"You can't go back" --HUH?!

Years ago we knew a group of Christians who were arrogant, prideful, controlling, manipulative, and legalistic. "The group" had many legalisms, rules, and control devices, one of which was pressed upon us and others at the time--- I suppose, they chose to use it as their "ultimate" control method.  

Their exact quote was:

"You can't go back."

Go back where!?  and what does this really mean?  

In this "group" this comment meant that any member of "the group" now definitely knew that -- in "the group's" rules of perfect behavior -- a person must never stop doing, wearing, acting as "the  group" did, or you would lose your perfect godliness which they themselves had perfected.

Scary.  

Can you imagine if you were in this group and trying to fit in?  Obedience was the only option or you would be out and cruelly, visibly shunned.

As time has marched on, we have heard of "sightings" of these people who have definitely changed their looks just a little bit, although sadly, not their wrong behavior --- but that little "bit" is enough to break their own hard fast rule of "never going back," thus affecting their own holiness!

Soooo... 

in their own godliness rules --is it true that they can't go back?  

I am confused.  

I thought they knew the "godly way" and that they had said, "You can't go back."  But they went back! 

So if we had followed them completely --as many have-- so that we also would be "godly", so that we would never "go back" to our prior ungodliness, and now we discover that they went back, and so their way to godliness must not be as perfect as we --or they-- thought, where does this all lead us??

...Confusion, disillusionment, emotionally injured, spiritually damaged, perhaps even distrustful of God or blaming God...

And so it is when we follow arrogant, prideful, controlling, manipulative, and legalistic sinners.  We can not trust that they are actually following God's word rightly.  We must be like the Bereans and search the scriptures daily for ourselves so we can be wise and discern the false teachers, and bad leaders.  Acts 17:11

There is good news:
We can go back!
if you are turning around from your sin. 

This is all because of our God; the God of the Bible is a forgiving God.  We can mess up and sin big time, and He will forgive us.  

For example, we can make up our own holiness rules of dress and speech and behavior, and when we realize how foolish we have been and repent ---

we can know He will forgive us.  

We can go back!

Do not ever think that God will never forgive you for the mess you have made in your life or in other's lives.  God is always waiting, encouraging, desiring for each of us to run to Him in repentance.

Praise God! For I can run to Him any and every time.  He is my precious forgiveness.

He can be yours also.