Ignorant Belief

This is a common theme in my writings, I suppose, but it is one so terribly present in the culture that surrounds me here in the central United States. It’s amazing just how many people call themselves Christians and yet know next to nothing about the man they claim to follow, much less what they are called to do in order to follow him. As I’ve mentioned before, even on a very secular campus like MSUM, the vast majority of people I talk to call themselves Christian when they discover that the person they are talking to is sympathetic to that cause. Rare is the person who makes it known in circumstances where it will be looked upon as a negative thing, and rarer still are those who can cogently, winsomely defend their faith, not to say anything about explaining its core beliefs.

How is it that we are able to say we believe something that we know nothing of? Jesus himself said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31). Note requirement that must be met in order to be a disciple of Christ; you must abide in Christ’s word in order to be a true disciple. Don’t abide? You’re not a disciple. Simple enough.

Later in the Gospel of John Jesus uses this same concept of abiding, this time expanding upon what it means, giving us a greater insight into what it means to actually abide. He says,

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit…if anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

John 15:4-6

Again, the division is pretty clear. Those that abide are true disciples; those that don’t are tossed away and burned because they aren’t disciples. Note the added dimension in John 15 – those that abide bear fruit, and not just a little bit. They bear much fruit if they abide in Christ. There are tangible, taste-able results of being connected with the God of all the earth.

This isn’t something that is hard to grasp, oh generation of mine. If you abide (continue) in something, you get to know it. Abide in the world of football for long and odds are you’ll know the rules of the game, the teams, the players, and have your reasons for liking certain ones better than others. Abide in a town for a few months and you’ll get to know where things are, what the hot spots are, and hopefully even meet the people and know the culture. Abiding begets knowledge, even without intentionality. In the case of the Christian, abiding in Christ means growth in your knowledge of him and the faith that he has given to his people.

Note in the earlier passage quoted from John 8, it is Christ’s word that we are to abide in, whereas in John 15 it is Christ himself that we are commanded to abide in. These aren’t two different things. John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is choosing to overlay these two images, and choosing to call Christ himself “the Word” (John  1:14) from the very outset of his gospel. Abiding in Christ’s written (Bible), spoken (preached), present (prayer), and living (the church), Word is no different that abiding in Christ himself.

Christianity isn’t simply “believing that Jesus came and died for my sins,” as the majority of people whom I have asked would say it. That’s a gloriously true statement, yes, but it’s not enough. Don’t think that just because at some point in your life you made that statement or you feel like its true on your best days that you are being saved. Our God is the kind of God that tells even people who did miracles in his name that they will not be saved (Matthew 7:21-23).  Only those who are born again and abide in Christ will truly be saved, and those who abide will bear much fruit. Part of that fruit will be knowing Christ and knowing what you believe. Part of it will be loving his word. Part of it will be a desire to be in his presence and to be with his people.

If you think you’re a Christian and yet can’t give tangible evidence for the fact, don’t just sit there. Only dead people sit around while they are headed toward destruction. Instead, go read the Gospel of John. Get Jesus’ words in you and watch how they cause you to grow. Check out First John, an epistle written mainly for the sake of helping people understand if they are saved or not. Get your butt in a living, gospel-preaching church, and talk with some people who know what’s up. Lift up a prayer. Talk with someone who is a strong Christian. Comment here or email me. Do something!

It’s an amazing thing to be so intimately connected with the man who rules everything. Get in on the action. If you don’t, according to Jesus, you get tossed away, and being tossed away by someone like God isn’t a very good position to be in.