by: Cameron Giovanelli
One of the saddest things that I have watched people do these last nine years is this, they return to the past that God rescued them from. They make this decision thinking that things can be exactly as they used to be. Such is not the case.
I have seen many people get victory. Whether they were in a youth group twelve years ago or whether they were adults in church ten years ago, I have seen the whole process. I have observed folks do great for about six or seven years. Then all of a sudden, something overwhelms them. Before you know it, they are back to what they were doing before they got saved – thinking life can revert back with no problem.
I have counseled people who have told me a bit about their past, “Be careful, because the Devil does not like how far you have come, and he will do everything he can to get you back to where you used to be. The Devil wants to hurt the heart of God more than anything. He knows that the best way to hurt God is to hurt His children.”
John chapter five deals with this idea of what happens when one attempts to go back to his past. Jesus had just healed a man by saying, “Take up thy bed and walk.” Remember the story? The following verses tell us what happened right after that:
[10] The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
[11] He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
[12] Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
[13] And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
[14] Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (Emphasis added)
You know what I have observed? It is never the same when a saved person goes back to the life that God saved him out of. Nothing is the same.
The booze does not hold the same appeal. Drugs and alcohol are not the same as they used to be before God saved them. It is worse. It is worse going back because the child of God knows better. James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” The backslider finds himself as a saved individual trying to live a sinner’s life. He is not going to be able to live it. He is going to be constantly convicted of sin.
As a matter of fact, that is why a lot of Christian men and women who have gone back and thrown their lives away have a lot of anger issues today. Many are depressed. Some are suicidal. That which God saved them from has now become worse than it used to be. The joy that they thought they could get a hold of from the bottle cannot be found. They are unable to drown all their sorrows away. The Holy Spirit can even be heard through a drunken state. The saved individual has a hard time quenching that Spirit entirely, even when he is backslidden.
This backsliding action on the believer’s part shows that they did not sever all ties that bound them from the past from which they came. One does not return to the world unless he has been thinking about doing so for some time. No Christian suddenly decides to walk back into sin. Sin starts as a small seed thought in the mind before it ever settles in the heart.
Let me ask you, “How is your mind right now?” Maybe you are running back to your old ways and the Devil has control of your thoughts. It could be that you have not severed all the ties of the past, even though you have convinced everyone that you have.
My wife and I do not run with people outside of our church. There is a reason for that. We have neighbors who will often invite us over for barbecues during the summer. I will say something like, “Oh sorry, I don’t think that will work.” Slowly, but surely, after asking us several times, they start to get the point. We will still be very friendly, but they will stop inviting us over.
A little boy in the neighborhood came running up to me and said, “It would be great if your son could come over and play with me.” Well, I did not feel like bursting his bubble right then. It was not the time or the place. I simply said, “You know, you give me time to think on that and we will talk later.” Why would I do something like that? I knew what the home was like over there, and I knew it would not be good for my son to be exposed to it.
We are still on extremely good terms with our neighbors. We came home from church this past Sunday and our trash was already taken out. I asked my wife, “Honey, did you take out our trash?” It turns out that our neighbor has been trying to help us for weeks during my health difficulties, and he decided to take our trash out for us. He is one of the kindest men I know. I have witnessed to him on several occasions. Unfortunately, he always has a nice excuse for me not to go further into the Gospel with him. I am confident he is going to let me take him there eventually. We invite him to church all the time. I cannot wait for the day when he comes to visit.
Though Christians should sever the ties of the past (and to things that remind us of the past), it does not mean that I cannot reach the world like God commanded me too. I am stronger in reaching the world when I have severed all the ties of the past that bind me to the things of Satan.
Trying to move forward for God while tied to the past is like trying to drive a boat that is tied to the pier.
(This article is adapted from the book, Quitting Places, by Pastor Cameron Giovanelli. To order a copy of this book click here.)
Cameron Giovanelli
Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church
Dundalk, MD