I've been saved by the blood of Jesus. All my sins have been forgiven. But too often in my Christian life, I keep backsliding and committing the same sins over and over and over. Let's figure out how to handle it. Coming up right now on the Theory Today Show.
I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis, and welcome to the Clearview Today Show with Dr. Abadan Shah. We're so glad you're joining us right here in our studio. And we're here with our host, Dr.
Abadan Shah. And if today's your first time ever listening, we want to let you know exactly who's talking to you. Dr. Shah's a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show. Dr.
Shah, welcome. It's good to be here. Good to see you. Looking forward to talking to you guys. Absolutely.
It's going to be a great conversation today. One, I think, that a lot of people will benefit from because it's something that a lot of people struggle to comprehend. Yeah, we've been trucking through the book of James, and we're coming to this ending, right? This last chapter, this last little section in the book of James. And you're expecting James to go out on a bang, right?
Because you want to end, you got an epistle that's going to be in the Word of God, right? It's going to last for the rest of the time. Bases are loaded. This is it. I want to go out on the high note, the crescendo, but James ends on sort of a weird, kind of, kind of, not a downer, but.
Kind of like a downer, right? It's a weird ending. Yeah. You want to talk about it?
Well, I mean, if you go back to James chapter 1 and verse 1, it sort of is really a loop that he's making here.
So, James chapter 1, verse 1 is James a bondservant of God. And of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.
So If you think about that, scattered diaspora, which is dispersion, and then if you go to the last. part of this book, which is coming down to James chapter one uh chapter five, verse nineteen. It says right here, episthrepse, which means In a sense Turning back, scattering.
So even though it's different words, Diaspora and episthrepse, different words, but the idea behind them is wandering.
So keep in mind, James wrote that letter to the twelve scattered tribes of Israel. The dispersed tribes. First set were dispersed in the eighth century. the ten tribes to the north. Pretty much didn't come back.
Many of them lost their identity. But Some maintained it and came to Jerusalem for special feasts and things like that. And then in the fifth century the southern kingdom with the two tribes. Benjamin and Judah. Judah being the major tribe, we really just mentioned Judah because it was.
the more encompassing tribe. They were also scattered. But then they were allowed to come back. Put it on Cyrus's heart to release the people so they could come back to their promised land.
Some did.
Some didn't.
So, when we talk about the tribes of the dispersion, we're not just talking about Jewish people who were dispersed. We're talking about the twelve tribes who were dispersed. And The time of Jesus there was this hope. That these twelve tribes will come back. And it's still there.
In fact, when Jesus picked his disciples, the number of the disciples is twelve. He even talked about them them being dispersed and coming back and things like that. There are several times that is mentioned. And then in the book of Revelation, we know that those 12 tribes will come back.
Now, you say, well, how do we know?
Well, there will be some kind of a scientific Discovery. that would enable us to know who is who. And they will be able to come back at that point.
So they're not completely lost. They are probably scattered, like really to the point of not knowing. But there may be some discovery in the end of time that will enable people to know, hey, I'm from the time of Gad, I'm from the tribe of Issachar, I'm from the tribe of Reuben or Manasseh or whatever, and they will come back.
So James is writing this letter to these dispersed people, but not all dispersed people. He's writing it to the believers. from these twelve dispersed tribes. What is happening in their lives?
Well, because of The instability that comes with wandering or being scattered. That instability was being manifested in their spiritual lives, in their sin life. You know, when people are unstable, They make unstable decisions. Yeah, that's very true. There is no sense of accountability.
You know, when I left home. at seventeen years of age. Even though I was over five thousand miles away from my home, I was not an orphan. Right. I had people, I had family.
I've joked about this. People try to, like, you know, all kind of adopt me. And I was like, well, thank you, but really, I do have family.
Now, why is that important? Not because, like, I'm not an orphan. That's not the point. The point is. I had people who cared about me.
I had people Who would hold me accountable? When I was tempted to take the wrong turn, I could see my dad's face. 5,000 miles away. This is before Facebook and social media and FaceTime and every night. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
No video calling, none of that. But still, I knew that there were people there who. who loved me very much, and wanted the best for me and wanted me to live. A God-honoring Christ-filled life. Yeah.
When there is no such thing. You know, these are believers out of the twelve dispersed tribes.
So they have become outsiders of the outsiders. But the twelve tribes are already outsiders, right? They're no longer in the promised land. They are outsiders. But those who came to the Messiah.
Out of those 12 tribes are now outsiders of the outsiders. Imagine. I mean, think with me. How would you And how would I live if we feel like I can do whatever. Yeah.
There is no family name going to be tarnished. There's no one's reputation on the line. I am just me. Yeah. I do whatever I want to.
Because it's going to live and die with me. Right. Yeah. It's just all the consequences are basically relegated to me. Right.
There's a sense of being untethered. Right. Like you're not responsible to any particular people or people group. You just sort of existing, free-floating. You're doing your own thing.
You're a freelancer. You do whatever. Yeah. And it feels like a guy who's lost at sea, right? He just looks around at this never-ending ocean.
He's completely isolated because, man, I'm free. It's like, no, you're lost. That's right. Yeah. And so.
That's the people that James is writing to.
Now, keep in mind, he's also writing to all of us. Because in some ways we all are scattered. Maybe we have families, maybe we have, you know, some tall. Genealogical trees, but we still are scattered because of sin. We don't have foundations.
We don't have roots because of sin. James is not just writing to them, he's also writing to us. But the whole point is this. When people don't have foundations, that's when they begin to live foundationless lives. Even as Christians.
Even as Christians. That's what the whole book of James is about. The unstable people make unstable decisions. Yeah. You know, talking about this issue of Christians who backslide, we have this idea, I think, and I, or at least I did when I first got saved, where you get saved and now Jesus completely changes you, and that transformation is just instant.
Like, I don't want the things that I used to want. And I think a lot of Christians, especially new Christians, may get frustrated because it's like, oh, I still want to think about the opposite sex this way. I still want to cuss. I still want all of these sinful things. Yeah, I still have all these desires that I thought were just going to evaporate.
Yeah, the desires haven't gone away and now I'm struggling with it. And one year becomes two years, becomes five years, becomes 10 years, and I'm still struggling with the same things. And I think you've talked about that from the pulpit, Dr. Shahs. There may be sins that you struggle with for the rest of your life.
God's not just going to take them away. I think in our Roman series, we talked about that. Yeah, so there is a basic human personality. Of course, God has given us a new desire. He has made us a new creation in Christ.
Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
So there is a new. Us now. Under a new management, with a new power, with a new orientation, with a new direction. Everything is new. But as long as we walk through this life, The lure Of the old is still there.
We are born again, we are resurrected. With the life of Jesus, but we do have the temptation. to dig up the old Life, yeah. 'Cause we're living in a graveyard in a sense.
So even though we're resurrected, we're still in the graveyard of this world, and we are tempted to sort of dig that old cadaver back.
So once you keep that in mind, it makes all the sense in the world why James ends the book with James 5:19. Brethren, if any among you wanders from the truth, Okay, wanders from the truth. The word for wandering is planao, which means. You know, wandering, going astray. You see, dispersion.
Wandering, going astray, and and then epistrepse, which is turns them back, means they're they're they're going this way and you're turning them, you're bringing them back in. It makes all the sense in the world. Yeah. He's talking to people who this would resonate very deeply with, and I think even so with us. There's that sense of shame and that sense of want of like deniability of like, I'm a Christian now, but I am turning back.
I'm going back to my old ways. Even knowing that it's foolishness, even reading scriptures that say you're like a dog returning to its vomit, this is senseless, it makes no sense at all. And yet I'm doing it. Because who's gonna Who's expecting anything much from me? What's interesting to me that he's not writing to the person who has wandered.
He's writing to the person who, or he's writing about the person who turns them back. Right. So there's this sense of like, you know, it's not just about us, it's not just about our walk with God. We are responsible for our brothers and sisters who we might find wandering, and we then help them. Turn back.
That's right. Yeah. And I think you made a good point too there, Dr. Shah. I hadn't thought about that.
With the majority, like we, we're public, you know, you're a public figure. You know, you're, you're a pastor. You are a leader on pray.com. You're a leader on TBN.
So, I mean, you're a public figure where people are expecting a great deal from you. But the average Christian listening to this, May not be a pastor, may not be in ministry. They may work in a factory. They may work somewhere else and they're living their quiet, little isolated life. And they may think that.
Like, nobody's really expecting great things from me. I can probably do this and slide under the radar and coast. Yeah, or it's not going to affect. It it might affect my immediate surroundings, but it's not going to affect many people. I want to challenge people who are listening or watching today.
If you come from that background, this is not to malign you or make you feel bad or just make you feel like you're not good enough and will never be. This is just to wake you up. Because if you came from that kind of a background, because we're living in a culture now where people don't, you know, nine out of ten times, you'll see families that have experienced a breakdown, divorces, a breakup, and things like that. And so. If you come from that background, this lesson today.
It's not just to You know, gorge you or to harass you or to make you feel bad and pathetic. That's not the point. The point is to you to wake up because there is a potential in you. To go a wall because there there's no accountability there. He said, well, I have a Charge accountability.
Great. That's exactly what my next point is. Yeah. You should build some. Connections there where you say, you know, even though my family did not live up to what they should have.
Should have, I have another set of family here. Yeah, it's a church family, these are people that I'm going to do life with. And they're going to be that family for me.
Now maybe the commitment level may be different. They're not going to leave me their inheritance in a will. That's not what this is about. This is simply about spiritual accountability. This is about knowing that if I do something Off the grid to morrow.
This will impact them. And not be like, well, they're not my family. We're not blood.
So I can do whatever. I'll find more friends. I'll move to another church. I'll. I'll be alright.
That's what people do. Yeah. Talk a little bit more about that accountability and the power that it has in the life of the believer. I feel like a lot of times people hear the word accountability and it means a variety of different things, and most of them are not correct. Most people think accountability is like you sitting in the hot seat with people grilling you about how you spent your time this week.
Yeah, my dad never did that. My father never did that with me, like sat me in a hot seat and then grilled me, or my mom grilled me. None of that. It was accountability in the sense of these are people. Who have invested in my life?
These are people who love me and would do anything. If I were in a medical emergency, they will give me the very last breath so that I will live. These are people who want the very, very best that God has for me. For me to tomorrow do something that I can do because Yeah, I can do that. The that If they find out, it's going to really break their heart.
Yeah. If they find out, it's going to not just break their heart, like, oh, we're so sad, but break their heart as to it'll cause them to question everything about who they are. Yeah. And maybe there's someone out there listening who's been there and is like, Yeah, I have that same conviction, but. They're not going to find out.
I can get away with this. I've been getting away with this for years. You know, what do you say to that person? To the person, I guess, who has foundation? Yeah, yeah.
Oh, man, you should definitely rethink what you think about those people. Because those people stuck together so that they could give you a life, they could give you some stability.
So make sure you just don't go out there and do something because you may not realize it. Maybe your maturity level may be not as high. I'm just being honest. And so you're thinking, ah, they don't care. Nobody cares.
They may care about you far more than you realize. Yeah. Yeah. But if there's someone who is here and they go, I don't have any family, I don't have anybody, man, I don't have nobody. Yeah, then you need to definitely build some connection.
Get to know some people. Not like you're gonna be in and out of their homes, but Have that sense of relationship, family relationship, spiritual family relationship, that you will have the same feeling. That's right. Like, hey, I can't do that.
Somebody give you a check to where if you go off the rails, you know that it's going to impact those other people. Exactly. He do something outlandish. It's going to make them look bad, whether they are blood family or not. Start thinking.
That was one of my biggest fears. It's like if I ever did something really bad. It's going to Get to my dad and my mom. How would they feel? Not like what would they do to me?
Will they cut me off or will they? None of that. I was never worried about that. But how would that impact them? Can I look them in the eye at that point?
Yeah. Yeah. No, not really. No, I know what you, I know exactly what you're talking about. I feel the same thing, that fear, that understanding that if I were to go out, if I were to step outside of these, of these bounds that we all know where they are, my wife, my three children, my church family, you, Ryan, you know, our ministry here.
What happens to Clearview today? What happens to all of the listeners that are depending on you? Right. Depending on this show. It's a weird thing where There are millions, I mean literally millions of people who listen to this show.
What happens? What happens to those people? What happens to the people who go, you know what? I thought this Christianity thing was for me, but. I guess it's that on uh social media almost every other day.
some pastor, some ministry leader.
Some famous Christian personality who has stepped away from the ministry because of some. sin some horrible decision. And I think to myself, what would cause you to do that? We're all tempted. I mean, every single moment we are tempted.
We are living in a world full of baits all around us. What is What is it that you thought? was Oh, I'll take that bait. That's okay. I'm going to do that.
And so when you come to the book of James, it's an eye-opener because Unstable people make unstable decisions. Yeah. Maybe the foundation itself was Broken long time ago. Yeah, great point. Especially.
They never. They never had That sense of yeah. Yeah, that that's so helpful because I I feel like there's a lot of times where you maybe see someone externally. Like I'm looking at someone else and I see them, you know, make a decision that has Terrible fallout that people have to deal with these consequences. And it's a spiritual leader, and now they've fallen into temptation, or the sin has come out.
And there's On some level, there's kind of a morbid curiosity: like, what was your line of reasoning that led you to justify this? But at the same time, I don't want to know because I might be just as susceptible. I might be just as easily duped as that person. Yeah, what happens when they explain their reasoning? And I'm in my back of my mind, I'm thinking, I can understand that.
I'd be stressed too. Right. But I think you're so right in saying that the foundation itself was cracked. It wasn't necessarily one thought or one line of reasoning. It was the foundation.
It was the starting point was flawed. They. Unfortunately, and this is the problem of living in a sin, you know, sin-sick, depraved world. Where Satan is still looming around and causing people to turn away from God. And we are born in In Trespasses and sins.
In this kind of a world, we You know, I don't owe anybody anything.
So, when I see that name, then I will follow that. I'll research and say, who is this person? Oh, this person. Had this in this as their testimony. Like, wow, great testimony of how God saved you and changed you and made you, and you had this great ministry.
And yet, you did that, which means you never completely. turned away from that past. Yes, I'm not doubting that the person is saved or going to heaven. None of that is an issue. But you never truly.
Forsook. That life. There was something about that life that was still very advantageous to you. There was something about that life. That still gave you that sick high, yeah.
And you kept it in your back pocket all of these years, all of these evenings. Maybe not even kept in the back pocket, they may have used it time to time, yeah. People don't just sin. You know, if you go back to the book of James, Yeah. In chapter one, it talks about sin.
Sin is a life cycle from conception to death. And it was there the whole time. Yeah, I think about that a lot. Like when we talk about it, and not that this is something that we dwell on. In fact, we don't really talk about it a lot in detail on the show, but when you see these headlines of pastors who are getting exposed, you want to give them that benefit of the doubt and say, oh, well, you know what?
He made a mistake. But it's like, no, he realistically made hundreds. Right. Got caught with one. But this is a habitual thing that finally found its way to the light.
And not only just pastors, but all of us, you know, when our sin is exposed, we know in our hearts that it's been going on for years. It's been something that we were never able to truly put down. No, no, there's got to be somebody out there who will say, wait, wait a minute.
So are you telling me that if you have foundation, that if you have a strong root? With a family and a stable family life growing up, that you never do those kind of things? No. I don't think I can say that with that much confidence. I think the odds are less that you will do that.
Right. I think the odds are less. But I don't think you are completely out of danger because. If you grew up with a stable foundation, But if you grew up With the idea that you will never truly have to face your consequences, that somebody will always be there to swoop in at the last moment and save the day for you, that there's always a safety net. You can jump off the high wire, there's always a safety net.
And the safety net is removed, don't worry, there'll always be another one underneath. You just don't see it.
So if you grow up like that. In that situation, in that scenario, that stable family. It's not, it's unfortunately a double weakness for you because the very thing that should help you. Stay grounded, stay focused. Stay accountable.
actually becomes your Enablers, your rescuers means they they you know, you know, not meaning to, they are They are Giving you a false sense of security, yeah. There's like a shaky ground that's that's paved over to look like it's stable, yeah, because you feel safe, but it's not real safety, it's just I would say the ground is solid, but but on top of the ground, there's too much ice, yeah, you know.
So, the foundation is pretty solid, but it's covered with ice, yeah.
So, you're slipping and sliding all over the place and falling and being reckless, yeah.
So And maybe the foundation is strong. But some of the decisions that were made as a family to save you, to rescue you, to never let you face consequences, to never hold you accountable. You are reckless.
So, how hope is making sense? Yeah, I think so. I think so. What if the person listening isn't that person? What if it's the person that maybe James is talking to where it's saying, You're seeing these people in your life?
You know, it's my brother, it's my sister, it's my father, it's my friend, where I'm seeing them backslide, I'm seeing them go into this dangerous territory of sin. What role do we play on the times of others?
Well, I mean, right there, James tells us, brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, means our goal is to make sure that, for one, we're grounded. You know, if if you're trying to help somebody, make sure you are on a solid footing. Because many times what happens is like the old life guard. Mm-hmm. Mistake: You go to help somebody, and what happens to a person who's drowning?
They'll jump on top of you, right? They'll thrash and pull you under. Yeah, they'll pull you because what they're thinking is like, Oh, yeah, you can swim. Yeah, I can. Yeah, I'm gonna jump on top of you, and you're gonna have to just find a way to paddle and save us both.
And and in that process, they have to s you know, the guy the lifeguard has a stiff arm, or they have to push him away, or they have to pinch him, or do whatever they can to get him to s release.
Sometimes they'll lock their their arm around your neck. Like, I'm I'm I'm taking you're going right, right. I ain't gonna die just here by myself. I gotta I gotta be able to swim.
So you can't hinder me. That you know, in those situations, make sure if you're going to help somebody turn around, You make sure that you are where you need to be because they will take you under. Yeah, they will take you with them. Yeah, we have this idea, this false sense of security when we do see people who are close to us backsliding, that we have the moral high ground. Yeah, you know, that I'm on the and I'll ignore blatant sin in my life if I see someone else sinning.
Yeah, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, golly, well, I'm in a good position to help this person now when really I'm on rocky ground myself. It's crazy what Christians will do to justify that. And I know we're running out of time. Maybe we can talk about that a little bit tomorrow of how to actually turn people back.
But Dr. Shawn, any final words of encouragement for someone who's going through this that's saying, you know what, I've been backsliding lately. I'm saved. I know my confidence in Christ is secure, but I got a lot of sin in my life that either I've confessed, not confessed. Any words of encouragement for them?
Well, two things I will say very quickly. Number one, As someone said, before you can backslide, you have to front slide. It means you need to be saved.
So just make sure that the fact that you're sinning and doing these crazy things. Have you ever had an encounter with Jesus Christ? Do you truly know what it means to be a believer? Do you have you ever asked him to come into your life? to forgive you of your sins and take over?
Have you had even a mustard sized faith to say, God, I need you to save me? If you've never done any of that, I mean I've said it in different ways, but I'm basically saying the same thing. Are you saved? Are you a Christian? Are you a believer in Jesus Christ?
If you're not, then there's no need to worry about backsliding because you're just living the normal life. You're living the life that a lost person lives.
So in your case, salvation is the first step. But for somebody who may be backsliding, and I think we still have some more to cover in James 5, and we can hopefully pick it up tomorrow. Absolutely, let's do it. Um Don't ever think it'll never happen to you. whether you have a solid foundation or not.
whether you have deep roots or not. Whether you have a family that's really supportive and accountable and all that stuff or not, none of us ever get to a place where, man, I have some safety nets here. No, you never know. You never, ever know. Never take your spiritual life for granted.
Just make sure, it doesn't matter whether you have a solid foundation or not, make sure that you are. Uh, uh, are grounded in Jesus Christ. That's right. Because that is the key. That is the key.
Keeping Christ at the center, that's the secret. That's what we need to do, and that's what we hope you keep in mind as a result of this episode. That's right. Guys, make sure you join us as we continue to the discussion on tomorrow's episode. Same time, same place.
Write in and let us know where you're listening from: 252-582-5028. Don't forget that you can always partner with us financially at Abadanshah.com forward slash gift. That's right. We're getting closer and closer and closer to the big release date of the Robinson Pierpont Byzantine text form. This is the 2026 edition.
Pre-orders are available right now. You can follow the link in the description to get yours today. And we can't wait to see all of you guys posting and sharing about when you receive your Byzantine text form. That's the 2026 edition.
Now, listen, if you cannot read Greek, this Byzantine text form is not going to help you very much. But guess what? You can read New Testament Greek. You really can. You just don't know it yet.
So, coming this summer, we're starting a brand new podcast with Dr. Shah. It's called How to Read Biblical Greek. It's a companion to our podcast. That already exists, how to read biblical Hebrew with Dr.
Abadan Shah. But our goal is this, is that every single week, you're going to see a new episode that gets you the foundation of how to read the New Testament in its original language. I was able to take Greek with Dr. Shah, and I'm telling you right now, it really works. You are smart enough to learn how to read Greek.
And so we want this to be a free resource for you, for your family, for your church. Make sure you check it out. It's coming this summer, how to read biblical Greek with Dr. Abadan Shah. That's right.
We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clear Read Today.
