What is Your Greatest Need in a Chaotic World?

Recently, I was present when an evangelist asked a young believer who wanted to join our team, what she believed was the greatest need of the people passing by. She hesitated, thought about it and then said, "love?" The evangelist gently suggested there might be something more important and she quickly answered, "peace?" 

It seems like a big question, more so because if you ask 100 people you're likely to get many, if not 100, different answers. 

Similar questions that could be asked include: is our greatest need determined by our opinion or is it decided by external factors? Are we able to ascertain what our greatest need is? How do we know whether something will meet our greatest need unless we actually have it? Is anything capable of meeting our greatest need? Does our greatest need change over time or is it consistent?

I'm sure many of you are watching current headlines with a growing sense of alarm, our world is increasingly divided in every area of life. It seems inevitable that we are heading for a catastrophe of one sort or another. It's not surprising, therefore, and seems perfectly reasonable, to suggest that love and peace are the solutions and would meet our greatest need but is that really the case?

Is it possible for each one of us to love and be at peace with every other person perfectly all of the time? It's really a rhetorical question as we all know the answer!

Perhaps it would be okay if the leaders of our various countries loved each other and put their neighbours above their own interests or if every country sought peace even if it cost them to do so. History has demonstrated that this isn't possible either. The natural tendency of world leaders is to act in the interests of their own country (and ultimately for themselves) and not for the good of humanity as a whole. Whatever else you may think about him, at least Trump is honest about his intentions.

Maybe our greatest needs are love and peace but we are doomed to a life of hopelessness and helplessness as they will never be met. Should we spend all of our time striving for these things that are seemingly impossible to achieve? Should we, like Greta Thunberg, pour our energies into activism and seek to force people to comply with our sense of what's needed to make things right? Or should we throw our hands up in despair and give in to depression about the state of our world?

Is there another way?

When we think about the question of our greatest need it seems big because we immediately start thinking of all the problems in the world: war, famine, poverty, disease, homelessness, joblessness, family breakdown, crime etc. 

Then, overwhelmed, we move to the problems in our own circles but find a similar list of insurmountable difficulties. 

Defeated, we focus on ourselves. After all, we can't do anything for anyone else until we've got our own house in order, right? But once again we find that we don't know the answers. We may fix one thing but our repair may fall apart and if it holds then along comes another problem and we are back to square one.

There has to be another way...

What if there is only one problem? What if the problem is the same for every individual? What if the problem is responsible for all of the chaos in our world? What if the solution to this problem meets each person's greatest need? What if the solution to this problem has already been provided?

Would you want to know what it is?

My evangelist friend replied to the girl, "It's good to have peace, but what about forgiveness?"

The problem is sin (breaking God's law). We are all guilty because we have all sinned. Sin is against God who sets the rules and it separates us from Him because He is perfect. We are heading for Judgement and in the end Hell. Our greatest need is forgiveness of our sin. The solution was and is provided by Jesus paying the price for our sin at the cross. Jesus died in the place of sinners so that we could be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God. We need to accept the gift of God, repent (turn away from our sin) and turn towards Jesus believing that He died for us personally. God promises to forgive anyone who turns to Him through Jesus. He guarantees an eternal place in Heaven for us.

If this sounds too simple to deal with the chaos in the world. If it sounds too simple to deal with world leaders wielding power, to deal with corruption at the highest levels, to deal with famine, war and poverty....consider a change of perspective.

God is the Creator of the Universe. He is outside time and space. He isn't just a bigger version of us. He controls and sustains everything in the world and nothing happens without His permission. World events and seeming chaos don't take Him by surprise and aren't an unexpected difficulty. He is working to fulfill His plans and purposes and is working for the good of those who love Him.

Every knee will one day bow before Him and give an account of their lives, from the smallest to the greatest and every one in between.  

Being forgiven of sin leads to peace with God which is our greatest need in a chaotic world. 

In the midst of life's uncertainties, will you turn to Him today?

Are You Born Again or Just Religious?

In the news today, I happened to read the headline that according to the 2021 Census less than half of England and Wales now identify as Christian.

At first, I felt sad but then I realised that statistics like this don’t really mean a lot. If people identify as Christian just because they were born in a particular country, go to church, or have gone through a religious ritual, then of course the numbers of “Christians” will be falling as people lose interest in being associated with a particular religion.

It made me wonder what people mean when they apply the label in the first place. It’s often the first question I ask people in the street, “Are you a Christian?” A lot of people say that they are but then add, “I’m not really religious, though” or “I don’t go to church.” Some even say, “But I don’t believe in God” which seems a little strange.

Last week, I saw a lady looking at our open-air board which was carrying a Christian message. I asked her whether she was a Christian and she smiled and said, “Yes of course, I’m a Methodist.” “Great,” I said, “So you’ve trusted in Jesus for forgiveness of sin and are on your way to Heaven?” or words to this effect. The lady stared at me, then burst out laughing as if I had said something hilarious. The grin still plastered on her face, she quickly escaped before I could say anything else.

Another lady and her daughter had recently been bereaved of their husband/father. They said they were all Christians and began telling me what a great person the man had been. They went as far as to say that kingly robes would have been laid out for him as he met God because he had never done anything wrong in his life. I asked them if they were sure where they were going and left them with a “Peace with God” leaflet.

Today, a man returned the leaflet I had just given him. I asked him if he was already a Christian. He said, “Yes, I worked for an undertaker for decades, so I’ve seen more bodies and been in more churches than you have been in your life.” I’m not really sure of the relevance of this statement, but the man seemed to think he was right with God because of his church attendance even whilst working as an undertaker!

That’s three people, in the space of less than a week, who carried the Christian label but whose words betrayed a total misunderstanding of the Christian message. If slightly under half of the people living in England and Wales still call themselves Christians, there are likely many millions living under this misapprehension.

It’s such a common problem in Western nations, that it can be refreshing to meet real Christians.

Another man, last week, had approached our board which had a number of Bible verses on it. I asked if he was a Christian. He said that he was. I asked if he was sure he was going to Heaven. He said that he was. I asked him on what basis he was sure. He said, “Because Romans chapter 10 verse 9 says that if I confess Jesus as Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I will be saved.” I was so astonished that I had to quickly check that the verse wasn’t already written on the board!

To be clear, religious rituals and/or identifying as a Christian don’t achieve anything by themselves. They will not provide forgiveness of sin, or make you right with God and, crucially, they will not save you. 

To become a Christian, The Bible says we must repent and believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sin. This involves humbling ourselves and accepting that we are sinners. Next, being sorry for our sin and willing to turn away from it (repentance). Then, belief in the heart that Jesus paid the price with his death on the cross, trusting Him for forgiveness and new life. Now, surrender to Him and make Him Lord of your life.

When a person becomes a Christian, they are born again. They are a new creation. The old has gone and they have been made new. Their life is transformed, and they are never the same again. They throw off their old habits and lifestyle (with God’s help) and live a new life following Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Not a perfect life, but a changed one.

This transformation is the only basis on which we can be sure we are saved and on our way to Heaven.

12 Reasons People Give for Rejecting Jesus

I nearly used the word “excuses” in the title but thought that “reasons” was less provocative. However, in reality the reasons people give are excuses because the evidence is there for anyone who is concerned enough to investigate.

1. I’m too busy- People often say this when we attempt to speak to them in the street or offer them a leaflet. It’s tempting to point out that we are only after a few minutes of their time and that we are talking about their eternal destination. However, we all know that we make time for the things that are important to us, so what they are really saying is that they aren’t interested.

2. I’ll consider it when I’m older- We had some young lads say this to us during a mission this year. You would’ve thought the pandemic would’ve made people more aware of their mortality and that no one is guaranteed tomorrow. However, it’s amazing how quickly people are lulled back into a false sense of security when times of crisis appear to have passed.

3. I’m too old to change my beliefs now- Tragically, we sometimes hear this from people. Again, it’s more a case of not being willing to change, or even to consider the case for change rather than their age preventing them. Jesus welcomes anyone, of any age, who will repent and trust Him for salvation.

4. I’ll get there on my own- A little like the Pharisees (religious leaders) in the Bible. People like to think that they can earn a place in Heaven through good deeds, a religious life, prayer, confession, charity work etc. A Catholic man of 83 who said he had been doing all these things all his life asked me what I had done in comparison. As he walked away, he called out that when he died, they would be “over the moon” to see him. I feared for that proud man who was not trusting Jesus but relying on his own goodness.

5. I don’t want to give up my lifestyle- At least this is more honest. It’s different to saying I can’t live up to God’s standards of holiness. If that was the requirement, then none of us would make it. This is where someone knows that repentance is required and knows they would need to be willing, with God’s help, to try and turn away from lifestyle sins that they are attached to.

6. I can’t read/concentrate/understand- A lot of people who say these things actually don’t want to hear because when we offer them a CD/DVD or try to use simpler language, they aren’t interested. They aren’t willing to seek God or make any effort to understand. The Bible tells us a child can understand the way of salvation.

7. I don’t know which religion is true- This is interesting as it can be a genuine dilemma, but it’s also used as a red herring. Two young guys recently told me that they had been given a John’s Gospel by a co-worker and were reading it every day. I asked them if they understood the message and they said that they did. I asked them whether they had become Christians. They looked shocked and immediately replied that they had not. I asked them why and they said it was because there were lots of alternative views out there. So, I asked them to consider whether Christianity was true before worrying about all the other religions. It struck me that these lads seemed not to be searching for the truth but possibly just acquiring knowledge. People can sit on the fence their entire lives if they aren’t willing to take a true step of faith.

8. I can’t go to church- This isn’t a requirement for salvation, but because people know that if they become Christians, they will be expected to attend church, they sometimes say this. It can be due to bad experiences in the past, due to fears of large groups of people, anxiety disorders, or other reasons. The best thing to do is not to say that someone doesn’t need to attend church as a Christian but encourage them to take one step at a time in that direction, to decide firstly if they are ready to repent and believe that Jesus died for them. God will then help them with getting to church.

9. Christians are hypocrites/religion causes wars- I’ve put these together as they are essentially the same. When people use sin in the church, or in Christians they know to justify their own negative response, all we can do is to remind them that we are all sinners. It is awkward when a professing Christian falls into grievous sin, but this is why we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and not on other Christians who are just as fallible as we all are.

10. I just don’t believe it’s true- Most people who say this have never read the Bible. Most people don’t know the true Gospel message. Most are placing something else that they consider to be more plausible above God e.g., science, or Richard Dawkins. People who say this aren’t usually willing to investigate for themselves, they are closed minded because they don’t want to believe. They have nailed their colours to the mast eternally, without considering the evidence which is pretty risky if you ask me.

11. God is unfair- Usually these conversations start with, I can’t follow a God who allows…. or how can a God of love send people to Hell? Questions around suffering are difficult, especially when it is personal. However, there are reasons for suffering, pain, death and Hell. They all trace back to humans committing sin. People who use this as a reason to reject God are essentially placing themselves in God’s position and making a judgement on Him. We can’t see the big picture. We are the creatures, and He is the Creator. There are things that we can’t understand that we must leave to God.

12. I’m an Agnostic- I’m meeting more and more people who say this rather than that they are an Atheist. However, believing that the truth about God is unknowable when He has clearly revealed Himself in sources that we can easily access (The Bible), just means the person is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something. Ignorance is not an excuse in any other area of life so why should it be any different with God?

Maybe you are reading this, and you recognise yourself in one of these categories. Perhaps, you are thinking that by giving these reasons, you are not really rejecting Jesus, but just living your life.

The Bible says that we are either following Jesus as Saviour and Lord, or we are not. If we are not, we are following the world which is under the influence of the devil for this period of time.

If we are Christians, we are safe and heading for eternity in Heaven. If we are not, we are currently heading for a lost eternity in Hell.

In light of the eternal nature of these things, it seems sensible to suggest that people should either be on an urgent search for the truth, in which case they will be willing to read, pray and perhaps visit a church, or they are already Christians and will be wanting to lead others in this direction.

Please don’t let one of the reasons above, or others that I haven’t thought of, stop you from searching for the truth.

The Bible says that if we seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me."

Is There a Solution to Our Biggest Problem?

“Let yourself have fun and let yourself fail. Who cares? We’re all going to die. Just have a go.”               A heavily edited excerpt from an interview my cousin, Connor Swindells, recently gave to a national newspaper. At 26 and on the edge of stardom, you might think that death would be the last thing on his mind, but it isn’t.

In fact, no human being has ever had an answer to the problem of death. It hovers over us like a dark cloud throughout our lives rearing its ugly head from time to time when we lose someone close to us.

So, we do one of several things; ignore it, refuse to think about it and bury our heads in the sand choosing instead to live for the moment, or we become obsessed with health and safety to ensure we live as long as possible, or even, in extreme cases, we arrange for some kind of preservation of the body, just in case the scientists find a way to restore life in the future. If you are hoping for the latter, by the way, it will never happen!

We can’t beat or cheat death and, at the risk of stating the obvious, it gets us all in the end.

I often meet people who are upset about a particularly serious accident or tragedy where lots of people have died. The terrible incident at Aberfan, where a rubbish tip on hills above the village merged with springs of water causing a catastrophic collapse of slurry that killed many children at the village school and some adults, have been mentioned a few times this year even though it was decades ago.

People ask how God can be loving yet not have intervened as these, and other tragedies, unfolded. One man told me that if he had been God, he would have moved the trajectory slightly as the slurry descended the hill, so it avoided the school at Aberfan. I had no answer to this particular observation, and I’m not sure the man was expecting one, it was more like he was thinking out loud.

Reflecting, I wondered whether the man would still have been upset if he had been able to change the course and a group of different people had been killed instead of all the children. What if one of the new victims had been a relative of his, or the parents of one of the children that had survived and was now an orphan?

We can easily fall into the trap of thinking like this man. Perhaps we think the saddest aspect is because most were children that had barely started life. But is there ever an age that makes it easier to lose a loved one?

Some of the angriest people I meet in the street are still holding a grudge against God for allowing one of their grandparents to die decades earlier. Often, they had lived to their 70’s or 80’s but the person still believes God was unfair in allowing it to happen.

They are asking, “Why Me?”

Leaving aside the issue of us being unable to assess the fairness of God due to our comparatively minuscule minds and the fact that we cannot see the bigger picture.

The reality is that if God intervened to prevent your relative or friend dying in an accident or from an illness, others with people who love them are dying in similar circumstances all around the world every second of every hour, of every day. These people might well ask why your loved one was saved and theirs was not. 

If fairness is what we are concerned about, would that be fair?

Taking this to its logical conclusion, the result would be that God would be forced, or expected, to intervene in every situation where someone’s life was at risk, otherwise He would be showing partiality, or favouritism, to one person over another.

Then, we would all live forever!

Maybe at this point you are thinking that this sounds like a good idea and wondering why God didn’t set things up in this way in the first place.

Actually, He did…. but we messed it up. 

Our first parents rebelled against God and rejected His rule over them. So, God gave them over to their own ideas and, because of their sin, He cursed the Earth with suffering, sickness and…. wait for it…. death.

The Bible makes it clear that we ultimately die because of our sin, “the wages of sin is death…” and that we all are guilty of sin, “for all have sinned”.

God can’t just overlook sin, or He wouldn’t be just and fair. He can’t just intervene every time someone is in danger or there would be no penalty, or consequence, for sin which also wouldn’t be just and fair.

This would be a pretty diabolical position for us all to be in, and this post would be seriously depressing, if it weren’t for one important fact.

God loved us so much that He had a rescue plan. A plan to defeat the curse of sin, suffering, sickness and death that He had placed on the Earth due to our rebellion. A plan to send His Son Jesus to live a perfect life on our behalf. A plan for Jesus to die on a cross, taking the punishment you and I deserve, and to be buried in a tomb. A plan for Jesus to defeat the curse of death by coming back to life.

I said earlier that no human being has an answer to the problem of death. This is true, but thankfully God does.

Jesus was able to stand in our place, pay for our sin and reverse the curse of death because He was sinless. If we repent (turn away from our sinful lives), ask for forgiveness, and trust that Jesus died for us on the cross, we are promised eternal life in Heaven as a free gift.

Effectively, we can receive the benefit of Jesus defeating death and live forever with Him.

The alternative, which I don't recommend, is to stand before God on Judgment Day carrying all of our unforgiven sin. God has to punish us at this point, or He is not just. The punishment is eternal in a place called Hell.

Either way, death doesn’t have the last word, God does. 

Will you face Him joyfully having been forgiven through Jesus or will you suffer His righteous anger for all eternity?

 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 15 vs 55-57)

10 Reasons I Am a Christian and You Should Be Too!

Maybe when you see a title like this you feel irritated, annoyed or even angry. Who am I to be telling you what you should believe? What gives me the right to suggest that every person needs to become a Christian? What about other religions? Or a combination of these and other questions.

The truth is, I have no right (apart from God's command), and my plea for you to consider Jesus has nothing to do with my believing that I’m in any way better than anyone reading this. We are all the same. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standards. We are all in need of a remedy for that broken relationship with God.

The good news of the Bible, that Jesus died on the cross for our sin making a way for us to receive forgiveness, peace with God, and a permanent home in Heaven, is available to ANYONE who will repent of their sin and trust Him. Repentance is a complete change of mind and direction from living for ourselves and what we want to do, to following Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

This message is urgent as we are not guaranteed tomorrow. The loving thing for me to do is to tell you so that you too might be saved.

It is with this in mind that I ask you to consider these reasons:

1. I believe Christianity is exclusively true. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” This statement should silence those who believe all religions lead to God, or that you can pick and choose bits of one and then another. It’s either a true statement or it’s false. My believing it doesn’t make it true, but there is plenty of evidence that it is.

Rather than being a faith I have just accepted because of my cultural roots, my parents, or a label I have had since birth. I became a Christian in my early twenties having wandered far from God for many years.

2. I don’t want to end up in Hell. I have listed this before speaking about Heaven because personally it was a greater motivation for me in coming to faith.

Many Bible characters, including Jesus, warned about Hell being eternal, conscious torment, facing the wrath and justice of an angry God towards unrepentant sinners. A place where people will want to die but won’t be able to. We are told to flee from the wrath to come.

Thankfully, Jesus has made a way for us to do this and, believing the warnings, I took it.

3. I want to go to Heaven. In the Bible, Heaven is described as a place with no sin, suffering, sickness, pain or death. We are told that no one can imagine the amazing things that God has prepared for those who love Him. Christians will be there forever with God.

Heaven is not a worldly place full of carnal lusts like the Muslim’s paradise. It does not celebrate sinful vices as we tend to do on Earth. Nor is it a boring place with people sitting on clouds playing harps as some seem to imagine. Finally, it is not too crowded as someone else surmised.

Heaven will be perfect like the world was meant to be in the beginning before humans rebelled against God.

4. The meaninglessness of life/purposelessness of life as a non-Christian. I’m not a Christian purely because I was lacking purpose and meaning in my life. However, being a Christian has given me both.

Prior to my conversion, I was seeking satisfaction and happiness, perhaps fulfilment, in worldly things; vices, relationships, career, material things, money. I ended up realising these things were empty and meaningless by themselves which led to hopelessness. It was also a very selfish way to be living and I was troubled by guilt because of my sin.

5. Receiving forgiveness of my sin- past, present and future, and peace with God. On becoming a Christian, I clearly remember that my biggest emotion was a sense of relief. Relief that I was no longer at war with God, no longer running from God, no longer at risk of Hell. I felt an immediate sense of peace knowing that all of my sin had been forgiven and that I couldn’t lose my salvation which had been secured by Jesus on the cross.

Then, I wanted to live a life that pleased God out of gratitude to Him for rescuing me.

6. Jesus changed my life. I’ve spoken briefly about vices but some of these were deeply ingrained. I had tried hard to deal with them myself and was unable to. It was only when I recognised that they were sins against God which had become idols in my life, and asked for God’s help, that I was able to be rid of lifestyle sins that had plagued me for years.

In time, I found that I no longer wanted to do these things and, whilst I have to be careful with some things, others are no longer a temptation for me. I have seen others trapped in these vices and been able to help them because Jesus helped me.

7. Creation makes sense of the evidence. I’ve never believed in the Big Bang or the theory of Evolution. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. I’m a logical thinker. I’m often astonished when talking to people far more intelligent than I am, who seem to have swallowed the evolutionary nonsense, hook, line and sinker, despite all of the flaws in the theory, and the much more plausible alternative.

How do people explain the conscience, the soul, our wills, feelings and emotions? Also, the irreducible complexity of things created which have obviously been intelligently designed? The Bible tells us that people are without excuse for rejecting God because His Hand can be clearly seen in Creation.

8. The Bible is factually reliable. There is a lot that could be said here. I’ve never had an issue with accepting the supernatural in the Bible because if God created everything then He can do whatever He wants.

A few of the main evidences are that there are hundreds of specific prophecies in the Old Testament that came true thousands of years later in the New Testament. There were many witnesses to Jesus' life, death and even His resurrection. The tomb was empty. The disciples went from being timid and afraid to associate with Jesus when He was arrested and killed, to boldly proclaiming that He had risen from the dead. Most of them lost their lives for their stance.

Additionally, there are plenty of facts from sources outside the Bible that confirm its reliability. Facts about the Geography of the area, the language used at the time, the names of people etc.

We know that the Bible hasn’t been changed as we have the Dead Sea Scrolls and eyewitness testimonies from the time.

9. God answers specific prayer. I know of people who have had supernatural experiences including someone who asked God to switch a TV off if He was really there. Imagine the terror when it actually happened!

Though I haven’t personally experienced anything supernatural, I have seen answers to prayer that cannot be explained away. When I was first saved, I prayed for an opportunity to speak to a group of lads that were smoking drugs on my train. I was so stunned when it happened, and was initiated by the lads, who were being chased by train security at the time, that I was almost lost for words!

10. God orders circumstances. We need to be careful about reading things into our circumstances especially when seeking guidance. But there have been several times in my life where circumstances have miraculously come together to give me the confidence to move forward in faith.

A major example was when I was seeking God about heading to the mission field, but I had a mortgage. God used my lodgers, who weren’t Christians at the time, to provide for me for the next seven years. Even my lodgers said that it felt as if things were being taken out of their hands and they later became Christians. This type of intervention gives me confidence in my faith knowing that God works things for good for those who love Him.

I could add a section dealing with the fact that Christianity works but experiences are subjective and can often be explained away. If you do want to look into this aspect, there is a good series on this YouTube page every Saturday night called Real Lives that tells individual stories of lives changed through becoming Christians. There are millions more around the world with similar stories from the mundane to the miraculous. Jesus does change lives, but this doesn’t mean that all of your problems will disappear, or that Christianity will make your life easier. My life got a lot harder when I became a Christian.  

I’m not going to mention that the Bible is the world’s best-selling book, or that Christianity is the largest world religion. Muslims often ask why, if Christianity is true, Islam is the fastest growing religion. These facts are largely irrelevant as many people who think they are Christians are just born in a “Christian” country but have no faith to speak of. Likewise, anyone born in a Muslim majority country is automatically classed as a Muslim even if they convert to another religion. A lady I know who converted to Christianity from Islam is still repeatedly told that she is Muslim by her neighbours because her father was a Muslim despite her being a member of a Christian church!

The Bible says that "narrow is the way that leads to life, and few will find it and that broad is the road that leads to destruction with many on it." This immediately makes a nonsense of any statistics regarding religious adherence. We all know also that people can be sincerely wrong, and that the majority are not always right.

These are some of the reasons I am a Christian. I’m praying that if you really think about these things, you’ll realise that you too should become a Christian for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

What a Christian is not.....

It is assumed, almost universally, that everyone knows what a Christian is. Sadly, as societies drift further and further from God, ignorance reigns.

In recent weeks, when I’ve explained what I believe to individuals, I’ve been asked what faith I belong to, what denomination I’m in, and even whether I’m a Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Catholic or with the Latter Day Saints, (the same as Mormons.)

When I respond that I’m a Christian, a Christian that believes the Bible, I usually receive a bewildered look. Of course, no one says anything at this point because in Britain we are too polite, but I know exactly what they are thinking. They’re wondering why I take it all so seriously and insist on telling others about it. And, perhaps they are confused because they also believe they are a Christian but recognise that there is something very different about my life in comparison with theirs.

So, I thought it would be helpful to dispel the myths by explaining what a Christian is not…..

1. Someone who was born in England, America, or any other countries that are, or have been, culturally Christian. There may well be Christians in these countries, but being born into the country doesn’t make someone a Christian. When I speak to someone and ask them when they became a Christian, as soon as they reply “from birth,” or “I was born one,” or “I’ve always been one,” I know there is something amiss. A Christian can usually date their conversion, if not by exact date, to an age, or period of a few years, even if they were very young.

2. Someone who goes to church. Again, most Christians attend church regularly: the Bible says we shouldn’t give up meeting together and gives instructions for how church should be organised. But, there are plenty of people attending church that aren’t Christians. There is now even a church for atheists! Many people go through religious rituals of all kinds, and a lot of these are very sincere, but these things don’t make someone a true Christian. Likewise, many attend church at Christmas and Easter, weddings and funerals, but this won’t save them.

3. Someone who has been christened, baptised or confirmed. In response to the question, “are you a Christian?” people often tell me they have been christened or baptised, usually as a baby. Others point out that they’ve gone through a religious ceremony at a certain age. However, a lot of these people don’t even believe in God, and the fact of their christening has made no difference in their life. They just keep it as a “get out of jail free” card, as if it will possibly make everything okay in the end.

4. Someone who lives a good life or is a good person. Most people, on some level, associate Christianity with being a good person; doing charitable works, helping people, giving to the poor etc. I often get told I’m a good person by non-Christians who think I’m involved in some kind-of social work. Those that question further and find out that I’m basically sharing my faith with people are less enamoured. If I get the chance to explain, I will tell them why helping people practically with immediate needs won’t help them with their eternal destination on Judgement Day. The fact is that we cannot live good lives, or be good people. We are born with sinful natures which mean that even our good acts are tainted by mixed motives. One small thing that we do wrong is enough to keep us out of Heaven forever. It’s bad news for all those that are relying on their good works outweighing their bad when they stand before God, no one will make it.

5. Someone who knows the Bible. There are people out there who are relying on their academic knowledge, or being widely read. They are often the same people who dismiss parts of the Bible when it suits them. They know what the Bible says but it hasn’t changed their lives. I’ve met older people like this: when asked if they are Christians, they respond sharply, “of course,” but follow up questions reveal that they don’t understand the Gospel message. They know verses from the Bible, and hymns, and can quote these at length. When I gently try to explain what I believe in the hope they will realise it’s different to what they’ve said, they become offended and then belittle me. They remind me that these are things they’ve known their whole lives and have been brought up on. They can’t understand why I’m even speaking to them, and tell me to go and talk to others who need to hear what I’m saying. It is tragic that these sincere people are not saved.

6. Someone who is in full-time Christian work. On a recent camp, a young girl was astonished when I suggested that some Church of England vicars may not be Christians. I’m sure there are many that are, but some will just be doing a job. Certainly, in previous generations, men chose “the church” as their profession whether or not they believed the truths they were teaching. There were some serving alongside me on the mission field who later renounced the faith. We’ve seen recently, the well known pastor and author, Joshua Harris, abandon the faith, and his marriage. We can’t assume that church leaders, youth workers, missionaries, or others in Christian work, are Christians.

7. Someone who has a relative that is a Christian. This is an interesting one. I’ve met people who say, “my wife does the religious bit,” or “my niece is the one who’s into all that.” Sometimes, these people seem to be relying on their connection to this person whether through marriage or biology. They think that they don’t need to do anything about it themselves because their family is somehow covered by the devotion of the one person with faith. This is not a common view, but needs to be mentioned. The Bible makes it clear that faith is an individual matter, and that on Judgement Day we will stand alone before God to account for our lives.

8. Someone who separates themselves from the world. There are many examples of people believing that God desires us to cut ourselves off completely from society and live nomadic lives. The idea is that we are tainted by the sin of the world and therefore need to be separate in order to be holy and acceptable to God. There are monks, and some nuns, that have done this, and even harmed themselves physically, in an attempt to prove their devotion. The Bible says that we are to be in the world but not of it and that we are to be witnesses to non-believers. How can we do this if we are living completely separate lives? God does not require this of us and it is actually a form of self-righteousness or pride, thinking that we can reach God by our sincerity or acts of devotion over and above other people.

9. Someone whose life doesn’t change when they are converted. A Christian is a new creation with the Holy Spirit living inside them changing their desires, thoughts, attitudes and behaviour. If there is no visible difference, over time, between a person’s life before and after they say they became a Christian. There is a problem with their story. This is often what happens when someone makes an on the spot decision at a crusade, rally or meeting. They are swayed by the emotional atmosphere and really believe they should respond to an altar call but, afterwards, they change their mind, or forget the decision, or choose to continue as before. It is God who is at work, changing a person, and He doesn’t fail. We all mature at different rates but there is no such thing as a carnal Christian. Christians will fall into sin from time to time as we are all tempted, but they will respond in repentance and faith not in defiance and continuation of the sin.

10. Someone who doesn’t believe the Bible. There are people around who say they are Christians but either reject the whole of the Bible, or parts of it. These people haven’t understood the Gospel message of salvation. The Christian faith rests entirely on the Bible. It is God’s Word and therefore our source of authority. It provides instructions for life and conduct. More importantly, it tells us how we can be saved judgement for our sin, and go to Heaven forever. A person who thinks the Bible is unimportant, old-fashioned, out of date, or who doesn’t read it, or who rejects large parts of it, is not a Christian. This includes cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons (Church of the Latter Day Saints.) Both cults have their own religious books that contradict parts of the Bible. They don’t believe that Jesus is God.

11. Someone who is religious. When talking to people in the street, they often say, “I’m not religious” as if that is an answer to the Christian message. Somehow, people have convinced themselves that they don’t have to think about God unless they are religious. That God is only for religious people and as they aren’t religious they can live without reference to Him. This is an illogical philosophy. If God exists and created everything and everyone, we are all accountable to Him whether we are religious or not. It’s the same for those who believe they can somehow magic God out of existence by what they believe; “I don’t believe in God therefore He can’t judge me.” A more logical approach would be to say, “I’ve considered the Christian message and decided I don’t believe it is TRUE. I understand the consequence if I’m wrong but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Ultimately, Christians can’t force someone to believe, they can only present the Gospel message and ask people to consider whether it is true. If it’s true then it applies to everyone so look carefully at the overwhelming evidence!

12. Someone who focuses on signs, wonders and miracles. The Bible makes it clear that there will be people who have been involved in these things that are not saved. They may even convince themselves that they are doing these things in Jesus’ name but He will reject them on Judgement Day. This includes those who steal money from people for so-called faith healings and then live in luxury and self-indulgence. We cannot buy miracles, health, wealth or happiness from God and no human can provide these things on God’s behalf. We are told to pray to God and wait for His answer. A true Christian knows that they cannot expect a life of ease and prosperity because we are told to count the cost of following Jesus and that we should take up our cross and follow Him daily.

Having explained what a Christian is not, it would be remiss of me not to, briefly, explain what a true Christian is. The Bible says:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life.” (John 3 vs 16)

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10 vs 13)

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10 vs 9)

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1 vs 9)

A true Christian is someone who acknowledges that they have sinned against God. They have confessed their sin and turned away from it (repentance). They have placed their whole faith and trust in Jesus, who lived a perfect life, and then died in their place on the cross. Jesus was punished by God instead of the sinner. They are following Jesus as Saviour and Lord, seeking to live a life that pleases Him. They have a certain hope of Heaven through Jesus’ death and resurrection, not through the good things they now do.

As you can see, being a Christian is about what you believe, not about any number of other things. A true Christian will change and become more like their Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The first step is to believe that He died for you on the cross and to ask for forgiveness of your sin. He promises to forgive all those who come to Him and ask.

Have you trusted Jesus yet?

Do I Have to be Attracted to Jesus to be Saved?

An alternative title might be: Is Fear of Hell a Legitimate Reason for Coming to Faith?

Growing up, I was clearly taught that Christians went to Heaven and those who didn’t believe went to Hell. As a teenager, my mindset was definitely that I had to be living a life that was pleasing to God otherwise I would end up in Hell. I was terrified of this possibility. Whenever my life was on track I had a sense of peace and believed I was on the path to Heaven but when I was living in sin feared I would end up in Hell.

When I came to true faith at the age of 23, it was in large part motivated by my fear of going to Hell. I knew that I had been living a sinful lifestyle for a number of years and believed this had separated me from God. I realised the things I had been taught as a child were true and that I needed to turn away from my sinful life putting my whole faith and trust in Jesus’ death on the cross to get me to Heaven one day.

At this point my life changed dramatically and the vices I had been unable to shake off fell away and became mere temptations, in certain circumstances, rather than things that I felt I couldn’t live without. It was only later that I understood what had actually happened when I had asked God for forgiveness of my sin and help to lead a new life: that He had exchanged my sinful life for the perfect life of Jesus once and for all. That this was something that could never be undone or changed and that I was now guaranteed eternal life in Heaven.

I was (and am) immensely grateful to God for sending Jesus to the cross and thankful that Jesus willingly submitted to the will of His Father. I determined to serve Him with my life and to try to live a life that pleased Him knowing that when I inevitably failed, my sin had already been dealt with. I'm not talking here about earning my salvation or trying to pay God back. I wanted my life to be a testimony of what God had done for me in sending Jesus. I had been saved for good works not by them.

Obviously, there were emotions and feelings involved at various stages in this process but the reason I became a Christian was because I realised the Bible was true, I believed the warnings about rejecting God, and I wanted to go to Heaven one day. The Bible detailed how God had provided a way of escape from the “wrath to come”. and I wanted to take it. I had a healthy fear of God. I responded trusting that if I confessed Jesus as my Lord and believed in my heart that God raised Him from the dead I would be saved (Romans 10 vs 9). 

Now, I constantly find that I’m being confronted with sermons, and conversations with Christians, suggesting that if I don’t feel certain things towards God, or the person of Jesus, I cannot be saved. That coming to faith due to a fear of Hell or a desire to be in Heaven is not a legitimate reason and not enough to save. That I have to be attracted to the person of Christ and not just to the stuff He offers including eternal life. Books like Desiring God by John Piper also contain this idea.

My question to those suggesting this is, what if I don’t have these feelings? Should I attempt to manufacture them? My conversion had little to do with being attracted to Jesus and everything to do with believing His instructions to repent. I feared the consequences if I didn’t obey!

We are frequently told not to rely on our feelings because they will lead us astray. Attraction and desire are both things that are subjective and therefore subject to change. Personalities and temperaments can be very different. I may not be a particularly emotional character and I may not feel certain emotions towards God. Does this make me less of a Christian than someone who is more emotional?

We are clearly told that we should love God and seek to follow Jesus. Some have turned this into a sentimental love where Jesus becomes almost like some kind of divine romancer. I’m guessing this comes from the Scriptures about Christians being the Bride of Christ. However, this isn’t speaking about individual Christians but the church as a whole, and it represents a sacrificial love that gives itself for the other party not a romantic love.  

For those who, like me, struggle with the modern move towards a more emotional relationship with God. I find myself coming back to Jesus’ words in several places in John’s Gospel:

“If you love Me, keep my commands.” (John 14 vs 15)
“Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.” (John 14 vs 21)

There is nothing here about attraction, desire or feelings. We are also told that we will recognise Christians by the fruit of their lives. Someone may appear to have a very close walk with God due to their visible emotions but their lifestyle may contradict their proclamation.

I discovered that my life only changed when I truly repented of my sin and trusted Jesus. This is one of the reasons I know my salvation is genuine as I couldn’t sort my life out myself. It was only when I recognised that my sin had created a barrier between me and God and that this needed to be dealt with by Jesus that my life changed permanently.

Let’s make sure that we aren’t adding requirements to salvation and remember that:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3 vs 16)

Inside the Mind of a Prodigal

In Christian circles most, if not all, people know the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke chapter 15. This story is especially useful in our current day. It proves that the Bible is not only relevant but can be applied directly to people’s lives thousands of years after it was written. This could only be possible if the Bible was written by a God who knew the future.

The story also proves that humanity, with all its celebrated progress, doesn’t change. We are still the same weak creatures falling victim to the same temptations over and over again. The devil doesn’t need to change his strategy because we still succumb to his original one.

In brief, the prodigal son demanded, then squandered, his inheritance on wild living until he reached the point where he was penniless and desperate to eat pig food because of the gnawing hunger. Eventually, he came to his senses and returned to his father requesting a position as a household servant. Instead, his father forgave and reinstated him. The story is a picture of God’s patience as we wallow in our sin, and His mercy and forgiveness when we reach the point of repentance.

You may think the idol here was money, but it was actually the things and experiences money could buy. The son was dissatisfied with his life and thought the grass would be greener on the other side. He thought he could find satisfaction in the pleasures of the world, and he probably did, for a while. His happiness, though, was always going to be temporary because our sinful appetites are never satisfied.

I love the NIV rendering of the key verse and turning point in this parable: “When he came to his senses….” This verse tells us that all that had gone before was senseless but it had taken a crisis point in the young man’s life for him to realise it. He had his head buried in the sand as he languished in the consequences of his sin, but there came what we might call a “light-bulb moment”.

I was a prodigal, once. I don’t recommend it. Prodigals are tortured souls.

The difference between those who have made professions of faith and wandered away from the truth, and those who have never heard the truth is stark.

The ever present knowledge that God exists and that one day you will appear before Him as Judge. The restlessness of knowing you can never be completely happy without God and that you will have to return to Him…one day. The desperate search for satisfaction in all manner of things to prove that life without God is possible, and preferable. The desire to enjoy worldly experiences without that nagging twinge of conscience. The gradual distancing from Christian family, friends and church, due to guilt. The anger when people presume to judge your lifestyle. The terror of going to a very real place called Hell, forever.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

Romans 1 tells us that everyone knows that God exists because He has created them with that knowledge and they can see it in creation. The difference for a prodigal is that they know that they know. They can’t find safety in the crowds of agnostics and atheists because they know that they are lying to themselves. Perhaps, they refuse to talk about religion and avoid the subject altogether, for a limited time. A prodigal is consciously suppressing the truth about God which leads to a lack of peace and turmoil in the soul.  

Maybe, if no one prayed for you, God would leave you alone. Unlikely, because God cares for you much more than the prayer warriors. It’s one thing, though, that you can’t stop people doing, and trust me when I say that they will be doing it. Your parents, relatives and former church friends are praying, and will continue to pray, until you come to your senses and return to the Father who is patiently waiting for you.

Looking back, I can’t believe I spent those six years attempting to run from God. It was all so empty and meaningless. I shudder now at the risks I took each day as I gambled with my life and presumed upon God’s patience and grace. I could have lost my life many times either through recklessness, or through one of the many accidental tragedies that occur every day around the world, one of which took my younger brother during my period of backsliding. Then, where would I be? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

When I came to my senses, the overwhelming feeling was of gratitude and relief; I was grateful that I was no longer carrying my many sins because Jesus had paid for them on the cross, and relieved that I was finally at peace with God. I was no longer at risk of a lost eternity in Hell but had Heaven to look forward to.

Are you a prodigal? Are the brief and passing attractions of the world really worth risking your eternal soul?

Mark 8 vs 36

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”