067 Fear and Backsliding

The people around you can't quite put their finger on it, but there seems to be something wrong. Your speech betrays the fact that you don't seem to thinking much about spiritual things anymore. You seem to be lacking in Christian joy. Those who know you in a more private capacity don't see you praying very much anymore. Also, they have noticed that you don't seem as guarded against lusts and sinful attractions. You don't seem to grieve over personal sin as much as you used to. You have even begun to stray from fellowship you used to have with enthusiastic Christians, and have avoided spiritual conversations where you may be exposed. You have become disinterested in church activities and your singing has become less convincing. You have begun to find fault with other Christians, and have even used those perceived faults as excuses to withdraw from fellowship. You have found other friends with whom you seem to have more in common and you spend more time with them. You have begun to indulge in secret sins and may even have begun to play with some "little" sin openly. You have begun to see the old Christian society in which you used to move as "legalistic" compared to your new appreciation of "grace". You are becoming hardende and are becoming worse off than when you started.