How To Treat Backsliders By Charles Spurgeon
How To Treat Backsliders?
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins ~ James 5:19-20
Backsliders Suffered From Theological Error
If you read the text, it must refer to a backslider from the visible Church of God. “If any of you,” must allude to a Christian. In an evil hour, he was betrayed by theological error and had erred from the truth. Not only did he wrong in a minor matter, but he also erred in a major doctrine, he deviated from the faith in its essentials. Some truths must be believed; they are fundamental to redemption, and if not, the soul will perish. This individual claimed to be orthodox, yet he strayed from the truth on a crucial subject. He may view reality from a different perspective, and express it differently than we do, but his opinions are as valid as our own, and we must not claim he is in wrong. That is the currently fashionable approach of tampering with divine truth and making everyone happy. As a result, the gospel is tainted, and “another gospel” is spread.
Are We Clear With The Doctrine?
I should like to ask modern broad churchmen whether there is any doctrine of any sort for which it would be worth a man’s while to burn or to lie in prison. I do not believe they could give me an answer, for if their latitudinarianism was correct, the martyrs were fools of the first magnitude. According to what I see in their writings and teachings, modern thinkers treat the entire compass of revealed truth with complete indifference; and, while they may feel sorry that wilder spirits should go too far in free thinking, and if they had rather, they would be more moderate, on the whole, their liberality is so great that they are not sure enough of what they believe.
To them, black and white refer to the same color when viewed from different angles. Both yea and nay are true. Their ideology fluctuates like the Goodwin Sands, and all steadfastness is regarded as bigotry. Within their compassion, both errors and truths are comprehensible.
How Apostle Treated Theological Errors
The apostles did not treat error in this light. The errorist was not lauded as a man of great thinking, whose opinions were “refreshingly original” nor did they utter some wicked nonsense about the probability of more trust in honest doubt than in half the creeds.
They did not believe in justification by doubting, as modern neologians do; instead, they set about converting the rebellious brother; they considered him as a person in need of conversion; and they saw him as a man who, if he was not converted, would perish in his sins.
They were not as easygoing as our cultured friends from the school of “modern thought” who have finally learned that the Deity of Christ can be denied, the Holy Spirit’s work ignored, the inspiration of Scripture rejected, the atonement disbelieved, and regeneration disregarded, and yet the man who does all of this can be as good a Christian as the most devout believer!
O God, deliver us from this deceitful infidelity, which, while causing harm to the erring man and more often preventing him from being reclaimed, causes even more harm to our own hearts by teaching us that truth is unimportant and falsehood a trifle, and thus destroying our allegiance to the God of truth and turning us into traitors instead of loyal subjects to the King of kings!
Backsliders Erred In Both Doctrine And Life
From our text, this man erred in both doctrine and life; the twentieth verse, which must be read with the nineteenth, describes him as “a sinner converted from the error of his way.” His path became erroneous as his thought became erroneous. You can’t stray too far from the truth without, at the very least, straying from practical righteousness. This man had made a mistake in his behaving because he had made a mistake in his belief.
If a person accepts a doctrine that makes them doubt Christ, they will soon lose trust in Him, become disobedient to Him, and fall into self-righteousness or licentiousness. If he considers the punishment for sin lightly, it is natural that he will commit sin with less remorse and disregard all limits. If he denies the necessity for atonement, the same thing will occur.
Every blunder has its own fungus, as does every decay. We should not expect holiness to come as easily from false doctrine as it does from true doctrine. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? The facts show otherwise. When truth reigns, morality and holiness thrive, but when error reigns, godliness shrinks in shame.
Turn Backsliders Around To Right Thinking And Acting
The point aimed at with regard to this sinner in thought and deed was his conversion,—the turning of him round, the bringing him to right thinking and to right acting. Alas, I fear many professed Christians do not look upon backsliders in this light, neither do they regard them as hopeful subjects for conversion.
I’ve known someone who made a mistake and was hunted down like a wolf. He was wrong to some extent, but that wrong has been inflated into a double wrong by vicious attacks on it; the fault has been intensified and dwelt upon till the man has been tormented into defiance; the fault has been exaggerated into a double wrong by violent attacks on it. Because he has been treated so harshly, the man’s manhood has chosen sides with his error. Because he couldn’t stand being denounced instead of reasoned with, the man has been pushed, sinfully I admit, to take an extreme stance and proceed farther into mischief. And when a man has been blameworthy in his life, it is common for his fault to be broadcast widely, retailed from mouth to mouth, and exaggerated, until the unfortunate offender has felt degraded, and having lost all self-respect, has succumbed to far more heinous faults.
Some professors seem intent on amputating rather than healing the limb. Justice has trumped kindness. He’s gone! He’s too filthy to wash and too sick to heal. This is contrary to Christ’s will and the apostolic church’s example.
Keep Watch On Yourself, Lest You Too Be Tempted
Those who strayed from the truth and holiness were sought by brethren whose joy it was to save a soul from death and to cover a multitude of sins. “Brethren, if any of you err from the truth.” Means something very important. “Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted,” and “Let him that think he stands to take heed lest he falls.” He who erred was one of you, one who sat with you at the communion table, one with whom you had pleasant counsel; he has been tricked, and he has been decoyed by Satan’s guile; but do not judge him harshly, and above all, do not leave him to his destiny. If he was ever redeemed, he is still your brother, and it is your duty to bring him home and therefore please your Father. Despite his flaws, he is one of God’s children; pursue him and do not stop until you return him home. And if he is not a child of God, if his professed conversion was a mistake or a ruse, if he only professed godliness but lacked vital godliness, still follow him with sacred importunity of love, remembering how terrible will be his doom for daring to play the hypocrite, and to profane holy things with his unhallowed hands. If you are compelled to suspect that he has been an intentional deceiver, weep even harder because there are seven reasons to weep. In such case, I say, mourn him more, for his fate must be more horrible, and so your sympathy should be stronger. Convert him still.
Any Church Member To Reach Out To Backsliders
The passage clearly identifies those who are to convert erring brethren. “If any of you err from the truth, and one converts him.” What? Only one? No, it could be any of the brethren. It is left open to any church member who sees his brother err from the truth or practice err, and the plain inference is that every church member who sees his brother err from the truth or practice err should set him straight. By all means, look after strangers, but don’t forget about your brothers and sisters. It is the duty of every member of the body of Christ to seek the wellbeing of all other members, not only select authorities elected by the church. Still, there are those members for whom this is more critical in every given situation. For example, a young believer’s parents, if believers have a sevenfold commitment to seek their child’s conversion. No one should be more eager for a husband’s restoration than his wife, and the same rule applies to a wife. That is true in friendship, too; when you notice he has gone astray, you should act as a kind shepherd towards him. You must do this to all Christians, but especially to those over whom you have influenced by prior intimacy, friendship, or other methods. As a result, I implore you to keep an eye out for one another in the Lord and to repair one another in a spirit of gentleness when you perceive a brother in need. You are aware of your responsibilities; do not overlook them.
Joyous Endeavor Turning Backsliders Around
Trying to convert a man who has strayed from the truth is a hopeful endeavor, and when it succeeds, it will be a joyous occasion. While capturing the wild, wandering sinner is satisfying, the pleasure of joys is finding the lost sheep that was once in the fold but has strayed. It’s amazing to turn brass into silver, but for the poor woman, finding the silver coin with the king’s stamp on it was enough. The most jubilant feasts and loudest singing are for the son who was always a son but had played the prodigal, and yet after being lost was found, and after being dead was made alive again. Ring the bells twice for the reclaimed backslider. Be glad that what was lost and about to perish has been found. John was happy to find Peter, who had denied his Master, and cheered and consoled him until the Lord Himself exclaimed, “Simon, son of Jonas, loves thou Me?” In the eyes of God, reclaiming a prostitute or a drunkard is no minor miracle of grace, and it will offer great comfort to the instrument that performed it. Seek then, my brethren, those who were once among us but have fallen away; seek those who remain but have disgraced the church and are excommunicated from us, and rightly so, because we cannot bear their filth; seek them with prayers, tears, and entreaties, that God may grant them repentance and salvation.
Return Ye Backsliding Children
Return ye backsliding children, because the Lord has commanded His servants to seek you. You have an open door before you, with hundreds of people waiting like porters at the entrance to greet you. Come back to the God you’ve abandoned, or if you’ve never known Him, may His Spirit shatter your hearts and lead you to true repentance and salvation! God bless you, sinners! If He does not redeem you, you will die eternally for a multitude of sins. God be merciful. For the sake of Christ’s sake, you.
This article is an edited version of the article “Encouragement to Soul-Winners” from Charles Spurgeon’s book “The Soul Winner”. Check out our related posts for more information on this topic, or get a copy of the book from Amazon.
