A person who has never accepted Christ is often easier to convert than someone who has backslidden.
Disclaimer:
1. The observations and suggested answers in this piece are based on my research and my personal experience as a Christian since I accepted Christ in 1983. They reflect my interpretation, understanding and observations through Christian practices, they are not presented as exhaustive theological conclusions.
2. I acknowledge that conversion is ultimately a work of God. The Almighty alone converts hearts, and human explanations cannot fully account for His ways.
3. A backslider here is not someone who has moved from one denomination to another due to doctrine and other reasons. Denominational affiliation doesn’t determine salvation, only repentance through Jesus does.
Dr Gyamfi.
Now, here’s why!
1. The Backslider Has Pride and Defensiveness. From Charles Finney’s Lectures (1830s) on backsliding:
Backsliders develop several psychological barriers:
Pride: They are unwilling to face the shame that comes with returning to faith.
They think, “I already failed once; how can I face people again?”
Guilt Avoidance: They refuse to face their own guilt and the danger that will come if they don’t receive forgiveness. Guilt and terror are grievous to them.
Hardening: Once they’re rid of their awakenings about God’s wrath, they harden their hearts gladly and choose ways that harden them more and more.
A new believer has none of this baggage. They come with humility, no defensive walls, and no fear of having “failed before.”
2. The Backslider Has Been “Tasted but Rejected”. Hebrews 6:4–6 warns about those who have: Been enlightened
Tasted the heavenly gift Shared in the Holy Spirit. Tasted the goodness of God’s word. And then fallen away: “It is impossible to bring them back to repentance so easily like someone who hasn’t tasted Christ before”. The backslider has made a conscious decision AGAINST Christ after knowing Him. This is deeper rebellion than someone who has never known Christ. A new unbeliever has not made this decision yet. They are still open, not yet rebellious against what they know.
3. The Backslider’s Last State Is Worse
2 Peter 2:20–21 says:
”If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.”
The backslider who returns to sin is worse off than the person who never knew Christ. This is because: They’ve rejected intimate knowledge of God. They’ve heard the truth and chosen lies. They’ve experienced the Spirit and grieved Him. They’ve made a conscious choice to leave.
A new unbeliever has no such rejection on their record.
4. The Backslider Has Hardened their Heart Through Repetition. From pastoral experience (Ministry Magazine):
Those who have stood strong in faith can become very difficult to restore when they backslide. Many become so hardened that restoration takes years, if it happens at all.
Why?
Each time they choose sin over God, their heart hardens. They build a lifestyle of rebellion that becomes difficult to break. They justify their sin: “I’ve already failed, God won’t accept me back”. They become comfortable in their sin and lose desire to return.
A new unbeliever has no hardened pattern. They are still malleable.
5. Biblical Examples Support the topic.under discussion.
The Pharisees vs. The Tax Collectors:
Pharisees (religious, knew God’s law, experienced religion) rejected Jesus
Tax collectors and sinners (never belonged to God’s people) came to Jesus readily (Luke 15:1)
Jesus said:
”The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you [religious leaders].” (Matthew 21:31)
Why? The religious leaders had pride, knowledge without humility, and had rejected the truth they knew. The outcasts came with humility and openness.
Paul’s Conversion vs. Judas’s Betrayal:
Paul (religious, knew God, persecuted Christians) was broken and converted
Judas (apostle, walked with Jesus, knew the truth) betrayed Jesus and went to his own place.
The difference? Paul was humble and broke; Judas was proud and hardened.
6. The Backslider Has “Test-Driven” Christianity and Chose Against It
GotQuestions.org explains:
Some people put on Christianity for a “test drive” and then drop it when the initial conviction fades. When they backslide, they’re showing their true colors.
This makes them harder to convert because:
They’ve already decided Christianity “doesn’t work for them”. They’ve made a conscious choice to leave. They have intellectual arguments against returning. They feel justified in their sin. A new unbeliever hasn’t made this decision yet. They are still on the fence.
7. Practical Ministry Experience Confirms the topic under discussion.
From Ministry Magazine (pastoral experience):
One of the major problems pastors face is reclaiming backsliders and bringing them back into the fold. It’s described as a “major problem” requiring faithful home visits, showing love and interest.
Contrast this with evangelism to never-believers: They’re hungry for truth. They have no baggage. They have no defensive walls. They have no guilt to overcome. They have no pride to break down. The phrase “EASIEST FORM OF EVANGELISM” is mobilization, not reclaiming backsliders. Reclaiming backsliders is among the hardest work in ministry.
8. The Conscience Is Awakened, But the Mind Is Not Changed.
From John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” analysis:
The problem with backsliders is that their conscience was awakened, but their mind was not changed. When the guilt and fear of God that motivated their awakening passes, their desire for salvation cools and they return to their own ways.
A new unbeliever’s mind is still open to being changed. The backslider’s mind has already rejected the change.
Compiled by:
Dr Gyamfi. A divinely gifted Virtual Teacher and Counselor without boundaries.