W e ' r e m o r e t h a n j u s t a C h u r c h . . . W e ' r e a F A M I L Y !
Pastor Carter addresses Questions on
BACKSLIDING
I know a certain denomination teaches "once saved always saved" and says that you can't backslide and once you truly get saved you're "eternally secure." I also know some people that say that once you sin, then you enter into this "grace period" where God deals with you for a while and if you continue to keep sinning then He will turn away from you and let you do your own thing and let you totally backslide; or if you repent and turn away from your sin, then it's like nothing ever happened and you don't end up backsliding. I guess I kinda' agree with that. I guess my question is, at what point would you consider someone to be backslid? Also, I've heard people say that if you lose your sanctification, then you're automatically backslid because you can't lose one without losing everything. But then I've heard other people say that first the Holy Ghost departs from you and then you become unsanctified and then you will become unsaved if you don't change. How would you address all this?
I believe grace is much broader and stronger than any of us realize or have been taught to believe, but I also believe it is possible to walk away from the Lord (backslide). However, I think that a person who backslides, does so kicking and screaming against the desires and drawing of the Holy Spirit's continual convicting power. In other words, I believe you have to turn your back on God in rebellion against Him, against His Spirit, against His drawing, against His continual dealing, in order to backslide. A person who wants to do right doesn't just, over time, slide back into an un-saved spiritual state. That won't happen to a person with a desire to follow the Lord. The Holy Spirit won't allow a person who 'wants' to do right to fall into a backslidden state.
How unbiblical our understanding of the grace of God has been. Jesus didn't come all the way down from glory and do the work He did (DIE as the purchase price for our redemption and to freely restore our broken relationship with the Father) just to snatch it away from us the first time we sneeze wrong. The price He paid was too great for that.
The only way you can fall out of God's grip of grace is to peel His fingers off your life and willingly, knowingly, desire nothing more to do with Him. Just as repentance is a complete about-face, a turning in the opposite direction, backsliding is as well. It is a turning of your back on God and willingly choosing to walk away from Him.
Concerning those who say, "if you lose your sanctification, then you're automatically backslid because you can't lose one without losing everything": Those who state such don't truly have a biblical understanding of sanctification. (...or grace for that matter). You don't just 'lose your sanctification.' Sanctification is not yours to lose. Sanctification is a position in God, not a thing you possess. Sanctification is a lifestyle you live (with the help and continual direction of the Holy Ghost), not a gift you claim. Sanctification is of no work of our own, but a work of the Holy Spirit through and in us.
Contact FHC with your questions and Pastor Carter will answer them here.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright © Pastor Chad Carter • Family Harvest Church Global Ministries
FAMILY HARVEST CHURCH
PASTOR CHAD CARTER
P.O. Box 512
Salem, IN 47167
812-883-2523
www.ChadCarter.org
info@ChadCarter.org
