Q.Why do most good heartfelt Christians think since they go to church every Sunday and read their Bibles everyday they are better than the other heartfelt believers that don’t do all that but do believe? (A.M.)
Answer:
False Assumptions
You are making the classic mistake of painting most Christians with a broad brush. You assume that Christians who regularly go to church and read their bibles are arrogant and conceited. That is a false assumption. How many Christians do you personally know, and of those how many actually believe they are better than you?
You’ve Got it Backwards
In fact, Christians who really get into their bibles daily and attend church regularly become quite humbled and meek. How could it be otherwise? They are humbled because they learn from God’s Word just how inadequate and sinful they really are!
People who Don’t Do – Those who Do, Don’t
But, some believers who don’t read their bibles or attend church can become very proud and critical of Christians who do – because they are rarely confronted with their own failings and inadequacies. Studying the Bible confronts us with our true natures and inadequacies.
“Why is this?” you ask.
Because we live in a world ruled by Satan (1 John 5:19 & John 14:30). We also live in bodies of flesh ruled by sin (Romans 3:10-18, & 5:12).
Renewing our Minds
Due to a world ruled by Satan and our weak bodies of flesh ruled by sin, God tells us to renew our minds with His Word and to take every thought captive to Christ to counter these negative forces within and without (see Romans 12:1 & 2 Corinthians 10:5).
We need to replace our human thoughts with God’s thoughts (the Bible). We do this by reading His Word daily – or as often as we can.
Approved to God
2 Timothy 2:15 says that we must “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (NKJV).
You are not offending me with your question. But, you are disobeying God’s Word by not reading your bible.
In Deuteronomy 17:18 we read:
The king must …“keep this copy of the law with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of this law. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way” (NLT).
So while you are correct in saying that there are Christians who are conceited, if they are reading and studying God’s Word and attending church – they are in the process of hopefully becoming better people.
Speaker Joyce Meyer says it like this:
“I may not be what I ought to be. But, thank God I’m not where I used to be!” (Amen, sister!)
Don’t Forsake Assembling Together
Finally, in the book of Hebrews we are told not to forsake “our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25, NASB).
Want to Please God?
How will you know what is important to God if you don’t study your bible and associate often with other Christians? Do we just make up stuff from our own minds as we go? How will you be encouraged, or even discouraged by other Christians? Or, for that matter, how will you help other Christians if you don’t even know they are in trouble.
Church is Filled with Hypocrites
I have said “The church is full of hypocrites” myself, and heard this comment my entire life. A hypocrite is a person who says one thing and does just the opposite. Christians can be a dysfunctional group, I admit. We hurt and discourage each other all the time. But, a Christian who keeps trying to do better by studying the Bible and associating with God’s people, especially when it hurts, is not a hypocrite. That person is making an effort and God promises to remember and reward their effort.
Thundering Sky God
I suppose God could have thundered down from the sky His messages to mankind. He could have been a brilliant UFO light in the sky who terrorized men with words like, “I am God and you are not.” “Obey Me or you will burn in hell forever.” But, He didn’t do that. He left us His Word written down by His chosen people, the Jews. He left it up to us to decide whether or not we will choose to do what He asks of us.
Your Decision
So if you choose not to read your bible or attend church, it is you who has made that choice. You will miss out on fellowshipping with God’s broken, proud and sometimes arrogant people. But guess what? All of us, including you and me, need to be actively involved in personal growth.
God tells all of us not to “copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2, NLT).
The Christians I know who listen to this verse at least try to change their sinful thoughts and behaviors. I would rather be around them than around people who think they know more than God!