Matthew 10:13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

Witnessing Christ is a social event. We are asked to salt and light. We are asked to spread the gospel. This is done in a social setting. The difficulties we often have in witnessing is in our view of worthiness. If we are not well received we deem those people as unworthy.

It is a common problem in witnessing Christ. We see really bad examples of it and tend to shy away from those approaches because we did not respond to sandwich signs that “Repent Sinner” on one side and “The End is Near” on the reverse. We hate to hear people preach love in angry voices. We know what doesn’t work. But what does work?

Are we so far removed from that initial contact to remember what happened? Do we really understand what happened during the initial contact? At the time of initial contact we were sinners, void of any spiritual insight, void of salt and light. If I could explain what happened then words would fail me because it wasn’t part of the social agenda.

“Let peace come upon it.” Peace is a fruit of the spirit. It will not and does not act upon social agendas. The Holy Spirit falls upon those present at the social event and abides upon those whom God has chosen to move, deemed worthy which is another way of saying ready to receive. We are not responsible for spreading that peace any more than a person who has the flu is responsible of infecting others. We are merely carriers.

Colossians 3:15a let the peace of God rule in your hearts

Let that rule guide you and leave the rest up to God.

Hosea 4:16a For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer:

In the military a fallback position is determined in case the attack goes bad. The fallback position is one that means security, defensible, supported.

Backslider is one of those negative terms used in Christianity to identify a person who has returned to sin. We do not want to be a backslider, we definitely don’t want to be called a backslider. The treatment of backsliders in the Old Testament is harsh. All you have to do is read Hosea 4:17 to feel a real sense of insecurity, vulnerability, aloneness.

How are we to avoid backsliding? Emotionally I can only see the need for establishing new safe ground, a fallback position of security which doesn’t involve sin. Trust in the Lord. Sounds good, sounds right, but emotionally like all things human, trust is built over time. Not because God has changed, but because we have changed. Being this new creation in Christ is exactly that, new. With all things new they need to be explored to see them for what they are and how they work. That takes time and effort on our part. We cannot blindly say “I have faith.”

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Substance and evidence need to be examined and understood in order for faith to be trusted. That takes time and effort on our part. It establishes newer and better safe ground, a new fallback position that doesn’t involve sin. Hidden in Christ.

Blind Faith was a band in the 70’s and has nothing to do with faith.