Chapter 1 - The Challenge
So far I have read chapter 1, which is only half the length of an average chapter. It is very much an introduction, a call to real commitment among Christians, a call to trust God and to move on to victory. A call to believe God and to know and believe the Bible, not just with the intellect but with the whole being (a concept that I do not really understand). When I began reading, it seemed aimed specifically at Christians in the USA, which is not where I live. He looked back to the religion of some of the founding fathers of the USA. But reading on, it does have something to say to all Christians, not just those who live in the USA. Besides, I have every intention of visiting the USA next year, going to one of the original 13 states of those founding fathers.
The first two pages of the book are very much aimed at Christians in the USA, and I will not comment on this. I will also not comment on any other parts of the book that appear to be aimed at Christians in the USA. He then wrote this:
We encounter beliefs which contradict and oppose ours. Hence we need to be quite clear as to what we believe, we need to be able to express it in terms that ordinary people can understand, and we need to be able to stand firm against beliefs which conflict with Gods word.
Yes, Christians will encounter beliefs that are different from those of the Bible and of conventional Christianity. There will be the beliefs of what he calls secular humanism, the beliefs of those who follow other faiths, and the beliefs of individuals (some of them calling themselves Christians) that do not follow any specific religious pattern.
I am to a large extent a follower of many of the ideas of secular humanism, but I also recognise the possibility of a spiritual side to life. Spiritual experience is not something that has ever to me, and I suspect that my life is poorer because of this.
We should not water down the demands of Christs gospel in order to gain a nominal acceptance of it from as many people as possible. Such a nominal acceptance often has shallow roots and does not last, and it may inoculate people so as to make it harder for them to receive the real thing.
It is probably that many people have completely wrong ideas about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. Many of them are regular churchgoers.
Nominal acceptance may not be the only thing that makes it harder for people to accept faith. As a parent I was very careful not to teach my children fantasies as if they were true. Yet many children learn about Santa Claus on Monday, Jesus on Tuesday, the tooth fairy on Wednesday, the Easter bunny on Thursday, and so on. Of course they are going to reject Jesus and God, as being no more real than the other things they were told as children.
A lukewarm Christian cannot stand up to a deeply committed atheist or humanist.
Sadly, I have found that very few Christians can cope with me when they learn of my disappointing experience of being a believer. I say sadly, because surely if God was guiding them, they would know what to say to me.
Christianity is tremendously rewarding. To those who truly believe in Jesus Christ, it promises eternal life in heaven with God. It promises forgiveness of our sins, and freedom from many things that have held us down. It promises an abundant life on earth, in which we can overcome every adversity. It promises peace, joy and true fulfillment.
Yes. There is more to Christianity than the promise of eternal life. All of those Christians who discount everything except eternal life, please note.
I look forward to finding out, later in the book, whether he expects believers to change in their own strength, or if it is through the work of the Holy Spirit in the person.
This includes being strong in our faith. We need to be quite clear about what we believe. We also need to believe it completely, with our whole being, and not just with our intellect. We need to believe and not doubt.
Wow! Are there any Christians reading this who are always clear about what they believe and who never doubt? Is he asking for the impossible? Or will someone say that for God, nothing is impossible?
Can anyone explain to me what he means when he writes that Christians need to believe completely, with their whole being, and not just with the intellect? It does not mean much to me. I can believe something with my intellect, certainly. But how do I believe something in a stronger way than that? I have been told that it means believing it in your heart as well as in your head. Fine, but what does that mean? Maybe they mean that it is something that needs to engage the emotions and the persons passion. If so, I would have problems doing this; because of the effects of a non-fatal brain tumour I do not experience strong emotions or feelings as such, and I have never been passionate about anything.
We can stand firm on the words of the Bible. The Bible is true and reliable, and it can and should be the guide for everything we do. In Part II of this book, I give my reasons for believing this. That belief underlies everything else I say. If we accept Scripture on its own terms, as an authoritative revelation from God, then we have a solid rock to stand on. If we do not accept it as authoritative, then it becomes merely one among many expressions of fallible human opinion. It is largely because many Christians, today, do not accept Scripture as authoritative that we find such wide divergences of opinion among those who call themselves Christians.
I am not a believer, and I have some doubts about the Bible. One reason for my doubts is that whenever two Christians disagree, they each quote Bible verses to support their argument. Both Christians may accept scripture as authoritative, but there are still divergences of opinion among Christians.
It is in our actions that our faith becomes real. Faith that does not result in action, that does not make a major difference in the way we view and respond to everything around us, is not real faith.
My faith during the time that I was a believer did not make a major difference to the way that I viewed and responded to everything around me. So he may well be right; I was a believer, but it was not real faith. It makes me wonder how many other believers there are out there who do not have real faith.
... we deal with all of them (issues) in Gods power and not our own. Whatever he calls us to do, he will enable us to do.
A partial answer to what I wrote about whether we were expected to change in our own strength.
As someone who, even though I was a believer for two years, never experienced Gods power, can anyone tell me what it is like to experience Gods power?
Christian faith is not primarily a belief in doctrines. It is a belief in a person. It is a relationship with a person.
Christians who tell me that the Bible does not promise that the believer will have a relationship with God, please note.
Those who trust in God will not be disappointed (Psalm 22:5).
As a person who trusted in God for two years and was disappointed, and who trusted again many years later and was disappointed a second time, I disagree. But then, in Psalm 22:5 the trust is looking back to the past. It could be taking the verse out of context to suggest that it is true for every believer. I hope that he will not make a habit of taking Bible verses out of context.
