Last Chapter
Given all the barriers and obstacles that stood in my way, I am surprised I became a Christian at all. Immediately prior to my conversion, I was in jeopardy of walking away without Christ forever.
After fifty years as a Christian and forty-five years as a minister of the gospel, I have discovered a number of obstacles, hindrances, barriers, or scandals that may keep a person from becoming a Christian. What these obstacles are and how they may be overcome is the subject of this chapter. To put it another way, “Why am I a Christian?”
The exclusiveness of Jesus
The idea of Jesus being the only Savior was, to my mind, an expression of ignorance and arrogance. To many non-believers, the idea that Jesus is God seems absurd. To their thinking, the claim that Jesus is the exclusive means to the Creator of the entire universe appears puerile and simplistic.
At the time of my conversion, my concept of God was confused. I had a vague notion that there might be a God, but admitting that there is a particular God who had become a man and had acted to bring a rebellious people to himself was beyond the scope of my understanding. And suggesting that this God was the only true God offended the liberal sensitivities I had gained through the course of my college education.
Our general populace and some liberal Christians have abandoned the concept of the exclusiveness of Jesus. Inclusiveness, diversity, political correctness, relativism – these are powerful ideas that have persuaded many to deny the exclusive claims of the Bible about Christ. This departure from historic Christian doctrine is rather commonplace now. However, many Christians do adhere to Scripture, and thus the preeminence of Christ survives. If, at the time of my pre-conversion crisis, I had encountered someone championing the cause of liberal Christianity, I may well have been persuaded by such reasoning or at least would have become more confused than I already was. Instead, I heard a preacher who stuck to the Book and would not compromise one word.
Still, the notion that God should love only Christians violates a certain sense of fairness. What about those in third world countries who do not know anything about Jesus? What about them? What kind of a God is this anyway? What about those who cannot find their way to the narrow path – are they condemned forever to a devil’s hell? Particularly heartbreaking is the idea that the innocents of the world – children and those raised in deplorable and hopeless conditions who never even hear of Jesus – will be lost forever. For me, this is perhaps the most troubling doctrinal position of all, even though I am in my fifth decade as a Christian. It will probably trouble me all my life. There are no words I can think of to settle my mind about it. Yet I know the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ is loving and merciful beyond description. There is abundant testimony in the Bible that God loves everyone. Of this I am sure. While I will leave the hard questions for him to answer in his way and in his time, even such tough issues as these do not have the power to distort or negate the truth of Jesus and his cross.
This exclusiveness barrier was not removed by logic, revelation, or careful analysis. All these years later, I have more easily, though not completely, reconciled the difficulty of the narrow path to Jesus. I also considered that the creator God, with a single focused purpose and plan, as would be reasonable, might well provide to all his creation the same way to be reconciled to him. Why have a host of different plans? It would only serve to confuse everyone. A God who changed constantly would not be reliable. A God who treated people differently might be a confused God.
Consider that the gods of the world’s religions are quite different from one another, to the point of being mutually exclusive. This is not a treatise on world religions, but the plain fact is, they are not the same, despite the sophistry of the masses that claims, “All paths lead to God.” I have read the basics of the world’s religions, and their belief systems contradict one another, which is especially true for Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Using a popular means of comparing things, it is not apples and apples. It is not even like comparing two kinds of fruit, but more like fruit and rocks, and even this comparison does not adequately express the tremendous differences.
There is no question that the “Jesus only” barrier is enough to keep someone from Christ. It nearly kept me from him.
Judgment and hell
Most non-believers know that Christians claim their God knows all things and is all-powerful. Why, they ask, would such a God create people who have numerous personal flaws that make them prone to break his laws and then predestine them to spend eternity in hell? Such a God seems monstrously capricious and cruel.
What troubled me was the question, “How could a loving God condemn one of his creatures to a horrible place forever?” This was the nature of the barrier.
The preacher presented it loud and clear – judgment and hell awaited all who did not trust in Jesus. It was with this pronouncement that a fire and brimstone Baptist preacher confronted me. The liberal preachers, heavy on love and soft on wrath, did not convince me, although I am not sure why not. I suppose I already believed what they taught: be sincere and loving, sit in church and pray, give to those less fortunate, and do good works. That was their whole message. But in the back of my mind I wondered. If these universal salvation preachers were right, then I had nothing to worry about. However, if they were wrong, I was in trouble. Not that I was a terribly awful person, but I was definitely not holy and without sin, and I had no plans to change. I thought that the few sins I committed to supposedly help me cope with the troubles of life were innocent enough. There were just a few major ones continuing from my youth, and I thought I could work on them somehow.
Yet the thundering from the pulpit made God sound awful to me. I thought it would have been wiser for the pastor to delete those points on judgment and hell and create, in today’s jargon, a more “user friendly” church. This was not good psychology, and I wondered if the preacher even knew what he was doing. Though he persisted in it, I must admit that he did not mention it much, maybe once or twice; but I could not get it out of my mind.
I resisted the thought that I could be frightened into becoming a Christian and having to change my ways. If I had to go to hell, I thought at least I would not be alone. If that was my due, then so be it. Getting me all worked up about hell would not do the trick.
But then I kept remembering something the preacher said. Would Jesus really say to human beings, “Depart from me, I never knew you”? The preacher said he would. Would the torment be so terrible that a condemned person would plead for even a drop of water? And would it mean being shut up forever with the demons and the devil? The preacher said it would, because that was what the Bible taught. I never did resolve the problem of judgment and hell before my conversion, and it still is quite disturbing to me.
I have, however, come to believe those doctrines, because I see them throughout the Scriptures, and they are entirely logical. God made a perfect world and created humans in his own image. They then rebelled against him and thus lost the fellowship they had with him. Their sin separated them or, more precisely, severed the relationship between them and their God. From then on, death means that we humans cannot be with God where he dwells in heaven. We cannot be in his holy presence with our sin against us. And because everyone will be raised eternally, those of us separated from God by our sin will have to spend it elsewhere – in a place called hell. This hell, created as an everlasting abode for the devil and demons, will be the final home of the unrighteous. This is the sentence to be handed down at the final judgment of God.
There it is: judgment and hell. What a barrier! We, with our limited understanding, are offended by such an idea. It is an obstacle so high that no one can get over it or around it no matter how hard one tries.
The problem of grace
How can grace be a problem? Grace – the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God given freely to those who do not deserve it – is indeed a wonderful gift.
Grace is God electing us to salvation. Since we have no ability to come to him on our own, he comes to us. Actually, the Father draws us to his Son. And when he does, we hear (not to be taken in a literal sense) the voice of Jesus calling out to us; we hear him knocking, and we arise and open that door. He comes in and dwells with us, because it is his will and desire to do so.
Grace is a barrier, because it implies that we cannot control our own destiny. This is the heart of it. Inasmuch as grace is a gift from God that we cannot earn, it follows that we are powerless to make ourselves acceptable to God. We cannot forgive our own sin; no matter what we do, we cannot make ourselves righteous.
In my self-righteousness and pride I proclaimed, “I am a good person, as good as or better than anyone else, and what’s more, I am a spiritual and compassionate person.” The biblical doctrine of grace denotes that all of these fine qualities are of no value whatsoever when it comes to being right before God. This made me angry.
The Scriptures declare, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16). Since grace is offensive to us, we are tempted to invent a religion by which we can earn our own way. This is the foundation of all religions except biblical Christianity. The opposite of grace expresses itself like this: work hard, study hard, be sincere, love others, serve those in need, attain to a loving and compassionate consciousness, and so on, all done by our own effort. We may go so far as to mouth the old adage, “God helps those who help themselves.” But in our pride we reject grace, for grace is really God giving us what we cannot earn. We stubbornly refuse grace and say, “Away with it, I will do it myself. I am man, I am woman, I am my own person.”
We even proudly proclaim, “I am my own god and in control of my own destiny.” Tell me I am the master of my fate, and I will bow down and worship before this altar and this god created in my image. Declare that I am without sin or that there is no such thing as sin, and I will embrace such ideas enthusiastically. But don’t tell me I am a sinner, dead and lost and condemned, or I might rise up in a rare moment of intolerance and accuse you of being narrow and bigoted or worse.
The self-willed person cannot extinguish the offensive nature of grace. This barrier will not be removed, for if grace is removed, there can be no forgiveness. Jesus has done all that is necessary, all that can ever be done for my salvation. Now he stands offering it to me freely. This is grace. When I did not love him, he loved me. When I despised and rejected him, he longed to be my Savior. When I heaped abuse upon him, he prayed that I might be forgiven. This is grace.
Grace challenges most of my life experience, because I have been taught to expect punishment or rewards depending on my behavior. But grace contradicts this universal experience. Outside of the grace of Jesus we know only reward or punishment, perhaps the concept of karma, and the best we can hope for is an even break. But we cannot break even; in reality we will only experience repeated failure, guilt, and despair.
What a barrier – without Jesus we can do nothing. Yet when we see this great and liberating truth, we can experience grace, and the obstacle will be overcome.
The devil and the demons
What proof is there of a devil? There is none that would stand up to scientific scrutiny, even though those who are committed to the reality of paranormal experiences may advance certain evidence.
The worlds’ religions are full of stories of demons and devils. Most may be fanciful and mythical, but the fact remains that people on earth believe and have believed in the demonic from the beginning. There are probably more religious ceremonies, litanies, and rituals designed to ward off or placate evil spirits than any other religious activity taking place on a day by day basis. However, this alone proves nothing.
The Bible speaks of a literal devil named Satan. It also speaks of demons. In short, Satan was a ruling angel who rebelled against God at some time in the distant past, and the demons are those angels who sided with him in that rebellion. Those beings then allied themselves against the one supreme Deity and all that this Creator God made – especially that which was created in his own image, humans. Yet, this biblical ‘‘proof” does not measure up to scientific examination either. The existence of Satan and demons is a matter of faith. Though some claim direct experience with the devil, as I do myself, yet it is subjective in nature and not the kind of proof that would stand up to empirical scientific inquiry.
Counter arguments for the devil’s existence, though compelling, prove nothing either. For the sake of fairness, I will point out some of the more potent arguments against the reality of demonic forces. Firstly, if God knows everything, then why didn’t he know that some of his angels would rebel and refrain from creating the rebellious ones? Secondly, if God has complete power to do anything, then why didn’t he destroy the rebellious angels before they could harm people? Thirdly, if Satan and the demons will be cast into hell sometime in the future, then why doesn’t God do away with them right now? Fourthly, if God created soon-to-be-fallen angels, then why didn’t he make them interested in tadpoles, so that people would be left in peace? Fifthly, if God created angels who would fall, then why doesn’t he admit his mistake? Sixthly, if it is not a mistake, then God must not love his people all that much.
A thorough examination of the Bible would satisfy us on some of these points, but even armed with scriptural explanations, the existence of the demonic would still be a matter of faith. Furthermore, several of the counter arguments bring up the issue of theodicy, or the justification of a good God in the face of evil, a subject long and futilely debated over the millennia.
So then, we have the problem of how preposterous the existence of the devil may seem. If, in fact, there is a devil, then that should also lead us to wonder what influence such a crafty, subtle, and powerful being (as the Bible depicts Satan) has upon us. Prior to my conversion, I was unaware of any influence the devil might have had on me. Yet, when I ask myself where all my antagonism against Christianity, the Bible, church, and Christians sprang from, I also wonder if it all originated with me alone? I think that is possible, but based on what I know now, I think the devil must bear at least some of the responsibility.
I haven’t figured out why evil exists or why a loving God would allow evil to exist in the first place. I doubt I ever will. While I have some idea of how to resolve these issues tucked away in a systematic theological model in the back of my mind, it is virtually impossible for me to recapitulate it to anyone. If pressed, I would say that Jesus himself believed in the existence of both Satan and demons. This is the most telling point for me, inasmuch as Jesus has ultimate integrity for me. He is Truth himself, and I have learned I can trust him.
Regarding the other point, given the reality of the demonic: How might the demonic influence a human being? Paul wrote, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan, the god of this age, blinds minds so that people either cannot perceive Jesus at all or fail to understand his message. Usually it is the latter.
In my case I did not understand that Jesus was the Son of God, the Savior. That he was a historical figure who actually lived on earth was not a problem for me. I believed Jesus was the founder of a religion and considered him to be a great teacher, but I never believed he was the Savior who took my sin upon himself on the cross and who later rose from the dead.
When Jesus died upon the cross, he won the great victory over the devil. In fact, Jesus completely defeated Satan and will finally put Satan away forever into hell when he returns at the end of the age. Although Satan has power to blind the minds of non-believers, he does not have ultimate power. The Father calls people to his Son Jesus according to his own will. The apostle John put it this way: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
Perhaps the most vivid example of Jesus’ triumph over Satan is the story of the man dwelling in the tombs in a region known as the Gerasenes. He had a legion, meaning many, many, demons living in him This outcast had been reduced to the most horrible existence and was beyond the help of anyone, but when he met Jesus the demons that had tormented and demented him were cast into a herd of pigs. Finally in his right mind, he became an evangelist to his countrymen (see Luke 8:26-39). This is perfectly in tune with what Jesus said he would do. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
“Blessed is the one who takes no offence at me.” These words of Jesus are the reason for this book. Piled up four deep now, the hindrances might seem insurmountable, but they are nothing but straw. There is no real offence in Jesus.
The scandalous history of the church
There are two churches today, and it has been like this from the beginning. One church is visible – the organization, the institution – and it is far from perfect, sometimes very far from anything resembling perfect. The other is the true Church, probably tiny in proportion to the visible church, and it is made up of all those who are genuine, born-again Christians. This true Church may be intermingled with the institutional church, while parts of the true Church may exist outside of the visible church altogether.
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Because of this truth, there has been an effort on the part of church leaders, almost right from the beginning and throughout the course of church history, to avoid the scandal of the cross. Since the idea of the cross is foolishness to so many, there is a desire to replace it with ideas more readily acceptable to worldly people. It might be said that the true Church consists of those who are born again of the Spirit and adhere to and preach the message of the cross where Jesus, God in the flesh, died for our sin. This Church cannot be identified with any one group, denomination, theological model, or leader.
The visible church (es), with all their various names, doctrines, and leaders, developed political power, accumulated wealth, and worst of all, devised magical means whereby forgiveness and salvation were dispensed. They came to represent what all the world thought was biblical Christianity, but it was not.
Therefore, there are two histories of the church, and most of us are not able to easily distinguish between them. In his book, Concerning Scandals, John Calvin wrote that the church “never shines with that splendor which would enable the minds of men to recognize the Kingdom of God.” Even the true Church, the Church that clings to the cross of Jesus, is itself not pure and free from error, because it is composed of sinners not completed, even darkened in their understanding. It is no surprise that both churches and everything associated with them are prone to scandal.
The history of the early church, as found in the New Testament Book of Acts, reveals a less than perfect collection of believers. Acts 5 records members of the church lying to the apostles about money. Acts 6 contains details of trouble over the unequal distribution of food to certain widows, and the apostles themselves were implicated. In Acts 15 there is the account of a debate about the doctrine of salvation. Of the seven churches in Asia (see the opening chapters of Revelation) only one church escaped Jesus’ criticism altogether. There is more, but the point is that the church is not pictured as perfect in its most important and public document, the Bible. The early church had its problems, and Paul in particular wrote letters to correct several aspects of the doctrines and behaviors of various congregations. Curiously, the church’s internal difficulties did not provoke any would-be censors. The Bible records it that way, because that is what happened.
It should therefore be understood that what history might call the church was (and is) not necessarily the elect Church of God at all, but only a worldly institution that contains some true believers. We think of the crusades, the witch trials of Salem, the Inquisition, forced conversions of Jews, and a thousand other atrocities, and we wonder whether this all should be laid at the door of the church? The institutional church, or some form of it, is responsible for these and other horrible events, although even God’s elect Church is composed of saints who are nonetheless sinners. Therefore, history will record one grievous episode after the other, but I believe there is less true scandal than most people might imagine.
One reason the church’s history is full of scandal is that the enemy of God, Satan, and those who belong to that dark kingdom fight a dirty and horrific war against all those who trust in Jesus. Consider the following: Jesus warned that false Christians and prophets would appear and perform great signs and wonders, so that even the true Christians might be deceived (see Matthew 24:24). Paul wrote something similar: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). In addition, Paul warned the Corinthian church about false teachers operating in the midst of the church itself: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:13). In the organized church there will be false apostles empowered by Satan himself. Is it any wonder that the history of such a church is full of scandal?
Remember, the good and bad elements of the church are so intermingled that it is often impossible to tell the difference. In a parable, Jesus warned against trying to make distinctions. His warning is so pertinent to a proper understanding of the mixed nature of the church, I quote its entirety here:
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
The servants of the master of the house came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’
So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matthew 13:24-30).
Like any diabolic and clever opponent, Satan’s tactic is to attack the message by attacking the messenger. In the broadest sense, the church is that messenger, and so the archenemy must make every attempt to besmirch it. This must be understood, in order to have an accurate understanding of church history.
There is a true Church, the Church elect and called by God; and he alone knows who are his. This Church is perfect, because it is the Body of Christ. And Christ is in the midst of his church, the Church Triumphant. This Church is gathered to worship, honor, and serve the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. To this Church Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The history of the church demonstrates the truth of Jesus’ statement, despite the fact that from those hellish gates every foul and scandalous evil will emerge.
The hypocrisy of believers
All Christians are hypocrites, and because of this, non-believers will be tempted to reject Jesus.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “hypocrite” as “a person who pretends to have virtues, moral and religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs” (1996 edition). I have to admit to falling into the category of a hypocrite on the basis of this definition.
Prior to my conversion I knew that Christians were hypocrites; in fact, I used it as an excuse to reject Christian claims. I heard of one girl who was a Christian and attended church but was notoriously promiscuous. Some of my friends dated her, and it made me particularly angry that she would not go out with me. Whether she was a real Christian I cannot say, but the whole situation served to prejudice me against Christianity.
My perception, although I am not sure where it came from, was that Christians had to be perfect. I reasoned that if you are a Christian, then you have to be perfectly loving and ethical. And if not, then, “Ah-ha, see! You are a fake and a liar, and your Christianity is bogus, too.” This is how I saw things, and it suited my rebellion perfectly.
There is no question that I am a hypocrite, too. It is not my intention to be one, but I find that I am. A hypocrite is someone who professes to be something and is not. I profess to be perfect in Christ, but I am far less than that. There is a sense, however, in which I am perfect, because God sees me as perfect since I was placed into Christ at the moment of my conversion. I am still a sinner, not perfect, and I will remain so until the very moment of my death.
Christians do the strangest things, as I know from my experience as a pastor for several decades. Even the best of us fall short of the ideal, because the standard is so very high – Jesus himself. When his life is examined, it is clear that he was no hypocrite. No, he is the Lamb of God without blemish; though tempted to sin in every way that we are, he is without sin of any kind. Jesus, the sinless one, said that we are to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect, and therein lays the problem.
The “perfect yet sinner” paradox is true of all Christians, and it is quite biblical. Paul confessed that the things he did not want to do he did, and conversely, the things he wanted to do, he did not do (Romans 7:15-20). What a scandal this has produced. If anyone is looking for a reason to castigate Christianity, he will not have to look far. I should point out that a careful examination of Paul’s life would not have revealed him to be some kind of wild sinner indulging the flesh at every opportunity. In fact, it might have taken a close examination to find anything amiss at all. But Paul knew the high calling he had in Christ, and when he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he did not always act in accordance with his calling.
In the pages of the New Testament there are stories of some notable hypocrites. Peter comes immediately to mind. He was the first of the apostles to confess that Jesus was the Messiah. Then, before very long, he denied Jesus three times. There were also the two zealous disciples in the early Jerusalem church, Ananias and his wife Sapphira, who turned out to be cheats and liars (Acts 5:1-5). One of Paul’s companions, a missionary by the name of Demas, completely abandoned Paul, the gospel, and Christ; he rebelled and returned to a sinful life (see 2 Timothy 4:9-10). Consider, however, that the biblical writers made no attempt to hide or clean up the historical record. They let it stand as it was. Hypocrisy was expected, because the integrity and truth of Christianity does not reside with individual Christians, but depends exclusively on Jesus alone, the solid foundation and ground of it all.
Christians are bound to appear as hypocrites. We have always known this. Some of the greatest heroes in the history of the post-apostolic church have been inconsistent, although inconsistent is far too innocuous a term to describe some of the antics of the saints. Acknowledging this in Concerning Scandals, John Calvin wrote, “It is wrong for us to measure the eternal truth of God by the changing inconstancy of men” (p. 78). Then in the same place, he continued, “Will the treacherous desertion of certain individuals overthrow our faith?” Of course he expects the answer to be a resounding, No!
Early in my Christian life I could not help but notice that I did not give up sinning even though I wanted to. At one point I thought I should not be spending any time with those “good people” down at the church. It was not enough that no one knew what a rascal I was; I knew it, and so I thought that Christianity must not be working. Yet I hung on, refused to give up, and finally realized that everyone was just the same as me.
As time went on, I believed I was making a little progress. I noticed that, although some of my sin seemed to stop, that I would discover or even develop new sins. This has been the case the entire time I have been a Christian. I am never going to get away from the fact that I am a hypocrite. Hopefully, non-believers will not use my failures and inconsistencies to reject the gospel. I have decided that I do not want to hide from people in order to keep my sin private. No, I want to live an honest and open life. So, I intend to grow up into the stature of the fullness of Christ, and even when someone gets to know me well, they will not be caused to stumble by what they see.
Christians are bound to be seen as hypocrites by those who want to rebel against God. All they have to do is watch one of us for a while, and they will soon find some indiscretion, real or imagined, and that will be enough to turn them from Christ. This barrier can only be overcome by the Holy Spirit of God working to convert a sinner.
The trouble with the Bible
How I despised the Bible! One day I caught my wife reading it, and in anger I took it from her hands, threw it across the room, and ordered her never to bring a Bible into our apartment again.
Later, I had to read portions of the Bible for a term paper for a college philosophy of religion course. Failing to understand anything about it, I became so frustrated that I vowed never to touch a Bible again.
This is the trouble with the Bible – it is incomprehensible to those who do not have the Spirit of God. Paul put it this way: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). I can personally verify the truth of this verse, and have observed it in hundreds of people over the years. Many people who had consistently avoided the Bible developed a thirst for it after their conversion, and that desire for it never went away.
In our unconverted state we rebel against the Bible and what it teaches. This rebellion may take a passive or aggressive form. My own was aggressive, illustrated by my throwing a Bible across the room. Most people’s rebellion takes a passive form – they simply ignore it. Even many well-educated people do this, despite the fact that the Bible is the most influential book ever published in our culture. Whether one agrees with it or not, more copies of it are printed and sold each year than any other book. The Bible, with its wonderful and timeless stories, flowing language, and flawless grammar, transcending all other books, is regularly ignored by the literati.
Why is this so? The reason has already been expressed – the Bible is a spiritual book, and unless the Spirit of God reveals its truth, it will remain unintelligible. Furthermore, the Bible does not flatter the human spirit. The Bible calls sin sin, and it does so in no uncertain terms. It also presents a God to whom every person is responsible, since he will judge the living and the dead according to their faith in his Son, Jesus the Christ. The Bible is rejected because of its message. We react against the Bible, because we have broken God’s laws and have become corrupt.
One of the difficulties with the Bible is that it is written by real people, and their personalities and peculiar literary styles are apparent. Therefore, it does not appear to be a spiritual book at all. The Bible is the history of God, or stories about God and his people, from the creation to the prophecies about the end of the universe, told by flawed and imperfect people, although under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The ancient people of God pieced it together over a very long period of time. It is unlike any other religious or spiritual document in existence.
I cannot prove that the Bible is the true word of God, but given enough space, I could certainly make a strong case for it. There is plenty of solid evidence that points towards that conclusion. I could write at length of prophecies fulfilled; or of forty authors over a 1500-year span, in three languages and even more cultures, from Moses to John of the Revelation, weaving the same, seamless cloth; or of countless numbers of people over the course of thousands of years whose lives have been redeemed, transformed, and rescued through the Book’s direct influence; or of the great nations and institutions whose foundation is the great Book. But none of it would be enough to prove the inspiration of the Bible objectively. It is a matter of subjective and collective faith, and when proven in this way, that proof is stronger than anything objective or empirical could ever be.
For me, the one great proof for the authenticity of the Bible is that Jesus believed the Old Testament to be the very word of God. Moreover, the New Testament is the record of Jesus, his life and ministry. Therefore, Jesus is the reason for my confidence in it all.
I trust Jesus. It is that simple. Having examined his life by reading the Gospels a hundred times or more, I find Jesus to be the very definition of integrity. In him, there is no inconsistency, no pride or selfishness, no hint of sin, vainglory, or deceit. In all his ways and words he is pure and holy. No one has ever been able to prove against him any wrongdoing. I trust the Scriptures, because I trust Jesus.
Even this argument, however, will not persuade the skeptic. The Bible will always be troublesome until the Author reveals himself to the reader.
Christian fluff
As a teenager in Los Angeles, my friends and I would spy the neon sign, “Jesus Saves,” in large, garish, yellow and red letters atop a building, and we would ask, “What does Jesus save?” and the answer would be, “Green Stamps.”
You have to be my age or older to fully appreciate this exchange, but we saw that sign as part of the Christian fluff of the time. Today, such jingoism seems to be the signature of “devout” Christians: T-shirts, baseball caps, signs in novelty shops, tattoos on Christians’ bodies – seemingly endless trite and worn-out statements that are somehow taken to be expressions of Christian piety. Fluffy, corny, mindless caricatures that distort and trivialize biblically based truth. And it galls some of us who wish that retailers would come to their senses. The stuff sells, so we have to put up with it and hold our tongues.
“Why does the devil get all the good music?” sang the Christian rocker a generation ago, and when Christians mimicked that old time rock-n-roll in order to attract youth, the result was more fluff, at least as I view most of it. And it has only gotten worse.
The impact of the junk is that it reduces Christianity to be viewed as just another craze or fad, simply another religion in the spiritual marketplace. The Scripture speaks of ultimate issues – life and death, heaven and hell – and it is not to be cast as another form of entertainment.
The self-help movement has also moved into the growing Christian fluff market, peddling sugar-coated biblical principles as a means to improve one’s life. That it surely does is not in dispute, but self-improvement misses the point of Gospel proclamation.
If I had experienced the fluff and the rock-n-roll siren song generated by the Christian community in the early 1960s when my conversion was in process, it would have been one more barrier.
The last great obstacle – sin
It is all about sin. Sinning begins with the breaking of a known law of God. Perhaps it is lying. At first it is easy to lie, but once the wall is down, it is easier the next time and the next and the next. What was once so unnatural becomes natural and easy. Peter said a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him (2 Peter 2:19). Sin becomes a habit at some point, usually sooner rather than later, and after that it becomes an obsession. Beyond that, sinning becomes addictive. We sin more and more until finally we have to. Even when dire consequences become apparent, we cannot stop ourselves. We will behave badly for the smallest amount of pleasure. Indeed, some people are so mired in sin, depending so heavily upon some sin or another, that they are seemingly hopeless to fight the addiction. The thought of giving it up is so frightening that they will do almost anything to hold on to it. People will ruin their lives in order to avoid repentance. But worse – they will subject themselves to eternal ruin.
Sin is more often embraced than repented of. Indeed, sinful behavior will more quickly be tolerated, if not applauded, than abhorred. Yes, sin will even be championed, defended, and promoted in an effort to take the sting out of the conscience. This process is sometimes called “liberation.” Within a classical definition of the word “liberal” is the notion of breaking free from the law of God. And the question comes: Breaking free to do what? The answer is simple enough: Sin.
We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We know it, too, and that is why the word “sin” is hated above all others. Mention the word in the wrong company and a riot could ensue. Talk about sin, and hearts are hardened, teeth are set on edge, consciences are stirred, passions are enflamed, and minds are closed. Even if the word is not defined with biblical accuracy, it will still get a reaction.
Preachers have been beaten, even killed, for mentioning the word in a sermon. Holy Hubert, who was famous in the Jesus Movement and routinely preached on the steps of Sproul Hall at the University of California’s Berkeley campus, had all his front teeth knocked out, one by one, for telling the hippies they were “dirty rotten sinners.” I know, because I acted as his unofficial bodyguard on more than one occasion. How those mellow pacifists became enraged over the word sin!
Before my conversion, it irritated me to hear the preacher say that because I had not trusted in Christ to save me, I was a sinner. He said I had to turn from my sin, and he made it sound as if everything I did was sinful.
I did not consider myself a sinner at all; “no worse than the average guy” was my motto. But as the months went by, although I do not know how, I became convinced I actually was a sinner. It is only with the advantage of hindsight that I can say that it was the work of the Holy Spirit. In any case, the truth became clear to me – I stood guilty before God.
At first I tried to clean up, do better, stop that and start this – the usual effort by a sinner who does not want to turn to Christ. I would put an end to one sin but discover two more or even start up a new one.
Sin and wickedness are related. In the dark recesses of our soul, sin is enshrined. But when the light of Jesus is cast on it, then the sin is seen for the utter corruption that it is. And this realization makes us most uncomfortable. I squirmed and wriggled, rationalized and compromised, but it was to no avail. Unable to find a way out on my own, my eyes were turned to Jesus, and I knew he was my only hope. Once I saw that Jesus was the Savior, I could not be kept from him. And this is usually how it is; Jesus becomes irresistible.
Sin is mysterious and powerful, blinding and addicting, a deadly spiritual cancer. Sin is so overwhelming that no one can overcome it. Only God can forgive, cleanse, and restore us. This great work took place on the cross where Jesus shed his blood and died in our place, taking the believer’s sin upon himself and suffering the consequences. His resurrection is proof that our sin can be forgiven.
Before my conversion to Christ, my friends and I enjoyed the “fellowship of sin.” We reinforced each other’s sinful ways, approved of our mutual transgressions, sneered at the goodie-two-shoes and righteous Christians who weren’t having any fun, and tried to convince ourselves that we were cool guys who really knew how to enjoy life. Once I came to Christ, I lost those friends who wanted to continue in this fellowship of sin. At the time I was hurt; I did not see that God was doing me a favor. The sinful fellowship was replaced by a better one, and it was God’s plan, because I would never have been able to break free on my own.
The obstacle of sin is overcome by the inward working of the Holy Spirit. This holy and interior working of God helps us to repent, even gives us a hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Paul expressed it in these words: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). It will come to pass that we will gladly let sin go that we might have Jesus and his righteousness.
The real reason why I am a Christian
God himself removed the obstacles and overcame the problems. A young man, probably not unlike me, asked Jesus, “What good thing must I do to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). Jesus essentially told the man that he could not do it on his own. Jesus’ disciples overheard the conversation and were greatly astonished. They asked, “Who then can be saved?” (Verse 25).
Jesus answered, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (verse 26).
Left to myself, I only had obstacle piled on top of obstacle. I could not repent; I could not believe. But I wanted to because I knew I must. In a moment, though, the obstacles were brushed aside. It was as though Jesus called me personally to himself. I wanted him. My lost condition threatened to destroy me forever, but I knew Jesus was the Savior. This truth, now clear to me, would not let me go.
Jesus seemed to stand before me calling out my name. The Savior who had borne my sin when hanging on a cross, the one who had shed his own blood to cleanse me of my sin, the one who had died and had been buried, the one who had risen from the dead and is alive for evermore – this Jesus called me to himself, and in a way I do not fully understand. And it was done right there and then.
This is why I am a Christian.
