Almost Christian #1

June 11, 2021 (Friday)

 

Old preachers used to cover the idea of “almost Christian.” The tendency was to use Acts 26:28 as the jumping off point. “And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” [ESV] A major flaw in using this verse, is Agrippa was NOT a Christian and never claimed to be one. But it makes for good preaching to press the point, what is an “almost” Christian?

 

First, they are technically “lost.” By that we mean they have no saving relationship. The horrifying thing about this status is “Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies with him in your minds, which was shown by your evil actions.” [Colossians 1:21 CEB] I have no clue why anyone would deliberately chose to be the enemy of the victor in a war. Yet, here it is.

 

Second, the “almost” Christian has no sense of sin or conviction of sin. Ephesians 2:1 emphasis this dramatically, “At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God.” [CEB] Recently I heard someone say that some people have a tomb in their heart while others carry their heart in a tomb. Being dead to God, not able to hear His voice is a very dangerous place to be.

 

Growing up in the mountains of Pennsylvania, I remember there were four churches in town and four bars. Sunday morning the churches were full and the bars empty. When the service was over the churches were empty and the bars full. Unfortunately, many were the same people. Oops, I forgot, drinking is no longer considered a sin. Maybe it should never have been, but it was set up as a fence to keep people safe. No reason to play with fire… The question then is, what about the proverbial “fence riders” who want Christ but also want to sin?

 

Holiness folk like to point to verses like Hebrews 10:26 – 27, “If we make the decision to sin after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there isn’t a sacrifice for sins left any longer. There’s only a scary expectation of judgment and of a burning fire that’s going to devour God’s opponents.” [CEB] I have landed on the plausible idea that if one were to “lose” their salvation (a theological impossibility) then recovery is impossible. That does seem to be what the verse is saying.

 

Another favorite of the holiness camp is 1 John 3:9, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.” [ESV] This verse seems clear. The “practice of sinning” is the deliberate daring of God’s justice. It is willful sin. A very real problem with deliberate sin is they become like an addiction, controlling us. “Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.” [Psalm 19:13 NLT]

 

This issue is not so simple. What do we do with the Corinthians? Paul called them “saints.” Correction, Paul wrote, “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus…” [1 Corinthians 1:2a ESV] The word “sanctified” means “holy.” This church is “holy.” The people of the church are “holy.”

 

Yet, Paul took them to proverbial woodshed, “for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” [1 Corinthians 3:3 NLT] He specifically identifies two deliberate sins (jealousy and quarreling). How someone who is “holy” be controlled by the sinful nature? How can there be no difference between the holy and the world?

 

Let me know when you figure it out.