“I’m No Longer a Christian…” What?
Can a Christian No Longer Be One? No!
I just skimmed an article with the heading, “I’m No Longer a Christian But I Still Speak In Tongues.”
The author describes the euphoric sensations that acted upon her just before speaking in the ecstatic utterances. She then admits that she “left the church.” She claims to be some sort of “atheistic agnostic theist.” She believes that there could be some sort of god, but now she is convinced it is not possible to know for sure.
And still, she continues to speak in tongues and enjoy the experience.
Frankly, this is not surprising. The Bible clearly says that the devil gives power to speak in tongues. But this does remind me of a conversation I had a number of years ago with a former pastor.
Several years ago, now I responded to a piece written by a man claiming that, while he had once been a Baptist pastor, he no longer believed in God. Through subsequent conversations, he insisted that he had not only been a Christian but “born again.” He was unbending at my rebuffs. According to the Bible, it is not possible to be a Christian and then not to be. He (and the “she” who wrote the article that led to this piece) claim to no longer be Christians, demonstrates that they never knew what a Christian really is. Nicodemus could not comprehend how a man could be born again.[1] As impossible as it may seem, one who is born again knows beyond a doubt that it would be Biblically impossible to be “unborn again.” The plain fact is, these were false professions. They may have been sincere. They may have been convinced they were Christians. But they were never Christians in the Biblical sense, or they would still be Christians in the Biblical sense.
This reveals what I believe to be a significant need among preachers of the Bible (both vocationally and otherwise). Man's heart is so desperately wicked that it is possible to fill houses of worship with people who think they are Christians, act like they are Christians, and say the things Christians say, but they are not, in fact, Christians.
Too much of Christianity is conducted in a businesslike manner. There is an income to be made in the Christian industry, and people have flocked to get their share. Some of them have had nefarious motives. Others have been genuine and sincere. Either way, Christianity, conducted like a business, is more likely to produce wild fruit than true converts.
Of course, we seldom hear the term business bandied about in churches. More likely, it will be denomination, convention, or the term often thought to be proper, movement.
Christianity, true Christianity, is none of that. It is a relationship with the living Lord Jesus Christ that tends to lead believers to intimately bind themselves together in a local congregation known in the Bible as a church.
[1] John 3:4 (KJV)
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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