The Road Back

Proverbs 14:14 NKJV

14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.

Summary: Proverbs 14:14 highlights the consequences of one's choices, illustrating that a backslider will be filled with his own ways, while a good man will be satisfied with the fruits of his actions.

Application: This passage serves as a wake-up call for Christians who may feel distant from God or have slipped in their spiritual walk.

It reminds us that returning to God leads to spiritual rejuvenation, and that His grace is always available to help us move forward.

Big Idea: The big idea is that while backsliding leads to spiritual emptiness, returning to God can refresh and restore our spiritual vitality, guiding us toward true growth and fulfillment in faith.

1. Backsliding Begins with Self

Proverbs 14:14a

Consider how easy it is to fill our lives with our own ways

Leading to discontentment and spiritual distance from God.

The subtle shift in focus that takes a person from reliance on God to self-centeredness, which is the essence of backsliding.

I. WANING OF OUR LOVE FOR CHRIST

If the Lord Jesus is less precious to our souls than He was formerly, in His person, office, work, grace, and benefits, whatever we may think of ourselves, we have assuredly gone back.

II. LOSS OF OUR ZEAL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

If we have become less conscientious than formerly of whether our conduct become or bring reproach upon the holy Name we bear, then that is a sure mark of our spiritual decline.

III. LOSS OF OUR SPIRITUAL APPETITE

Was there not a time, when you could truly say

Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV

16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

IV. SLUGGISHNESS OR DROWSINESS OF MIND

V. RELAXING IN OUR WATCHFULNESS AGAINST SIN

The lack of alertness in guarding against all that is evil, under a quick and tender sense of its loathsome nature, is a sure sign of spiritual decline.

VI. ATTEMPTING TO DEFEND OUR SINS

There are some sins which all know are indefensible, but there are others which even professing Christians seek to justify.

Sin, when we have committed it, loses its sinfulness, and appears a very different thing from what it did in others.

VII. THINGS OF THE WORLD OBTAINING CONTROL OF US

It therefore follows that when a Christian begins to thirst after the things of time and sense and grows a fondness for them, his grace has sadly declined.

2. Finding Fulfillment in Faith

Proverbs 14:14 NKJV

14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.

You could suggest that the image of a good man finding satisfaction is a powerful reminder of the joy and fulfillment that comes from aligning one's life with God's ways. Importantly, this aligns with Jesus' promise of abundant life for those who follow Him, offering hope to those who wish to return.

Matthew 18:12 NKJV

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

I. CONFESS SIN TO GOD

Jeremiah 3:22 NKJV

22 “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God.

Proverbs 28:13 NKJV

13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Come! Turn back to Him!

We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.

C. S. Lewis

7051 There are things in life which are irreparable; there is no road back to yesterday.

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

FOUR THINGS TO DO

Look now at

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

You are to humble yourself. It takes humility to admit that you are wrong.

Tell Him about your backslidden condition as you pray. Confess your sins to Him.

To seek His face is to seek restoration to His fellowship. Remember his promise:

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

Turn from your wicked way, or repent. Repentance is turning away from sin and turning to God. “Then will I hear from heaven” (2 Chron. 7:14

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

II. LOW CHRISTIAN STANDARDS

Are you meeting God’s standard:

Galatians 4:19 NKJV

19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

Most people measure themselves against each other; therefore, they think, “I’m all right. I’m just as good as that church leader.”

Do not measure yourself that way. Heed this verse:

2 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

III. GOD’S HIGH STANDARDS

Here is God’s standard of measurement:

2 Corinthians 10:17–18 NKJV

17 But “he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

1146The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Oh, you lingerers, pull up the paving stones and hurl them at the devil’s head. He is ruining you; he is decoying you to your destruction.—61.117

Charles Spurgeon