The Fool didn’t get there overnight (Prov 14)
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Text: Proverbs 14.14-16
Text: Proverbs 14.14-16
What a wild promise -
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways:
And a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
Definition and Nature of Backsliding
I think that many of us have an idea of what is meant when we say the word backsliding. In our culture bent on personal development we are aware of basic backsliding.
Everyone who promised never to eat a bite of sugar.
Never spend another useless dollar.
Be a better “___________”
Understand that the word backsliding we use has a bible definition. The best bible definition of backsliding comes from the book of Jeremiah.
Israel and Judah are described as backsliding nations turned away from God to idolatry.
Backsliding is portrayed as spiritual adultery or faithlessness.
If you aren’t chasing a relationship with him your’e chasing one somewhere.
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways:
And a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
Backsliding is a heart problem, rooted in a departure of the heart from God’s wisdom and righteousness.
This is reinforced in Jer 2.13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
But the end thereof are the ways of death.
I. Self-reliance
Rejected God’s provision and seeking self-reliant solutions.
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
II. Stubbornness
Stubbornness and resistance to God’s word.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
But the end thereof are the ways of death.
The Process of Backsliding: An Outline from Proverbs 14
A Heart Turned Inward
Proverbs 14:14
Backsliding begins in the heart. The term "backslider in heart" indicates an internal deviation from God and His righteousness. This inward turn fills a person with their own ways, desires, and self-reliance, moving away from God’s direction.
Contrast: A "good man" finds satisfaction from God, while the backslider seeks fulfillment in their own ways.
Relying on Human Understanding
Proverbs 14:12
As the heart turns inward, the backslider begins to rely on their own understanding and judgment, believing their way is right, without considering the consequences.
This false confidence or self-deception leads them further away from God’s wisdom.
Rejecting Wisdom and Spiritual Guidance
Proverbs 14:7
Backsliders may surround themselves with foolish company, rejecting the influence of wise and spiritual counsel.
They choose to remain in environments that lack true knowledge, reinforcing their deviation from God.
Abandon the Fear of the Lord
Proverbs 14:16
A backslider, lacking the fear of the Lord, becomes reckless ("rageth") and overconfident in their ways, not recognizing the dangers of their path.
In contrast, a wise person departs from evil, indicating that backsliding involves a lack of discernment and awareness of spiritual danger.
Spiritual Blindness and Destruction
Proverbs 14:9
As the backslider continues, they may mock or trivialize sin, becoming increasingly spiritually blind.
This attitude hardens their heart further, leading them down a path of destruction and away from God’s favor.
EXPOSITION:
Sammy
Senior in HS believes God calls him to preach. Comes back explaining that he wants to train to preach. But when he gets home and explains it to his parents, his mother informs him. That’s not what he’ll be doing.
Sammy knew before he ever got home. His mom would never go for him being a preacher. One thing she could never do was trust, but Sammy would be OK too far away from her, so she pulled Sammy back to her comfort she was successful today. Sammy has no walk with God no wife no kids choice other young men pursue. I’ve always been just outside Danny’s reach.
And we recognize there were 1000 decisions between that senior height graduate making his decision and where he is today, but that’s the point if you’ll lean on your own understanding live as we do not depend on him daily and refused to humble ourselves to his word. We will be given to whatever path we choose.
Danny and Emma
Felt their marriage were on the rocks. Fighting all the time. When they had married, they were so full of hope and excitement about the future. They were going to be a Christian couple.
And as we started unpack the problems in their marriage. I simply went down the line of what it looked like to have a Christian home in every single line there was an excuse, and a reason they could not or would not do the things the Bible described, made a Christian home.
I was in trouble when I ask him very serious questions and she started offering up one reason and one excuse after another explaining to me why the Bible was too difficult for them to follow.
And it shouldn’t shock a single soul in this room that they lasted another six months before they had no marriage to show for all their trouble.
The rebel church
I have sat in church boardrooms of churches that once were a shining light in their community. And they don’t exist today because when we pointed to the Bible and showed them what a church should be and how people should operate and how to prioritize the gospel over their comfort, there was no way the Bible could be right. They had figured it out within months of our last meeting that church closed its doors for good.
We imagine God an annoying boyfriend or girlfriend. Always wants his way and will plead and plead and plead with us until we do it. That’s not the kind of God we see in the Bible.
Do you want your way you continue to push to get your way because that’s what your wisdom says. That’s what your will is , he will let you have that course. And with it all the ramifications and repercussions that come with it.
We say Jesus you’re the King. You rule my life I follow you.
OK, let’s talk about your clothes
No, no no
OK, your music
No, no no no
OK, you’re entertainment
Well, see sometimes I like
OK, let’s talk about big things
Let’s talk about The place church has in your life
The Lord, you don’t understand
Tell your neighbor, brother sister, cousin uncle grandma anyone about how to come to heaven
But they’re gonna think I’m crazy
You need to love your wife
But she is so rude
You should submit to your husband
Ack!!! It’s 2024
UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN YOU LEAN TO YOUR UNDERSTANDING, IMAGINE THAT YOU ARE THE ONE UPON WHOM YOU DEPEND AND IGNORE HIS WORD YOU ARE BACKSLIDING. - AND HE WILL LET YOU HAVE YOUR WAY ALONG WITH ALL THE REPROCUSSIONS.
Don’t let this surprise you. That was the point of Romans 1.
Rejection of God’s Revelation (Romans 1:18-20)
- Humanity suppresses the truth of God, despite His attributes being clearly seen in creation.
Futile Thinking and Darkened Hearts (Romans 1:21-23)
- Though they knew God, people did not honor Him or give thanks. Their thinking became futile, and their hearts were darkened, leading to idolatry.
God’s Judgment: Giving Them Over (Romans 1:24-32)
- First "Give Over": Sexual Impurity (v. 24-25)
God "gives them over" to impurity, allowing them to degrade themselves.
- Second "Give Over": Shameful Lusts (v. 26-27)
God "gives them over" to shameful lusts, including unnatural relations.
- Third "Give Over": Depraved Mind (v. 28-32)
God "gives them over" to a depraved mind, resulting in all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, malice, etc.
Final State of Depravity (Romans 1:32)
- They know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve death, yet they continue in their practices and approve of others who do the same.
Consequences of Backsliding
Proverbs 14:14
The natural outcome of backsliding is to be “filled” with the fruit of their choices—receiving the consequences of a life lived apart from God.
Proverbs 14:15
The backslider is likened to the "simple" who naively accepts whatever seems appealing, without discerning its truth or consequences. In contrast, a prudent person carefully considers their path, avoiding the pitfalls of backsliding.
So Solomon gives Rehoboam a wise Call:
Call to Awareness and Wisdom
Proverbs 14:27
While backsliding leads toward spiritual death, returning to the "fear of the Lord" offers life and escape from the snares that trap the unwary.
This verse serves as a final reminder that wisdom and reverence for God are the keys to avoiding or correcting the course of backsliding.
By following this progression from Proverbs 14, we see that
backsliding begins in the heart
marked by a departure from wisdom, spiritual discernment, and reliance on God.
self-deception, recklessness,
spiritual blindness and destruction.
However, there is always an invitation to return to wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
Path to Restoration
Jeremiah 3:22 - Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” Returning to God is essential for healing and restoration.
Wonderful promise of Scripture “draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh unto you.”
Christ has opened a way to return to God run there today.
Jeremiah 4:1 - Returning involves putting away detestable things and committing to truth and righteousness.
Proverbs 28:13 - Confession and forsaking of sins lead to mercy, underscoring the importance of repentance.
God’s real promise was not do better and try harder.
It was look for the Precious Promise of the Branch of Israel.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Abandon your gods.
For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
They looked for the day when the change was in the heart.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
That I will make a new covenant
With the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
In the day that I took them by the hand
To bring them out of the land of Egypt;
Which my covenant they brake,
Although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel;
After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts,
And write it in their hearts;
And will be their God,
And they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord:
For they shall all know me,
From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord:
For I will forgive their iniquity,
And I will remember their sin no more.
Get your heart right with God.
In Christ you have a connection with him. By his grace he is willing to the work in the backslidden heart to make him your all in all. To make you constantly dependent on him. To keep you humbly by his side as you watch him work again and again in your life.
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
The one who never backslid from the father offers you the grace to live his will. by changing the heart of the problem - the heart.