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PREFACE
Big Brains & Simple Saints
Are We Normal Christians?

What is Normal Christianity?

Part 1: Conflicting Extremes in the Christian's Life

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Isaiah 64:6 (Amplified Bible)

There's a Bible blueprint for normal Christian living: By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ-likeness and effectual faith should eventually be evident in the lives of born again adults.

What Christians get up to at church isn't half as important as how they behave everywhere else. Conduct matters. There are even occasions when believers have to make sure their goodness isn't mistaken for evil. Standards are high — too high for many, or so it seems. Most importantly, how a Christian behaves and thinks in total privacy best defines who and what that person actually is.

Worryingly, in private a Christian will often be at odds with his public persona. The person living in total privacy or among close family is who that person really is. There are very serious issues when the fundamental truth behind closed doors doesn't match the personality, behaviour and character most people are familiar with. Sometimes a Christian's demeanour among a particular group of friends, at work for example, is very different to his behaviour among Christians. This contradiction obviously clashes with teaching from the Bible. Why is this problem so common among many who call themselves Christians?

Several years ago someone I’ve a lot of respect for sent me a book. I read it very carefully, making lots of pencil notes in the margins. But eventually it exasperated me. The author, writing fifty years ago, honestly believed that a time would come when all Christians could put aside their minor church differences and concentrate on the things that really matter, like Christ Himself — total unity without compromise. Sounds like a good idea, but it hasn’t happened. Can it ever? In my opinion, for what that's worth, it's highly unlikely this side of eternity.

In principle most would agree that it would be nice if the divisions among churches could be set to one side in favour of lifting up the Person of Christ and sticking to His goals for the Church. But what's to be done about the spiritual sickliness that disrupts the lives of many who profess faith in Christ? This is of vital importance, but you may not think so in the actual everyday outworking of Church life.

There's an underlying lack of discipline, commitment and godly zeal. Discerning Christians even have to come to terms with manipulation and poor judgement by church elders. Even if leaders manage to get it right, whatever that may mean, the body of believers they care for is inevitably a depressingly eclectic group continually afflicted by many difficulties.

In the average church we find petty disputes, differing levels of faith and experience, the glib acceptance of sin, misconceptions, immaturity, bias, conceit, deceit, self-assertiveness and self-centeredness, apathy, cliques, inappropriate humour, harmful worldly influences, one-upmanship, rivalry, jealousy, gossip and a failure to identify and combat the work of the spiritual enemy. Human failings mean that even if doctrinal and traditional divisions among true churches could be officially set aside, this bold enterprise for unity is unlikely to stand a chance within each local assembly.

It’s over fifty years since this book was written, but we’re no further on. In fact it could be reasonably argued that things are worse today. The abundance of modern church flavours have merely stirred the mix more thoroughly and added to the schisms, squabbles and inevitable spiritual impotence.

New Christians, full of hope and vision, may find themselves in the middle of a nasty mess that rumbles on and on with no obvious solution in sight. Good intentions are useless when bubbles burst. How can those in church authority — men and women supposedly of God-built character, who claim to be walking and communing with God daily — how can they be responsible for so many dreadful miscalculations, and even skilful manipulations aimed at instilling a desire to get involved through guilt? I've endured this type of engineering to the point where I was literally the last man standing. I couldn't subscribe to the contrived guilt trip. It was shameful – in my opinion.

Real Christains should desire to know God in a real way. They mustn't be content with just learning about Him. Prayer, Bible reading and a genuine love for Christ should be the daily norm among spiritual leaders in our churches. If pastors, elders and deacons are empowered by God with a spirit of wisdom and revelation, why is it that some fall short? Is it the fault of the congregation, those often weary individual Christians whose character and principles forbid them to jump through hoops and follow mind-numbing routine?

The Christian's goal isn't some kind of religious lifestyle routine that's supremely holy. Not a chance! Human shortcomings and frailty are inevitable, otherwise who would need God to turn weakness into strength? Despite their best intentions Christians often end up doing the very things they don't want to do. But those best intentions are the place to start. They should be evident all the time, relentlessly drilling their way through the host of imperfections and limitations. Real Christians will want to carefully apply themselves to all that God calls them to.

How many are broken before God when their old natures demolish good intentions and they let God down? Not enough it would seem. The Christian objective should be a body of believers whose individual lives are righteously dedicated to the will of God — individuals who desire to glorify God in all things, that is, in every aspect of their daily existence, in public and in private.

Factions that stem from strong disagreements shake even large well established evangelical churches. I'd make an educated guess that in the first instance it's mainly untameable human nature on the loose that's to blame. What a beast it is. Don't be too quick to directly blame the devil. Be the person God wants you to be, submit to Him and you can chase the Devil away. Of course, our enemy will be quick to make the most of our weaknesses and failings. God says you don't contend (wrestle) with people but with evil spiritual powers operating in the background.

So what's the solution when immorality raises its ugly head behind the scenes? What should you do when other Christians can’t stand you being around and fall out with you bitterly? Is there a fix for intellectual theological pulpit addresses that choke the living word for that hour — that uplifting message that's supposed to spiritually nourish ordinary lives where they are? Who cares if you're a pastor who preaches pre- or post-millennialism when too few among your flock show evidence of life-changing spiritual fruit and the power of God in their lives? Priorities. There's no time for lesser things.

Hypocritical Behaviour and Pretence

Some suggest that religious hypocrites in the Church are not genuine Christians. But can we really claim that those who practice hypocrisy aren't really Christians at all and are therefore sent to Hell? Without further clarification this type of questionable reasoning can be somewhat misleading. Worse still, it will at some stage be fuel for the Church's secular critics who are a savvy lot.

While it's true there are indeed religious hypocrites who are not genuine believers, we daren't appear to ruthlessly cut corners and suggest that what many unbelievers and atheists complain about is only pretence and fakery. This would be an untenable oversimplification. We can't leave it there. It's beyond dispute that genuine Christians are in fact individually guilty of ongoing detractive hypocrisy.

They come to accommodate double standards in their lives; it eats into their daily routine simply because they don't work at rooting it out. They don't walk the talk because they don't routinely let Christ work freely in their lives by faith. They don't respond fully to particular challenges. They need loving input. They need spiritually mature instruction. They need prayer. But they certainly aren't Hell-bound religious hypocrites.

Literal definitions of a religious hypocrite leave too many unsettling loose ends needing addressed. Maybe local churches need to do a better job of identifying, challenging and winning over the genuine fakes. They are misguided, spiritually dead and may even be harmful, like the tares sown among the wheat (read Matthew 13:24-30). Their presence among those who don't believe undoubtedly contributes to the world's dismissive opinion of churches and genuine Christianity. But their time will come, one way or another.

We are here dealing with Christians who are much less than they could be. Is that how you feel about yourself? For 30 years I've felt that way over and over and over. Those who find fault with the Church are often criticising inconsistency and self-contradiction in the lives of real born again Christians. The New Testament makes it plain that being a Christian isn't easy, but heartfelt daily commitment through a sincere love for Christ is essential – in fact, it's normal.

According to the New Testament all Christians often stumble (fall and offend) in many things (James 3:2). “Often”; “Many”. Yet at the same time, in whatever they do, they should “do all to the glory of God” (1st Corinthians 10:31). In the life of a genuine Christian there is a coming together of conflicting extremes. This must be resolved if we are to move on.

Before God we should hold up our hands and admit to one another that when we live in our own strength and trust in our own abilities we will fail over and over again.

There are thoroughly dejected Christians out there who wrestle with sexual problems that include pornography, perverted fantasies, suppressed homosexual tendencies and even various forms of abuse.[1] There are professing Christians who eventually succumb to adultery. There are many in our local assemblies who regularly drink[2] and smoke despite a wealth of worrying statistics and New Testament teaching on self-respect. Some with many years of Christian experience are still unable to tame their explosive tempers — while driving perhaps. And in that context, many park vehicles where they know they shouldn't because it's more convenient. Leading figures in church life appear in court charged with a variety of motoring offences

Church-touring Christian singers and musicians abandon their husbands and wives and together disappear into the sunset. Through the working week Christian businessmen feel obliged to use dubious tactics to balance the books yet have no qualms about singing God's praises each Sunday. How many Christians copy and share Christian artists' music CDs? How many Bible-believing, born again Christians regularly tell not-so-little white lies to avoid uncomfortable truths or simply to make life easier? How many make the wrong choice when faced with those classic moral dilemmas? Where do we draw the line? More importantly, where do we get the power to overcome?

If Christians know to do good but willingly chose not to, to them it is sin (blatant wrongdoing before God); if their hearts don't condemn them in what they do, they have confidence toward God (James 4:17; 1st John 3:21). Maybe we selfishly justify what we judge to be permissible. So the line becomes blurred and individualised. Dying to self so Christ may live in and through them is the goal of all Christians, and many fail over and over. Human nature on the loose in the Church is a poor advertisement for Jesus. Even dedicated believers fail and sin and they earnestly believe they need Christ's assistance to get cleaned up again.

What should the local body of believers be in the world?[3] A light? A loving cure? An example? There are times when the average Bible-believing church seems more like a defective instrument. And if you should speak up about biblical grass roots issues and life-defining subjects, as we are doing here, you may be labelled too deep or philosophical!

A Christian once told me that there was no need to get too involved with what the Bible has to say. Bible reading isn't a priority to this individual. This person believes in God and tries to maintain a good life. These comments were an honest opinion from a very kind and thoughtful believer, but the reality is radically different. The Bible plays a key role in understanding the will of God. The enemy would rather we didn't read it, because obedience to the living Word leads us into a closer walk with Christ.

Taken in faith the written Word releases the living Word. Are you a faltering and confused Christian? You can start afresh today by learning from the Bible what has gone wrong inside you. You can discover all that God has provided for you in Christ.

Go to: Are We Normal Christians?

1 Someone once told me that her husband showed her no love and abused her by using her for sexual gratification. Solutions were sought through their church but eventually they separated.

Generally, the Church is weakened by many sexual problems, as various surveys have shown: "50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography. 60% of women admitted to having significant struggles with lust; 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year; and 20% of the church-going female participants struggle with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis." A confidential survey of evangelical pastors and church lay leaders revealed that 64% confirmed that they were struggling with sexual addiction or sexual compulsion including, but not limited to, the use of pornography, compulsive masturbation, or other secret sexual activity. Pastors.com questioned 1351 pastors on their involvement with porn: 54% had viewed Internet pornography within the last year, and 30% of these had visited within the last 30 days.

 

2 Alcohol is implicated in around 40,000 deaths each year.

Deaths have doubled in 10 years.

Half of all violent crime is linked to alcohol and generally alcohol-related crime costs £7 billion a year.

There are 180,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions each year.

Around 40% of Accident and Emergency admissions are due to alcohol consumption and at peak times the figure can be as high as 70%.

Treating the effects of alcohol currently costs the National Health Service £1.7 billion a year.

 

3 If Christ is the foundation of the Church and Christians bricks, then sanctification and holiness should be its mortar.

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