backslider

¹⁴The foolish will be filled up by his own ways. And the good man shall be above him.

²²“Convert, O rebellious sons! And I will heal your rebelliousness.” “Behold, we are returning to you. For you are the Lord our God!

²⁰For if, after taking refuge from the defilements of the world in the understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled and overcome by these things, then the latter state becomes worse than the former. ²¹For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after acknowledging it, to turn away from that holy commandment which was handed on to them. ²²For the truth of the proverb has happened to them: The dog has returned to his own vomit, and the washed sow has returned to her wallowing in the mud.

³⁸For my just man lives by faith. But if he were to draw himself back, he would not please my soul.” ³⁹So then, we are not sons who are drawn away to perdition, but we are sons of faith toward the securing of the soul.

⁴But I have this against you: that you have relinquished your first charity. ⁵And so, call to mind the place from which you have fallen, and do penance, and do the first works. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow, and then looks back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

⁴Assur will not save us; we will not ride on horses. Neither will we say any more, ‘The works of our hands are our gods,’ for those that are in you will have mercy on the orphan.”

¹⁴and if my people, over whom my name has been invoked, being converted, will have petitioned me and sought my face, and will have done penance for their wicked ways, then I will heed them from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.

⁷“O Lord, if our iniquities have responded against us, let it be for the sake of your name. For our rebellions are many; we have sinned against you.

⁴For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, and have even tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become sharers in the Holy Spirit, ⁵who, despite having tasted the good Word of God and the virtues of the future age, have yet fallen away, ⁶to be renewed again to penance, since they are crucifying again in themselves the Son of God and are still maintaining pretenses.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to his vomit, so also is the imprudent who repeats his foolishness.

⁷And my people will long for my return. But a yoke will be imposed on them together, which will not be taken away.

⁹But now, since you have known God, or rather, since you have been known by God: how can you turn away again, to weak and destitute influences, which you desire to serve anew?

⁵Then why have this people in Jerusalem turned away with a contentious loathing? They have taken hold of what is false, and they are not willing to return.

⁹If we confess our sins, then he is faithful and just, so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

¹¹And he said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹²And the younger of them said to the father, ‘Father, give me the portion of your estate which would go to me.’ And he divided the estate between them. ¹³And after not many days, the younger son, gathering it all together, set out on a long journey to a distant region. And there, he dissipated his substance, living in luxury. ¹⁴And after he had consumed it all, a great famine occurred in that region, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that region. And he sent him to his farm, in order to feed the swine. ¹⁶And he wanted to fill his belly with the scraps that the swine ate. But no one would give it to him.