Nine Steps To Backsliding
Allen Domelle
Smashwords Edition
©Copyright 2009 Allen Domelle Ministries
All scripture quotations are from the Authorized King James Bible 1611
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Nine Steps to Backsliding
I have always noticed that the steps to success and the steps to failure are the same. What I mean by this is that those who succeed tend to go down the same steps towards success and those who fail tend to take the same steps towards failure.
If you want to be a success in life, then I would advise you to find someone who has been very successful in the area you want to pursue and copy everything they have done. The reason I say this is because whatever made them successful will make you successful. The reason being, success is not prejudice. The steps to success do not know your race, background, what kind of childhood you had, what side of the tracks you lived on, your financial background or your education level. The only thing that success knows is that if you will follow the steps to success you will be successful.
For instance, I am a McDonald’s nut. I love going to McDonald’s. A few years ago you may recall that McDonald’s and Burger King had a battle over who had the healthiest french fries. They both changed their formula for making french fries and both saw their sales go down. McDonald’s realized that people don’t go to their restaurant to get healthy food, they go there because they like the way they cook their food. So because of this, they went back to the old recipe and way of cooking their french fries and saw their sales go back up. In fact, one of the most profitable corporations in America at the writing of this booklet is the McDonald’s franchise. Why is this? Because they found the formula that made them successful and just keep doing it over and over again. If you have been to one McDonald’s you have been to all of them.
A few years ago a good friend of mine was telling me how he wanted to start a Starbucks franchise. He told me that he called up the Starbucks headquarters to ask them for their requirements to start a franchise. They told him they would fax him the requirement sheet, but that he needed to understand that every requirement they had on that sheet was not an option, but a requirement. They told him if he couldn’t do one of the requirements on that sheet then don’t bother calling them back. The reason why they do this is because they found what made them successful and they keep doing it over and over again. If you just follow what success tells you to do, success will breed success.
Likewise the steps to failure are always the same. I have learned that those who fail in life fail because they tend to go down the same pathway which leads to failure. If you were to study those who fail in a certain area of life, I believe you would find that they all took the same steps that led to their failure. The reason being is the steps to failure never change; they are always the same.
Just like the steps to success and failure never change, the steps to backsliding don’t change either. I have watched over the years people who backslide, and what amazes me is they all tend to go down the same pathway that leads to backsliding. You would think that people would see what causes backsliding and would avoid that which leads to it.
In Luke 22:31-62, we have the story of the Apostle Peter backsliding to the point where he denied God. The Last Supper was just about over when Jesus said to Peter in Luke 22:31, “…Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:” Jesus tried to warn Peter that Satan was after him to destroy him. Not to just destroy him, but to literally grind him to powder. You will notice in this verse Jesus said that Satan wanted to sift Peter as wheat. Ladies tend to understand what sifting does a little better than men because they have to sift flour many times when they are baking. Jesus told Peter that Satan literally wanted his Christian faith to be sifted like wheat.
Let me remind you that this is exactly what Satan wants to do to you as well. He doesn’t just want you to fall and skin your knee up a bit. Satan wants to grind you to powder so that you have no confidence left that God could ever use you. Christian, you must realize that Satan hates you. There is no negotiating or dealing with Satan, for his whole desire is to destroy you.
Then Jesus continued on in verse 32 by saying, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Notice Jesus said that He prayed for Peter’s faith not to fail. The reason He said this is because Satan was after the strength of Peter. Peter’s strength was his faith. It was only Peter who had the faith to step out of the boat and walk on water to go to Jesus. So because Satan knew this was his strength, he went directly after his strength knowing that if he could destroy Peter’s strength, then his weakness could not help him.
Likewise, Satan attacks the area of our Christian life in which we are the strongest. His reason for doing this is because he knows if the pillar of our strength is destroyed, then we will have no confidence to continue serving God.
We then see Peter’s response in verse 33 when he said, “…Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” Peter was trying to tell Jesus that He didn’t need to worry about him for Peter thought he was ready to do whatever it would take to stand for Jesus. Peter said that if he had to go to prison for his stand for Jesus, he would do so. He even went further and told Jesus that if he had to die for his stand, then he was willing to die for Jesus’ sake. Peter was very confident in his ability to serve God which in all reality was the downfall of his life at that time.
Jesus’ final response to Peter in this conversation is found in verse 34 when Jesus warned Peter that “…the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.” Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed, Peter would deny Him three times. The sad part about this prophecy is that it did come to pass as Jesus’ prophecies always do.
Now if the great Apostle Peter can go from saying he was willing to die for Christ to denying that he even knew Him in just a few moments, then I would think we all had better be careful that we don’t take the same steps he took that led him down this path. If Peter is capable of backsliding to the point that he went back to his old lifestyle of fishing, cursing and nudity, then I would think we had better be very careful in our Christian life that we don’t end up in the same condition as the Apostle Peter.
So what are these steps that Peter took which led to his backsliding? We need to learn what these steps are so we can avoid taking these steps. If you don’t want to backslide, then you would be very wise to avoid taking the same path that Peter took. Let me show you in the next few pages of this booklet nine steps Peter took that led him to backslide. My reason for showing you these steps is so that you can avoid taking those same steps. If you don’t want to end up on the last step, then I would advise avoiding the first step. If you never place your foot on the first step, you will never find yourself on the last step. So what are these steps?