Is Backsliding the Same as Falling Away in the Bible

[box]RVWD is my abbreviation for Religious Vocabulary Word of the Day. (You can read my introduction to the RVWD series here.) I do not intend for these word investigations to be exhaustive, but I hope they stimulate some thinking about assumptions. Possibly they will help with honest evaluations about what is truth and what is unnecessary baggage in life. [/box]
Backsliding is not as personal as you might think. That is, it is not a word used to describe any individuals who once knew God and have turned away from Him. It is used to indicate that a certain generation in the nation of Israel was not following God’s laws like (a couple of) previous generations were. It is a term used by Jeremiah, Hosea, and Ezekiel, depending on the translation of the Bible, being most often found in the King James version. The fact that a particular generation turned their backs on God does not imply that any of them were ever following Him. It only means they saw the options and didn’t choose Him. The word rebellion is another possible translation, which, again, does not mean they ever accepted God’s ways of doing things. To rebel pretty much means the heart was never committed.
Falling away is the phrase in the New Testament that is sometimes defined as backsliding for and by individuals, claiming they stopped following God for a while and are now following Him again. However, the original Greek (according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary) does not mean a belief was lost. It means it was “tasted” and rejected. The full enlightenment and benefits were clear to them, but they did not want to adhere to them. They stood apart from the offered faith. Being that the original use of the word that is translated as ‘backsliding’ does not mean the individuals involved were ever following God, and the phrase translated ‘falling away’ does not mean a person was ever following God, it must follow that the way the word backsliding is used in our culture cannot be supported by those words and phrases.
Only God can know for sure if a person has come to the point of ultimate decision. Unfortunately, oft times man-made religion and formulas for ‘getting people saved’ can mislead people to think they know what Jesus Christ is about when they don’t. Too many times they are trying to follow some supposed Christian code. Just like following the law of the Old Testament, this is doomed to fail if it isn’t being generated from a reborn heart, by the grace of God. A person cannot be constantly reborn spiritually any more than they can be reborn physically. That is the most consistent analogy in the Bible, begun by God Himself. It’s probably best to stick to His way of explaining it.
Some suggested Bible references:
Jeremiah 2:19, 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, and 22, 8:5, 31:22, 49:4
Hosea 4:16, 11:7, 14:4
Hebrews 6, 10:26-31
John 3:3 and 7, 10:25-30
2 Corinthians 5:17
1 Peter 1:23
1 John 2:18-24