Shining as Lights

For those who grew up in my generation, who were fans of Contemporary Christian music as a teen, I could probably start this quote off and you would be able to finish it,

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Him with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." The quote is by Brennan Manning and was placed on D.C. Talk's Jesus Freak album.

I've recently spent a great deal of time in Bible studies and in meetings with individuals talking about how we as Christians stand out as different or holy in this world. I've asked myself and others the question, "Is there any way we can avoid the conclusion that Manning makes that we as hypocritical Christians are the greatest reason people deny the existence of God? And honestly, is there anyway we can avoid being frauds in their eyes?"

Looking at history doesn't encourage my spirit about the possibilities of living holy and blameless in contrast to this world. In the Old Testament the people of Israel seem to live very similarly to the nations around them. The Patriarchs seem no different from their neighbors as they lie about the relationship to their wives (Genesis 12), steal birthrights (Genesis 27), murder a whole village (Genesis 34), or swindle a father-in-law (Genesis 30). Looking at the period of the kings, even under the good kings the nation usually still had the high places where they worshipped false gods (Josiah and Hezekiah appear to be different, but even under Solomon these high places were used by Israel, see I Kings 3). After the captivity Nehemiah pulls his beard out because the people are intermarrying with other nations and raising their children according to the customs of other religions (Nehemiah 13). In the New Testament the Corinthians are an absolute mess doctrinally and morally. The Thessalonians are guilty of sexual impurity (I Thess. 4), the Colossians and residents of Galatia have major doctrinal flaws they are wrestling with, and the churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3 each has major issues.

Even now the church struggles to be salt and light as we are commanded (Matthew 5:13-16). I was confronted with this issue this past week as the story came out about Auburn's quarterback, Cam Newton along with his father seeking $200,000 in exchange for him attending school. The problem is that his father is a pastor and by all indications was the one demanding the money and making the decisions. Sadly, whether this is true or not people will conclude that the father is a greedy fake no different than themselves and as a result will look down upon our Lord and His church.

All this to say, here's my response to Manning's quote and the questions I've been wrestling with the past few weeks.

• In many ways, there are those who are not Christians who are searching and seeking for evidence proving they are correct in their assessment that we are no different and that Christianity is a fraud. I don't think we can do anything to change their minds. So every time they see on the television about the pastor who cheated on his taxes, or the minivan with the Christian bumper sticker who cuts them off, it just provides more fuel to their assertions that we are no different. In that way Manning's quote is correct. As a result...
• We should be people who always have God's grace upon our lips. We are always ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15), and quick to declare that we are Christians not because we try to be, or because we agree to live by a set of rules, but simply by His grace. C.S. Lewis asserted that it was quite possible an unbeliever who was a moralist would actually live better than the Christian because the moralist believed his good behavior would someday merit some form of reward or arm-twisting before God whereas the Christian knows they are hopeless and lost if not for God's grace. Therefore they aren't saved because they do good, go to church, give their money to the poor, etc. but these are done expressing appreciation for what God has done for them. Our words have to be communicating that our deeds don't make us better before God than our neighbor, but simply are the revelation of our thanksgiving for what He has done for us. Tim Keller did a wonderful job of conveying this point in The Reason for God.
• Finally, we as Christians have got to see that in order to be salt and light we don't just have to avoid the "big sins." The one time in history that comes to mind when God's people were living transformed lives that made a difference on their culture was shortly after Pentecost. These believers were selling their possessions and sharing the proceeds with the poor, they were sacrificially loving one another. Consider Stephen's martyrdom and the effect it must have had on the Apostle Paul as this man is being stoned unfairly, but in the midst of such unfairness drops to his knees and prays that the Lord would forgive his murderers. The genuine love that these believers had for Jesus spilled over into love for one another and even for their enemies. Don't you know that's why many of the Jewish priests got saved (Acts 6:7)? Rather than focusing on not committing the big sins, I think we would do well to consider are we loving one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34-35)? Are we speaking words of encouragement that are positive and true (Acts 11:23)? Are we forgiving even those who don't deserve it because Christ has forgiven us even when we didn't deserve it (Matthew 6:14)? Those sins of omission are often overlooked, yet sadly reflect so much the life of a transformed believer.

Manning may be correct in his assertions about the life of the believer, and that's why its essential that I speak of God's grace often as the only means by which I can come to God, and that I focus on loving others in the way I speak to them, as I forgive them, and interact with them because someone may make conclusions about Christ based on my behavior and I want my behavior to testify of His grace and the power of His Spirit working inside of me...