What evangelicals get right—and wrong—about our faith
This Wall Street Journal headline caused me to click immediately: “Will There Be a Trump Recession?” The subtitle adds: “Economic signs are mixed, but his willy-nilly tariffs have markets worried.”
Fears of a recession sparked a major sell-off Monday, as the Dow dropped nearly nine hundred points. This after President Trump declined over the weekend to rule out a recession this year (though he stated yesterday that he did not foresee the US going into recession).
After Ontario imposed a 25 percent tariff on electricity sold to the US, Mr. Trump said he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada yesterday to 50 percent. The provincial government of Ontario then backed down on its planned surcharges. The Dow careened through the day, rising before finally falling 478 points.
Today, the president imposed a sweeping 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports to encourage more companies to move their production to the US. The European Union retaliated this morning with new duties on US industrial and farm products.
All this amid worries that American consumers, whose spending is vital to the US economy, may be maxed out. With a shutdown looming if the Senate does not approve the GOP government funding measure passed by the House yesterday, economic uncertainties abound.
Asking your car to fly to Hawaii
As I noted yesterday, we live in a world changed in every aspect by the COVID–19 pandemic. One example: the US economy fell abruptly when the pandemic hit, but has since recovered these losses and ushered in a new era of growth.
However, such growth is no longer tethered to consumer sentiment. The two were largely aligned before 2020; now they are widely divergent. Amid widespread discouragement and pessimism, the US stands today at an all-time low ranking in the World Happiness Report.
Christians should not be surprised.
We know that “he who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). To the contrary, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10). It is idolatrous folly to expect created things to take the place of the Creator in our lives.
By contrast, we know that the “abundant” life we were created to experience is found only in Christ (John 10:10). Asking for material prosperity to make us happy is like asking your car to fly you to Hawaii. That’s not what it was made to do.
Leaving your baby at the hospital
However, the fact that our secular culture doesn’t understand this is not the fault of our secular culture. People don’t know what they don’t know. I could have cancer right now and be unaware of the fact. Consequently, I am not pursuing treatment for a disease I do not know I have.
But if my doctor knows my condition and doesn’t tell me, who is at fault—him or me?
Here is what evangelical Christians get right: We know that salvation is found only through faith in Christ (cf. John 3:18; 14:6; Acts 4:12). But here’s what many evangelicals get wrong: We lead people to trust in Christ as their Savior, but take them no further.
This is like parents who bring a child into the world and then leave it at the hospital. The “new birth” is only the beginning of the Christian life. Jesus wants us not only to be saved from hell but to experience the transformation only he can make in our lives.
He did not call people to be “believers” but “disciples,” consistently inviting them to “follow me” (Matthew 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:21). The Greek means to “walk with me, going where I go.” It describes not just a “decision for Christ” but a lifetime of experiencing him in an intimate, transforming way.
“By this my Father is glorified”
Our Lord was clear: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31). To “abide” is to remain, to think and act biblically in all we do. This is the daily, holistic decision to make Christ the Lord of every dimension of our lives, using all we have and are for him. Accordingly, he said, “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
When we experience the living Lord Jesus in this way, our lives demonstrate our faith: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8). We love others as we are loved: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
We are commissioned to “make disciples of all nations” by “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20, my emphasis).
Imagine the difference if every Christian lived by all that Christ commanded us.
“A disciple is not above his teacher”
Now we have a choice to make. We can disregard the last two sections of this article and seek secular happiness along with the rest of our secular culture. But beware: Such a decision is a deliberate rejection of Jesus’ clear will for us, one made in the misguided belief that we know better than he does.
Our Lord stated, “A disciple is not above his teacher” (Luke 6:40a). We cannot choose our will above his and claim to be his disciple. It’s that simple.
However, Jesus added that “everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (v. 40b, my emphasis). When we walk with Jesus, we become like Jesus as his Spirit sanctifies us (2 Thessalonians 2:13) and conforms us to the character of Christ (Romans 8:29).
The result is that we fulfill our name as “Christians”—literally, “followers of Christ.” Not believers—followers. And followers of Jesus always change their world (cf. Acts 17:6).
Alan Redpath was right:
“All of the Lord Jesus Christ is mine at the moment of conversion, but I possess only as much of him as by faith I claim.”
How much of Jesus will you “claim” today?
NOTE: I often write articles for our website during the day on breaking news and current events. I encourage you to visit the website daily for more content from me and our writing team.
Quote for the day:
“Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” —Thomas Watson (1620–86)
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