Saving Someone from Spiritual Suicide

Even Heaven cried with us… Today, as the sky kept the usual March sunlight and sent fort some whimpering rain, my friends and I at church are grieving. We just lost a sister. The sadder thing even, we didn’t lose her to physical death… we lost her spiritually.

But I know our sadness doesn’t even compare to God’s grief right now. Fortunately our God is the God of all and his mercy endures forever; his power is supreme. In overwhelming times like these, there’s nothing else we can hang onto but His comforting Word. This morning, as I looked at the clock as if an impending doom was besetting upon us, God brought me to read the Book of Hosea. And there was Ephraim, an unrepentant backslider who just like our dear friend chose to follow her way instead of God’s Way.

Ephraim was a child of God – Ephraim and Manaseh were sons of Joseph. Ephraim was the younger son. When Joseph brought the two of them to his father Jacob Ephraim was selected for the double portion blessing meant for firstborns. As a result of this blessing, he prospered at least 10 times more than his elder brother. Unfortunately, his prosperity made him to forget God. After series of warnings, God left him alone. Just like Ephraim, my friend was leading a very flourishing ministry when her own strife took the better off her.

I followed Prophet Hosea’s account of Ephraim’ story and through A.C. Nixon’s “Through Night to Morning” Sermons, this is what God revealed to me... When a Christian backslides, he becomes like Ephraim who is:

• GOD-FORSAKEN. "Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone" (Hosea 4:17)
• DESOLATE. "Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke" (5:9)
• OPPRESSED. "Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment" (5:11)
• LIVING A LIE. "They commit falsehood" (7:1) "Ephraim compasseth me about with lies" (11:12)
• INCONSISTENT. "Ephraim is a cake not turned" (7:8)
• FOOLISH AND COWARDLY. "Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart" (7:11)
• SELFISH. "[Ephraim] is an empty vine; he bringeth forth fruit unto himself" (10:1)
• UNSATISFIED. "Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind" (12:1)
• VAINGLORIOUS. "When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself" (13:1)

For such a backslider there is no hope, so long as he is impenitent, but hope dawns the moment he returns to GOD, and confesses his sin. "O, Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously" (14:1-2). After such a full confession, GOD begins to deal with His penitent child in the most gracious and tender manner:

• HE HEALS. "I will heal their backsliding" (14:4)
• HE LOVES. "I will love them freely."
• HE DRAWS NEAR. "I will be as the dew unto Israel" (14:5)
• HE GIVES GROWTH. "He shall grow as the lily."
• HE GIVES STABILITY. "He shall... cast forth his roots like Lebanon."
• HE MAKES HIM BEAUTIFUL. "His beauty shall be as the olive tree" (14:6)

Any time within today, someone we dearly love has chosen to commit spiritual suicide, and the grief cuts deeply into our souls because at this point there’s really nothing we can do but to pray for her – that one day in the soonest time possible, she will return to her FATHER and ask Him humbly to take out the knife of deception that she has stabbed herself with. Blood will be drawn. She will feel pain. But with God’s love and mercy… she will be alive and bear fruits of eternal life.