Christianity Lite: All The Benefits, Half The Guilt Chris Adsit, Associate National Director of Discipleship, Military Ministry "Sure, I'm a Christian!" I was dubious. I was sitting in an Automatic Witnessing Machine (commercial airliner). The man next to me was a world class track and field athlete who was famous for his decidedly non-Christian lifestyle. "Really?!" I tried to sound like I believed him. "That's great! When did you become a Christian?" "Oh, quite some time ago. This guy read a booklet to me about Jesus, and said that if I'd pray a prayer and ask Him into my life, He'd forgive all my sins. So I prayed the prayer, and that was that!" "Terrific!" Yeah, right. "What changes did you notice in your life after that?" "Changes? None, really. Well, I guess I felt a lot better about myself, and didn't feel guilty anymore." "Didn't feel guilty - you mean because you turned away from your sinful lifestyle?" Tongue firmly in cheek. He laughed. "H___ no! Because I wasn't guilty anymore! Now I do whatever I want, and Jesus pays for it! That's what's so great about Christianity!" This fellow was radically wrong. No one had taken the time to explain to him what true, saving faith is. He thought if he simply gave intellectual assent to a philosophy, he had "faith"; and since we're saved by faith, he was therefore saved. With that pesky detail behind him, he could now carry on business as usual. Those who are considering the gospel message - and those who are young Christians - must be told that "we are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone." The non-Christian who doesn't understand this will be confused enough to be denied eternal life, and the young Christian who isn't clued in will live a life of weakness and defeat. "Praying a prayer" saves no one. It's the faith which spawned the prayer that connects with the grace of God and results in a sinner being transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. And there is only one kind of faith that will accomplish this. It's the kind. tied to personal commitment rather than mere intellectual assent. "I believe that George Washington was our first president." One might think that's a statement of faith. But it's really only an opinion about a set of factual propositions. It doesn't require any personal involvement from me, and its validity is of no real consequence to me. How about "I believe there is a God"? Good enough? No - it's in the same category. The Bible says even demons (who ought to know) have that brand of "faith", but both they and God know they are condemned. A statement of true faith, according to Dr. William Herr, is like the difference between saying, "I love chocolate" and saying, "I love you." In the first case, I've simply stated a fact. It doesn't require any change or further action on my part. It will have little or no effect on the one I say it to. But when I say "I love you" to someone, I've entered an entire new realm of communication. To utter those words, and then walk away as though nothing important happened, as though the relationship is not now profoundly altered forever, is to have no grasp of what those three words mean. When I say "I love you", I'm saying, "I commit myself to you. I put your needs above mine; your desires above mine. I'm eager to change so I may better serve you. What can I do for you?" In the same way, to say, "I love you" to God, with no subsequent changes or commitments, is hollow. The speaker isn't really thinking about what he's saying, and actually means something else, such as, "I love me, and I would like it very much if you'd bless me, God." Obviously, we can't expect a person without Christ to pledge moral perfection prior to receiving Christ, nor can we assume a new Christian will instantly imitate the apostle Paul. Growth takes time. But central to the identity of a disciple of Jesus Christ is an attitude that says, "I want to learn, to grow, to change." Many who are drawn into a relationship with Christ own this attitude initially, but soon lose it. With no motivation to grow, they stop. This is why the body of Christ today is the largest spiritual day-care center in history. As disciplemakers, we must continually foster ever-deepening personal commitments to Christ in those we disciple. If we don't, we'll be producing a generation of hedonistic - if guilt-free - spiritual babies. More Articles -->
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