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Big Brains and Simple Saints

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CONCLUSION
What's a Normal Christian Anyway?

Before we partly answer that question we need to understand something specific about the content of The New Testament.

In simple terms New Testament textual criticism reconstructs the text of the original documents (autographs) by methodically analysing all available ancient copies.1 If you roll Christian history back far enough, way past all the modern church variations, the widespread religiosity and the doctrinal add-ons from all the isms that have arisen since the fourth century, you'll come to what we know today as The New Testament. The text of The New Testament provides the earliest known detailed definitions of Christian living and church order.

There are plenty of scholars who find fault with New Testament books claiming they contain too many mistakes and obvious fabrications. Nevertheless, there are many equally intelligent and honest scholars who believe that The New Testament is a credible historical record of the early Church and the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. And there are millions who call themselves Christians who believe absolutely that the books of The New Testament are the living Word of God—words inspired by God Himself.2

We can say then that in a specific sense true Christians are those who by faith have accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord and believe the Bible is God’s instruction manual. It certainly claims to be, and true Christians will accept that, even though for others this amounts to a somewhat circular argument. But the point is, true followers of Christ must use it as a guide for daily living. The contents of the Bible amount to all the guidance the Christian needs. Because of this we can legitimately use the Bible to answer our question: What is a normal Christian?

The New Testament teaches that a normal Christian is fully committed to the Person and purposes of God. Fully. He or she lives for God, not himself or herself, or anybody else. God must come before the boyfriend, the girlfriend, the husband, the wife, the children and all family ties. This is normal Christianity. Serve God first. If you don’t intend to be 100% sold out for God you should forget about being a Christian. Get it sorted or walk away. Only a fool would set off on a very long and difficult journey in a boat that had a small hole in it. It would sink sooner or later. Also, make no mistake about it, being a Christian is very costly, so consider it carefully. Don’t start to build your life of faith only to discover you can’t finish the construction. It’s tough going, apparently.

To expand on this a little, a normal everyday sort of Christian is expected to joyously do his or her best to live a life that pleases God in every way possible. This takes a lot of discipline, and it seems that in actual practice some are better at discipline than others. But The New Testament says it’s what God expects of all Christians. If this isn’t your attitude and goal, you’ll get nowhere fast.

Scripture also tells us that the living by-products of a relationship with God are kindness, selflessness, love, joy, peace, self-control... These subdue and replace godless human behaviour like hatred, sexual immorality, greed, outbursts of anger, selfishness, drunkenness—all the things that keep people out of "the kingdom of God". To renew his or her mind and to have the "mind of Christ", the Christian is expected to pray often and regularly read (and even study) the Bible because it reveals what pleases God and what doesn’t. The New Testament in particular defines God's perspective on Christian living. And The New Testament teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals the mind of God too.

Normal Christians think in a unique way—at least, they're supposed to. What they feed their minds on most goes a long way to defining who and what they are in the world. Thinking must flow in one wholesome direction. The Bible, God's written revelation, is explicit: think about anything that's true, noble, just, pure, lovely. In fact, think about whatever is good and worthy of admiration and approval. The overall challenge then is to mentally approach everything in a way that pleases God. The normal Christian shouldn't dwell on bad or inappropriate things that are contrary to the Christian lifestyle. Rather, thought should be given over to anything that reflects the Person and desires of God.

Simply put, a Christian is in the world but not of it. Christians belong to God and should think the way He does. Personal preferences won’t do. The world thinks differently to God. Its priorities, methods and solutions rest on a different foundation. It’s clearly set out in The New Testament that a Christian who really loves this world can’t love God at the same time. It’s one or the other. Normal Christians must make the daily choice to live in the world yet remain separated from its godless, sinful, unchristian ideology.

The New Testament further defines the normal Christian life as holy, pure and separated for God’s use. Immorality can take place in the mind too. Such fantasies are sin. But it can happen in other ways. For example, in general can the world’s entertainment industry be said to reflect The New Testament’s clear standards for morality? Silly question!

If The New Testament is God’s enlightening Word, most Christians have some explaining to do. What’s the difference between thinking about immoral things and watching immorality in a movie or TV programme? A lot of what Christians watch, listen to and read normalises unchristian behaviour. Don't these very things keep people out of Heaven? What are these Christians thinking about! A Christian has to make a choice, or fall well below God’s high standards, and possibly be lost forever. But we won't discuss the prospect of Hell's fire and who's eligible.

Although a detailed book could be written on the subject of The Normal Christian Life According to The New Testament—and too few have—we’ll have to close with the thought that according to The New Testament, the inspired Word of God, normal everyday Christians must be part of a local Bible-believing church.

A church isn’t a brick and concrete building. It’s supposed to be a group of normal Christians who gather together in one place. Each week in church meetings Christians should actively, lovingly and practically contribute to teaching, fellowship and evangelism. It’s not an option. You must understand that you can’t have a personal and unique brand of Christianity while sitting at home or out climbing mountains (feeling closer to God). You can’t walk with God on your terms. The New Testament explains that ongoing fellowship with other believers is normal for those who want to live a life pleasing to God.

If after seeking God’s help for several years you find that all or a majority of the above still aren’t part of your sincere daily goals as a Christian, you can safely conclude you’re making a total mess of things. Even allowing for natural and spiritual stages of development, something’s wrong somewhere. I say again: Being a Christian shouldn't be complicated but if it isn't a full-time undertaking it isn't anything at all.

Our conclusion then, and it's a never-ending conundrum too, is this: How many normal Christians are there in local churches today? Or throughout history? Are there enough to get the job done? And, if it’s possible to get all of the above right through total commitment, how much time and energy will be left for the Church to fret over the finer points of evolutionary theory, and all the other spiritually redundant scientific postulations?

So, let's try to summarise all of this:

1) The uniform teaching of The New Testament clearly defines what a Christian actually is. This can be undermined by atheists who cast their net much too far when offering their own definitions. They may also criticise those who insist on explaining the meaning of the word in a New Testament context only which, amazingly, is the best context available!

2) There is a popular preoccupation with intellectual propositions (Christian apologetics) over the simple (and supposedly powerful) spiritual essentials expounded in The New Testament.

3) The combative atheist's arguments against religion are futile (not always because they're wrong in every detail).

4) The pervasive weaknesses, failings and apathy in local churches demonstrably interfere with the effectiveness of Bible doctrines and ultimately tarnish the Christian witness in society.

Somewhere Beyond the Conclusion

At its very core the daily Christian experience is defined by a determined attitude, not a success rate. The Christian is equipped by God to do His will. God works in Christians so they may please Him by their attitude and deeds. They are called to be beyond reproach, a light in the darkness, an example to follow. If only these qualities were abundant in the lives of normal Christians.

Surely God knows that people can never reach the ideal that permeates The New Testament. Bible verses clearly suggest that. Could it be that the Christian life is intended to be a goal that secures sincere ongoing commitment to Christ? It appears to be a scriptural contradiction that God provides the power of His Holy Spirit to overcome but also allows for the many mortal blemishes Christians will never escape from.

Christians don't have a monopoly on goodness, honesty, patience, selflessness and high moral standards, and nobody with their wits engaged would suggest they have. But, just like everybody else and despite their high calling and good intentions, they too suffer defeat, lose their temper, make dreadful mistakes, choose to behave badly and are generally subject to the complex incongruities of human nature. They believe and tell others that God can turn people from their sin if they come to Him in faith. But once converted the sin element will remain in them all, endlessly affecting the witness of The Church.

This confuses people. And little wonder! They want to be born again and be freed from “sin” but eventually discover that those who have already turned to Christ are often messed up too, to a lesser or greater extent, sooner or later. The full reality can't be linked to Christian performance, otherwise the gospel message is a non-starter. The Purpose is a grand one, it's outworking not so grand.

Express it any way you want but don't dare miss the panoramic view.

The Church deserves its every raw nerve trodden on without mercy. The world is rightly sceptical and dismissive. People are walking away shaking their heads.

But this isn’t about targeting individual Christians and hurting them with a barrage of negative criticism. Voices should be heard incessantly within every local evangelical Church calling all Christians to be Christlike, for according to the Bible, to live is Christ. Godly zeal, purity of thought and action, a joyful willingness to forsake the world for a holy life dedicated to the will of God—all these form the essential foundation of the typical Christian lifestyle.

Christians need a lot more than mere theological talk about getting “Back to the Bible”. This isn't about petty revivals and fix-it-again restorations of Bible Truth. It’s supposed to be about powerful, basic priorities that shape the Christian's daily thinking and very existence. It should be about getting real and following through no matter what. But what's the reality out there?

Generally the Church is much too cosy, too insular, too confident, too worldly, too detached. It's immersed in habit, form and rigmarole. It would rather talk about Bible themes and doctrines, false beliefs, abortion, social responsibily and ending poverty than dying to self. It laboriously clambers through the latest programmes aimed at financial security and membership expansion. It's immersed in unproductive social interactions and trite stratagems. It's content with the status quo. How often does it examine itself to see if it's still “in the faith”? It's drowning in Sunday-best collars and leather study Bibles, floating aimlessly in a sea of insipid sermons and contrived sentiment. It wears two faces most comfortably.

The Church needs shaken regularly by the scruff of the neck, but it's not going to happen. The puzzle remains.

1 "New Testament textual criticism... operates under unique conditions because of an abundance of manuscripts and the rather short gap between the time of original writing and the extant manuscripts, shorter than that of the Old Testament. ...the approximate number of New Testament manuscripts dating from the 3rd to 18th centuries are: 2,000 of the four Gospels; 400 of Acts, Pauline, and Catholic letters together; 300 of Pauline letters alone; 250 of Revelation; and 2,000 lectionaries—i.e., collections of gospel (and sometimes Acts and letter) selections, or pericopes, meant to be used in public worship. Compared with other ancient manuscripts, the text of the New Testament is dependable and consistent, but on an absolute scale there are far more variant readings as compared with those of, for example, classical Greek authors... Of the many New Testament manuscripts to date... only about 50 contain the entire 27 books of the New Testament. The majority have the four Gospels, and Revelation is the least well attested" (Encyclopædia Britannica 2007).

2 This makes sense to Christians. However, although it's not often mentioned, the concept of New Testament authority has to be taken one step further by accepting that other ancient documents can not be included in The New Testament. Why? These works have been examined in great detail and are considered erroneous and of inferior quality. It's argued that there is a clear unity of thought and purpose in the books of The New Testament that these other books lack. Christians therefore have to trust that God revealed to early Christians which books were genuinely inspired and which were not. This divine selection is of great consequence. If God didn't choose them, man did. Christians believe that all Scripture is inspired by God—it is God-breathed—and that the books themselves have been chosen by God.

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