John examines key scriptures, tackles tough questions, and sheds light on the true nature of salvation. Throughout, you’ll be encouraged to embrace the perfect grace found in Jesus Christ. Saved without a Doubt includes a guide for both personal and group study, which features discovery questions, suggestions for prayer, and activities, all designed to connect life-changing truths with everyday living.
There may be no more powerful desire in the human heart than to be loved. And not just loved, but loved anyway. In spite of what we've done or left undone, in spite of the ways we have failed or floundered. We long for an unconditional, lavish love that we know intrinsically we don't deserve. If you are tired, sad, yet always longing, bestselling author Jared C. Wilson has incredible news for you: that kind of love actually exists, and it is actually something you can experience--whether or not you're in a romantic relationship. In his signature reflective, conversational, and often humorous style, Wilson unpacks 1 Corinthians 13 to show us what real love looks like. Through engaging stories and touching anecdotes, he paints a picture of an extravagant God who not only puts the desire for love into our very souls but fulfills those desires in striking, life-changing ways.
