Come Home Functional Atheist

One of the greatest challenges here in North America is not philosophical atheism. There are a very small percentage of Americans that actually live out the implications of philosophical atheism. Few people even know the major players and thinkers that atheism has to offer. The issue and the challenge of today is functional atheism, or moral relativism. Dr. James Emery White defines functional atheism this way: “[functional atheism] holds that what is moral is dictated by a particular situation in light of a particular culture or social location”.

The majority of our culture considers themselves spiritual, but not religious. The problem with functional atheists is that they are not even thinking about God or the Bible. They are simply ignoring Him. They could care less about the opinions of Richard Dawkins or the facts that Albert Mohler can present on the resurrection or the Christian faith as a whole (Not to discredit the geniuses that they are in their fields).

The despair of our homes, families, communities, cities, state, nation, and world are completely unknown to the functional atheist. There is something wrong, but they do not know how to cure themselves and the world. Friedrich Nietzsche says: “God is dead. God remains dead.  And it is we who have killed him. How should we the murderers of all murderers ever comfort ourselves?” The world is living with this despair and the people do not even know where their despair is coming from.

There is one way that all despair will be completely wiped out.  A follower of Jesus will not see this despair completely wiped out on this side of Heaven. Praise God that one day we will see every tear wiped away, all diseases cured; all sin washed away, and have an eternal relationship with our God. This is what we were made for and long for, but some have ignored God and continue to live in everlasting despair.

For the follower of Jesus, do not live in despair any longer because we have a hope that is beyond anything that we could ever hope for or imagine. Be encouraged and live for Jesus who alone gives hope.

For the skeptic, the functional atheist, the moral relativist, those ignoring God, turn to Him because God alone can give you hope and peace that drives out this despair that plagues us all. God is pleading with you to come home. Jesus says “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Weep and Rejoice Together

Cain says, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).  This is just a chapter later after the Fall when man chose to turn their backs on God.  We see the root of sin here in chapter 4 when Cain views himself as being only responsible for himself. God created us to be responsible towards Him and each other as well.  This is implicit in the Great Commandment to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves.  This is the way that it was supposed to be, but sin has happened.

I am burdened for TrueVine Church to be a people of God who are thinking of others before ourselves, not the church that mimics Cain and says “Am I my brother’s keeper?”.  But instead when one of our brothers and sisters in Jesus are weeping, we weep with them.  When they rejoice we are there to rejoice with them.  This is one reason why it is commanded, not suggested, to not forsake meeting together (Hebrews 10:24-25).  When we care only for ourselves, think only of ourselves, and live only for ourselves, we are saying to God that we are most important.  Let’s be there for each other and point to how loving and awesome our God is that we serve.

When someone gives testimony to how great God is working in their life, then we are there to rejoice with them and praise God with them as if it were God doing that in our lives (because this is actually one and the same thing).  When our brother is going through difficulty, death in the family, or any tragedy then we are there for them to have a shoulder to weep on and we weep with them. 

I pray that TrueVine is a people of God gathered together to for the purpose of glorifying God by putting ourselves aside to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.