How To Deal With A Backslidden Fellow Believer

 

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)

 

The word wicked here can be replaced with the word backslider however only in relation to the sins listed. Those things that Paul listed here are what Paul calls acts of “Sinful Nature”. We must remember that backsliders are still children of God but they have fallen backwards in their relationship with God and have lost interest in following Jesus. They have lost their first love or zeal because Satan has won them over and consumed them. However it is important to note here that God even loves the homosexual offenders listed here as much as he loves others who sin. Because Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross for us for the forgiveness of sin (Matthew 26:28) and in doing so he paid for this sin and the others listed here.

 

Elsewhere Paul wrote to the Galatians: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.“ Galatians 5:16-21 (NIV)

 

With these verses in mind a backslider is a believer who has become sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers and those who indulge in impurity, debauchery, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness and orgies among other sins not mentioned.

 

But how are we to deal with backsliders within the body of faithful and true believers of Jesus Christ within the church? First we must try to restore them or turn them back to God and away from their sins. If that fails we are to withdraw or distance ourselves from them. Finally we are to let Satan have them and be done with them while they are in league with Satan and his demons

 

1. Restore Them: ”Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” Galatians 6:1 (NKJV).

 

A believer can sin alone or in private but because they are a part of the church or the body of Jesus Christ their sins can and at times will affect everyone in the church because “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NIV) and as such we are to help those who are members of the body of Jesus Christ. We must speak to them about the sin in their life with gentleness and pray for them. 

 

2. Withdraw From Them: ”But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” 2 Thessalonians 3:6 (NKJV)

 

“But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner – not even to eat with such a person. But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person.”1 Corinthians 5:11,13 (NKJV)

 

Here Paul tells us that believers in the body Of Jesus Christ are to withdraw and not associate or even break bread with those who claim be a Christian but are living in sin by committing sins like some of the ones he listed here. Therefore scripture clearly states that we are to withdraw or not associate with people who claim to be a Christian yet by their lifestyle and the way they live we can see that they are consumed by Satan and living with sins that are clearly forbidden in the bible. In Deuteronomy 17:7 it states that we are to ”put away the evil from among“ us as children of God.

 

“A church that includes such people is hardly fit to be the light of the world because it distorts the picture of Christ that it presents to the world. The church has a responsibility to rebuke, correct, and restore those in the fellowship who claim to be believers but live like unbelievers.” – Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Corinthians Page 74

 

3. Let Satan Have them: ”In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 (NKJV)

 

To deliver one over to Satan is not literal because only God can do that in the final judgment (Revelation 14:7) but it means that we are to excommunicate them from the body of the church (“When you are gathered together”) so all will know that they are honoring and following Satan and not God. When we do so the hope is that without the spiritual backing of the church they will be left with no one but Satan in their sin and maybe knowing that they are alone they will repent and turn from their sins and return to God. So we are to exclude them from the church, worship services, fellowship and other ministries of the church.

 

Church Discipline is also outlined in the Bible in the New Testament and it tells us how to discipline backsliding sinners within the church or the body of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus tells us that we are to speak to them privately and show them the error of their ways. If they still will not listen then speak to them again with one or two witnesses in keeping with Titus 3:10 where we are to admonish, rebuke or warn them twice. If they still will not listen and turn from their sin bring the matter up to the church. If that fails then treat them like a pagan or an unbeliever.

 

It is important to note here that the earliest manuscripts of Gospel of Matthew do not have the words “against you” in them and it is still debated if the words “against you” should be included because that speaks of sin in a personal way. Its exclusion from Matthew 18:15 would mean that “if your brother sins, go and tell him his fault”. That would mean that we are to confront brothers or fellow believers when we see sin in their lives which we should do anyway as in James 5:19-20 so that the soul will be saved.

 

Elsewhere Paul tells us that after this final excommunication step where we remove them from our fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:11) however we should forgive them if they repent and turn from their sins. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells us that there is more rejoicing in heaven and in the presence of angels of God when one sinner repents. (Luke 15:7 – Luke 15:10).

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

 

A young seminary graduate was seeking to pastor his first church and was granted an interview by a little old one room church way out in the country. The committee chairman asked, “Son, do you know the Bible pretty good?” The young man replied, “Yes sir. I know the Bible from the back to the front.” The deacon chairman asked “Do you know the stories and parables?” The young man answered, “Oh yes! I know all the stories and parables.” The committee chairman said, “Tell us one of the parables of Jesus – let’s say the parable of the Good Samaritan.” And so he did and it went like this:

 

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, who went down to Jericho by night and he fell among stony ground. And the thorns rose up and choked him nearly half to death. He said, ‘What shall I do?’ Then he said, ‘I shall arise and go to my father’s house.’ And he arose, and climbed up into a sycamore tree. The next day Solomon and his wife Gomorrah came by, and they carried him down to the ark for Moses to take care of him. And as he was going through the eastern gate into the ark, he caught his hair in a limb and he hung there for 40 days and 40 nights. And afterwards, he hungered and the ravens came and fed him. The next day the three wise men came and carried him down to the boat dock and he caught a ship down to Nineveh. And when he got down there, he found Delilah sitting on the wall. He cried out, ‘Chunk her down, boys.’ And they said, ‘How many times shall we chunk her down, unto seven times?’ And he said, ‘Nay, but unto seventy times seven.’ So they chunked her down, 490 times. Then she burst asunder in their midst, and they picked up twelve baskets of the leftovers. And they asked him, ‘Lord, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be?’”

 

The pulpit committee members all looked at one another for a moment and then the chairman said, “Folks, I think we ought to ask the church to call him as our pastor. He is awfully young, but he sure does know his Bible.”

 

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found only in the Gospel of Luke in 10:25-37. An Expert in the law or lawyer asked Jesus a question that showed his ignorance of the central issue of the law being eternal life and the command to love one another or your neighbor. Jesus answered him with a parable known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus contrasted the unloving actions of a Priest and Levite with the loving actions of a Samaritan. The Samaritan cared for a wounded traveler and in his actions he was obeying the central commandment of Gods law: love, in particular to Love God, yourselves and your neighbor or everyone.   

 

The Parable of the Good Samaritan really goes like this: An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus and asked him what must I do to inherit eternal life and Jesus answered quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Leviticus 19:18 Love your neighbor as yourself. Then the man told Jesus that he answered correctly. Jesus in turn told him to do it so that he will live. Then the expert asked Jesus who is my neighbor and Jesus then went on to deliver the parable of the Good Samaritan starting at Luke 10:30.

 

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins [Two Greek Denarii] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

 

Then Jesus asked the expert in the law which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? And the expert replied the one who had mercy on him or the Samaritan and Jesus replied Go and do likewise.

 

The man in the story – obviously a Jew – was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho which is about seventeen miles on foot. The road dropped more than 3 thousand feet and so he was going down in elevation and not up. This road was dangerous for people to travel down especially if they were alone because of the rocky terrain and places where robbers could easily hide and jump them which is what happened to this man. Not only did they take his money but they took his clothes or stripped him and then beat him half to death. This man was in bad shape and Jesus implied that the man would have died if he was not helped.

 

It is important to note here that Jews and Samaritans of Jesus day hated each other then because the Jews thought of them as inferior half-breeds because they were descendants of Jews from the North who intermixed and married other non Jews after Israel’s exile. The Jews listening to the parable were obviously thinking to themselves that a Samaritan would never help a Jew and knowing that the Samaritans were usually the ones doing the robbing the story takes a twist as Luke is fond of doing. 

 

Here Jesus went into great detail on how the Samaritan helped this Jew: He bandaged his wounds with cloth from his own clothing since the robbers took his clothes, put oil on his bruises to soothe them like a lotion, put wine on his wounds as an antiseptic and finally placed him on his donkey so that he had to walk while leading the donkey. Next he took him to an inn and took care of his needs. But the story doesn’t end there. The next morning when the Samaritan left to continue his journey he gave the innkeeper enough money to cover several days stay and food and promised the innkeeper that when he came back through he would stop by and pay any additional money the man may have owed the innkeeper.

 

This inferior half-breed Samaritan understood how to love his neighbor and how to help someone with a need regardless of who or what they were. While the priest and Levite from the Jewish tribe of Levi who served in the Temple and we supposed to be Godly crossed to the other side of the road. As Jews who served in the temple they were supposed to help him according to their religious laws because he was not dead. If he was dead then their laws would have forbid them to touch him or they would become unclean but this was not the case. Therefore they totally disregarded their own laws because it was too much bother and they showed that they loved themselves more than others. They loved holding to the letter of their law over helping or loving a fellow in need and in effect they broke the law.

 

We are taught that when you love God that love overflows into love for others or our neighbors. As members of the body of Christ when we love one another we are in turn showing the world the love that God has shown to us.

 

Additional Verses:

 

John 13:34-35

John 15:10, 12

Colossians 1:4

1 Thessalonians 1:3

1 Peter 2:17

1 John 4:11

 

The Death Of The Apostles

 

The original 12 apostles are mentioned in the Gospels by all but John and are found in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:12-16. The names here will be taken from Matthew 10:2-4.

 

The Original 12 Apostles

 

Simon (Who is called Peter)

Peter (Simon) was the brother of Andrew and a fisherman at the Sea of Galilee from Bethsaida. Peter was the most impulsive of the apostles and was not one to keep quiet. Tradition holds that Peter was crucified upside down by the Romans during the reign of Emperor Nero as reported by Origen.

 

[Simon Peters Brother] Andrew                         

The brother of Peter (Simon) and was also a fisherman at the Sea of Galilee from Bethsaida. Tradition holds that Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross at Patrae (A city of Achaia) where two ends were buried in the ground because he criticized the Achaian proconsul for idolatry.

 

James son of Zebedee                                       

James the older brother of John was the first of The Twelve to be martyred. He was put to death with a sword by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-2)

 

John son of Zebedee                                         

The older brother of James and he was exiled to the Island Of Patmos by Domitian where he wrote Revelation the final book of the Bible. He died of old age most likely on Patmos.

 

Philip                                                                 

Like Peter and Andrew he was form Bethsaida. Tradition holds that he died as a martyr at Hierapolis in Phrygia after being flogged, imprisoned, and later crucified.

 

Bartholomew (Nathanael)                                  

Bartholomew was one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared to at the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection and he was also a witness of the Ascension. Tradition holds that he preached in India or Armenia and was said to have been tortured, flayed alive or crucified upside down in India.

 

Thomas                                                             

Also known as “Doubting Thomas” like Bartholomew is thought by some to have been killed in India but with a spear or a lance.

 

Matthew the tax collector (Levi)                        

Levi was originally a tax-collector at Capernaum and legend has it that he preached in unspecified foreign nations and tradition holds that he died by a halberd which is a pike fitted with an ax head in Nadabah.

 

James son of Alphaeus                                      

James was also known as James the Younger or James the Less and tradition holds that he was beaten or clubbed to death in Jerusalem but his death is really unknown.

 

Thaddaeus (Judas) The son of James                 

Thaddaeus also known as Jude or Judas the brother of James and refereed to by John as “Judas, not Iscariot.” Was said by some to have been crucified at Edessa but like James his death is really unknown.

 

Simon the Zealot                                               

Simon was known as Simon the Zealot because he was a member of the Zealots sect who held strong political views. Some say that he was crucified in Britain but like James and Thaddaeus his death is really unknown.

 

Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree (Matthew 27:5)

 

Later Apostles

 

Additionally Matthias and Paul (Saul) were called to be apostles.

 

Matthias

In order to bring the number back up to twelve after Judas hanged himself Matthias was chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to take his place (Acts 1:25-26). Tradition holds that he was stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem.

 

Paul (Saul)                                                        

Saul later known as Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus was called by Jesus after his ascension to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1-31). Tradition holds that he was stripped naked and beheaded by the command of Nero along the Appian Way

 

 

Early Creeds

 

The Apostles Creed

 

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

The holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints,

The forgiveness of sins,

The resurrection of the body,

And the life everlasting.

Amen.

 

The Nicene Creed

First Council of Constantinople (381)

 

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

 

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

 

And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 

 

Choosing Your Company

 

In Proverbs 12:26 Solomon writes that the righteous should choose their friends carefully and cautiously and they should choose those that are not wicked: “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray”. (NKJV)

 

Therefore the righteous should keep company with friends who are likewise righteous. The wicked will only lead the righteous astray and are like the blind guides Jesus spoke of in Matthew 15:14 and we should avoid them.

 

The righteous are Blameless, Decent, Good, Honest, Honorable, Just, Moral, Respectable Upright, Virtuous and above all God fearing. Righteous friends are accountable to one another and will not lead one another astray. They will not lead one another into compromising situations or encourage bad behavior in one another.

 

My mother used to tell us growing up: “Tell me who you are with and I will tell what you are”. As a parent and as a grandparent I have used the same words over the years and have found that to be true. If you are hanging around with someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol chances are very good that you will become addicted yourself. If you are fortunate enough do not become addicted to one or both their circle of influence will still be a part of your friendship. This may lead you to encourage their addiction by lying for them, covering up for them, making excuses for their actions or even committing crimes with them or for them.