KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 26:58 KJV” But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end”.

Apostle Peter had vowed never to forsake the Lord Jesus. He was honouring his promise, yet He did it from a distance. He was virtually acting out of fear. He was trying to justify his conscience. Many times, people do things to satisfy their conscience yet they may not be very sincere. Time and circumstances would tell if Peter was really following in sincerity or not? This was proven not to be true when a young girl tried to expose his identity.

In practice, Peter was portraying the attributes of a backslider. The following are some of the traits of a backslider.

1.He may come to church yet his heart is far away.

2.A backslider is far from the word and prayer.

3.When the young girl came to him and said you are one of His disciples, He denied vehemently, and said he does not know him. A backslider under pressure will easily deny his relationship with the Lord. If you easily give in to sin, then you may be a backslider. (Matt 26:70)

4.Peter had to deny the Lord for two other times. The peak of any fall is an outright denial. The heart of a backslider is so filled with other things such that, he or she keeps acting like one, who does not know the Lord.

5.Every backslider does not trust the grace of God to help him. He does all things by his own efforts.

6. A backslider does not have the joy and peace of God.

How does one come out of a backslidden life?

1. Be sincere with yourself and accept, you have backslidden.

2. Confess your sins to the Lord and accept His forgiveness.

3.Have s sincere love for the master

4.Be regular at church and be ready always to learn all that you are taught.

5.One sign of a come back is to joyfully worship the Lord. Worship him in sincerity.

THOUGHT; A BACKSLIDER IS DECEIVED ABOUT HIS STATE, UNTILL HE FINDS HIMSELF TOTALLY DENYING THE MASTER.