LOSING YOUR FAITH

I have in my library a signed first edition of The Message of Galatians by John Stott, which he gave me for my birthday in 1970 (50 years ago). It contains twenty sermons he preached on Galatians in 1965-66. His book on preaching was published under the title Between Two Worlds: the world of the Bible and the world of today. His constant concern was to relate the words of the Bible to the world of today.

How do you interpret what was written about 1970 years ago to your life today? What was relevant to the lives of Christians then, may be irrelevant to your lives today? Many critics of the authority of Holy Scripture claim that the Bible is out of date because of the changing conditions of the world. They would say that the writers of the Bible had no access to the knowledge we have or were mistaken in their views. They therefore dismiss the teaching of the Bible as authoritative for 21^st century Christians. But if the writers were prophets and apostles of God and divinely inspired and commissioned to write to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and the Scriptures are meant to inform and equip us for eternal life, then we cannot believe that criticism. Just as the first century Christians were dealing with the conditions of their culture, we have to deal with the conditions of our culture. The biblical world and the modern world are very different. We must study the text in its own cultural terms to find out its universal application. We must identify the essential divine revelation – what God is saying then – and re-clothe it in terms that apply to our modern lives.

When we read Galatians, and the problems Paul was dealing with false teachers we must identify the key points which are eternal and interpret them as divine truths for ourselves. This means taking the truths of the biblical world and transposing them into the truths of our contemporary world. What are the eternal truths Paul is writing about in Galatians 4:1-20?

God sent his Son, born as a human being, raised in the Jewish faith, to redeem us through his sacrifice on the Cross so that we might become sons and daughters of God. God sent the Spirit of Christ into our hearts so that we might know the love of our Father and inherit his promise to us of eternal life: life in all its fulness. We experience joy in our salvation. This is the essential Gospel.

Before we were redeemed (forgiven, adopted, accepted, reconciled to God), we were enslaved by weak and miserable forces that prevented us living as God intended. There are always false teachers who wish to recapture us, to take away our joy, and return us to our former masters. We are constantly being pursued by false narratives of human flourishing in the world, the flesh and the devil of our culture. I have seen too many Christians, even clergy, who have fallen foul of the temptations on their lives and have succumbed to bad choices. It is incredible to me, as it was, to Paul, how seemingly mature Christians, can depart from Christ and abandon their faith. The key principle of application then to me, of this passage, is found in verse 9: “How is it that you are turning back?” That is the message of this passage.

 Quitting. Giving up. Losing our faith in Christ is particularly a problem as we age. Faithful Christians hit a hard patches. We face new challenges, health issues, financial issues, family issues. Our expectations of friends and family have not been met. We sometimes question the sovereignty of God. We experience suffering of one kind or another. We never thought we would have to deal with a pandemic, with riots, and all the bad news we see on the news. We haven’t been able to see friends and family. We have lost friends due to political differences. We have lost loved ones due to old age or the virus or depression. We are tempted to throw up our hands and comfort ourselves with self-indulgence because we think we deserve it. I have heard friends say that they have been influenced by other people who have enjoyed the good life and they want their piece of the cake also because they think they deserved it.

There are many who have been unable to participate in church worship during the pandemic and have discovered that they can live without it. What sustained their faith by weekly reminders of the grace and love of God and the teaching of the Scriptures in fellowship with other believers was no longer available. Their commitment and spiritual lives have flagged as a result. They may never return to church worship. So the question Paul raises is relevant: How is it that you are turning back? He is perplexed about them. Jesus was perplexed by many of his disciples who turned back and no longer followed him (John 6:66). We are called to continue to fight the good fight of faith, to finish the race of life and to keep the faith of Christ to the end. That was the testimony of Paul as he faced the end of his life (2 Tim.4:7).

We have to fight the good fight every day of our lives. We have to fight against anxiety, depression, pain, resentment, loneliness, fear, guilt and shame. This life is a battle. There may be periods of peace, but there are also lengthy stretches of warfare. Warfare between nations is but an outward manifestation of the conflict that takes place between us and within us. Jesus battled in the wilderness with the Tempter, and was in continual conflict with his own family and the religious leaders of his day. Jesus warned us that life would not be easier for his disciples. Suffering is part of the human condition.

We may have difficult marriages, dependent relatives, ungrateful children, limited means, unkind neighbors, poor health, and uncertain prospects. Circumstances have to be fought lest they overwhelm us. We cannot be conscientious objectors in the battle of life. We cannot avoid conflict. We cannot surrender to the enemy. We cannot be influenced by false teachers, who become popular in every generation. We cannot succumb to battle fatigue when every day has its challenges. Paul wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:12,13)

We have to stand our ground and fight in the armor that God supplies: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In all these things we can be conquerors through him who loved us. Are you fighting the good fight?

We must run with perseverance the race marked out for us. We must run in such a way as to get the prize. We must run with purpose, not aimlessly. The race of life is full of pitfalls, full of obstacles, full of discouragements. I remember going into training in high school for a cross-country race I badly wanted to win. I spent endless hours running parts of the known route, although the exact course would not be revealed until the day of the race. When the day came, it had been raining, and part of the course ran through a boggy area next to a pig farm. I had been doing well until my feet sank into the bog and I lost my running shoes! By the time I retrieved them I was too far behind to catch up. Imagine my disappointment after all that training. Life is like that. The unexpected occurs. Accidents happen. Tragedy strikes. Competition in the rat-race of life beats us. Debilitating illness hits us or our loved ones. We are disabled. Yet we have to get up again and finish the race. We cannot give in. We cannot give up. We have to run with our eyes fixed on Jesus, “who began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. When you find yourself flagging in your faith, go over the story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls.” (Hebrews 12:2,3, The Message) Are you running the race?

The faith of Christ is like a precious treasure of the soul that is to be guarded with the help of the Holy Spirit from those who would steal it from us. We are not to grow complacent about our faith. We have got to pay attention to its care and nurture. We have to protect it from the assaults of the enemy, from disappointment, grieving as those without hope, doubt and despair. Worship, Bible reading, prayer, receiving Holy Communion, fellowship with other believers all help us to keep the fires of faith glowing. Those who lose their faith neglect it. They drop out of fellowship. They stop reading their Bibles. They abandon the habit of prayer. Are you keeping the faith?

Do not turn back. Do not give up in the fight. Do not drop out of the race. Do not lose your faith in Christ. Will you commit yourself to trust in Christ and follow him all the days God has given you?