Five Reasons Why You Should Not Become a Christian

Spirituality

Jan 26

Background Text: Acts 17: 18-34

From a talk by Dr. Jim Stout

Author's Notes: My motivation for writing this essay is based on the words of D.T. Niles: "One beggar sharing with another beggar where to find bread."

A saying from Alcoholics Anonymous influences how to view this article: "Take what works and leave the rest."

Recently, ten people joined a nearby church. They were admitted into that congregation based on one thing: their profession of faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some folks ask, "What does the religious phrase, 'the Gospel of Christ,' really mean? I hear those spiritual-sounding words often, but they're so nebulous!"

This essay begins by explaining what it means NOT to be a Christian. Then it clarifies what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. This article is:

Not an attempt to guilt-trip you into becoming "religious." Although it's good to be religious in a healthy, balanced way.
Not to tell you that you ought to live a "moral life." Even though it's good to be a moral person.
Not to sway you with emotional words. While emotions are involved in being a Christian, they can be exploited.
Not to persuade you to join a specific church. Being involved in a healthy, Bible-centered church can often be incredibly beneficial.
Not to manipulate you into giving more money to a church or charity. Granting that churches and charities can use your money to further their work in helping others or spreading the message of God's love in Christ.

To begin with, a Christ follower acknowledges both the bad news and the good news of Christianity.

The Bad News of Christianity

The Bible says that God created you and me in His image. He's got a plan for each of our lives. But somehow, something's gone wrong. We are incomplete human beings. Each of us has short-circuited God's perfect plan for us. The Bible says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." It adds, "The wages of sin is death." Physical death. Spiritual death.

The Bible teaches that you and I are immortal persons—we will live on spiritually. But sin causes spiritual death. This spiritual death causes us to be separated from the God who really loves us … for eternity … hell.

That's the sobering, bad news!

The Good News of Christianity

The word "Gospel" means "Good news." It is the positive description of what God has done to restore our broken relationship with Him, to rescue us from spiritual death caused by our sin. He's already paid the eternal penalty of eternal severance from Him. Two thousand years ago, God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ and died on the cross as our substitute, suffering the spiritual separation from God that we deserve.

But the Gospel, the good news, is far more than a sentimental story about a great martyr who gave his life for a virtuous cause.

Jesus Christ was killed— a corpse for three days. Then, He came back to life! Over 500 eyewitnesses saw Him. And Jesus Christ is alive through His Spirit today! The Living Christ has transformed millions of lives over the centuries.

The Good News is that despite your flaws, your life can begin again—if you trust Jesus Christ to be your Sin-Rescuer and Life-Leader!

This Gospel message is the core of Christianity. Yet, somehow, churches, denominations, and social movements sometimes seem to obscure this simple, life-changing point. For centuries, worldwide, whenever the Gospel has been shared, countless lives have been transformed when people responded by surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

However, every time this message about Christ has been preached, it has evoked both pro and con responses from hearers.

Around 40 A.D., the Apostle Paul preached this same Gospel in Athens, Greece. He told his learned listeners how Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that there would be a final judgment. The Bible records this Athens event:

Now, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some sneered (ref: mocked), but others said, 'We will hear you again about this,' and some men joined him and believed. (Acts 17:32—Emphasis mine)

This Bible text from Acts sums up how Paul's audience reacted:

Some outright sneered at him and his words,
Some put off making a decision about the Gospel
Some believed Paul's Gospel message of hope and healing.

Today, people react to the Gospel message in comparable ways.

What's your reaction to the Gospel's good news?

Responding to the Gospel takes a step of faith to yield your life to the care, protection, and lordship of Jesus Christ.

Although you begin your spiritual journey by taking a step of faith and commitment, as you continue, it's a costly business and should not be entered into lightly.

While there are multitudes of reasons and benefits for choosing to be a Christian, there are at least five reasons why you should not become a Christian.

The First Reason for NOT becoming a Christian is if you are reluctant to acknowledge who Jesus Christ claimed to be.

In Somerset Maugham's novel, Of Human Bondage, Philip Carey, one of the central characters, is trying to decide if there is a meaning to life. Due primarily to his unhealed disability and austere upbringing, the character rejects the existence of a god and an afterlife. He concludes that there is no meaning, no master plan, no predetermined destiny designed by an omnipotent being who rewards those who worship him and condemns those who don't. For him, there was no god. The good and bad in life were caused by great and evil men, not a supernatural being.

Another avowed atheist, C.S. Lewis, was a professor of English at Oxford University who died in November 1963.

Lewis was totally anti-theist until age 32. Then, after considerable research, he turned his life over to Jesus Christ, wrote 30 books on Christianity, and gave away all the royalties from his books.

In one of his books, Mere Christianity, Lewis wrote:

If Christianity only means one more bit of good advice, then Christianity is of no importance. There has been no lack of good advice for the last four thousand years. A bit more makes no difference … If the gospel is merely "good advice," there are plenty of other resources at our fingertips that offer better advice. More helpful insights into "living better." But, in fact, the gospel is not good advice. It's good news. It's the best announcement of all — namely, that God himself has come and died for our sins. Yours. Mine. And the entire world's.

In another of his books, God in the Dock, C.S. Lewis concluded:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic— on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Catch the words of One Solitary Life, a popular poem about Jesus:

He was born in an obscure village, a child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty.

Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never had a family. or owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place he was born. He never wrote a book or held an office. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.

While he was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends deserted him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

While he was dying his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had, his coat.

When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave.

Centuries have come and gone and today, he is still the central figure for much of the human race.

All the armies that ever marched, All the navies that ever sailed And all the parliaments that ever sat And all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this One Solitary Life.

(Attributed to Rev. James Allen Francis)

What's your opinion of God, of Christ? Are you open to God and Christ working in your life?

Do you know the difference between religion and spirituality?

Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who've been there!

At the risk of being accused of self-promotion, you might wish to check out my book, Abandoned and Betrayed by God: Surviving a Crisis of Faith. It shares my faith journey and offers tender empathy for those wounded by life's negative "God experiences."

Writer Philip Yancy's book, Disappointment with God, offers enormous sensitivity for serious doubters:

One bold message in the Book of Job is that you can say anything to God. Throw at him your grief, your anger, your doubt, your bitterness, your betrayal, your disappointment—he can absorb them all. As often as not, spiritual giants of the Bible are shown contending with God. They prefer to go away limping, like Jacob, rather than to shut God out. (Emphasis mine)

Are you disillusioned with God because you've undergone repeated spiritual letdowns?

Has God not shown up when you needed Him?

Are you hurt, angered by your unanswered prayers?

Have you been saddened, even jaded, by having seen too many life tragedies, fake Christians, or toxic church people?

If so, you are not alone. Welcome to the "Disappointed with God Club." But there is hope.

The Gospel of Mark records a desperate father who brought his mute son to Jesus. The boy had suffered from severe mental, emotional, and spiritual issues since childhood:

But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.

If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes, said Jesus.

Immediately, the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief." (Mark 9:21-24—Emphasis mine)

If you identify with the boy's father, are you open to saying, "Help me overcome my unbelief"?

The Second Reason for NOT becoming a Christian is if you are unwilling to admit you have fallen short of God's requirements and not be all the person God wants you to be.

Some people say:

"Of course, I'm a sinner. Nobody's perfect. Besides, God is a loving God, and He'd never allow anyone to be eternally separated from Him. Besides, many people in this world have done far worse things than I have: killers, robbers, rapists, adulterers, contract-breakers, and scores of others."

When God's judgment time comes, innumerable well-meaning spiritual searchers picture God in heaven with a giant set of scales. They visualize God putting all their good deeds on one side of the scale and all their evil deeds on the other side. They hope that their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones—and if it's close, God will most likely let them pass.

But this view of God is an absolutely inaccurate picture of His holiness and justice.

The Bible says:

For whoever keeps the whole law (Ten Commandments, etc.) and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10-Emphasis mine)

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:23-Emphasis mine)

Goodness has nothing to do with our being rescued from the wrongs we have committed. You and I can never earn our way to Heaven or deserve God's love.

God's mercy and never-ending love are always available:

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8-Emphasis mine)

That's why Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus:

For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9-Emphasis mine)

Scripture clearly teaches that spiritually, we are absolutely lost and unable to save ourselves through our good actions, however wonderful they might be.

Are you willing to concede that you fall short of God's standards and that your good deeds alone will not get you into heaven?

Can you acknowledge that all your integrity, honesty, service to others, or church activities are not enough to merit God's offer of total forgiveness?

The Third Reason for NOT becoming a Christian is if you are not willing to accept by faith what God has already done for you—by sending His Son to die in your place on the cross and by His death, experience complete spiritual separation from God instead of you.

God loves you. He's already proved it. He allowed His Son to be bludgeoned, spit on, derided, and executed on a cross—to show you how far He is willing to go in loving you.

No matter how badly you may have messed up your life, nothing you've ever done or will ever do, and no difficulty, however awful, will ever stop God from caring for you.

The only way you can stop God from loving you is to turn your back on His Son, Jesus Christ, and reject Him.

But even if you turn away from God, His love for you won't stop. He will still stand at the edge of your life, waiting for you to turn to Him and receive His free, undeserved gift: the total forgiveness of your sins. Imagine what it can be like to be fully released from your failures… your guilt torments...your fears.

But ultimately, you can reject God's love by not accepting what He's done for you on the Cross.

Have you ever personally thanked God for sending His Son to His death for your sins?

The Fourth Reason for NOT becoming a Christian is if you are not willing to let Jesus Christ change your life.

As a freshman in college, through the influence of friends, I was considering the Gospel and its implications for my life. Somehow, I had the idea that if I really surrendered my life to Christ, He'd send me to Africa as a missionary. I thought, like many others who wrongly believed that if they decided to follow Christ, He would make them sit in a dark closet all day and eat spinach!

But it's not that way!

Christ declared:

I have come that they may have life and have it to the fullest. (John 10:10)

I remember seeing a sign posted on the front door of a newly painted restaurant:

Under new management.

That's how it's got to be for anyone allowing Christ to rescue, rehabilitate, and redeploy him or her.

Jesus stated:

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (or any other priority than following Christ). (Matthew 6:24-Adaption mine)

To become a Christ follower, a Christian, you've got to be willing to raise the white flag and say, "I quit. I'm going to let Christ call the shots in my life from now on."

Lots of seekers ask, "But how will He guide me?" Of course, His directions can come through people, events, and other means. But primarily, God will direct you through His written words in the Bible—that's where He will speak the clearest and give you instructions that can organize your life.

How about it? Are you willing to move over and let Jesus Christ take the steering wheel of your life?

The Fifth Reason for NOT becoming a Christian is if you are looking for an easy, problem-free life.

Early in my ministry, I met a young adult whom I'll label "Eddie." He was what his neighbors called a "rebellious hippie." Long hair and sloppy jeans. He'd trekked through the whole drug scene. Then he got involved with some "Jesus People" who told him, "Just accept Jesus, and everything will be peaceful and joy-filled for you." So, one night, at a Christian meeting, Eddie committed his life to Christ.

Things went well for a couple of weeks. A spiritual high engulfed Eddie. Then, like Novocain, it soon wore off. His craving for drugs returned. His insecurities about making new friends came back. Family fights with his brothers and parents started again. Lustful thoughts swamped him.

Eddie thought:

"I'm just not cut out to be a good Christian. God has deserted me and moved on to find someone better suited to be useful to Him and His work. I've been too bad, too damaged, and simply can't cut it as a spiritual person."

Eddie became overwhelmed by his shortcomings and grew bitter and cynical about Christianity. He told others, "It doesn't work."

Why didn't Eddie's conversion result in a radical, permanent change? Because someone had sold him a false bill of goods. Eddie was looking for a religious experience, a spiritual high. He thought he could cruise through life's snares without ever having to work at peddling his spiritual bicycle again. No one told him that God never promised anyone a "rose garden," or a "motorized bike" to easily cruise up hills.

Jesus was a realist. He told people that life could be extremely tough at times, for both believers and unbelievers:

In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Jesus was clear about suffering. He taught that problems, pain, and heartache are part of the fabric of life for every human being. No person, no matter how spiritual he or she might be, is exempt from some kind of affliction:

He (God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45, Adaption mine)

Shockingly to many, in addition to dealing with life's normal problems, Christians also face spiritual warfare: Temptations. Decisions. And Stresses of all types.

That's why the Bible discloses:

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. (Psalm 34:18,19-Emphasis mine)

If you are looking for a religious experience that will somehow lift you above all of life's struggles, don't check out Jesus Christ any longer—because He promised His followers would face many difficulties.

It's true that God supernaturally delivers some people from drugs, alcohol, and self-destructive addictions. I've seen this happen to some Christians. Likewise, I've seen many marriages miraculously put back together and healed by Christ's power. However, a "one-and-done," quick-fix miracle is rare. Most of God's miracles happen gradually, rather than instantly.

So, becoming a Christian does not guarantee that all your problems will miraculously evaporate.

In the midst of even the worst hardship, Jesus Christ promises His followers:

Surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20-Emphasis mine)

The greatest Companion and Friend in all the world promises that He will always be with His followers. If you belong to Him, He will never leave you. He will always be present with you through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

That's why the psalmist could say:

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

If you have Christ with you, are you willing to walk a long, challenging, and narrow road ahead?

Yes, there are five valid reasons why you should not commit your life to Jesus Christ and become a Christian.

Please don't become a Christian if you're not willing to acknowledge who Jesus Christ claimed to be.
Please don't become a Christian if you're not willing to admit you've broken some of God's laws and are not the person that both you and God want you to be.
Please don't become a Christian if you're not willing to accept by faith Christ's death and resurrection for your personal sins.
Please don't become a Christian if you're not willing to let Jesus Christ be the new Manager of your life.
Please don't become a Christian if you're looking for an easy way out of all your problems.

I wish I could be satisfied to write an "acceptable to everyone, non-offensive" article on being religious, having ideals, and developing some kind of faith.

But the Gospel of Jesus Christ has a cutting edge. You and I could be content to read a religious article or sit in a church Sunday after Sunday, looking pious and playing church. But the Gospel always evokes a personal response whenever it's shared.

For many who read this essay, it's time to quit straddling the fence. Either Jesus Christ is alive and is God, or this whole Christianity business is merely "high-apple-pie-in-the-sky" thinking, and we might as well go back to life as normal and forget all this talk about sin and Christ.

How about you? Where do you stand with Jesus Christ today?

If you've never personalized the Gospel of Christ and want to become a sincere learner of Christ, I invite you to say a simple prayer of faith, something like this:

Lord Jesus, I'm sorry for my sins. I'm not the person You want me to be. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please come into my life and make me into the person You want me to be.

On the Journey with you,

Jim Stout

Dr. Jim Stout drjimstout@gmail.com www.drjimstout.com www.facebook.com/jimtstout