356. Heal Backsliding
Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
This promise can be dangerous, for sinners can presume upon the mercy of God, take it for granted, and just go ahead and sin with planned penitence hoping that God will forgive. God is merciful, He does love us freely, and his anger is turned away from us. But that does not give us license to do what we want and then ask for forgiveness later.
Instead, the promise of grace and healing of backsliding is a motivation to be good and do acts of service and kindness. It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance and the inner desire to do better. We do not look to get away with sin, but rather to avoid it ahead of time. The anger of God is turned away from us because God’s wrath has been placed upon the Son of God on the cross. The grace, mercy and love of God is the only power that can change the human heart, its desires and the subsequent behaviors. The Law does not have that power; it only has the power to convict, accuse and condemn. Therefore, the Gospel of grace and the promise of mercy give us the motivation and ability to turn from serving self to serving others.
Nevertheless, this promise is encouraging for us because we are still sinners, tempted by sin, and living in a sinful world. All Christians backslide every day since we can’t get rid of the sinful, selfish flesh. We may struggle hard, but we still lose. But Jesus wins. Therefore, we need the encouragement of the promise that God will heal our backsliding. Every little sin is a sliding backward. We need the promise of healing daily, for we cannot go very long without exerting our selfish and willful nature. We backslide; we repent and believe; we are forgiven and healed; we have a changed motivation to live better. Then we pray the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer, which is simply a glorified way asking the Father to make me a better person.
Backsliding hurts us and damages our lives. We need healing and straightening. We take hold of this promise and apply it personally through faith in the Gospel of a God who says, “I will love them freely.” If we are not constantly turning, if we absent ourselves from the church that preaches the gospel for too long, and if we blithely go our “merry” way oblivious to the grace of God we may keep on sliding back into the pit of hell and the slough of despond. But like the Prodigal, we return home where we belong, to the loving arms of a gracious Father. Then we stop sliding, and we go forth.