The Measure of a Christian

As I was doing some of my regular blog reading I came across the oft heard phrase “nominal Christian.”  It was used in the context of examining two groups of people who step away from their faith either momentarily or permanently.  I’ve heard that description many times over the years and it always gives me pause – what exactly is a “nominal Christian?”  Is it someone who sits on the sidelines and never participates in the ministry of the gospel, personally or socially? Is it someone who came to faith early on in life and never sought or got involved in discipleship training?  Is it someone who claims the title “Christian” simply for social or business purposes?  Would Jesus be comfortable with “nominal Christians” in his band of twelve?

During some of my Bible reading time, going through the book of James, there’s a verse in chapter one that seems curiously placed. Understanding that the genre of James is fascinatingly allusive, verse 12 of chapter one appears to clearly illustrate that point. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him (NASB).”  There are biblical scholars who see verse twelve plainly connected to vv. 2-11 and there are those who see the verse connected to v. 13ff.  Where one chooses to situate the verse is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to the teaching of the verse. It is almost a capsule of James’ purpose in writing the instructions to the “twelve tribes who are dispersed.”

Whether it’s persecution or social injustice, the man/woman who perseveres under trial – translate as endures with the goal of perfection or completeness – will receive the crown of life. A promise from the Lord to those who keep loving him. Now in my mind there’s not much room there for “nominal.”

It’s true that there will be periods of inconsistency in our pilgrimage of faith. There will be times when we want to cry out “I believe, help thou my unbelief!” There will be trials that push us to the edge of the envelope and force us to put our faith cards on the table. There may even be times when we find ourselves in the camp of the double-minded. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve abandoned faith – it simply  means we’re still struggling to “count it all joy when (we) face various trials.”  That is not characteristic of a “nominal Christian” – one who exists in name only?

The measure of a Christian is one who is moving forward. If measured on a scale of one to ten, ten being perfect and complete in Christ, if we’re a six our goal ought to be to get to seven! Sure we want a ten, we believe in ten, but our goal is moving forward. How fast we move is determined by many things – but the point is simply this, we are moving forward. We are enduring. We are persevering. There’s nothing nominal about that!

The Gerasene Man and The Depressed

Dressed and in his right mind. That was the condition of the Gerasene demoniac when Jesus left him. (Luke 8:26ff and Mark 5:1ff)

Demon possession is not something many people are comfortable talking about these days. Nor is it a “common” occurrence in this culture. Nevertheless, people who are not in their right mind is more common than one might expect.

Severe depression can put a person in such a state of mind that there is nothing “right” about it. Conduction a life under the burden of that affliction can often be masked, but never controlled. It is as though the body is outside itself looking on as the activities of the day are carried out.

Unlike the Gerasene man, possessed by demons, the person suffering from acute depression is not chained to a wall – naked and erratic; in their mind perhaps, but seldom in reality. They only suffering that goes on goes on within the confines of a distorted reality. Their lifeless form simply mimics living since they know what it was like and can repeat it as though by rote.

It is easier for people to understand demons than to understand the depressed. You can describe demons and put a form to the spiritous. With depression the ethereal has no form. People cannot wrap their minds around anything coherent. They find it difficult to accept because there is no rash, no oozing sores, no fever to control. It is simply there. It is not as though the severely depressed are crazy. They are not. The are merely tormented by their own lack of meaning and purpose.

They are wrestling with their own personal demons.

Hell: Eternal, Conscious, Torment —- Really?

This past couple of Sundays our Pastor’s sermons have been on Hell. Actually eternal, conscious, torment in Hell.  The sermons so far have been set up with much care. First establishing his  belief that the Bible, as God’s word, is inerrant and infallible. Then he moved to the premise that Jesus spoke more about Hell than Heaven. That lead to the simple connective ideas – if the Bible is true and if Jesus spoke about Hell then Hell is real and people who do not accept Jesus will spend eternity in eternal conscious torment.

I struggle a good deal with this idea of Hell. I don’t argue that Jesus spoke about it and therefore makes it tenable, I simply struggle with the idea of eternal, conscious, torment.  It seems to me that it’s rather self-serving in one sense. Basically it’s like God saying “believe in my Son or else.” That leads to a rather sobering understanding of the nature of God and the rather human tendency of people “believing” simply to avoid it. The old “fire insurance” kind of belief. I wonder if there is real value in that type of belief or if God sees any real value in that kind of beleif.  But that’s another subject for another time.

I don’t begrudge God setting things up so that people who choose not to (or He elects not to) believe in Him are punished consciously for all eternity. After all, He is God – a kind of might makes right thing. But it does seem rather difficult to swallow when one considers “for God so love the world.”   Now that verse was used as part of the sermon and the emphasis was not on the love part as much as it was those who believe in God’s only begotten son will receive eternal life and never perish.  Which I suppose begs the question – why did John use the word “perish” and not “live in conscious torment for all eternity.”  Perhaps he thought perish was bad enough!  And I contend that perish, the Greek word apollumi, which means perish, destroy, or fully destroy may indeed be the correct understanding of Hell and not eternal, conscious, torment.

Now I’ll admit, thinking about this topic, listening to the sermons and doing some additional reading on the topic has made me sick – literally sick.  It seems so unfathomable for me to think that God – all powerful and all knowing – a “good” God and a God of love would willing sacrifice His only begotten son simply to complete a plan that would put people in a position to make such a choice that results in eternal, conscious torment.   Does it not seem more reasonable (bad choice of words I know) that God would have the choice be eternal life or perish not eternal life or eternal, conscious torment?    Wasn’t the consequence of original sin “death?”  Aren’t the wages of sin “death?”  Isn’t that punishment severe enough for those who knowingly and continually reject belief in God’s son?  What value is there or what delight does God take in the eternal, conscious torment of his creation?

I reckon I’ll have more concerns to look at after the last of the series on Hell next week.  For right now, I’ll simply struggle with the correct meaning of what the Bible says on this topic – both OT and NT – can’t take on without the other.

 

PS… spell check wasn’t working so I apologize for any errors – other than my thinking.