"I am not a Christian anymore, and it feels really good. I’m really happy.” "
These were the words of Dr. Paul Maxwell, author, former Moody Bible Institute professor, and writer for Desiring God when he announced few days back that he’s no longer a Christian on Instagram.
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| Paul Maxwell |
Reading this piece about Paul Maxwell left me sad. I kept wondering, "Lord, what is happening?"
But I believe it's clear. The falling away. The Holy Spirit told us these things would happen in the last days.
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons..." 1 Tim 4:1.
So yes, one can lose their salvation.
Just like Paul Maxwell, some 'seasoned' Christians have denounced their faith in Jesus.
In 2019, Joshua Harris, a former pastor at Covenant Life Church and author of the best-selling book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, announced he was no longer a believer and apologized to the LGBT community for his views on sexuality.
“I regret standing against marriage equality, for not affirming you and your place in the church, and for any ways that my writing and speaking contributed to a culture of exclusion and bigotry,” he wrote.
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| Joshua Harris - author of I kissed dating Goodbye |
More recently, Jon Steingard of the Christian band Hawk Nelson announced he no longer believes in God.
Former Hillsong worship leader Marty Sampson also posted on Instagram that he’s “genuinely losing (his) faith . . . and it doesn’t bother me.”
Responding to some of these defections, John Cooper of the Christian band Skillet wrote in 2019:
“I am stunned that the seemingly most important thing for these leaders who have lost their faith is to make such a bold new stance. Basically saying, ‘I’ve been living and preaching boldly something for 20 years . . . and now I no longer believe it..therefore I’m going to boldly and loudly tell people it was all wrong while I boldly and loudly lead people in to my next truth.’. . . Why be so eager to continue leading people when you clearly don’t know where you are headed?”
Abraham Piper (son of pastor and theologian John Piper who is the founder of Desiring God) has a massive following on Tik Tok where he criticizes Christianity and his Christian upbringing.
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| Abraham Piper on Tik Tok |
He became a sensation on TikTok nearly overnight. He posted his first video in November, and he now has more than 900,000 followers, many of them young people who thank him for capturing their experiences so precisely.
But why wouldn't his videos receive massive followership? He is telling people what they want to hear. So many people are looking for excuses, any excuse to live outside the truth of God's Word. They are looking for justification of sorts, because truth hurts when you come face to face with it and find you aren't aligning to it.
*Read Hebrews 6:4-8
Christianity is somehow hard, I really dont blame them. Especially when you dont get your prayers answered it could be so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteLife itself is hard, whether as a Christian or non-Christian. But as God's children we have the advantage because God assures us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He promises in Isaiah 43 that 'when' we pass through the waters or fire or flame, He will be there. We won't be overwhelmed or burned.
ReplyDeleteFaith says we believe even when it does not make sense at all.
God wants to bring us to a point of spiritual maturity where we are in a relationship with Him not because of what we would get from Him, but simply because we love Him. So when I ask God for something, I simply put my faith in Him to provide it. Even if the prayer is not answered the way I hoped, I rejoice because I know that God knows everything, He is all wise and has my best interest at heart. He will make things go the way He deems fit.
Yes, you are right. Being a Christian is harder because it takes FAITH to live this life in the midst of a dark world that constantly opposes it. But we are never alone neither can we do it on our own. When we begin to think we are doing it by our strength, we will get frustrated and ultimately give up.
Trust God🙂.