Symptoms Of Backsliding

by Dag Heward-Mills

* * * * *

Copyright 2008 Dag Heward-Mills

Published by Dag Heward-Mills on Smashwords.

E mail Dag Heward-Mills

info@daghewardmillsbooks.org

evangelist@daghewardmills.org

Find out more about Dag Heward-Mills at:

http://www.daghewardmills.org

http://www.daghewardmills.org/healingjesuscrusade/

http://www.daghewardmills.org/lci/

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

* * * * *

Contents

Chapter 1 - Symptoms Reveal the Condition

Chapter 2 - Bad Company

Chapter 3 - Looking Backwards

Chapter 4 - Over-Confidence

Chapter 5 - Stubbornness

Chapter 6 - Christian Surprises

Chapter 7 - To Be Easily Offended

* * * * *

Chapter 1

Symptoms Reveal the Condition

And there shall be SIGNS...when ye see these things...KNOW...

Luke 21:25-31

In the field of medicine, a symptom or sign is the outward clue of something dangerous. Often when you are searching for something that is hidden, you look out for clues to lead you. Symptoms and signs help doctors to make the right diagnosis.

A symptom is meaningless to the unlearned, but important to the learned. If a symptom is detected early it can save a life.

When a doctor detects certain signs, he knows that the patient’s life is in danger. But a layman may have no idea of what is going on. When the hand of a patient shows certain signs, it is an indication of a serious disease in the liver. What has the hand got to do with the liver? They are so far apart anyway. But it may surprise you to know that a shaking and jerking hand could indicate liver failure. To the unlearned, that shaking hand is just an unusual spasm. Some may even think that it is a sign of the anointing!

The pancreas is located somewhere deep in the abdomen. How can you know whether the pancreas is working or not? The only way to know is to look out for certain symptoms or signs. I once noticed a middle-aged person drinking a lot of water and passing a lot of urine. This person was fat and overweight. As a medical doctor I immediately thought, “Perhaps this person is diabetic and doesn’t even know it. There may be something wrong with his pancreas.” It was an important sign to me.

When you are learned in certain fields you will notice things that others do not.

As you read this book you will learn about some of the symptoms which give an indication that a person is backsliding spiritually. And this person may be you! May you become spiritually alert, and not take certain things for granted anymore after reading this section.

Symptoms of the Soul

As scientists search for signs to know what is going on inside the BODY of a man, we must also look for the signs that uncover what is happening inside the SOUL of a man.

The early detection of some of these symptoms can save a believer from backsliding and going to Hell. Knowledge of the existence of these symptoms can give you staying power for the Christian race.

There is no point in regularly attending church, knowing the Lord, and later dying as a backslider! Why should I spend all my years preaching and later become a castaway? Why do the Lord’s work today, and serve the devil tomorrow?

This is a picture of what happened to the five foolish virgins (Matthew 25). They were all virgins, all ten of them, but five were foolish and five were wise. All of them had oil at a certain point in time. Later on, when it really mattered some of them didn’t have oil. Perhaps the year before they were all zealous and anointed with oil. But at the end of it all, some of them had dropped away.

I am teaching on these symptoms and signs of backsliding, because many Christians display these symptoms. If you detect any of these symptoms in yourself, know that you may be on a dangerous path to destruction.

Let’s read on.

Chapter 2

Bad Company

Experience in the ministry has taught me to take note of any Christian who keeps bad company. It is a very bad symptom, with a very poor prognosis. Bad company will eventually lead you to bad places. When you see a Christian who has bad friends, it is likely he will find his way out of church one day.

Bad company ruins good morals.

1 Corinthians 15:33 (Revised Standard Version)

There is a saying, “Birds of the same feather flock together.”

One Ghanaian proverb can be rendered: “Show me your friend, and I will show you your character.” This means that we can tell the kind of person you are by just looking at the kind of friends you have. Within every large church there are smaller groups of Christians. When you observe these groups, you will discover that they are people with the same kind of “feather”. The friends you move with will either lead you to church or to bad places.

If you are a real believer and you want to remain in Christ, then you need to have good friends. They should be real born-again Christians, who attend a “born again” church. They must believe the things you believe.

You must go to church together. Your friends must not have anything against your going to church. If they do, they must not be your friends!

“Do” Them Before They “Do” You

If you keep bad friends they will eventually convert you, or you will convert them. We had this saying in my school (Achimota School), “Do them before they do you.” This is a warning to influence your friends before they influence you!

The way to deal with bad company is to convert them and bring them to Christ, before they cause you to backslide.

This, you must realize, requires a lot of wisdom and if you are not a stable Christian yourself, don’t attempt converting your bad friends - you may fall away!

Can Your Wife Be Bad Company?

Some people do not realise that the person they marry will keep them company for the rest of their lives, and this “marital company” will truly affect you. This is how King Solomon, who built the temple and accomplished great things for the Lord, eventually backslid. The Bible tells us that his wives turned his heart away from God. Solomon’s wives were bad company for him.

You do not need to expose yourself to the circumstances of bad company. You are not more anointed than Solomon. If the Bible warns that bad company can ruin your life, you’d better believe it and save yourself! Every wife affects her husband, and every husband has great influence over his wife. Whoever you are, your wife will influence the way you think. If your husband thinks in a certain way, in the process of time, you will eventually think in the same way. I remember a sweet old lady who had nothing against other races. However, after being married for many years to a racist, she became prejudiced herself.

If your wife does not want you to be in the ministry, you will not be in the ministry. I know this from experience. If my wife had opposed my going into the ministry, I don’t think I would have been able to come this far. That is why I am very concerned about who my pastors get married to.

Bad company - whether friends, brothers, husbands, or wives - will lead to backsliding.

Stay clear!

Chapter 3

Looking Backwards

In Genesis 19, we can study the testimony of Lot and his wife. Two angels were sent to Lot and his family in Sodom and Gomorrah. Their message was simple:

…Escape for thy life, LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE…lest thou be consumed.

Genesis 19:17

But the Bible declares that Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Jesus also reminds us of the terrible mistake that Lot’s wife made as she was escaping from Sodom and Gomorrah. She was the only member of the family who looked back at her past.

We can liken this to believers who backslid because they kept looking back at the world and all it had to offer. As born-again believers, God has delivered all of us from sin, and it is important that we do not look back.

I Went out with Many Men

I always remember the story of a lady who stood before a Christian group to testify. She happily recounted what she had done as an unbeliever:

“I used to go out with many men. They would pick me up to party with me at nightclubs and discos. I danced all night with them. It was great,” she said.

With great excitement in her voice, she told the Christians: “I travelled all over the world with them. We really had a good time.” Then her voice dropped and she sadly said, “But I got saved, and here I am in church.”

To her, salvation was rather the “bad” thing that happened to her. It was as though being saved was an unfortunate experience. This woman was looking back to the expensive cars, the Chinese restaurants and the “good” times she had had as an unbeliever. If you keep on thinking and remembering your past sinful life with nostalgia, you will turn into “a pillar of salt”!

When you see a married woman who talks with excitement about her past boyfriends, then you are looking at a woman who may not be happy where she is. It is most probable that she may want to go back to her “great” guys.

You will go back if you keep looking back.

And you will fall if you keep looking backwards.

I am looking ahead, and I intend to go forward with God’s work. As a medical doctor in full- time ministry, I could look back and consider returning to the practice of medicine. There are times when I can remember the peculiar smell of the hospital.

I remember those days when I walked the wards and heard the patients call, “Dr. Mills”, “Please, Dr. Mills.” But I am not looking back. I am going forward, preaching, teaching and planting churches all over the world. I have no intention of going back to the full-time practice of medicine.

If there is a longing in your heart to go backwards or to look backwards, then you are manifesting a dangerous symptom of backsliding. Come before the Lord and ask Him to help you “kill” that interest in the past. Let it die!

Chapter 4

Over-Confidence

An over-confident person is someone who has too much trust in his abilities. It is dangerous to be over-confident as a Christian. Being too confident in your righteousness and in your own spirituality is a bad sign.

…Let him that THINKETH HE STANDETH take heed lest he fall.

1 Corinthians 10:12

If you regard yourself or your position in Christ as foolproof, you are in danger of backsliding - especially, if you have had promotion in church, or have been used by God in the past.

I have heard some Christians boast, “I will never fornicate, I simply cannot do it.” This is over-confidence. It reminds me of a particular brother in my church who would regularly come to me and say, “Pastor, your church is so good, I will never leave Lighthouse Chapel.” He spoke about his commitment to me and to the church with such conviction. A few months later, he walked out of the church and never returned.

Satan Smiles at Boasting Christians

When a Christian continues to boast about his strength, Satan hears him and decides to test him. Such a person is a potential backslider. Where you are over-confident is where you can be the weakest, because you have dropped your guard. You can also tell that a Christian is over- confident by the way he talks about the weaknesses of others. I have heard Christians criticize others as though they could never make the same mistakes. They overestimate their own ability, and look down on others.

Do Not Laugh at Them

You need to be humble, otherwise one day you will find yourself in the same shoes, much to your own surprise. Staying on the right track is largely by the grace of God, and not by your own strength. When David heard that Saul was dead, he didn’t ridicule him or rejoice over his death.

David could have lashed out at Saul and criticized him at that time. He could have taken the opportunity to talk about how Saul had been disobedient and stubborn. He could have discussed what led to Saul’s downfall. Instead he declared,

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon...

2 Samuel 1:20

Although David did not have a problem with stubbornness and disobedience, he did not venture to denounce his predecessor because of his weaknesses. We must all learn something from this example.

Chapter 5

Stubbornness

The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways…

Proverbs 14:14

The next symptom of backsliding is stubbornness. A stubborn person is prone to falling away. If you know a stubborn Christian who does not heed counsel, but will always do what he wants to do in spite of all advice, you are looking at a potential backslider.

And my people are BENT TO BACKSLIDING from me...

Hosea 11:7

Often, I would counsel Christians and find at the end of the session that they are still set in their ways. They are bent on doing their own thing. Everybody needs advice. The Bible says there is safety in the multitude of counsel.

Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

Ecclesiastes 4:13

I remember counselling a young lady not to continue in a certain unhealthy relationship. I asked, “What makes you different from the other girls he has thrown away? He has had seventeen girlfriends, and you are the eighteenth. The only difference between you and the others is that you are new to him. But one day you will become “old” just like the others. And he will then throw you away.” In spite of this admonition, she persisted in her ways. Is there anybody who was mightily blessed by God although he was stubborn and rebellious?

Never! Stubbornness to God, to His Word, to His pastors and to biblical counsel is a sign that backsliding is imminent.

Chapter 6

Christian Surprises

There is something I call “Christian surprises”. “Christian surprises” are surprises that are unique to the Christian experience.

These are shocks you experience in the course of your Christian walk. Unfortunately, some people get so shocked by what they see and hear in church that it actually makes them fall away. As we grow as Christians, we will encounter these Christian surprises. Most of us are quite naïve when we become Christians. We think we have come into a perfect world.

Therefore, when the so-called born-again saints disappoint us we become so amazed. We can’t believe it’s true.

But the Bible says we should not be amazed.

...as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any AMAZEMENT.

1 Peter 3:6

…and let nothing terrify you - not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you.

1 Peter 3:6 (Amplified Bible)

Being in a state of shock is being in a dangerous condition.

Any good doctor who sees a patient in a state of shock knows that he is dealing with someone who can easily pop off and die.

A shocked or amazed Christian can easily fall away from the faith. Any experienced pastor who sees his members in a state of shock and surprise at what may have happened in the church also knows that he is looking at a member who can easily fall away.

All Leaders Are Human!

One of the things that may cause Christians to fall away is disappointment in a Christian leader. Sometimes your leader can disappoint you beyond measure. Samson, David, Peter and other mighty leaders made mistakes. That could have disappointed their followers, and caused them to backslide.

The Bible tells pastors not to be greedy, pompous or lord their authority over others. It states clearly that pastors should not run after money or women. God’s ministers are supposed to do His work from their hearts. The very fact that the Bible speaks about all of these things means that Christian leaders can do them (and have done them)!

These days one of the favourite activities of the press is to write stories about fallen men of God. Some pastors have been involved in sex, money and breakaway scandals.

Christians have been surprised at such behaviour coming from the people they have loved and looked up to for many years. Such surprising behaviour often destabilizes hitherto “stable” believers. But remember the Word of God.

...there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See this is new? it hath been already of old time...

Ecclesiastes 1:9,10

If you have all through your Christian life, put your trust in a man, then it is very likely that you will be disappointed.

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

This means you can only follow your Christian leader as long as he follows Christ! I often tell my church, “The day I stop following Christ, is the day you stop following me”.

I remember when some great men of God in the United States fell into sin, many Christians also fell away from the faith with them. Why was this so? They had experienced a Christian surprise. But they needn’t have fallen. If you fix your eyes on Christ (looking unto Jesus), you will be a stable Christian.

Christians may also become surprised when they pray, but do not get the answers they expect. A close member of the family may be terminally ill, or you may have been praying for your husband to be saved, only to see him get worse. You can easily feel surprised and shocked that God has ignored your prayers.

Do not be surprised! It is not everything that you know. I hope you know that! You are still learning, and you are still growing in the Lord.

I Was Surprised!

I remember one time when I was travelling to Tamale, a town in the northern part of Ghana. I was driving with the pastors of our branches in Kumasi, Zurich as well as a Canadian trainee pastor. On the highway, two bicycle riders suddenly crossed my path.

I had to apply the brakes immediately in order to avoid hitting them. When I did this, my car began to skid, and before I could say Jack Robinson, we were somersaulting in the air. The car eventually rolled to a halt some 30 metres off the road. We were now literally upside down, with the wheels of the car in the air! When we all came out alive and well, I must admit that I was surprised - and almost angry with God. Why should God allow such a thing to happen to us? Didn’t He know that we were all pastors travelling only to do more of His work? However, a few days later the Spirit of God ministered certain things to me privately.

One thing I can tell you that He said to me was, “Instead of being angry and surprised, you should be grateful that I have allowed this to happen in order to draw your attention to something very important for your life and ministry”. You may not understand this now, but as you grow in Christ you will understand it better by and by.

Surprisingly, Jesus Did Not Heal Everyone!

When Jesus was here, He did not heal everybody. Jesus went to the pool of Bethsaida, a place that had a host of sick people. (That is the equivalent of a modern hospital.) But He only healed one man, who had been sick for 38 years.

Why didn’t He heal any of the others? Jesus said, “My Father works, and I work”. Jesus meant that He was doing exactly what His Father was doing. Should we be surprised at this move of Christ? We have to learn to trust in Him.

The Disciples Were Surprised!

The arrest and crucifixion of Christ surprised the disciples. A week before He had sat on a donkey, and the crowds had cheered Him. They hailed and sang, “Hosanna, blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!”

The disciples knew that He was a great man. But a week later he was killed on the cross like a common criminal.

They must have been very surprised. As we all know, these frightened, surprised and disappointed disciples deserted their Saviour and were scattered. This is the equivalent of backsliding.

I Try Not to Be Surprised

Ever since I became a pastor, the lifestyles, habits and practices of some Christian leaders have surprised me. But I have had to teach myself not to be surprised anymore. What has been even more bewildering is the duality of some ministers. I remember one minister who spoke of committing fornication almost as if it was an everyday occurrence in his life. Yet this man was the pastor of a church. Time and time again, I have had to brace myself and decide not to be astonished or amazed by what goes on around me. Otherwise I may have left the Ministry by now!

Decide not to be surprised, astonished, dazed, bewildered, or even angry with some of the things you see in Christianity. Keep your focus on Christ and His Word.

Chapter 7

To Be Easily Offended

When you see someone who is very touchy, easily hurt and offended, you are looking at a potential backslider.

I remember one absentee church member whom we visited. We wanted to know why she was not in church anymore.

She told us that once, when she came in late, the ushers wrongly seated her and later relocated her. This had happened more than once. So she became offended and decided not to come to church anymore. This person was offended by the inexperienced usher and simply left the church. Imagine that!

Some church members are irritated because the pastor does not seem to remember their names. Others are offended because the pastor did not say hello when he met them in town. Think about this for a moment; why would the pastor deliberately not say hello to his own church member? Does it make sense? Is he trying to gather people or to scatter and offend them? Could it not be that the pastor didn’t recognize you, or that he genuinely did not notice you? Think about it!

A Touchy Person Is Difficult to Live with

If you marry a touchy person, you will always have problems. They are the ones who complain, “Why didn’t you smile today? I put my toothbrush in the centre. Why have you moved it to the right? How come the towel is wet? Don’t leave my towel on the bed. Why have you put my shoes here instead of there?” It’s very difficult to live with people like that.

They are not only difficult marriage partners, but also difficult church members for the pastor. They can even become offended with God Himself!

My Father Died Whilst I Prayed

If I were to be easily offended, I would not have been able to continue in the ministry. Some years ago, I travelled from Ghana to start a church in Zurich. While I was fasting and praying to establish God’s work, my father died back home in Ghana.

Throughout the week before he died, he had been seriously ill, but I wasn’t fully informed about what was going on. Then one day after I had been praying and fasting for five days and nights, my father died about 11 O’clock in the morning.

One of my associate pastors called to inform me about what had happened. I was shocked and surprised. And when I put the phone down, I wept like a baby. I had every reason to be offended with God. Wasn’t I on the mission field, doing His work? I consoled myself that I would understand it better by and by and truly, I have not become disillusioned with the ministry. I am pressing on!

If a Christian easily gets hurt, he is likely to backslide!

Dear friend, learn how to identify these symptoms in your life, so that you can change and avoid backsliding. Do not be ignorant of the devil’s devices. Why fall away now that you know the Lord?

*******

Other Best-Selling Books by Dag Heward-Mills:

Loyalty and Disloyalty

Leaders and Loyalty

Transform Your Pastoral Ministry

The Art of Leadership

Model Marriage

Church Planting

The Mega Church

Lay People and the Ministry

These titles are also available in Spanish and/or French. Information about other foreign translations of some of the titles above may be obtained by writing to our email address.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Symptoms Reveal the Condition

Chapter 2

Bad Company

Chapter 3

Looking Backwards

Chapter 4

Over-Confidence

Chapter 5

Stubbornness

Chapter 6

Christian Surprises

Chapter 7

To Be Easily Offended