Have you ever wondered whether you are a backsliding Christian? As fallible human beings, we go through different seasons. Perhaps you look back to a time when you were ‘on fire’ for Jesus, had a zeal to share the gospel, and absolutely loved to worship. Are you in a different season now? Maybe daily life has become a bit monotonous and you just aren’t as committed to living for God as you were. But how do we get out of this rut, and how do we know if we have truly backslidden? Dr. Jeremy Pierre answers at SBTS.
“Repentance over time,” says Pierre. This is a clear sign that one is committed to Jesus. “It’s a return to God that’s displayed in a pattern of seeking. Notice I’m attaching this concept of time as a necessary aspect of growing confidence and awareness of my status.”
We all experience “worldly sorrow” and “godly sorrow,” explains Pierre.
Godly sorrow should be a vengeful turning against our sin. That is a Jesus-exalting way to respond to our sin.
“That godly sorrow can only be displayed over time. I have counseled many men in the midst of a deep and profound season of conviction. Some of them caught in really profound sin. The type of sin where you’re like ‘how can they be a Christian.'” 
“They rightly ask the question ‘who am I? do I belong to God?'” explains Pierre.
“The way the Bible describes godly sorrow is that it requires ongoing activities of consistent repentance.”
“Let’s spend our efforts seeking the gospel of Jesus Christ and His understanding of what your sin is, and His solution to you coming out of that sin. Let’s spend our efforts pursuing Him and that will show itself in a pattern over time that will then result in an increasing assurance or awareness of whether I’m saved or not.”
Watch Pierre talk more about this below.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings