Why Are There Christians Who Are Worse Than Unbelievers?
by Jeff Brown
I have a problem. For me it's almost a riddle. Why are there Christians who are worse than unbelievers? I think most of us have experienced one or more of the following: There are very disciplined unbelievers. On the other hand there are some brothers and sisters in Christ who are lazy and sloppy. There are non-Christians who are very good workers. Have you ever noticed that some Christians are unreliable in their work? There are unbelievers with whom you enjoy talking and who rarely utter a harsh word. I hate to say it, but I have to for honesty's sake: There are active members of the church who often grumble and talk critically about others. There are non-Christians who have remained faithful to their spouses for decades – while there are Christians who have committed adultery: multiple times.
All of this irritates me a great deal. But my question goes much deeper than just why this irritates me. The riddle is, “How can this possibly be?”
In 1John 3:7-8, the apostle wrote, Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. In the Greek text the verbs are in the present tense, which means that the apostle is talking here about ongoing, habitual action. Does this then mean that genuine Christians are always doing the right thing? Whom do you know that constantly does what is right, that rarely sins or not at all? When you pursue this line of thought, the circle of genuine Christians gets smaller and smaller, until we begin to ask, “Are you a Christian? Am I a Christian?” As a matter of fact, everyone of us can find an unbeliever who is acting better and more honestly in a certain area of life than we are.
One politician of the last century who, I am convinced, was a man of character, was Anwar Sadat. He ended the hostilities between Egypt and Israel. He established peace. He knew that he might have to pay for this action with his life. But he brought about peace with Israel nevertheless. He died as a sacrifice for the cause in which he believed. He was a man worthy of praise. How many Christians have achieved what Anwar Sadat did? Jimmy Carter, a Christian, was also involved in the peace process, but he did not participate at the cost of his life. As far as we know, Anwar Sadat died a professing Muslim.
My parents live in a small village in Michigan, U.S.A. Recently there was an article in the newspaper about a man who was something like the village father. This man was a physician, a publisher, an entrepreneur, a teacher, a philanthropist. He helped establish order. He was well-known in his county for his upright life. He was a strong voice for morality, freedom of religion and freedom of speech. He established scholarships from his own savings so that several young people from his area could receive a college education. While I was reading this article, I fully expected it would say that he was a very religious person. But no! He was an agnostic. I had to read that sentence twice. Then I had to ask myself, “How many of us Christians have lived such an exemplary life?”
Is this righteousness? Does our righteousness before God ultimately come through dedication, striving and works, and not through faith? – The answer to this riddle is that we are talking about two different things.
When we read the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, we notice how God has built principles for life into creation (Proverbs 8:22-33). If a man or woman follows these principles, they will function for his or her own good and for the good of those whom he or she influences: whether he or she has accepted Jesus Christ or not. If a man is always honest, then other people will trust him. I have a friend, an old school pal, who has become a very successful entrepreneur. Once I asked him, “What are the key principles for success in business?” He answered, “Treat the people who work for you like the Bible tells you to: be honest, be reliable, be understanding. Seek what is best for them. Then they will do a lot for you. Work hard. Be disciplined in what you do. Concentrate mostly on your goal, and not on your problems or pleasures.” Then he added, “I am amazed at how many non-Christians understand that so well.”
Proverbs 2,1-10 explains the concept:
My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek for her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.*
There are three key words in this Bible passage which explain the effectiveness of one's search for divine wisdom: “If” (verses 1,3,4), “then” (verses 5+9), and “for” (verses 6+10). “If” gives the challenge. “Then” shows the result. “For” explains why it works this way. Essentially, the father is saying to his son, “Seek wisdom early in life. Search for it intensively. Strive for it. Work hard in order to win it. You need to understand how important wisdom is: more important than gold, more important than treasures. The result will be that you will know how to live.” Whether or not a human being has accepted Jesus Christ – through striving for the wisdom that God has built into creation, he can live a better life. Even Socrates understood this concept when he said that man can attain wisdom only by relentlessly striving for it. (Plato, Republik.VI). It's not surprising that the ideas of Socrates have influenced the Western mind until this day. It pays to live wisely. You will be honored as a good person. That's what happens in society all the time.
Second Truth
But in order to solve our riddle, we need to look at a second principle, the principle of righteousness. According to the Bible, the only true righteousness that a person can possess comes as a gift from God. True righteousness is nothing we deserve or we can earn. Romans 4:1-8 says the following:
What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as dept. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
Do you notice what emotions are expressed in this quote of King David? It is incredible truth! The righteous man (1John 3:7) is considered righteous because he was acquitted from sin. Without this acquittal, Abraham, David, Paul, and all other righteous people would have remained guilty and unrighteous. The righteous person is considered righteous because God's righteousness was imputed unto him (i.e. “put on his account”). This righteousness, says Paul, doesn't require works and relentless striving; it requires faith: faith in the works of Christ.
After a person has come to believe in the works of Christ (i.e. His death and resurrection for sinners), he can work for God. From this moment on in his life, everything a Christian does for God, he does through the power of God. John 15:5 says, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. After a person has received Christ as Lord and Savior, he now really begins to live. The life and actions of a Christian don't count just for this present time, they also count for eternity. God rewards good works – works that only children of God are able to do. The smallest good deed that is done in the name of Jesus is going to be rewarded (Matthew 10:42). Who has lived a life of such devotion as Paul did? Yet all he did, he did to the glory of Christ (Philippians 3:7ff).
So why did the apostle John phrase his letter like this? Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. We need to understand that statement in the context of the book. First, John wanted Christians to learn to distinguish between genuine preachers and false prophets (1John 2:26). False teachers can be recognize by their contradictory life style. They tell you how to live, but they are always breaking the rules. Jesus mentioned the same principle in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:15-20). Second, John wanted Christians to be certain of their salvation (1John 5:13). We can, we should examine our lives. When you do, can you see a pattern of deeds in your life that is emphasized in the Bible? Or do you only have a good feeling because of a certain experience in the past? Are you hanging your hope on the idea that God is too nice to turn you away? Practicing righteousness again and again gives us the assurance that we really belong to Jesus Christ. Though it is possible that a person can belong to Jesus and live a sinful life, he will constantly have doubts about his salvation.
Our faith should make a difference in our lives. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus described this truth like this, You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. We are supposed to be lights in this world. In a different passage (John 8:12), Jesus says that He is the light of the world. How can He in one place say that He is the light of the world and in another we are the light of the world? Theologian Haddon Robinson has explained it this way: It's like the relation between the sun and the moon. Christ is like the sun that really shines on everything and brightens everything. The moon shines at night by reflecting the light of the sun . Through the light of the moon a man can find his way home, even though he cannot see everything clearly. That is our task. Christians reflect the light of Christ just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. Our lives don't teach the complete truth, but our life style should be sufficient to point people to Jesus Christ. We should shine in the world with the light of Christ. How absurd when we as children of the Most High behave like our home is the garbage dump!
William Sangster, the late Bishop of the Methodist Church in London, tells us the following story**. He begins it by saying, No man is forever lost who knows where he really belongs:
Some time ago a poor drunkard committed his life to Christ in this church. Twenty years before he had been a church official in the Midlands, but he came to London, took to drink, and drifted to the gutter. When he capitulated to Christ, he had a pathetic hope that his thirst might be quenched by some stroke of omnipotence.
It wasn't!
There began that day a long guerrilla warfare in his soul between the deadly craving and the keeping power of Christ. As his new friend, I suggested that, on any day in which he found the fight especially hard, he might drop in and we could have prayer together. He dropped in often. His drawn face told its own story. We would go into the chapel and pray.
One day, as I was praying with him, he broke down completely. The contrast between his earlier life of holy service and the revolting bestiality to which drunkenness had brought him was too much. He sobbed like a child and said: “I know I'm in the gutter. I know it. But, oh, I don't belong there, do I? Tell me, I don't belong there!”
I put my arm around him. I felt a great elation even in the pain and embarrassment of his tears. He had lost his way, but not his address.
“No,” I said quite positively, “you don't belong there. You belong to God.”
Reference
unless stated otherwise, all Bible quotes are taken from New King James Version
*New American Standard Bible
**William Sangster, The Craft of the Sermon, 1961, Westminster Press, p. 146
