Just A Question (Backsliding?)

[waterise]

Hello.

My question is:
How can I prevent myself from backsliding?

Like...I go through this 2-3 times a year and I just cannot fully commit for the life of me.
My church (which I haven't gone to for months) does cell groups (you can read about them here: https://www.gci.org/church/group/cell2) and the church is growing all the time and the faith is on FIRE there and everything....

My problem is that I feel like I have this thing of what I like to call an EBAH (evil brain, angel heart). Like...I'll make all the music on my phone Christian-only, read my Bible everyday, go to cell once a week, go to 8AM church service, and everything...just basically make my life fully pure....and that's the "angel heart" part of me....but then a few months go by and I slowly put some secular music back on my phone, start cussing more frequently, until before you know it, I'm back in this spot.

Of course I know secular music & not reading your Bible doesn't make you a Christian, but I just try to make my life pure as possible and surround myself with purity....except when I go out and do outreaches to people who need Christ and whatnot. 'Cause that's the goal: to win souls & make disciples.

It's definitely a heart issue. I've tried accountability partners and everything....it's just like...hard. I just love living in the world I guess, I don't know.....I also have a very hard time forcing myself to stay clean (sexually, mentally, etc) 'cause I'm SO used to it in my life. I don't know, I guess my mind just misses all the secular-ness (the "evil brain" part of me).

It's an on-going battle constantly....but then after months of church, cell, and living pure and months of going back to my old ways, I start missing the purity again, and the cycle just repeats over and over....Anyone have tips? Anything at all?
I'm 21 so you have an idea of my age or whatever.
Thanks!

 

[blackribbon]

There is no way to protect yourself from the real world now that you are a grown adult. You obviously haven't commited yet or else the back and forth wouldn't be such an ongoing struggle. I suspect that you don't waver on your acceptance of a solid belief in things like gravity...I mean you don't doubt that your feet will go down and you won't float off the ground every morning. Well, true belief in God is like this too. When you believe that God is really GOD...and all knowing and all powerful...then it won't be easy to walk away. Right now, I suspect that you have head knowledge but not really heart knowledge of God. Time to turn these questions to God and ask Him to make Himself so real to you that you don't have the desire to stray so frequently. I don't mean that you will never have any doubts but your cycle of on-again off-again sounds a bit extreme. Time to search out God in a way that is deeper than just a superficial environment of Christian music and cell groups...one that won't leave you when your environment and situations change.

 

[Jonah L]

Please listen to these, they will help you:

http://www.1517legacy.com/rodrosenbladt/2014/02/the-gospel-for-those-broken-by-the-church/
http://www.1517legacy.com/rodrosenbladt/2014/02/dark-night-of-the-soul/
http://www.1517legacy.com/rodrosenbladt/2014/02/dark-night-of-the-soul/

I'm 17 and have been going through the same thing. The Gospel is your solution. Not more do-better-try-harder theology. Please listen to these in their entirety. Also-the problem is your heart. Just FYI. Message me if you want to talk

- Jonah

 

[Shadraq]

There's nothing you can do to prevent you from backslidding, the only thing you can do is trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. Like the person above me said, it's not something you yourself can prevent.
It is totally normal that our sinful human nature is to want what the world wants, the road to sanctification is a hard road, read Matthew 7. Jesus talks about taking up our cross daily, it is all God's power that enables us to go through life. It's not going to be perfect, but the main idea is that we cling on the finished work of the cross that nothing we can do, will ever earn us salvation. Once one is saved, it is not that one will not sin eve again, it is how the person deals with sin, as new creatures in Christ, we must have the mindset of hating sin, in greek metanoia means a change of mind.
Look at peter he said Lord I will never deny you, and he denied Jesus 3 times, we shouldn't boast on what we can do for Christ, but trust in Him alone who started a good work in us will finish the good work in us read Philippians 1:6.
A practical thing is seek Him through reading the Word everyday and not just simple reading, but truly study it and dive into it. Try to limit your social media usage/gaming/tv, I'm so guilty of waking up in the morning and looking at my phone instead of going straight to the Word.
Challenge your self to grow, know that everything you do is accountable to God. Read the Bible cover to cover in a time span, study biblical doctrines ex. biblical manhood&womanhood, listen to to sermons while running or travelling to work or school.
ps. dude I listen to secular music does that make me less pure? I love funk, classical, jazz, and rap, I don't listen to them all the time, specially if their message is not good.

 

[ChristianGirlChristian]

I struggle with this sometimes too! I'm 15, but this may be just what i need!

 

[Messy]

Hello.

My question is:
How can I prevent myself from backsliding?

Like...I go through this 2-3 times a year and I just cannot fully commit for the life of me.
My church (which I haven't gone to for months) does cell groups (you can read about them here: https://www.gci.org/church/group/cell2) and the church is growing all the time and the faith is on FIRE there and everything....

My problem is that I feel like I have this thing of what I like to call an EBAH (evil brain, angel heart). Like...I'll make all the music on my phone Christian-only, read my Bible everyday, go to cell once a week, go to 8AM church service, and everything...just basically make my life fully pure....and that's the "angel heart" part of me....but then a few months go by and I slowly put some secular music back on my phone, start cussing more frequently, until before you know it, I'm back in this spot.

Of course I know secular music & not reading your Bible doesn't make you a Christian, but I just try to make my life pure as possible and surround myself with purity....except when I go out and do outreaches to people who need Christ and whatnot. 'Cause that's the goal: to win souls & make disciples.

It's definitely a heart issue. I've tried accountability partners and everything....it's just like...hard. I just love living in the world I guess, I don't know.....I also have a very hard time forcing myself to stay clean (sexually, mentally, etc) 'cause I'm SO used to it in my life. I don't know, I guess my mind just misses all the secular-ness (the "evil brain" part of me).

It's an on-going battle constantly....but then after months of church, cell, and living pure and months of going back to my old ways, I start missing the purity again, and the cycle just repeats over and over....Anyone have tips? Anything at all?
I'm 21 so you have an idea of my age or whatever.
Thanks!

I've backslidden once. I was a pastor's wife and got dumped and dated an unbeliever, shacked up, used pot and drank and watched bad television and listened to crap. Repented, then met someone else, almost fell for the same thing and God warned me with hell and now I'm healed from backsliding.

 

[alcnossen]

Hi waterise,

This is coming quite a bit later than the date of your original post, so I apologize if my reply is no longer relevant. I didn't grow up in a Christian home per se, but since my grandparents and aunt and uncle were believers, I was exposed to Christianity as a kid. Because of their faith, I called myself a Christian my whole life. My life looked similar to the way you described yours. But the truth is, I didn't get saved until I was 20. It took the Holy Spirit working through some pretty serious issues in my life to make me realize that I was a sinner who hadn't reconciled to God. There comes a point when one has to realize that their parents' faith is not enough for their personal salvation - they must have their own faith. Every believer's child will have to come to Jesus on their own, admitting their own sin and their need for Him, receiving their own reconciliation to Him, forging their own relationship with Him...and the painful truth is, many believers' children NEVER take that step of faith and never surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus.

Here's the thing that clues me in. You said:

I also have a very hard time forcing myself to stay clean

A disciple of Christ does not force themselves to do anything, but obeys His commands because they LOVE Him. That's what makes the difference between following Christ and merely practicing a religion. He is a person. An eternally living, loving, holy, pure, just and righteous person who wants you to be just like Him. And if your heart belongs to Him, He WILL transform it. I don't say this to make you feel bad. I say this because I really, really, really want you to know Him better than you do now, or perhaps even know Him for the first time, because He is amazing and there is none like Him.

I hope this helps.

 

[Jordan Kurecki]

http://jordankurecki.sermon.net/main/main/20498182

Here is a sermon I preached that may be of help to you.