Shall I Backslide? by Dudley Marvin Canright

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jun 28, 1877

Shall I Backslide?

By Dudley Marvin Canright

In this land of Bibles and gospel privileges, a majority of those who come to years of maturity, sometime during their lives, make a profession of faith in Christ, and endeavor to serve God and gain immortality. But again, a large majority of these always backslide, give up their profession, and become wicked again. To prove this, we have only to think of the revivals which have occurred in our own neighborhoods, and what the results have been. Some continued in the faith only a few weeks, some months, and some even years, and then gave up. Doubtless many of them were once truly Christians, and earnestly desired to hold out to the end. But they have fallen.

Now, here is a young man or young woman, or even one of riper years, just starting to be a Christian. To such an one, it becomes an all-important inquiry, Shall I backslide? Will the day come when I shall again be a wicked person, without God and without hope in the world?

Thousands have also started with just as good a determination as you now have, and yet the most of them have backslidden. You do not wish nor intend to do so. Neither did they. Then, you see, this question, “Shall I backslide?” to you is an important one. Yes, you certainly will if you do as they did. There was a cause for their backsliding. What was it? Neglect of duty; small ones at first, then larger ones, till they fell entirely. Now, I will give you a few simple rules, which, if practiced, will help keep you from backsliding.

1. Establish, and never neglect, daily, secret prayer. Without this, you can never live a Christian. With it, you will never fail. It has a restraining influence which nothing else can have. If during the day we sin or yield to any temptation, we cannot go into the presence of God alone without confessing that sin to him, and resolving not to commit it again. If we are tempted to sin during the day, the thought that we are in a few hours to go alone before God in secret will restrain us. Secret prayer is the strong fortress of the Christian. If you neglect this one day, you have reason to fear that you are backsliding.

2. Always maintain family prayer. Neglect this, and you live in continual condemnation. When maintained, it restrains you from sin. You cannot pray before your family when they know that you are not right. Hence you will be careful before them in your walk. When you let the family altar go down, you have reason to be alarmed at yourself, for you are backsliding.

3. Do your duty in the prayer-meeting. Neglect this, and you are condemned. You neglect it once, then again, till before you will own it to yourself, you are backslidden. In neglecting these small duties, is the way persons backslide. How is it with you reader, in these things? Are you going to make sure work for Heaven? Well, you are not doing it if neglecting any one of these duties. You are in the way in which men backslide. Beware, before it is too late.

D. M. Canright.