January, 2025 | THE BIBLE VIEW

The BIBLE VIEW #991 — Backsliding

In This Issue:
Neither Cold nor Hot
Definition of “Backsliding”
Reflections of a Backslider
Causes of Backsliding
Signs of Backsliding
Consequences of Backsliding
Remorse of Sin

Volume: 991 January 27, 2025
Theme: Backsliding

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Neither Cold nor Hot
Bill Brinkworth

In Revelation 1 to 3, seven churches are mentioned. They were not only churches that existed when John penned Revelation, but they were also prophetic of major characteristics of church ages, in general, throughout history.

Many believe that six of the prophesied church ages have already passed. However, many churches in the current church age are very similar to the church of Laodicea.

The church of Laodicea was the seventh church of which John wrote. This was a “lukewarm”, complacent, and ineffective ministry (Rev. 3:16). They had riches and many things the world had to offer. Still, they were doing very little for the Lord. God saw them as “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). Their failure to do anything for the Lord disgusted the Father (Rev. 3:16).

Unfortunately, the Laodicean church pictures the church age we are currently in. Like all church ages, not all churches were or are the same. There has always been a remnant doing God’s will and way, but the majority of current churches are much like the church of Laodicea.

Today, there is more concern for the social interests of man than the spiritual. Clubs, committees, eloquent speakers, church entertainment, paid musicians, church appearances, and not offending anyone have a higher priority than the needs of people’s souls. Preaching “Thus saith the Lord” is rarely heard anymore, and if it were, there would be many offended and some would desert the church.

Physical wealth does not cover up the fact that the majority of churches are not heeding the tugging of the Holy Spirit and, in God’s eyes, are “… poor, and blind, and naked.” The money these churches have may not be the “blessing of God” they proclaim it to be, but a curse voiding their usefulness to the cause of Christ.

Part of a Christian’s responsibility is to live the way God commands and to tell others what God’s Word says. Watering down the message to “fit in” or “not to offend” undermines its purpose.

The Word of God is supposed to offend and convict the sinner. That conviction often stops the sinner from a downward slide and turns him around with a repentant heart.

Where psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and drugs often fail and mask the real problem, the Word of God often exposes the root of a problem. If allowed, the truths from the Bible will change one’s life.

Drunkards have been converted, their addiction halted, and their lives restored. Adulterers have been enabled to stop their iniquity, and they and their families have been reunited. Murderers have also been saved, and their lives changed. God’s Word has changed the lives of liars, cheaters, gossipers, unbelievers, and countless more.

There is not one sin that God cannot help one stop, nor one life that God cannot change. Why would anyone want to hide God’s message or water it down after it has done so much to countless lives?

No matter the climate of the majority of lukewarm, worldly churches, until the Lord comes there is still time for personal repentance and a return to God’s ways of righteousness. The door of opportunity for personal revival is still open at this time!

There is no reason an individual or even a local church cannot have a spiritual revival, nor is there a reason to be lukewarm and displeasing to the Lord. We can be as full of zeal and excitement as the church of Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-12) and others who purposed to obey and follow the Lord’s commandments. Do not be cold, indifferent, and useless to the cause of Christ. Be on fire and effective!

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I [God] will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16

Definition of “Backsliding”
Noah Webster, 1828

Backsliding: The act of apostatizing [to forsake principles or faith which one has professed] from faith or practice.

“If you are not as close to God or as “spiritual” as you once were, you are most likely backslidden.”

Reflections of a Backslider
J. Newton

Sweet was the time when first I felt
The Saviour’s pardoning blood
Applied to cleanse my soul from guilt,
And bring me home to God.

Soon as the morn, the light revealed,
His praises tuned my tongue;
And when the evening shades prevailed,
His love was all my song.

In prayer, my soul drew near the Lord,
And saw His glory shine;
And when I read His holy Word,
I called each promise mine.

But now, when evening shade prevails,
My soul in darkness mourns;
And when the morn the light reveals,
No light to me returns.

“Sin enough, and you will become dead and unbothered by it!”

Causes of Backsliding
W. M. Punshon

Was it the spirit of slothfulness that seized you? Did you shrink from the effort of continued resistance to evil and of prayerful watchfulness against your insidious sin?
Was it self-complacency that took possession of your heart?
Was it anger that seized and shook you in its petulant grasp because you were not “appreciated” by your friends?
Was it because you envied pre-eminence that was denied you?
Was it the spirit of indifference that exhausted your recent energy?
Was it your rebellion against the godly advice you were given?
Were your convictions superficial things that only touched the surface of your nature but did not come from your heart?

From these and similar causes, many have rested in their ease or retreated until they have lost their joy and usefulness for God’s work and cause.

“Sin will always take you lower than you have ever expected to go and will cost you far more than you would ever have thought you would pay.”

Signs of Backsliding
C. Buck

Indifference to prayer and self-examination of one’s spiritual condition
Trifling or unprofitable conversation
Shunning the people of God
Associating with the world
Taking the commission of sin lightly
Neglecting one’s Bible-reading
Immorality

Consequences of Backsliding
C. Buck

Loss of character
Loss of comfort
Lose of usefulness
And as long as any remain in a backslidden state, a loss of well-grounded hope of future happiness.

“When God pardons, He consigns the offense to eternal forgetfulness.”

Remorse of Sin
John Bate

It is said that on the wall of one of the Egyptian pyramids is written, “The impious shall commit iniquity without recompense, but not without remorse.” Does not this ancient inscription of heathenism receive its corroboration from the scriptures and the experience of every sinner in the present day?

“Deathbed repentance is burning the candle of life in the service of the devil and then blowing the smoke into the face of God.” — Billy Sunday

The BIBLE VIEW #990 — Love in Action

In This Issue:
A Father’s Love
Love Was the Difference
Real Love Too Busy to Love
A Father’s Heart
Jesus Cares He Lets God Care

Volume: 990 January 20, 2025
Theme: Love in Action

Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say/

A Father’s Love
C. H. Spurgeon

In the French Revolution, there was a young man condemned to the guillotine and shut up in one of the prisons. He was greatly loved by many, but there was one who loved him more than all put together. It was his father.

The love the father had for his son was proved when the lists were called. The father, whose name was the same as his son’s, answered to his boy’s name. He then rode in the gloomy prison cart to the place of execution. The father’s head rolled beneath the axe instead of his son’s. A mighty love was seen as the father died in the place of his son.

See here an example of the love of Christ forsinners. Jesus died for the ungodly. If they had not been ungodly, neither they nor He had needed to have died. If they had not sinned, there would have been no need for a suffering Savior, but Jesus proved his boundless love: “… In that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8b)

Your name was on the condemned list, my fellow sinner. However, if you trust on Jesus’ work on the cross for your sins, you shall find that your name is there no longer. Christ’s name is put in your stead, and you shall learn that He suffered for you; the just for the unjust, that he might bring you to God.

Is not that the greatest wonder of divine love, that it should be set upon us as sinners? I can understand God’s loving reformed and repenting sinners, but here is the glory of it, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Love Was the Difference
D. L. Moody

Years ago, a little boy in our city attended one of our Sunday schools. His father moved to another part of the city about five miles away. Every Sunday that boy came past thirty or forty Sunday schools to the one he attended.

One Sunday, a lady, who was out collecting students for a Sunday school class, met him and asked why he went so far past so many schools. “There are plenty of others,” said she, “just as good.”

He said, “They may be as good, but they are not so good for me.”

“Why not?” she asked. “Because they love this fellow,” he answered, pointing to himself.

Ah! Love won him, “Because they love a fellow over there!” How easy it is to reach people through love! By loving them, Sunday school teachers and others could win more to the Lord. That is how Christ has won most of us!

“A few words of love can make a world of difference.” — Author Unknown

Real Love

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” I Corinthians 13:4-8

“Selfishness seeks to use God. True love for Him seeks to please Him.”
—Author Unknown

Too Busy to Love
G. Campbell Morgan

A father and his young daughter were great friends and spent much time in each other’s company. One time, the father noted a change in his daughter. If he went for a walk, she excused herself from going. He was grieved about it but could not understand.

When his birthday came, she presented him with a pair of exquisitely made slippers, saying, “I have made them for you.”

Then, he understood what had been the matter for the past months. He said to her, “My darling, I like these slippers very much, but next time buy the slippers and let me have you all the days. I would rather have my child than anything you can make for me.”

Some of us are so busy for the Lord and doing other things that He cannot get much of us. To us, He would say, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, but I miss our time together.”

“Service is love in overalls!” — Author Unknown

A Father’s Heart
C. H. Spurgeon

When King Henry II was provoked to take up arms against his ungrateful and rebellious son, he besieged his child in a French town. Being near death after being wounded, the son desired to see his father and confess his wrongdoing, but the stern old sire refused to look the rebel in the face.

The young man, being sorely troubled in his conscience, said to those about him, “I am dying. Take me from my bed, and let me lie in sackcloth and ashes, in token of my sorrow for my ingratitude to my father.” Thus, he did and then died.

When the tidings came to the old man outside the walls that his boy had died in ashes, repentant for his rebellion, the father threw himself upon the earth and said, “Would God I had died for him.” The thought of his boy’s broken heart touched the father.

If ye, being evil, are overcome by your children’s tears, how much more shall your Father who is in Heaven find your bemoanings and confessions an argument for the display of His pardoning love through Christ Jesus our Lord?

Jesus Cares
Author Unknown

When you’ve met some disappointment,
And you’re tempted to feel blue,
When your plans have all been side-tracked,
Or some friend has proved untrue;
When you’re toiling and you’re struggling
At the bottom of the stairs,
It will seem a bit like Heaven,
Just to know that Jesus cares!

Oh, this life is not all sunshine,
Some days darkest clouds disclose
There’s a cross for every joy-bell,
And a thorn for every rose,
But the cross is not so grievous,
Nor the thorn the rosebud wears,
And the clouds have silver linings
When we know that Jesus cares!

He Let God Care
Walter Knight

Once, when Martin Luther felt very despondent, he heard a bird singing its evening song. Then he saw it tuck its head under its wing and go to sleep. He remarked, “This little bird has had its supper and now is getting ready to go to sleep, quite content, never troubling itself as to what its food will be or where it will lodge on the morrow. Like David, it abides under the shadow of the Almighty. It sits on its little twig content and lets God care.”

The BIBLE VIEW #989— Assorted

In This Issue:
Believe His Truths
He Speaks the Truth
The Devil’s Tactics
Separate

Volume: 989 January 13, 2025
Theme: Assorted

Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say

Believe His Truths
D. L. Moody

Suppose I was dying from consumption that I inherited from my father or mother. I did not get it by any fault of my own or by any neglect of my health. I inherited it.

I went to my physician and other medical specialists, and they all gave me the same prognosis. They say I am incurable and that I will die. They also told me I had only thirty days to live.

A friend happens to come along and looks at me and says: “Moody, you have got the consumption.”

“I know it very well. I don’t need anyone to tell me that.”

“But,” he says, “There is a remedy. A remedy, I tell you. Let me have your attention.”

“But, sir, I don’t believe it. I have tried the leading physicians in this country and Europe, and they tell me there is no hope.”

“But, you know me, Moody. You have known me for years.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you think I would tell you a falsehood?”

“No.”

“Well, ten years ago, I was far gone. The physicians also gave me up to die, but I took this medicine, and it cured me. I am perfectly well — look at me.”

“That is extraordinary!”

“Yes, it may be strange, but it is a fact. That medicine cured me. Take this medicine, and it will cure you. Although it has cost me a great deal, it shall not cost you anything.”

“Well,” I say, “I would like to believe you, but this is contrary to what I have heard.”

Hearing this, my friend returned and brought another friend to me, who testified to the same thing. He again went away when I would not believe it. He brought back another, and another, and another, and they all testified to the same thing. They said they were as bad as myself, but they took the same medicine that had been offered to me, and it cured them. He then handed me the medicine. I dashed it to the ground. I did not believe in its saving power. I died with the cure repeatedly offered to me.

This fictitious instance sounds ridiculous, yet similar versions have occurred thousands of times worldwide and in history. People know of countless folks who have had their lives ruined by sin. They clearly see it is harming their own lives.

Most have heard enough Bible teaching and know there is an eternity after this life for all and an eternal wage for sins committed in this life if one is not saved. They have learned they will not get away with their sin.

These same people have heard the Gospel many different ways, from preaching, articles, signs, and countless acquaintances. Many testimonies have been heard about how the lives of folks, even more vile than themselves, have been transformed simply by being saved by Christ’s precious blood. They have even seen the transformations for themselves.

Still, they refuse to take the only cure to prevent eternal torment. They reject the gift of salvation’s remedy. It is against their reasoning to solve their “problem.”

Sadly, there are many reading this who also may be “dashing” the only “medicine” that cures their sin-sick life and can give them eternal life. They never trust Christ as their Saviour.

Do not throw away the only remedy that can cure one from the ravages of sin. Jesus can save!

“Is life a puzzle? Christianity has the missing peace!” — Author Unknown

He Speaks the Truth
Moorehouse

Suppose you go to a street and meet a man whom you have known for the last ten years to be a beggar. You notice a tremendous change in his appearance, and you say, “Hello, beggar, what’s happened to you?”

“I ain’t no beggar. Don’t call me a beggar.”

“Why,” you say, “I saw you begging in the street the other day.”

“Ah, but a change has taken place since then,” he replies.

“Is that so? How did it come about?” you inquire.

“Well,” he says, “I came out this morning and got down here intending to catch the businessmen and get money from them. One person came up to me and said there was $10,000 deposited for me.”

“How do you know that was true?” you say.

“I went to the bank, and they put the money in my hand.”

“Are you sure of that?” you ask.

“I got the money, and that’s all the proof I needed. Things are different now.”

After being saved by doing what the Bible says, some often question similarly. “Did I really get born again? Did I truly get saved? Do I really have God’s promise of eternity?”

They have only to accept His testimony, and they are saved. John said, “He that hath received His testimony hath set his seal that God is true.” (John 3:33) Is there a person reading this who will receive His testimony and gift for our salvation and trust God’s promise is true? Proclaim that God speaks the truth. Make God’s testimony true. Take Him at His Word. Anyone who believes and asks can be saved!

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:21

The Devil’s Tactics
J. Vernon McGee

When the Devil saw that persecution would not stop the church, he changed to a different tactic. He joined the church. He began to hurt the church from the inside.

The enemy of God still does that today. He attacks the validity of the Word of God, and he tries to discredit the Gospel. If that doesn’t work, he tries to discredit the man who preaches the Gospel. He has used these tactics on many Christians.

“The devil doesn’t come to you with a red face and horns. He comes to you disguised as everything you’ve ever wanted.” — Author Unknown

Separate
Smith Wigglesworth

The reason the world is not seeing Jesus is that Christian people are not filled with Him. They are satisfied attending weekly meetings, reading the Bible occasionally, and praying from time to time. It is an awful thing to see people who profess to be Christians but are are not living His way, powerless, and in a place where their lives are so parallel to unbelievers’ lives that it is difficult to tell if they really are children of God.

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
II Cor. 6:17-18

The BIBLE VIEW #988 — Good Works

In This Issue:
False Faith
I Have a Mighty Castle
Works Or Grace?
Rotten Covering

Volume: 988 January 6, 2025
Theme: Good Works

Read what readers have said about the e-mailed devotion at
https://www.devotionsfromthebible.com/what-readers-say

False Faith
Bill Brinkworth

The one thing that has kept many out of Heaven, even professing Christians, is discussed in James 2:4-26. Sadly, those people may have thought they had done what was necessary to obtain Heaven but were mistaken. The faith they thought would bar them from everlasting torment was not “real.”

Just believing in God is not saving or trusting faith! Even the devils believe in God (James 2:19). They tremble at the mention of Him, yet their “faith” will not save them any more than that kind of faith will save anyone. Satan has even talked to God, yet his knowing the Creator will not get him into Heaven either.

Knowledge is not necessarily faith. I can believe there is a president in the Whitehouse, but that faith does not make me a member of his family or even part of his cabinet. Genuine Christian faith is more than knowing about spiritual things.

The ingredient that makes faith real is that one trusts one’s belief physically. That trust is exhibited by one’s works.

A believer trusts the Bible is God’s Word and tries to follow every commandment its pages reveal. One who believes Jesus will hear one’s prayers talks to Him often. The saved person, by faith, also will believe that God will meet every need.

The born-again child of God patiently waits for Him to meet needs, rather than impatiently racking up credit card debt because God did not provide in the time expected. One tithes because God commands it, and the child of God knows God will somehow help him live on less. Those steps may seem foolish to one not living by genuine faith, but to the faithful and God, they prove one’s trust is real.

Faith without these “works” (proofs) is not genuine faith. Three times (James 2:17, 20, 26) faith without works is referred to as “dead.”
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 2:17

Many know the “works” part is essential and try incorporating it into their theology. They put the works first and think they will save and prove that they have faith. Unfortunately, they get the order wrong.

They participate in religious ceremonies or good deeds to prove they have faith. Often, they try to clean up their life, attempt to act righteously, and do other good works. As noble as they may appear, these acts are not by faith. They are attempts to pay for God’s approval. One cannot work oneself to Heaven.

Faith is extending one’s trust in God. The proof of belief is that the “works” show one is acting on faith’s behalf. This may seem like a fine line to some, but it is the line that separates the saved from the unsaved. Is your faith manifested by your works of faith?

“Faith is an inside job that works its way out.” — Author Unknown

I Have a Mighty Castle
From A Story by C. H. Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon likened a man in his unsaved, natural estate to a man who lived in what he thought was a strong, impenetrable castle. Within it, the man hid behind its protective outer and inner moats. Beyond those deep, water-filled waterways were tall, thick walls, and further within, if an enemy could ever get beyond them were protective fort-like dungeons.

The first moat that goes around the sinner’s trusting place is his good works. “Ah,” he says, “I am as good as my neighbor. I pay my bills on time. I tithe to the church on even the smallest amount I earn. I am a good, respectable gentleman, indeed.”

When the Lord comes to save this man, He easily storms the first obstacle the man has created. God’s approaching, thundering voice shouts, “Salvation is of the Lord! If salvation is of God, how can it be of good works?” Instantly, the moat is dried up.

“There is still the moat of ceremonies,” the man thinks. “Well, I may not be able to trust in my good works, but I have been baptized. I have been confirmed. Do I not take of the sacrament? That shall be my trust!”

The convicting army of God again attacks and approaches this second barrier. Again, the master shouts, “Salvation is of the Lord!” This watery obstacle is also dried up.

Confused, the man retreats further into his fort of protection. He never expected this protection to fail him. Behind the tall, thick, strong walls, he stows himself away. Looking over the fort’s walls, the sinner convinces himself of his safety and says, “I can repent. I can believe whenever I like. I will save myself by repenting and believing.”

Up the walls God’s conviction approaches. The walls are easily battered down. His voice shouts, “Salvation is of the Lord. Your faith and repentance must all be given you or else you will neither truly believe nor repent of sin.”

The castle of self is overcome. Any hopes the sinner had are all cut off. He knows now salvation is not of anything he could have done as he reads the banner that replaces his own. It proudly waves, “Salvation is of the Lord!”

Is the battle over? Oh, no. The sinner has retired to the dungeons in the center of the castle. He now uses another tactic, “I cannot save myself. There is no salvation for me.” The sinner sits down and cries, “I cannot be saved. I will perish.”

The Lord also attacks this battlement. The Lord’s commanding voice shouts, “Salvation is of the Lord. It is not of man; it is of God. I can save even the worst sinners. This sword, you see, cuts two ways. It cuts pride down, and then it cleaves the skull of despair. If many say they can save themselves, it will half their pride at once. If another says one cannot be saved, it dasheth despair to the Earth, for it affirms that one can be saved when one truly sees salvation is of the Lord. Jesus came to save all that would believe and trust that His payment for sin is the only way to victory!”

“Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair with God.”
— Chesterton

Works Or Grace?
Harry Todd

If you can go to Heaven
By the works you do,
Then who is keeping score,
Is it God or you?

If you could gain some points
For the good deeds you do,
Then losing points for bad deeds
Must be also true.

Then at the end of day
You add up the score,
Can you tell you’ve done enough
To enter Heaven’s door?

Then if your bad deeds
Are more than the good you had,
Then how many good deeds
Will make up for the bad?

Now all these good deeds
That you think are right,
How do you know these deeds
Are pleasing in God’s sight?

If you can go to Heaven
By good deeds that you do,
Then why did Jesus come
To die for me and you?

It was on the cross of Calvary,
Jesus shed His blood for you;
If His blood was not sufficient,
Then your good deeds will never do.

By grace you are saved, by faith,
That is the Bible way,
So stop trying, start trusting,
Receive Christ as Saviour today!

“The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out.”
— D . L. Moody

Rotten Covering
John Bates

A man walking over a rotten covering of a deep pit will, in all probability, fall in and be killed. Likewise, the man who trusts his good works to get to Heaven will find that they are all rottenness and will give way under him and sink him into the punishment of Hell.