Tonight, I stare at the computer screen a bit heavy-hearted once again over the same question. Why do Christians struggle so greatly with obeying the Word of God? There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books written on how to live the Christian life. There are conferences, sermon series, Bible studies, and retreats all about improving your walk with God. And, of course, there is the Word of God; the best material on the most important matters in life (a Dallas Willard quote). And yet, we still fail.
We have all the information we need for success, and yet we choose otherwise. Why?I expect most people would give me a Systematic Theology answer about the fallen nature of man. While this answer is definitely a part of the problem, I’d like to explore another area. Because what I am seeing is not just great leaders falling prey to grievous sin, but a daily pettiness about the details of life. One reason for this behavior that I have noticed over the years is not all Christians understand God to be a real being. I do not mean a real idea or a real teaching, but a real being like your parents, spouse, children, or friend. It would be extremely difficult to go to church with your family and then go home and act as though your family does not exist. However, some Christians go to church and then go home and act as if God does not exist. Embarrassingly, some Christians even act as if God does not exist while they are at church. This is such odd behavior for the body of Christ who claim to have the most powerful, intelligent, and loving being dwelling inside of them.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” Plus, the God who indwells us is described in 1 Chronicles 29: 11, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.” This is the God who is in us! Yet, I see so many defeated Christian lives. In fact, this behavior reminds me of the agnostic view about God; that perhaps there is a being that created everything, but we cannot really know that being. The agnostic view would explain a behavioral pattern of going to church and then going home quite unchanged and indifferent. Christians, on the other hand, do not believe in a nebulous creator that cannot be known.
In fact, the New Testament writers affirm the certainty with which believers can know the reality of God:Luke 1:1-4, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”1 John 5:13, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”2 Peter 1:16, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” These authors viewed God as a real being, and Jesus Christ as his real Son. They are essentially saying, “I was there and I saw these things with my own eyes.” No wonder they were able to suffer and die for God, because they had a reasonable understanding that God was real! So I am wondering if we would see a notable difference in the behaviors or attitudes of the body of Christ if all believers could articulate why they believe that God exists (apart from the answer of “the Bible says so”)? At the very least, would Christians be able to better prioritize what is petty from what is important in life if we could grasp hold of the reality of the God who indwells us?
MJ
© Mary Jo Sharp 2008
I must suggest to all Christians and Atheist to read this book “The End of Reason” by Dr. Ravi Zacharias. This book forces the reader’s mind to do the critical thinking that is so lacking in Christianity today. It should also be considered required reading for the atheist who has never really looked at a logical argument for the existence of God, or the Christian who has never really critically analyzed his own faith. Check out more information on The End of Reason here
Hi MJ,
Glad to see you posting again! I totally understand your question, and share your heavy-heartedness over this issue. Your question is a good one. Do Christians live like God is not a real being? Maybe not, or maybe they don’t live like he is Present in thier lives. I don’t know, and I’m guessing there is no one simple answer. I have lots of questions though. Do Christains believe only in God’s Grace for salvation then say ‘Thanks God, I can take it from here’? Were they given a set of religous practices and told to ‘work that’ rather than intoduced to Jesus himself. Do they weekly look at the menu (Bible), and never partake of the meal (Jesus, the Living Word)? Were they given the wrong ‘fuel’ to sustain a relationship with God — that is was fear the motivator for relationship? Certainly worth thinking about anyway.
Well said MJ.
Rick, you make a great point; though if the Holy Spirit truly initiated the regeneration of the believer, then he or she was properly introduced to Jesus from the onset. I do believe you have hit a strong point though: Do we worship the Bible instead of its author?
Roger
JaaJoe – thanks for the book recommendation! I have listened to Ravi Zacharias’ “Can Man Live Without God,” and own the book, but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Yes, his material is very good. And you have a interesting proposal there…for both atheist and believer to read the material and interact with it. I am currently reading “Why Us? When Bad things Happen to God’s People,” by Warren W. Wiersbe. In the book, Wiersbe states, “a faith that can’t be tested, can’t be trusted.”
Rick – I so agree. There is no one simple answer to my question. On a side note, Bart Ehrman pointed out at a debate this past March that most professing Christians who take his New Testament class admit to not even having read their Bible all the way through. Wow. Perhaps some of the problem is the lack of knowledge about our own belief?
Yeah, sorry about the lack of posting this past semester. It is a goal of mine to improve that area. Thanks for the encouragement, brother!
MJ
Hi MJ,
Nice. A new angle. Pettiness.
Christian luminaries like Schaeffer and Zacharias have both spent time looking at why there isn’t as much transformation (sanctification) as we might hope that there should be. Steve Chalke’s book ‘The Lost Message of Jesus’ which articulated a dodgy view of the atonement, was, he said motivated by the desire to see more love in the lives of Christians. I suppose that the pettiness that you describe is the effect, where lack of love might be some of the cause.
What I am interested in asking is: What is the approach to sanctification that we are using in the Western church? What are its distinctives? Why does this strategy seem to only work with a low percentage? Is human choice the only factor or does incorrect strategy have something to do with the answer?
For my money, I think that Dallas Willard’s attempt to widen our understanding of sanctification out, into more than experience, or doctrinal / exegetical instruction is a moment of clear sightedness. He seems to have such a helpful, more human, more sensible view. I can’t help feeling, that he is right that God can transform people, but that we have probably misunderstood how that happens. We may well need to have a reformation on sanctification. But we will need to know more clearly what we are reforming to, before we set off.
Perhaps the emergent church, start off without knowing what the answers are. Or by asking the same question: How can we see more of what it is to be a Christian in our own lives? How can we be more loving? Less petty? Some of their answers, clearly, cross over into poor theology, even though they are starting with some great questions. My point is, that the birth and growth of the emerging church has a lot to do with the conversation about sanctification – and perhaps how reluctant those of us in the more established church have been to allow people, who wanted to bring new ideas to the conversation, to have a seat at the table.
So, my answer, we need to understand how we have a poor and compromised view of how santification happens, then we need to know where we are going, and then we need to change the practices and behaviour of Christians so that they get a more biblical view, rather than a compromised one.
I like to remember, in all this, that Jesus knows what he is doing with his church. He’s got his hand on the steering wheel. We could pull up our socks and do better, but he’s got things under control.
Tom,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, you had some good insight. Two of your comments really resonated with me. First your comment about the lack of love; that’s what I was trying to get at myself when I talked about the wrong fuel to sustain a relationship (or walk) with God. And also your comment about Dallas Willards attempt to widen our understanding of sancification. He rightly notes that we all too often focus on the wrong thing in that process — namely sin avoidance. If I recall he put it this way — you can’t get to New York by focusing on not going to Chicago.
I was also just thinking that we also need to be sure that we have the correct idea in mind of what a sanctified person might look like along with a proper understanding of the process; meaning that you would expect to see people all along a continuum and be ok with where they are at (progess being a given, trusting that God is able to complete what he started 🙂 ).
Letting Go
Sometimes I just have to let go. When I hold on too tightly it nearly, if not entirely drives me to the point of insanity.
I’ve found this to apply to all areas of my life. Letting go doesn’t mean giving up or forgetting. It just means releasing your grip, yielding control.
I can’t control things. I can’t control the grade I got on a paper in class or job evaluation that I felt was graded unjustly.
I can’t control the feelings and biases of others.
I can’t control love.
I can’t control death.
I’ve found that in my life, I’ve held too tightly. I have striven for perfection and foolishly become disheartened to the point of paralysis in the times I have failed.
And I have failed miserably at times, mostly at accepting grace.
Grace is a hard thing, particularly the grace that comes from Jesus Christ.
I sin. And when I sin I feel so bad that I send myself the almost subconscious message that God cannot love me. A friend of mine put it best when he stated: “Man, I feel like I’m God’s bad little kid.” I know I am a child of God, that he has accepted me into his family. At times I feel like I’m definitely the bad one, that God is continually disappointed and is giving me the silent treatment.
The thing is, he’s not as far off as I make him. It’s just about surrender. The heart of my issue is that I am not accepting the fact that the blood of Jesus was sufficient to cover all of my sin, and when the guilt I feel over my sin paralyzes me, it is certainly not from Him. It is buying into the lie that the sacrifice Christ made was not enough.
That sickens me.
So I have to let go. Let go of my belief that I can be perfect in my own strength. Let go of the idea that I’ll never be good enough. I am loved by God, and His love is perfect. Who am I to reject such an unfathomable gift?
So my demon is definetly: Surrender!
I am sure there are many laymen among us that do not comprehend the depth in the term “surrender” as well.
Thankfully dealing with Grace, love, Travis!
I may have missed your point with my previous comment but I can’t help but feel that there are others that have not yet explored the depths of surrender in many aspects of their life, Leadership, prayer, finances, health, family, communication with others, etc!
It is hard to accept the idea of trusting in something other than yourself. To depend on God. To me that is the measure of surrendering to God.
To quote Keith Green
Do my best,
Pray that it is blessed
and he will take care of the rest!
Rick said: “And also your comment (Tom Price) about Dallas Willards attempt to widen our understanding of sancification. He rightly notes that we all too often focus on the wrong thing in that process — namely sin avoidance.”
Roger says: “I, actually used to be gripped by this very thing, but have found a new enemy that is even more gripping: My Spiritual ‘Target’ With My Life. In other words, God created me specifically for a specific set of purposes. He wants me to accomplish them all in my lifetime. My fear: What, exactly, are they??? I am ‘churched’ and ‘seminaried’ enough to give a good theological response, but, in the end, and taking into consideration Mary Jo’s, Tom’s, Rick’s & Travis’s thoughts, what if I am missing out on being the Christian God desires for me to be? I believe it is possible for a believer to go through his physical life never living up to his full, gift-laden potential and hindering the Kingdom of God. Yes, yes…….God is omniscient and omnipotent, but He has experienced disappointment quite a few times with His creation….
Tom – Good to hear from you! I am totally in agreement with you on Dallas Willard. One of my favorite quotes by him is that the purpose of human life is to love and serve others and to be loved by and served by others (“What Does It Mean to Be Human?”)
//Is human choice the only factor or does incorrect strategy have something to do with the answer?//
Oh, I think incorrect strategy is definitely a part of the answer. I do not remember ever having stopped to think about “how” my character would change from the old nature, conformed to the world, to the new nature, becoming conformed to Christ. I’m not sure what I actually have believed. My ideas probably went along the lines of being a “new creature in Christ” as Paul described in 2 Corinthians 5:17. However, I do know that if I intend to develop and mature this new creature to conformity in Christ, I must find the means to do so, because doing nothing is insufficient and unreasonable. I need to find some activities to serve as disciplines for my spiritual life.
Willard discusses in “Living a Transformed Life Adequate to our Calling” that Jesus portrays himself as the life-giving vine of which we are the branches (John 5:15). He says “apart from me you can do nothing.” I think we can agree that without God’s presence or initiative in what we do, our efforts are futile. However, as Dallas Willard points out, if we look at the flip side of that statement, we find that “if we do nothing, we will do so without Him” as well.
Sort of referencing back to my article: Will a deep knowledge of the faith bring about ability to love each other better? I suppose it should, but do not venture to say it absolutely will. I have seen too much to the contrary. Or perhaps what I saw was a superficial knowledge: book smarts. So I will punt to Tom…
//So, my answer, we need to understand how we have a poor and compromised view of how santification happens, then we need to know where we are going, and then we need to change the practices and behaviour of Christians so that they get a more biblical view, rather than a compromised one.//
Amen, brother.
Rick – yeah, sin avoidance isn’t the ticket. Paul says that he finds himself doing the very things he doesn’t want to do; according to the flesh. It would definitely help Christians, Rick, to view believers as all containing the capacity for great evil and great good; not a judgment call, just reality. I wrote in a Facebook note: “This is who I am. A creature whose best attributes give rise to my greatest heights and conversely to my gravest failures. My mountain top and my deepest well reside permanently juxtaposed; a reminder of who I really am. A bittersweet communion between two friends.”
Saint Augustine says it better:
“This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections.”
Travis – Your thoughts and comments are always welcome! By the way, thanks for your post; it was sincere and refreshing. 🙂
MJ
MJ: I LOVE the “This is who I am” quote! Great stuff!
Great comments! I, of course, agree that we are (as Christians) capable of both a great good and great evil. It’s part of the freedom God gives, and part of the problem we see.
Interesting, it almost seems that the comments have come full circle. It seems that it takes more than confessions and creeds to transform someone (not saying we should throw them out either). It really does take that personal relationship with the personal triune God — the Father, Son, and Spirit. And we also need to know that God is for us and loves us!
Incidentally, I was listening to Tim Keller on Hell, and he mentioned that Love (agape) is the only power in the universe that can change the fundamental structures of the heart (1 John 4:18).
Tom, or anyone else,
Has there ever been a church with the kind of understanding we are seeking? Perhaps to use as a model? Do you guess that maybe the Church at Thessalonica was this way? Or the Church at Philadelphia? What I am seeing today, especially here in the states, is the Church at Corinth; a church that is not too different from the surrounding culture.
How do we effect change in this area? (Tom asked this in his questions in a more eloquent manner 🙂
Thanks,
MJ
MJ
I have never seen or heard of a church body with these traits! To be completely honest with you….Due to our human nature I do not believe you will EVER see or experience that type of church body. I will be perfectly content with heaven (when it happens) that I believe when I walk around I would be saying…..Hmmm, This is what I was seeking! I was seeking the impossible!
I am by NO means making it a excuse to not try and seek this type of church body or make changes to achieve this type of church. I just feel it is impossible! Mention a great church body and I am sure myself or someone else will find flaws (visiting, missions, fellowships, $, children’s or youth program, choir, prayer, God’s will in every task, food, carpet, chairs, roof, air conditioning, VBS, expand or tear down, dress code, dunk or sprinkle, etc) in its structure!
As Pastor David says, “If you find the perfect church, don’t join it, cause you’ll mess it up.” 🙂
MJ
Thanx for the laugh! I forgot that quote!
I’m reminded this week at Vacation Bible School about something……..watch a child and how they respond to spiritual things. They truly see the reality of God. We can learn quite a bit from children.
I came across these 2 quotes today and thought they would be good food for thought in this discussion:
“For millions of Christians, …God is no more real than He is to the non-Christian. They go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere principle.” – A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
“Martin Luther has said that the Bible is the manger in which Christ is found. Without the manger you will not find Christ, but you dare not confuse Christ with the manger. We love the Bible because in it we find Jesus, but we do not have a relationship with a book, but with the living Word, Jesus Christ. The Bible is the witness to that relational self-disclosure of God in history, with the primary goal not being a collection of intellectual information or doctrinal propositions about God, but in encountering us relationally with Jesus Christ so that we may come into vital salvic transforming relationship with God. Scripture is not an end in itself, but points us to that relationship.”
– Derek Flood, An Evangelical Relational Theology
Yeah, great stuff, Rick. I’ve been reading Neil T. Anderson’s “Victory Over the Darkness,” and I think these quotes apply to the conversation as well:
“I believe that the greatest determinant of mental and spiritual health and spiritual freedom is a true understanding of God and a right relationship with Him. A good theology is an indispensable prerequisite to a good psychology. “
“Many Christians are not living free and productive lives because they don’t understand who they are and why they are here. Who they are is rooted in their identity and position in Christ. If they don’t see themselves the way God sees them, to that degree they suffer from a false identity and poor sense of worth”
“Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone…. What you receive as a Christian isn’t the point; it is who you are. It is not what you do as a Christian that determines who you are; it is who you are that determines what you do (see 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 2:10; 1 Peter 2:9,10; 1 John 3:1,2).”
MJ
“Many Christians are not living free and productive lives because they don’t understand who they are and why they are here. Who they are is rooted in their identity and position in Christ. If they don’t see themselves the way God sees them, to that degree they suffer from a false identity and poor sense of worth”
Wow……….this nicely & concisely encapsulates your thoughts on this issue.
Asharpfamily,
Thanks! Yes, Anderson really hits the nail on the head.
MJ
Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost recently wrote about how Christians view the natural and the supernatural. I think Christians have become so comfortable–dare I say complacent?–with God being so other, so supernatural, that they easily neglect his immanence. He ceases to be real because the incarnation is forgotten. There is no room for the miraculous when so much of the western mindset is dependent on rationalism.
Sarah,
Besides Joe Carter (I’ll sure check him out), I know Mary Jo would recommend J.P. Moreland along those same lines….
My role in the church is primarily worship & music. Each Sunday I am inspired by the few people that truly ‘connect’ with an immanent God. I used to judge that experience by closed eyes or uplifted hands, but I have since learned that these are not necessarily true indicators of connection via worship. I have learned that, like the blog post affirms, I need to know each individual and experience where they are personally in their Christian walk. I am often surprised by people that I have previously written off as simply ‘going to church to go to church-ers.’ 🙂
When it comes down to it, it is up to each individual to guage where they are in relation to a personal God.
Enjoyed your thoughts and suggestions.
Roger
“Joe Carter is Dante for people with attention deficit disorder.”
-John Mark Reynolds (BIOLA)
Thought this was funny 🙂
Sarah – //I think Christians have become so comfortable–dare I say complacent?–with God being so other, so supernatural, that they easily neglect his immanence. He ceases to be real because the incarnation is forgotten. There is no room for the miraculous when so much of the western mindset is dependent on rationalism.//
Definitely a part of the problem. And this lack of understanding of God’s immanence can manifest itself in the details of our daily lives….thus the pettiness. Great comment!
asharpfamily – Yeah, Dr. Reynolds has some priceless quotes. Thanks for finding that one. 🙂
MJ,
I thought you might be interested in something I read recently in ‘The End of Religion’ by Bruxy Cavey. He had 2 diagrams that he used to describe one of the differences between Christian Faith and Christian Religion. The Pictures are prettier in the book but the Basic premise is this:
Christian Faith (X)
The phenomenon of people following Jesus
X –> Jesus
X ——^
Christian Religion (Y)
The phenomenon of people following
The phenomenon of people following Jesus
Y –> X –> Jesus
Y -> X ——^
Ohhh. Nice.
Rick,
Looks like Algrebra 🙂
A L G E B R A……yes, I went to college 😛
I hate that you can’t edit your posts. I always seem to notice my mistakes after I’ve published my comment.
Doh!
You described my life and behavior up until last year. Until then, I thought I “believed” in God, but truly, I did NOT. I had heard about “God” all my life, and professed a “belief” in Christ at age 19. Finally, finally, after years of desolation — spiritual, physical, emotional — I began to seek God’s Face — “eye contact.” What left me breathless was I found God pursuing *me* — I was astounded! I started with, “Lord I believe — help my unbelief!” I was (am still) astounded by this ongoing experience of God, with this relationship. There is a sense of awe and reverence.
I am still trying to understand why it took me so long (I am 51). However, I am overjoyed that He drew me close.
Thank you for this writing. Your blog is encouraging and very helpful for those of us who are late bloomers.
Anonymous,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with me. I love your use of Mark 9:24. And it is refreshing to hear that there are still those who are awestruck by the Lord. I appreciate your encouragement!
MJ
Hope the house is okay now. My central heating makes funny noises but at least the roof is still there.
The closest thing I have found so far to this is l’abri
Tom