Occasional Christianity

The fool says in his heart "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1)

This is the opening to Psalm 14. This reality applies to all mankind. It is a divine assessment on man. The Apostle Paul uses the rest of the Psalm in Romans 3, discoursing the universal sinfulness of man. "There is no God" is the principle of a life devoid of God’s saving work. It is the old principle, since there is a new principle of grace, in the Christian’s life. It is what we practically adhere to without Christ. When we have come to faith in Christ, every single struggle goes back to this underlying principle: "There is no God. He does not exist. I am the god of my life. I will and enjoy what is right in my own eyes."

But of course no Christian will say "There is no God". Not outright or verbally, anyway. Speaking about God is probably the most usual thing among Christian conversations. "God did this for me, God did that. Praise be to God!" There is nothing wrong about extolling God for the work that He is doing in our daily circumstances. There is something wrong if we are not doing so.


Anyhow, the point is, other people (non-Christians) sometimes enjoy more things than Christians. Job wrestled with this problem, and also the writer of Psalm 73. Even the early Christians struggled with the hardships that came in with the new life they received from God. They thought that the road was clear and everything was to be peachy. We, too, are tempted to think that way. It is the struggle of every moment: to believe, obey and trust God. But non-Christians work on a worldview that is basically without God, and their lifestyles admit this. They go the way of worldly wisdom. To illustrate worldly wisdom, here is the worldly counterpart to The Beatitudes c/o the late James Montgomery Boice:

“Blessed are the rich, for they can have all they want;
Blessed are the powerful, for they can control others;
Blessed are the sexually liberated, for they can fully satisfy themselves;
Blessed are the famous, because they are envied”

The concern is this: how come there are Christians who live this way when they are outside their Christian circles? Or worse: (1) even in their Christian circles, and (2) when they are alone, in secret, the most opportune time for sincere, personal devotion to their Lord?

We can call this occasional Christianity, and I mean this to be derogatory. There is nothing Christian about it. Usually, this is the Sunday-only Christian. He is only Christian when it is time for church, the regular fellowship or a Bible study perhaps. This is the mere mental and emotional assent to God, without any effort to actually reform their lives according to what they know. Regardless of the intensity of the assent, which is measured by how much they know or how much they feel His presence, this is an ugly reality. It is not Christianity at all. It is functional atheism: you live as if God does not exist. Take note that I said know. Occasional Christians know what to do. The difference with their genuine counterpart is that they don't believe what they know. The most common Christian creed, "God is good", is so far away from their minds when they are harassed, when Christianity seems to be out of fashion or under attack. It is even far from their minds when they are alone, outside of any Christian environment. The Christianity that they have is based on the climate. If the heavy rain is pouring, they fear and live as if the sun is never to rise again. They do not believe that God is good. They do not believe that He exists. As the Psalmist says, it is the way of a fool, not of a saint.

Now why is this? It has everything to do with a false view of the Christian doctrines of justification, regeneration, and, most especially, sanctification. I hope to cover the mentioned topics and possibly elaborate more on what I believe to be causes for this occasional Christianity which is prevalent today. But for my present purposes, I will refer to this great and aptly titled chapter “Sanctification” from English theologian J. C. Ryle from his book “Holiness.” It’s a lengthy read but I promise that considering his biblical clarifications and proposals regarding the doctrine of sanctification is time well spent. It is, I hope, for your sanctification. It continues to be for my own. As a teaser of that chapter, here are the 12 propositions (and some quotes to illustrate) he provides about the nature of sanctification:

1. Sanctification is the invariable result of that vital union with Christ which true faith gives to a Christian. “Where there is no sanctification, there is no real faith in Christ. True faith works by love.”

2. Sanctification is the outcome and inseparable consequence of regeneration (being born again). “The lack of sanctification is a sign of non-regeneration.Where there is no holy life, there is no holy birth.”

3. Sanctification is the only certain evidence of that indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is essential to salvation. “We may depend on it as a positive certainty that, where there is no holy living, there is no Holy Spirit.”

4. Sanctification is the only sure mark of God’s election. “If there is one thing clearly and plainly laid down about election, it is this—that elect men and women may be known and distinguised by holy lives.”

5. Sanctification is a reality that will always be seen. “A ‘saint’, in whom nothing can be seen but worldliness or sin, is a kind of monster not recognized in the Bible!”

6. Sanctification is a reality for which every believer is responsible. “The Word of God always addresses its precepts to believers as accountable and responsible beings. If the Savior of sinners gives us renewing grace and calls us by His Spirit, we may be sure that He expects us to use [His] grace and not to go to sleep.”

7. Sanctification is a thing which admits of growth and degrees. “If there is any point on which God’s holiest saints agree, it is this: that they see more and know more and feel more and do more and repent more and believe more as they get on in spiritual life… In short ‘they grow in grace’ (2 Pet. 3:18).”

8. Sanctification depends greatly on a diligent use of scriptural means. “The ‘means of grace’ are such as Bible reading, private prayer, and regualrly worshipping God in church, wherein one hear the Word taught and participates in the Lord’s Supper. I lay it down as a simple matter of fact that no one who is careless about such things must ever expect to make much progress in sanctification.”

9. Sanctification is a thing which does no prevent a man having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict. “The heart of the best Christian, even at his best, is a field occupied by two rival camps (the old nature of the flesh and new nature of the Spirit)”.

10. Sanctification is a thing which cannot justify a man, and yet it pleases God.

11. Sanctification is a thing which will be found absolutely necessary as a witness to our character in the great Day of Judgment. “The question will not be how we talked and what we professed, but how we lived and what we did.”

12. Sanctification is absolutely necessary in order to train and prepare us for heaven. “Most men hope to go to heaven when they die; but a few, it may be feared, take the trouble to consider whether they would enjoy heaven if they got there.”

It is a ugly to be an occasional Christian. It is thinking you're a Christian but in reality, you are living as an atheist. It is horrible since it reeks of a vain hope, calling out "Lord, Lord" but will amount to nothing less than the fury of the wrath of God (Rev. 19:15). To end I offer this ever sharp reminder: “But prove yourselves to be doers of the word, not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:22)