Every now and then, you meet a “former Christian” who explains how painful it was to lose his cushy job at the seminary, his financial security, all of his friends, and his social standing by abandoning the faith. This is a tragedy on two levels. First, it’s a tragedy for the guy who is going through all of this “faith-based” turmoil. But even worse, it’s a tragedy that so-called Christians would put him in this position in the first place.
Christ didn’t promise earthly security. He promised persecution, conflict, ridicule, and suffering. It’s very tempting for parents to manipulate their children into belief, by making parental approval contingent on belief. It’s very tempting for people in authority to “encourage” people to believe by appealing to people’s worldly self-interest — job opportunities, social standing, etc. In contrast, Christ says in Luke 14:26:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”
If you’re doing it to please your parents, your wife, your children, or your siblings; you’re doing it wrong. Christ clearly intended belief to be something that carries a tremendous worldly cost. Now, let’s take a look at one of the first attempted seminary students, Simon Magus. Acts 8:9-13 begins thusly:
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
From this passage, we see that Simon’s social standing and financial security were both dependent on his being perceived as a holy man. But, to his credit, he “believed and was baptized”. Like many “former Christians” and seminary students, we cannot say that he was never really a Christian. The story goes downhill from here, though (Acts 8:18-23):
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Wait, what? Isn’t Simon Magus the very epitome of what Christ talked about in Luke 14:26? Simon was willing to forsake money for God!
But Simon wasn’t trying to let go of worldly attachments. He was trying to make an investment in his future vocation. He wanted to be able to do what the apostles did, in public, and get the same adoration he got before. Simon’s heart wasn’t in the right place. Instead of seeing Christianity as a truth worth sacrificing everything for, he saw it as a cosmic vending machine that he could put quarters into to get what he wanted. He thought he could pay a few coins to become a big shot in the “faith based” community.
If your goal is to become a big shot in the “faith based” community, or to become a “fine upstanding citizen” among all of the “people who matter”, your willingness to sacrifice time and money is not a credit to you.
Likewise, some nominally Christian parents think that they can “buy” a fine moral character for their children by sending them to an expensive Christian school that requires creedal confession. To them, Christianity is a values-based social club — a divine vending machine that can get their children access to the right social circles.
Any time we start evangelizing Christianity out of utilitarian considerations, it’s time for a reality check. Did Peter tell Simon Magus, “Just hang in there, champ, and soon you’ll be a big shot!”? Any time we find ourselves citing the utilitarian reasons that we remain Christian, it’s time to get worried.
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