SHEPHERD TO SHEEP
WHEN A
CHRISTIAN REJECTS THE FAITH
(Mark 16:14) Later He appeared to the eleven
as they sat at the table…
This is one of the saddest verses
in the Bible. It says Jesus appeared to
the eleven. That means one was missing. And we know who that was…Judas. In our churches we have empty seats that used
to hold people of faith who no longer walk with the Lord. They have rejected the Christian faith and
have walked out into the night from the light they once knew. So how does it all begin and what should we
do when someone turns away from the Lord?
The first thing we notice is a
progression. Demas in the Bible is a
good example. He is only mentioned three
times in the New Testament but notice how he advances in the wrong
direction: (Phile 1:24) as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers…(Col
4:14) Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you…(2 Tim 4:10) for Demas has
forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed… First Demas is a fellow laborer. Then he only sends greetings. Finally he has forsaken Paul and has gone
back into the world and has departed. Does
this describe someone in your life?
My best friend and best man in my
wedding did the same thing. He taught a
home Bible I attended when I was in college.
He then graduated from Bible college and seminary and had a wonderful
calling to the ministry. But soon he had
an affair and left his wife and I then lost all contact with him and for many
years now he has never surfaced to reclaim his faith.
The big question is did these know
Christ and then reject the faith? Or did
they never know the Lord to begin with? Well,
only God knows! (2 Tim 2:19)…The Lord knows those who are His… So since we don’t know what should we do?
-PRAY: The best thing we can do is keep praying for
them. If they are truly the Lord’s they
will come back. (Luke 15:20) “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was
still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell
on his neck and kissed him.
-BELIEVE: Since they don’t have faith anymore then we
must have faith for them. God can change
the hardest of hearts! (Eze 36:26) I will give you a new heart and
put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh.
-AVOID GUILT: Many of us feel guilt because we think we
could of done something to prevent them from slipping away from the Lord. Christian parents are especially susceptible to
this. But remember they made a choice out
of their own free will. (Rom 8:1) There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…
Louie
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