From Chester to Llandudno

The only positive aspect of having to be at home between 0800-1300 whilst awaiting a Sky engineer (or more likely a BT engineer on behalf of Sky,) is that I finally have some time to write something. It’s been a busy few weeks as I took part in a week long mission to Chester, moved house immediately on my return and then headed off again for another mission in Llandudno, North Wales. Both open-air missions were with United Beach Missions (UBM) under the sub-category Christian Answer.

Having been involved in a mission to London with the Open Air Mission recently, I thought I knew what to expect. However, I’m quickly learning that these teams are far from predictable due to the range of characters that turn up and form them.

In Chester we had a children’s entertainer who managed to keep us amused during our down-time and a potter who used his skill to share his testimony whilst making pots on the wheel. The Christian town crier was a definite bonus although it is sad that people are more interested in history and culture than in God. Also in our team was a young female convert from Islam which proved especially useful when a man attempted to dismiss Christianity on the basis that we had all been brainwashed by the religion we had been brought up to believe.

It did seem that God was leading the right members of our team to the specific people they could relate to. One man’s comment that he believed in science rather than religion was swiftly rebutted by our cook for the week. It turned out that her day-job was in the exact same, extremely narrow, scientific field as our friend with the strong opinions.

My most profitable conversation appeared to be with a girl in her twenties who had stopped to listen to one of the messages for a few seconds. She became quite emotional when I approached her and then confided that she had just bought a Bible having been wandering from God for a number of years. She had arrived in Chester pretty randomly having never been to the city before and was only alone because a friend had decided not to accompany her. Recognising that God was at work we spent several hours chatting over coffee discovering that our life stories were very similar. Later, having made a decision to recommit her life to God, she was put in touch with Christians in her area.

The men’s Gospel presentations were pretty varied ranging from the simple Bible verse, to philosophical arguments, to interactive discussions about where famous people should be placed on a “Goodness Scale.” My favourite for the week was entitled “What’s your end of life strategy?” The preacher highlights the fact that people buy car or house insurance without even knowing that they will crash or that their house will be burgled. Yet many make little or no preparation for death despite knowing with 100% certainty that they will die.

In Chester, we faced the usual range of reactions; people too busy shopping or heading to the races to pay much attention, people annoyed by our presence and people wanting to argue or debate. There were also some odd cults around, some had a leaflet with a list of items that they think should be included in “Satan’s Tool Box.” After reading the list which included Disney films, Christmas and the NIV Bible, I could totally understand why people think that anyone standing in the streets in the name of religion must be at least slightly mad.

Moving on to Llandudno, the team was smaller and the environment different due to it technically being the start of the beach missions for the summer, although the children had yet to break up from school. We started each day with a Bible study in James which had been faithfully prepared, and was well delivered, by our team leader who doubles as a Pastor.

Then, we were instructed to head down to the promenade in twos and engage people in Gospel conversations without props. This aspect of evangelism, that most people find extremely awkward, became even more difficult when local rules meant that we could no longer use leaflets as a conversation opener. We had to hook the fish without the bait.

Imagine the scene: an elderly couple on holiday, sitting on a bench, admiring the sea-view, are suddenly aware that they are sitting in the shadow of two comparatively young people. These people are introducing themselves, something about a mission of some sort, then asking them what they think about God! Not really something to be discussed with random strangers whilst relaxing on holiday…..especially not young ones with no life experience.

Thankfully, not all our conversations headed in this direction and we did have some profitable ones. I think we were all grateful, though, to see the presentation board up so that the focal point could be moved away from us in our clumsiness and inadequacy. I had to keep reminding myself that God uses us in our weakness so that He can get the glory.

The evenings were devoted to community hymn singing interspersed with preaching and testimonies. I was amazed by the number of non-believers willing to sing about what Jesus has done without acknowledging that He has done it for them. We met a fair number of church-goers who on closer acquaintance, sadly, were not yet saved. Most of these were willing to take leaflets and one lady said that she had a lot of thinking to do as a result of our discussion.

Only God ultimately knows the hearts that will be moved, but we had a long chat with an elderly couple one evening. The youngest member of our team, at sixteen, and I, had initially met them during our “cold calling” session earlier in the day. We were thrilled when they turned up for the singing that evening. The husband had devoted his whole life to religious activity and the wife was suffering as a result of his absence. Yet, the dear man admitted that he wasn’t fully able to trust the promises of Jesus for himself although he desperately wanted to. He pointed to a line in the famous hymn “To God be the Glory,” recognising that he was a vile sinner in God’s eyes but being unable to get beyond that. We spent a lot of time with this couple and I pray that their eyes may have been fully opened and their hearts awakened to God’s mercy and forgiveness.

I also spoke to a number of Roman Catholics including a couple from Malta. Then, I was forced to exercise my rusty Tagalog in a lengthy chat with a lonely Filipino lady having been summonsed by a fellow team member. I don’t know how much she actually understood as Filipinos tend to be extremely polite to foreigners!

Being involved in open-air work, apathy and indifference are definitely my biggest frustration. People seem to be gambling on the assumption that if they don’t think about something it won’t happen to them. Many have not even considered where they will go when they die, and others refuse to believe in an afterlife when God has made it plain to them both in their hearts and through creation that He exists.

Others are relying on safety in numbers. This means that a cultural trend away from God sweeps people along the broad path to Hell with little or no thought that the people surrounding them might also be in peril. The sheep following each other off a cliff analogy is relevant here or even the old computer game of Lemmings. I don’t intend to make light of this, it is tragic.

You might be wondering why we even bother with open-air evangelism in these days of such apathy and indifference. Isn’t forcing our beliefs on other people arrogant and intolerant? There is a simple reason, God gives us a clear command to tell people the truth before it is too late. Even if there had been no clear direction, could any of us that really believe the Bible’s teachings on the afterlife stand idly by and watch others heading to a place of eternal torment and unimaginable suffering?

Besides, for every ten or so people that reject the message, ignore us or get angry, there is one that shows a flicker of interest or accepts a Gospel leaflet. Then, there is the one in fifty or a hundred who is willing to stop and have a conversation, however brief it might be.

Some of the conversations lasted hours as people wrestled with God having been confronted with some uncomfortable truths. The results of these weeks may not be known until eternity, but we were encouraged when we heard that at least one person had returned a Chester leaflet having ticked all of the boxes on the back,( I have become a Christian, please send me more information etc….)

I enjoyed both missions and am looking forward to further opportunities in London with UBM in August, then Oxford, Manchester and Lincoln later in the year with OAM. Please remember to pray for the work or consider joining a team! If you are a Christian and are interested in getting involved for a week here and there or even just a few days then I’m happy to give you further details or you can visit the website for United Beach Missions.

 “The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time”   Carl Henry

Do You Love People Enough to Tell Them the Truth?

"I've always said that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all. If you believe that there's a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn't proselytize and who say just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn't believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.” Penn Jillette (atheist) 

It's funny, or maybe a sad indictment, that a challenge like this should come from the mouth of a prominent atheist rather than a Christian. Ten years ago, I was “convicted into mission” by a similar quote from an anonymous atheist. We may not like reading the words of those who don’t share our beliefs—the authors may even be working against our fundamental convictions about life, faith and everything else, but the real question is: do they have a point?

I have just returned from my first week-long mission with the Open-Air Mission—we were based in London, arriving on the morning of the most recent terrorist atrocity. I thought it might be useful to give you a flavour of my experiences during the week and a reminder of the viewpoints that are prevalent in society today. 

Our team started each day with a short Bible study and prayer for the contacts from the previous day. We then hit popular tourist spots including Speaker’s Corner, Leicester Square, the National Gallery and Covent Garden. The men diligently carried the bulky display board and poles everywhere we went. Establishing ourselves in each location for several hours, the preachers took turns sharing the Gospel. 

The presentations were varied: the most memorable, from my perspective, was a simple statement posted in large letters: “Your sin will find you out!” The preacher then passionately exhorted people to ensure they were ready to stand before God when the time came. Others displays were more detailed and attempted to draw people in with cultural relevancy: posting pictures of famous people and asking the audience if they are good or bad people then explaining why none of us are good in the sight of God.

Regardless the style or words used, all the messages were Gospel centred and sought to make people think about eternal matters. Indeed, if people only paid attention to the first part of one message: STOP AND THINK, then that would be real progress in a world of never-ending distractions. 

On a slight side note, Christians often approached to encourage us and regularly commented that they hadn’t realised we were even allowed to do this. Christians take note that as long as you don’t block access routes, you can set up displays and preach the Gospel in any public space. Free speech is still protected, for now.

I attended the mission as a supporter. My role was to stand in the crowd and observe those who were listening. If they began to drift away during the talk, I was to move with them and attempt to get them into conversation about what they had heard or, if that failed, at least try to give them literature to take away. I could also give out Gospel tracts to passers-by.

I wanted to include details of the people I met during the week here, I have shortened their names to avoid identification:

• D, male, late 50’s or early 60’s. Background as an evangelical Christian but switched to Russian Orthodox several decades ago. He planned to attend a Baptist church that afternoon with his wife. D seemed to find the message of salvation too easy and wanted to add something to it through mysticism or rituals that take place in church. He struggled with those who call themselves Christians but after conversion continue living worldly lives.

• M, 82, Asian man. Didn’t believe in an afterlife and thought we would all just stay in the ground. Had lost his wife in recent years.

• Refused name, man in his 50’s or 60’s. Militant Catholic wanting to go into all the history of the faith in minute detail and debate and argue with Evangelicals.

• L, female, young Filipino student serving in a coffee shop that we used. Catholic without assurance of eternal destination. Stated that she hoped she would get to heaven.

• Very old Jewish lady. Stated that her greatest need was health and that she didn’t believe Jesus even existed. Became angry and ended conversation.

• C, female, 19, American student. Discovered after an hour of conversation that she was high on LSD. She admitted that she takes drugs because she feels empty inside and is searching for meaning in life.

• L, male, 30’s, American but lives here. Turned away from faith due to serious problems in life—divorce, partner having abortions, debt and drug abuse. Was shaking throughout conversation. Stated that he would return to his Christian faith one day as he knew he needed to sort things out.

• J, male, 30’s or 40’s, American just visiting. Part of a cult teaching the writings of Alice Bailey. Explained that he thought that faith needed to be more complex for people with greater intellectual capacity.

• K, female, 40’s. American living in London. Appeared to be Christian on the surface but had significant doubts and had been investigating other religions. Possibly struggles with mental health problems as she started talking about sensing that she would be talking to random people later that evening.

• J, female, 20’s. Lives in London with lesbian partner. Angry about the focus that Christians tend to place on homosexuality as the greatest sin. Lots of good questions about suffering, God, the Bible etc. Described herself as agnostic.

• E, female, 50’s or 60’s. Living abroad and working as a doctor although schooled in England. Sceptical about the afterlife—had seen the uplifting effect of faith in those who are dying or suffering trials. Wanted to believe and felt the weight of her sin as she tried to reach God through good works/morality. Knew deep inside that it wasn’t enough and struggled everyday as she searched for peace.

• A, male, 40’s, Muslim man working for prominent organisation. Wanted to chat for longer but on his way to work. Worried about lack of assurance of heaven and feels the weight of his sin. Trying to reach heaven through good works.

• C, female, 20’s, Catholic lacking assurance of heaven and wanting to stay in contact.

• Jewish couple, 40’s. Trying to rush off as wanting to photograph everything during their visit. Didn’t believe Jesus is Messiah and trying to get to heaven through good works.

These are most of the contacts that I had during the week. I haven’t included how I dealt with each person: what I said to them or how I tried to resolve their issues or questions. I hope instead that reading their basic details will cause you to think about how you might respond if confronted with these situations. 

You can see that the issues are wide ranging but that few people are confident in their atheism. Romans chapter 1 tells us that God created us with knowledge that He exists and the external evidence is in creation for all to see, that is why we are without excuse if we ignore Him and suppress that knowledge.

The majority of the people I spoke to took literature after the Gospel was explained. One person asked me “Why do Christians do this? Why do they go out on the street and try to persuade people of their viewpoint?” My simple answer was “Because I care about you.” There is no other answer—we are volunteers—we are not paid anything and give our time freely. We are not people who enjoy winning arguments for the sake of it or people who enjoy getting into awkward conflict. We are not rewarded for adding members to the church. We are not asking for donations or selling books. We love people enough to tell them the truth that unless they respond to the message of hope in Jesus, they are facing a lost eternity in hell, forever.

None of the people we spoke to made professions of faith on the spot—it may sound odd but I actually found it refreshing that we didn’t have any reported conversions during the week. Genuine conversion is a work of the Holy Spirit that takes place in the heart. It is rare that someone is ready to surrender their life to Jesus at the point when we first meet them. The Bible makes it clear that a person should count the cost before making the decision and that their understanding should not be in doubt. Our role is to plant the seed, we are not responsible for the growth.

My most profound moment was not during a conversation and may not seem to be significant at all. A few of our team had set up at a location that had not been tried before—just outside the Embankment tube station. A preacher was faithfully sharing the Gospel on the street corner. I was standing across the street listening and watching. People were milling around and heading in all directions. They mostly seemed to be in a hurry. Some were rushing in and out of shops or grabbing a coffee, others were hastening to catch a train or heading back to work. The preacher was ignored in the main with the odd grimace by some as they heard the name of Jesus or were reminded of their sin.

I was suddenly struck by the meaninglessness of the frenetic activity that was going on around me. People scurrying like ants in a whirlwind cycle of purposelessness—they obviously believed whatever they were doing was important. They had missed the fact that the only really important information was coming from the lone street preacher standing on the corner passionately proclaiming the truth about life and eternity. However, most of the people had probably dismissed him in their minds as another religious nutcase and didn’t give the incident another thought.

I wonder how many people will stand before God on Judgement Day pleading ignorance of the way of salvation when they had a clear opportunity to listen to that faithful preacher on the streets of London. I’m sure at this moment whatever it was that kept them so busily occupied will be a source of eternal regret. How tragic to be so caught up in trivial worldly things that don’t last when taking a few moments to STOP AND THINK may have saved your soul.

Although I quoted an atheist earlier, I prefer to make the message positive. Rather than asking how much we have to hate a person not to evangelise, my question to you is: Do you love people enough to tell them the truth?

Why Western Countries Cannot Defeat Terrorism

I tend to get in trouble when I write political posts, but I hope you will see that in essence this is a Christian message, rather than a political one. That is actually the main reason that current Western governments cannot defeat Islamic terrorists—they fail to acknowledge that the battle is ultimately spiritual. 

 

I’m sure Christians around the world share in the sadness and frustration when yet another terrorist blows up innocent people, and our governments respond with condolences and extra security. If only they recognised that they are fighting a spiritual battle and turned instead to God in prayer, things could be so different.

I had thought that the arrival of Mrs May to the Prime Ministerial position in the UK, and the appointment of Vice President Pence in America might signal some form of change in tactics. Maybe even a collective humbling and a seeking God, as they both profess to be evangelical Christians.

However, events of the last few days indicate that there will be no sudden reversal of policy in our respective nations, or calls to prayer. This despite the fact that current protocols are clearly failing and nothing else has worked. In England, the threat level is at critical, the highest possible: armed police and military are patrolling the streets to protect us, and yet still we are defiant.

Important people appear on TV to offer their heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims. Then there are promises that this will never be allowed to happen again. Followed by the guarantees to learn the lessons for the future. Next, the endless discussions about what has happened, how and why it happened, who was involved. Sadly predictable. Only this time, I’m noticing that people are starting to admit that they don’t have the answers.

These things have their place, of course. It is right that we mourn the victims and seek to help the families of those injured or killed. Any of us could find ourselves in this situation, and we should remember that it is only by God’s grace that we are not. We can also try to investigate what has happened and try to prevent it happening again. But, with anything else in life, a thorough investigation would look at every possible angle. This is where the authorities seem to be falling short, as they refuse to believe that spiritual warfare should be a serious consideration.

For the first time today, I actually heard some politicians and commentators dare to suggest that Islamist ideology is the problem. They were immediately shut down with the usual reminders that mainstream Muslims don’t share the extremist’s views. We do need to be careful here, at the risk of alienating a growing percentage of our populations. We need Muslims on-board to root out the terrorists in their midst.

The problem is that certain interpretations of the Muslim’s holy book, the Quran, do lead to extreme behaviour. Within the Quran are the encouragements for a violent holy war (Jihad) against all those who resist the Islamic faith (infidels.) (I’m not going to quote the verses here, a simple Google search will reveal them for those that care to look into it.) These instructions come with a promise of eternal life in paradise as an enticement. 

This is a serious temptation—Muslims cannot gain assurance that they will be saved without committing Jihad. They are reliant on the will of Allah at the entry point to heaven, in the same way that Catholics believe their fate will be determined in a place called Purgatory. According to their respective teachings, their good and bad deeds will be weighed and their afterlife destination decided at the point of death and not prior to this, but Jihad is a free entry pass.

With this in mind, we should consider it a blessing that the vast majority of Muslims choose to interpret the Quran in a peaceful way. Not to acknowledge the potential of the Islamic holy book to incite violence, however, is a serious error. Political correctness should not stand in the way of a proper investigation into the ideology that leads to these crimes.

Our governments cannot fight extremism with human weapons because they are fighting the devil himself. He is present in the minds and hearts of extremists and he lures people to extremism. He cannot be stopped with conventional methods—only using spiritual ones.

Our leaders may say that their thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. How many of them are actually praying, rather than just offering the assurance that they are? How many of them even believe in the God they claim to be praying to? How many believe that it will make a difference? How many are trusting Jesus for their eternal salvation and therefore have the assurance that God will actually hear them?

It’s time for our governments to stop talking about learning the lessons and increasing security. Our leaders need to stop relying on themselves and earthly capabilities. It’s time for them to humble themselves and call our nations back to prayer. Then we will see what God can do with nations who once again are trusting in and relying on Him instead of leaving Him on the side-lines or relegating Him to a dark corner.

This message may seem hopeless—we cannot defeat terrorism, and it will continue. The opposite is actually true for a Christian. We can know that whatever happens, God is in control and has a plan. Even when evil seems to prevail and terrorists blow themselves up, we can know that there will be justice one day. 

Unlike other faiths, Christianity assures us that we can know now where we will spend eternity. We don’t need to wait for a distant deity to decide, or for karma to kick in. The Bible tells us in Romans 10 vs 9, “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.”

 

The Bible assures us that all of the events on earth, good and bad, are recorded carefully by a holy, perfect, righteous, just, good, God. Jesus will one day return to earth and gather all those who believe in Him for their eternal reward. All who have rejected Him will sadly be lost to hell, forever. 

Let us remember that this is a spiritual battle and let us have hope as we pray for Jesus’ return.

The Consequence of a Wrong View of God

In a previous post, we looked at the folly of those who convince themselves that God doesn’t exist. However, those of us that do believe in God often make a mistake that is just as dangerous—we think of God as a human, and try to understand Him on that level. Maybe we allow Him some extra powers and abilities, or think of Him as a bigger version of ourselves, but we still make this fundamental error which affects everything that we do.

 

Volunteering for Chatnow, a Christian live-chat organisation taking calls from people all over the world, I can see that this flawed way of thinking is at the root of most of our problems. We don’t really understand what God is like or Who He is, or we choose to ignore what the Bible tells us about Him.

Sadly, I have spoken to people who believe that God exists, but who have decided to reject Him because of His failure to do what they perceive to be right. People who believe that a good God wouldn’t allow suffering in the world or “send” anyone to hell. They label God as “unfair” and determine that He is either indifferent to things here on earth or is lacking compassion. Worse, there are some who decide that He is cruel or vengeful based on their assessments of His activity or failure to act.

When I point out that suffering is caused by sin that entered the world originally through people, it usually falls on deaf ears. When I comment that God doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell, and that He has provided an escape through Jesus, for those who choose it, they don’t want to know. When I suggest that an indifferent or aloof God would hardly go to the lengths of sacrificing His Son to restore the broken relationship with them, they scoff. When I warn that in rejecting His offer, they are choosing the broad path to Hell, they don’t believe it.

There are also people who believe that God exists, but reject Him the minute He fails to deliver something they have demanded.  They treat Him as a genie or good luck charm to be called upon when they have a financial, material or relational need. They quote out of context verses about health, wealth and well-being and conveniently overlook passages about cross-bearing and counting the cost of following Jesus. Again, these attitudes come back to a wrong view of God.

Some of these erroneous views have come about due to the “God is our friend” theology. The Bible does speak of God as our Father and Jesus as a friend to sinners, but this should not be taken in a casual manner. God is not our chum, buddy or mate, He is worthy of our respect and total devotion, and should be approached through Jesus with reverence due to His holiness.  We need to remember Who God is according to the Bible, when we approach Him.

Try to imagine the earth (and humans) from God’s perspective—He created it (and us), He sustains it and He is in control. Now, imagine God looking down at a load of tiny, ant-sized people, marching around the earth, shaking their fists at Him, refusing to acknowledge Him in one way or another, and seeking to rebel against His authority. 

If this seems ridiculous, it really is, but it is a good analogy in terms of our comparative insignificance. This life is short. We are just a vapour that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (James 4 vs 14.) It is incredible that God pays attention to us at all, let alone watches over us with the kind of love and care that the Bible describes.

All of us suffer from this wrong perspective or wrong view of God, to some extent—we fail to consistently give Him the worship He deserves and we fail to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. We reduce Him to a god of our own making or try to put Him in a box of our own understanding. We relegate Him to a small corner of our lives and often only pay attention to Him when we are in trouble.

As soon as we start asking “Why?” questions of or about God, we need to be careful—there are a lot of things about God that He has chosen not to reveal to us, and others that our tiny human minds cannot comprehend. The bottom line, is that God is God and He can do whatever He wants. The fact that He chooses to involve us through prayer is a privilege not a right.

We read in Isaiah 55 vs 8-9:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

It can be difficult to use these verses when trying to help a Christian struggling with trials. They want God to explain Himself and feel that His failure to do so is due to inability or inadequacy on His part. They don’t consider that their perception may be completely wrong. 

In the Bible, Job made this mistake. He endured a lot more than most of us will ever have to deal with. He refused to curse God during his terrible suffering, even when his wife told him to! However, he did eventually ask God to explain Himself. He wanted a reason. He asked God, “why?” We all behave like Job, we want to know why bad things happen to “good” people and why things we see as unjust or unfair are allowed to continue.

We might expect that God would explain Himself to Job after all he had suffered. But, He doesn’t. He reminds Job of his comparative minuteness. God asks him whether he (Job) has the right to question the Creator of the universe and the One who sustains everything. He rebukes Job for his presumption. He details His power and greatness and makes it clear that Job is the creature and He the Creator, Job the clay and He the Potter (Job 38)

At this point, Job doesn’t say, “But you still haven’t explained yourself” or “How could you allow me to suffer in this way and not do anything about it?” or “I don’t like the decisions that you made, I’m going to serve a different god.” Unfortunately, that is how a lot of us respond when faced with trials and difficulties. We think that by walking away from or rejecting God, we can win the battle for supremacy, or somehow hurt God with our lack of allegiance or through sinful behaviour.

Pride is at the root of our rebellion, and Job, recognising this, humbled himself. In one of the most famous passages of the Bible which tells us more about Who God really is, he said, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore, I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42 vs 5-6) Job was a faithful and righteous man, but he had had a wrong view of God. He tried to reason with God on a human level and ended up in serious difficulty. 

When God revealed Himself to Job, his immediate response was repentance and humility. His view of God had been dramatically altered and it affected everything. Job’s only concern was to correct his earlier mistake, there was no longer any discussion of the suffering that Job had had to endure. He had seen who the God of the Bible really is and dared not question Him or suggest He was anything other than perfectly Holy.

As Christians, we must start with the right premise. We must believe what the Bible tells us about God. We must believe that everything He does is perfect, including allowing suffering on earth and creating a place called Hell. We must accept that God is perfectly just and that He cannot lie, that He doesn’t change His mind like humans do. God has many other attributes (for a fuller discussion read The Attributes of God by A.W.Tozer,) and all of them are consistent with His nature and character.

When our mind starts to ask why something is happening, let’s make the decision straight away to trust God.  If our brain begins to consider that maybe God has got something wrong. Let’s dismiss this immediately knowing that it cannot be true because God doesn’t make mistakes. If we wonder whether God is aware of something or whether He has forgotten us. Let’s remember the promises in Scripture—that He knows everything that is happening and that He will never leave nor forsake us.

We can be confident that all things are being worked out according to God’s sovereign purpose and that His plans are for our good. There will be many things about God that we can’t understand but we need to learn to trust Him anyway, because He is faithful. 

Let’s make sure that we have the right, Biblical view of God. It is best to assume that where there are question marks in our minds, it is either due to sin, or due to our finite minds being unable to fully comprehend a perfectly holy and omnipotent God.

Romans 11 vs 33-35

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”

Numbers 23 vs 19

"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

Can a Christian Author Write for the Secular Market?

As an avid reader and book reviewer with a Christian worldview, I often face dissenting opinions. I expect this, to some extent, because I try to be honest and apply critical thinking which can be sadly lacking. (Here are ten reasons for writing honest reviews.) The interesting factor in all this, is that it is often Christians who are uncomfortable with my views and sometimes they seem to be arguing from a secular perspective on behalf of the world…..

One of the biggest areas of debate is definitely what I would describe as “content issues.” Is it okay for authors to include bad language, graphic violence, explicit or detailed sexual activity, drug taking and its effects? How about a Christian author? And what about Christian authors who write for the secular market? Is there any difference in acceptable standards?

Let’s start with authors who are not Christians, those who are in the world and very much of it, who haven’t yet had their eyes opened to the saving hope that Jesus offers. What about them? 

Obviously, we cannot expect people not claiming to be Christians to behave like believers. They will live as they choose and don’t see themselves as accountable to God. The fact that they will ultimately face God on Judgement Day and give an account of their lives is not really the issue. As Christians, we cannot seek to inflict Christian standards on non-believers. It is when someone becomes a Christian that their lifestyle will change as they seek to please God rather than themselves or other people.

Can a Christian reviewer express faith-based opinions about a secular book? Yes, of course we can and should be doing this. We don’t remove our Christian hat (or head) when picking up a book, and our faith is at the centre of what we do and who we are. How can we write an honest review without including faith principles or seeking to make some kind of spiritual application?

However, when reading such books and writing such reviews, I try to keep in mind that the author is not a professing believer, and that I have chosen to select their book knowing this. My review will still detail things that may be of concern to a believer, but I would render a less harsh judgement for graphic content.

Turning to the other end of the spectrum—Christian authors writing for the Christian market. This should be an easy one. Christian authors should expect to be held to certain content standards by their readers. We are all part of the body of Christ and are therefore responsible to hold each other accountable—to offer correction, advice and a loving rebuke for the benefit of His Kingdom. I have written extensively about this elsewhere with a particular emphasis on swearing in Christian books.

For some reason, things seem to get complicated when dealing with the third category of authors. People like John Grisham who profess to be Christians, but who are writing for the secular market. Should Christians even attempt to do this? Is it a grey area? Can this content be held to different standards?

Most definitely, we need talented Christian authors writing for a wider secular audience and entering the spiritual battle-field in the process. Why should writing be any different to any other profession? We need Christians in every work-place and every corner of this world. Light needs to be shone in areas of spiritual darkness. Christians are reflecting the light of the world, or at least we should be.

Christians who have chosen to make their living as writers have massive potential influence especially with the rise of the internet. I would suggest, that those writing for the secular market have an even greater responsibility. They have access to thousands, maybe millions of people who might never set foot in a church or pick up a Christian book. These authors are effectively representing Christ to the world. Well, again, they should be.

It has been argued that it is okay for a Christian author to breach generally accepted standards of content when they are writing for the secular market. I cannot understand this on any level. Christians are Christians all of the time. 

We don’t become non-believers for a day, a month or a year when we are in the secular workplace—why should writing a book be any different? What is the point of having Christians in secular work places if they are going to conform to worldly standards. We might even ask the question—is someone really a Christian if they are going to behave like the world and there is no visible difference between them and Joe public?

The content of secular books by secular authors is deteriorating, but that is to be expected. People are becoming desensitised and are demanding more and more of what their fallen nature desires. Christians need to buck the trend and swim in the other direction whether they are writing for the secular market or not. It shouldn’t be a grey area.

Sure, Christians will differ on what is and isn’t acceptable content wise, but let’s develop our critical thinking skills. We should at least be considering whether what we are writing and reading is acceptable to God. We can take responsibility for warning others or at least making them aware of the things we observe so they can make informed decisions.

Can a Christian author really justify causing someone to lust or form graphic violent images in their mind or find themselves repeating bad language they read in a book? What about teenagers experimenting with drugs having read how to do it in a book written by a “Christian”? Maybe you think this is an exaggeration, but we all know how easily our minds can be corrupted, how quickly we fall into temptation and let’s not forget that our hearts and minds are attracted to evil in the first place.

Some full-time Christian authors may feel pressurised to increase the graphic nature of their books or to include bad language to attract a wider audience. There may be financial pressures or the need to make a name in the various genre markets. But, if someone is a true Christian, this will prove to be a false economy. God promises that He will honour those who honour Him. Conforming to worldly standards of entertainment comes back to a lack of trust that God will provide.

We must make sure we keep our priorities in check and remember that we are accountable to Him. Why don’t we use our talent for His glory and to reach out to those still in darkness with the saving message of hope. Let’s not waste the opportunities we have been given for evangelism and to represent Jesus, by instead writing rubbish, or even offensive content that might push people away from Christ. 

True Christians are serving one Master all of the time. Let’s remember Who we are living for, wherever we are and whatever we are doing!

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.  

Colossians 3 vs 23