The Existentialist at Heart
09/03/08 19:20
Existentialism
is the philosophy that at its heart it believes that
the personal experiences of life define the life
rather than the objective absolute truth defining it.
An existentialist believes that God exists because he
believes that He exist. Whereas, a Christian believes
that God exist because God has declared it in His
Word. An existentialist has faith but his faith rests
in his own faith. A Christian has faith in God, who
is faithful always. Here the lines are drawn clearly
and the distinction is apparent, you cannot be an
existentialist and be a Christian. That would be like
trying to jump into a pool of water and expecting to
stay dry. But I fear, because of things that I have
observed over the years, that there is a
neo-Christian who is an existentialist at heart. The
lines that make up the parameters of his life have
become so indistinguishable that, in essence, he has
no foundation and therefore he has no moral compass.
Because he has no moral compass he has no direction
in life and therefore he has no goal. If he has no
goal, his hope is depleted and the result of
hopelessness is spiritual anarchy. Anything goes, and
given the nature of man, the result of spiritual
anarchy is death. Now, this is a hard line that I
have taken here and many men much smarter than myself
may disagree with my opinion. They may show that
certain aspects of the Christian faith are certainly
existential. But I am not going to drown us into a
quagmire of philosophical semantics. My sole purpose
here is for you to decide whether your life is
heading toward an existentialist end or a Christian
end? So let us look into a day in the life of this
neo-Christian and contrast it with the Christian who
is saved by the grace of God.
In the morning, this neo-Christian arises to his prayer closet if time permits and there are things that are pressing him personally and directly. His prayer achieves more personal satisfaction than the will of God and subconsciously that is fine with him. He knows that he is the light of the world and yet, he desires to show the world his light and end it there. He cannot use his light to lead others through the darkness. The Christian knows that he is a light, but that he is not the True Light. He knows that it does the unbeliever no good to see his light and stop there –the unbeliever must see Jesus Christ –that is his true desire and motivation. (And I am not just speaking of verbal evangelical tactics here.) The neo-Christian receives joy and blessing when he perceives that God is acting on his behalf. He becomes stronger in his faith when his conscious declares his innocence and weaker in his faith when circumstances get beyond his control. His nominal creed does not always agree with his living creed and convenience is more of a motivational factor than love for God. He tries to be a Christian and that’s the problem –he tries. He tries to be good, and when he is successful, he believes that he has found favor in the eyes of God. But should this man fall under temptation, run through a dry spell, or become afflicted because of natural causes, he believes that he must do something to merit God’s good graces. Yet, another problem arises when he equates God’s good graces with the temporal blessings of this life. The true Christian at heart simply rests in the salvation of God that comes through Jesus Christ and he simply states in both his nominal and living creeds; “But by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
Have a great week!
In the morning, this neo-Christian arises to his prayer closet if time permits and there are things that are pressing him personally and directly. His prayer achieves more personal satisfaction than the will of God and subconsciously that is fine with him. He knows that he is the light of the world and yet, he desires to show the world his light and end it there. He cannot use his light to lead others through the darkness. The Christian knows that he is a light, but that he is not the True Light. He knows that it does the unbeliever no good to see his light and stop there –the unbeliever must see Jesus Christ –that is his true desire and motivation. (And I am not just speaking of verbal evangelical tactics here.) The neo-Christian receives joy and blessing when he perceives that God is acting on his behalf. He becomes stronger in his faith when his conscious declares his innocence and weaker in his faith when circumstances get beyond his control. His nominal creed does not always agree with his living creed and convenience is more of a motivational factor than love for God. He tries to be a Christian and that’s the problem –he tries. He tries to be good, and when he is successful, he believes that he has found favor in the eyes of God. But should this man fall under temptation, run through a dry spell, or become afflicted because of natural causes, he believes that he must do something to merit God’s good graces. Yet, another problem arises when he equates God’s good graces with the temporal blessings of this life. The true Christian at heart simply rests in the salvation of God that comes through Jesus Christ and he simply states in both his nominal and living creeds; “But by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
Have a great week!
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