Bringing Back Backsliders

The New International Version of the Holy Bible records Christ’s words in Matthew 28:18-20 as follows: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Recently, I have wondered why my children, who are foremost the children of God, are able to sin and yet not confess that sin without some prompting from us, their parents. If they are truly Christians, young enough for their consciences to not have yet been totally seered and hardened against sensing the Holy Spirit’s grief, then shouldn’t they come running, crying, and confessing their sin? Is not the Holy Spirit powerful enough to convince and convict them of their sin and make them penitent? But then, why not leave Him with the entire task of also chastising and correcting our children? With the great responsibility of rearing children, why should it be left to those us who are yet imperfect and whose entire sanctification has not yet been realized?

For that matter, why not leave it to Christ to appear in the flesh and personally evangelize every individual sinner in the world? Is not the Holy Spirit capable of showing truth to our hearts and minds without us needing to look at His Scriptures? And why should we listen to a human preacher on Sunday morning? Besides, the Holy Spirit could likely present us a powerful sermon in a lot less time, and we wouldn’t have to miss so much of our Sunday afternoon TV shows. Yeah, that’s a great idea!

Yet is this not what many pastors preach and practice? “I just scatter the Seed and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.” Okay, so maybe we cannot make it rain, nor can we reach into the acorn and pull out the tree. But we can work the ground, plant the seed, and even water it to some extent; we can fertilize the ground, pull weeds, and even remove dead leaves. In other words, after Christ stated that all authority had been given to Him, He then gave His Bride responsibilities.

When Nikki comes into the worship service and sits down with her live-in boyfriend, when Mom and children show up without Dad because that second job requires him to work weekends, when Martha is going through her third divorce, when James cuts out of the service early because he wants to catch the last part of his son’s little league game, it is not enough to preach the principles and leave the application to God and conscience. When Christ left the surface of the earth, He did not leave us comfortless (John 14:18); nor did He leave us without authority to remit or retain sins (John 20:23). He did not leave us without a structure for confronting and disciplining backsliders; nor did He leave us without support. It’s not all up to Him, nor is it all up to us; because after declaring His authority, then delegating authority, He promised to be “with [us] always, to the very end of the age.”

“These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judging is not good: Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent” – peoples will curse him and nations denounce him. But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
“An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” (Proverbs 24:23-26)