Peter Barnes | Jeremiah 3:22
SERMON NOTES
BACKSLIDING: THE SIGNS
(Jer.3:22; Rev.2:5)
– faith is not static (Jer.3:22; Luke 17:5; Rev.2:4-5). The heart is the key thing (Prov.4:23). Two helpful works are Octavius Winslow’s Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul (1841) and Joel Beeke’s Getting Back in the Race (2011). William Cowper: Where is the blessedness I knew/ When first I saw the Lord?/ Where is the soul-refreshing view/ Of Jesus and His Word?
1. Coldness in prayer.
Sin, especially the sin of unbelief, is our great enemy (Ps.66:18-19).
2. Indifference to God’s Word.
– Luke 8:14 contrasted to Isa.66:1-2.
3. Growing inner corruptions.
Whenever someone says: ‘That is my business, the church has no right to interfere in this matter’, get very suspicious.
4. The wrong kind of love for the world.
– Lot is a frightening example of this (Gen.13:8-13; yet note 2 Pet.2:7-8).
5. Declining love for believers.
– Ebenezer Erskine: ‘Backsliders are commonly backbiters.’ 1 John 4:20-21.
– Hos.14:1-6.