To backslide in faith is a great loss, but God would never abandon His beloved people. In the Pilgrim's Progress, written by John Bunyan, a character called Hopeful explains his reasons for backsliding in believers. He states that shame, unchanged minds, slavish fears and guilt turn one's devoted life away from their salvation otherwise known as a backslide1. Firstly, what is a backslide? In the Bible's Old Testament, a backslide is defined as a spiritual action referring to one who has known and loved God but doubted his faith and allowed sin and Satan to turn them away from Him2. Now, Hopeful was correct in that believers backslide from their faith in general doubt but this does not mean that these once believers have lost their salvation. You see, God gave us free will so that we could…show more content… Yes, according to the Westminster Confession of Faith, "Although repentance is not to be rested in, as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof, which is the act of God's free grace in Christ, yet it is of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it."4 Of course believers must always fight against backsliding but on the off chance they are having doubts, know that it is possible to renounce your sins and return to God where there is mercy and reconciliation. When a believer has fully turned away from God and has again come to his senses, often he must go to extreme lengths to get right back on the path towards God. For as The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms says, “They may, by their sins, fall under God’s fatherly displeasure, and not have the light of his countenance restored unto them, until they humble themselves, confess their sins, beg pardon, and renew their faith and repentance.”
