Shining Light into the Heart of Darkness

The book that bore the title The Heart of Darkness was certainly not the first to touch on the terrible possibilities of madness and depravity that lies within the human heart. Perhaps one reason why the book has become a classic is that so many people know that there is darkness inside each one of us that would be expressed as great evil, if only the circumstances were right. When given half a chance, our thoughts descend into such depths that we are thankful that those around us cannot read our minds. While we can easily deceive others about the state of our heart and minds through civility we are taught from our youth, we still have to find a way to live with ourselves and deal with our own hearts of darkness.

Although every one of us has a heart of darkness, what we do about it differs from person to person. Some do their best to ignore it by filling their lives with busyness of one sort or another – business affairs, building a family, following a dream, or travelling around the world. Such people win the admiration of many for doing things that require such intense drive and passion. It seems that they have conquered the darkness by doing something with a purpose. Yet the drive to be continuously busy is just one way of trying to deal with the heart of darkness – by avoiding it as much as possible. When life is full of action, there is no time for deep introspection that might remind you of the true state of your heart.

Another option is to deny that the heart is dark at all. We can deceive ourselves into thinking that those dark thoughts aren’t really “me” after all. Because I’m really a good person, right? This is an attractive option if you aren’t one of those “super humans” described above that can fill their lives to the brink yet never seem to run out of energy. This sort of self-delusion can create “nice” people who continually paper over any kind of darkness with bright and breezy positive thoughts – like covering a deeply cracked wall with pretty wallpaper and hoping that the house won’t fall down. Sometimes the ‘house’ stays standing for a long time, once again winning the admiration of those around us for presumably having dealt with the heart of darkness. 

These two approaches to the problem can be used in combination – alternately avoiding and papering over the issue – so successfully that it appears to everyone around us, and indeed ourselves, that we no longer struggle with the darkness. To help you along the way, there are thousands of books available on perfecting each strategy. While the previous generation seemed intent on self-improvement (thus avoiding the darkness), the current generation is all about self-love and acceptance (thus papering over it). Yet regardless of which strategy or combination of approaches you use, the heart of darkness remains.

Religion or ‘spirituality’ (for those who don’t like the ‘organised’ variety) is frequently used as part of one or both of the strategies described above. Religious devotees of every variety channel their drive and passion into religious activities (hours of meditation, wearing out one’s knees with prayer, or even devoting life to jihad), thus winning the same kind of approval that similarly driven people receive in the secular realm. This way, you are too busy devoting your life to religion to consider the state of your heart, whilst those around you continually affirm that you are on the right path.

Alternatively, one can use religious belief as a way to deceive yourself into believing that you’re OK – provided you follow these guidelines and do the right stuff, you really can claim to be a good person. Organised religion of every kind gives you nice, clear guidelines on what boxes to tick in order to reach that desired state of goodness. Those who eschew organised religion are all at sea without the boxes, so many of them will turn to New Age ideas as a less organised way of achieving the same thing. New Age spirituality focuses heavily on self-love and care, based on the premise that you really are a good person – if only you discover the right part of yourself. The deep cracks in the wall of your life are still there; only the colour of the wallpaper differs according to religious or spiritual preference.

The dark and desperate state of the human heart is an undeniable reality that all must face, regardless of what you believe or don’t believe about the nature and origin of humanity and life itself. In the back of everyone’s mind is the lingering question: “but am I really good enough?” Maybe you have reached the greatest heights in your career or are placed on a pedestal by everyone who knows you, but is that good enough? Will your religious observances really get you anywhere in the end? A telltale sign of manmade religion is that there are no guarantees – no one actually knows what ‘good enough’ really looks like. 

The honest seeker sees through all of this, and eventually tires of it all. Perhaps they have tried and failed the various strategies, yet they’re tired of trying to be perfect or pretending that everything is fine when it really isn’t. What they’re left with is the dark, yawning chasm of their own heart. Some people are naturally introspective and will come to this point early in life, while others will take the round about route of trying everything else first. Tragically, many will have clung to their strategies of avoidance and self-deception right to the end of their lives. Just as tragic are those who finally face their own hearts and decide that the only way out is to end their lives prematurely.

Depression and self-harm have reached pandemic proportions in society today, and Covid-19 has only made it worse. People are reaching out, looking desperately for answers, and finding many varieties of the options I described above – some of which make them feel a bit better for a while. Yet there is one thing, and only one thing, that provides an antidote to darkness. It is light.

Physical light is an amazing thing – darkness can never overwhelm it. Indeed, the darker the room, the more we notice the tiniest, dimmest source of light. You cannot run away from darkness and you cannot ignore it. But if you turn on a bright light, darkness simply vanishes. These physical principles also work in the spiritual realm. The antidote to the heart of darkness and all the pain it causes us and our family and friends is not to avoid it or paper over it, but to turn on the light.

The Word of God is the only book that accurately describes the condition of the human heart of darkness and provides the light needed to drive the darkness away. This is because the Author is also the Creator who knows exactly how the human mind, soul and spirit are put together and what has gone wrong. 

God diagnosed the human condition in Genesis 6:5 – Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

He confirmed this condition when speaking to Jeremiah (17: 9)

“The heart is deceitful above all things, 

And desperately wicked; 

Who can know it?

I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.”

Jesus described it in even more detail (Matt. 15:18-19) – “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”

I think we can safely say that God understands our hearts of darkness very well, better than any psychologist, friend, or guru. His piercing light sees right into the depths of our souls, reaching beyond where our conscious mind can reach (Job 12:22; Daniel 2:22). 

As the Good Physician, God not only diagnoses our problem, but He has the solution. That solution is Himself, particularly as His essence is manifested in the Person of Jesus Christ. Long before Jesus walked along the edge of the Sea of Galilee, Isaiah declared (9:1b-2) – 

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

In Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

Jesus left us in no doubt about His true nature saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus was indeed the light of the world, and He still is. But now He chooses to shine through His body, the church. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8). 

This is where the real challenge lies. For the Christians who are reading this, you know that there are people in your life who are living with a heart of darkness. Some have avoided it through staying busy, while others are really “good people” who have papered over it, yet an increasing number have realised the futility of either strategy and live in a state of depression and despair. Yet we have the Light; we have the antidote to darkness. Are we obeying our Lord’s command – “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”? (Matt. 5:14-16)

Shining a light is difficult, because it attracts attention. Just like physical light, very deep darkness makes even dim lights noticeable. Light also exposes things that people would prefer to remain hidden. Light reveals the true nature of their hearts and the wickedness of their deeds, which is a necessary first step to repentance and salvation. Some may shy away from this because they have spent so much time papering up the cracks in their lives that they simply cannot bear to see all of that effort go to waste. Others cannot face the thought of their former admirers turning away from them. As the apostle John (3:19) warns – And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

  

Being a light is risky in a dark place where people love darkness. If people rejected the true Light of God, then many will reject the small portion of His light that we reflect. But Christians who would follow their Lord have no choice – we must be lights. If we are not shining God’s light into the lives of those around us, then we have no worth in this world (Matt. 5:13). 

The world is getting darker every day. One of the many symptoms of this is the increasing anxiety and depression in society that causes untold mental anguish and even suicide. Now, more than ever, people need Christians to shine into their lives. “But I am not qualified to treat mental illness,” you may object, or “if I studied psychology, perhaps I could Christianise it and help people,” or, “I don’t understand depression, because I have never suffered from it myself”. I have keenly felt my own inadequacy when wanting to help those who are trapped in depression. Yet God doesn’t need trained professionals or people with personal experience of the problem – He wants lights.

It is not for us to diagnose which particular mental disorder or illness people have and to figure out how to “fix” them. We cannot presume to know enough about the human psyche to be able to prescribe a specific cure, but we know the One who created the soul and mind of every human on earth. He is the Great Physician who understands one of the deepest mysteries of medicine – how the physical brain and body link with the non-physical mind and soul of a human. He also knows how to resurrect a physical body and how to resurrect the spirit within those who are spiritually dead.

Are the mental issues connected to physical problems? We know the Great Physician who heals the sick. Is the real issue a spiritual one due to unrepented sin? We know the One Who has bought forgiveness for the whole world with His blood. Are we limited by our understanding of the problem? We know the all-knowing One who sees into the depths of the heart. There is simply no excuse for not introducing the searching soul to our Lord. It is high time for every Christian to go boldly into this darkening world and shine.

A Christian’s Guide to Social Media

Anyone who has spent any length of time engaging in debates on social media will know that it's a war out there. The old adage “the pen is mightier than the sword” has proven true, in ways that its 19th century originator could never have thought possible. While the heart of man has always been desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9), it has never been easier for this wickedness to spill out from one heart into the broader society than it is today.

Social media nonetheless provides a tantalising opportunity for those who have an important message that they want to share with the world. I am talking about Christians who want to reach as many people as possible with the good news of the gospel. Social media reaches far more people than the old methods – distributing tracts, visiting people in hospital or prison, preaching on street corners, or spending time talking to colleagues and friends about the Lord. A popular or controversial tweet or Facebook post can reach thousands of people in a matter of minutes, presenting an excellent means of reaching people we would otherwise never meet.

In my professional life, I have written about controversial topics relating to nature conservation (the prime example is trophy hunting) and had to defend my stance on public platforms like Facebook and Twitter. I have also thought long and hard about getting into debates relating to moral or religious matters that frequently come up on social media.

Here, I share some of my observations from my professional engagement that may be of assistance to Christians. I will not, however, tell you whether or not you should start or stop using social media to engage in debates. There is simply no one answer to that question for any individual, and the answer may differ from one debate topic or group to the next. If, after reading this, you feel that you should engage more – pray about it and do what you feel the Lord wants you to do. If you feel that you should leave social media altogether, or avoid all discussions on contentious moral or religious topics – pray about that, too, and act accordingly.

I certainly don’t have the final answer, and even though I frequently engage in debate for professional reasons, I am far more hesitant to do so on topics relating to Christianity, morality or religion. The purpose of this article is merely to inform you about the obstacles and pitfalls you will encounter, based on my own experience – what you do with this information is between you and the Lord.

The first major hurdle is communication. Even when our intentions are perfectly good and we feel nothing but love for the people we interact with online, things can go badly wrong. When engaged in a face-to-face conversation, we constantly read one another’s expressions and tone of voice, which help us communicate thoughts and ideas quite clearly. Furthermore, we most often have conversations with people we know or in social settings that come with certain inherent rules of engagement (e.g. going for a coffee with your friends vs. a job interview). While even this form of communication can be misunderstood, it has a much higher chance of success than an exchange of short text messages between total strangers on Twitter or Facebook.

Communication on social media has become the norm for many people and, particularly during the lockdowns we have recently experienced, it is not unusual for us to talk to many more people using these media than in real-life conversations. There are fewer pitfalls to text communication when the exchanges are between people who know each other in real life, although even these can occasionally go wrong. The more dangerous exchanges take place with total strangers or people one knows very slightly – like those one-time acquaintances you have ‘friended’ on Facebook, or total strangers you encounter in a public group or Twitter thread.

Communicating effectively online requires writing skills that are honed with practice. The skills needed to enter a debate are also different from those required to write an article. Articles like this one (for an example of one dealing with a contentious matter, see here) can be as long as they need to be to make your point clear and to set the tone of the argument. You then have time to go back and reread what you have written, editing out or adding things as you see fit. In this way, a conscientious writer can greatly increase the chances that their audience will understand what they are trying to say and the way they are saying it.

Debates on social media are different. On Twitter and several other platforms, each comment is limited to a certain number of characters (e.g. 280 for Twitter). Although there is no limit on Facebook, comments are usually short – a paragraph at most. There is little or no space to develop your argument or set the tone of what you want to say. In an effort to ensure that you are understood, it is often necessary to get into a conversation – you state one short point, the other person asks a question or states their opposing point, you clarify or respond to their point, and so forth. These debates can become heated and acrimonious, and it takes enormous patience and a different level of writing skill to maintain a fruitful, courteous discussion.

Besides the challenges of miscommunication, social media is a hive of falsity. I know many honest (mostly older) users of these platforms who share their thoughts and lives as though they are chatting around a table with friends. In a perfect world that is what these platforms should be like, but as we know, the world we actually live in is fallen. Social media tends to bring out the worst in people. Some become hypocrites, while others become bullies.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day would have loved social media – it has never been easier to project a righteous, caring and religious image to the world than it is today. You can live an entirely fake life online – posting Bible verses, photos of yourself doing good deeds, coming out in ‘righteous anger’ against the latest tragedy or political issue – without actually living the life you portray. While this may seem terrible, it is actually extremely easy for anyone to fall into the trap of living two lives – one on social media and one in reality. One of the consequences of this falsehood is that even genuine people who are trying to have honest conversations and contribute good things to the online community are viewed with suspicion and cynicism.

From the hypocrites, we swing to the other end of the spectrum – the dark underbelly of bullying and strife that are totally unfettered by social cues and basic civility that one has come to expect in real life conversations. It is like entering a war zone as an unarmed pacifist – even if you are trying your best to bring peace, you will be targeted at one point or another. The main ammunition used in this war of words is offence. While some people deliberately try to cause as much offence as possible (a behaviour so common online that it even has a name: trolling), others take offence at the slightest things in order to cast their opponents as bullies (i.e. trolls) and therefore silence them. On almost every public thread of online engagement that deals with a controversial or popular topic, there are people offending and being offended by each other day and night.

Into this milieu the modern Christian steps, bearing one of the oldest and most offensive messages of all time – the gospel. Although the gospel is the good news of salvation, it is also the bad news of sin (2 Cor. 2:14-17). Before anyone can receive the good news, they have to understand why they need it – that they are sinners who have disobeyed their Creator and will one day be judged according to His supreme moral law (Ps. 14:1-4). The very concept of an objective moral standard offends many people, let alone the details of that standard that have been entirely rejected by society. Defining sin necessarily condemns people as sinners, which is the first (yet most offensive) step towards salvation (Luke 15:10 and 18:13-14; 2 Cor. 7:10).

Bringing an offensive message into an environment of continual offence is extremely hazardous, to say the least. Those who are offended by the message may very well use the tactics I mentioned above against the well-meaning Christian to silence them. Christians who stand up publicly for Christ may be shamed for being ‘intolerant’ of sin or accused of trying to force our moral standards upon others. While the nature of the accusations may have changed, our response must be the same as it was in the days of the early Church: do not seek to change the gospel to make it more palatable, but stand firm in the face of persecution (Matt. 5:11-12; Acts 5:40-42; 1 Peter 3:13-17).

While the nature of the gospel message itself must remain unchanged, there are many things we can do to make it more offensive than necessary. Because offence is the main ammunition used on social media, we must be even more careful of not adding unnecessary offence to the gospel on social platforms than during face-to-face conversations. We must remember that people cannot see the expression of love or mercy on our faces when we are pleading with them to leave a life of sin. Many times, they cannot even tell if we are in earnest or being sarcastic. If we lack the writing skills required for short-sharp debates, then we may give a totally wrong impression to the person we are trying to win for Christ and instead turn them away in anger.

While offending someone isn’t a good outcome even during debates on secular topics, the stakes are so much higher when addressing spiritual ones. A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle (Prov. 18:19). Debates on spiritual matters have eternal consequences. Someone you have offended online due to the words you chose or the tone you used (intentional or not) may be even harder for someone else to win to Christ during real-life interactions.

On the flip side of the coin, we may encounter online trolls who would like nothing better than to break you down mentally and even destroy your faith in the Lord. Especially when their argument is logically weak, they will try the many online bullying tactics – attacking your character, misrepresenting your argument, saying things that are deliberately offensive, or even publicly defaming you. Dealing with this sort of offence is perhaps the most common persecution we will face as Christians living in free societies. Just like the persecuted early Church, how we deal with these offences will speak greater volumes than anything we post online.

Given the extent of falsehood and hypocrisy that one encounters on social media these days, just portraying yourself as righteous through the types of things you post is unlikely to win anyone over. Yet not taking offence when you are clearly under severe, unmerited attack can be a powerful witness. If someone starts attacking you personally, you can respond by trading insult for insult, by defending yourself, or by ignoring their insults and keeping your focus on the issue at hand. Which option you choose is critical.

The key is to stand firm in your defence of the gospel, yet say little or nothing to defend yourself. While the person attacking you will probably carry on, others who are ‘watching’ the conversation (either ‘liking’ comments or interjecting occasionally) will recognise the bully and start to pay more attention to your message. In this way, even within the fraught world of social media, Christians can still shine their lights in dark places.

Not taking offence when someone is repeatedly baiting you with insults is, of course, easier said than done. Insults work 'best' on people who have a glowing self-image and who esteem themselves highly, which describes most of the people you will encounter online (evidenced by the many self-absorbed posts). As Christians we are called to esteem others more highly than ourselves (Phil. 2:3), to view ourselves as the foolish and weak of the world who have no reason to glory (1 Cor. 1:26-31), and indeed to reckon ourselves to be dead to the world (Gal. 2:20)! You cannot insult a dead person, so if you feel yourself reacting strongly to an insult, you just need to go back to the cross and get some perspective.

Social media can be a field ripe for the harvest of our Lord, but it can also be a minefield. I do not believe that every Christian is called to enter this field, just like not everyone is called to the foreign mission fields. But if you feel that you are called, go with caution and after much prayer. Although the online world seems so phoney, there are real people out there, even those hiding behind fake accounts. Jesus Christ died for these people and they need to know that. If you can reach them in the real world (i.e. people you actually know) that would be a much better option, but some may only be reached through the Internet. If you engage online in a manner that is as inoffensive as possible and refuse to trade insults or get offended, yet you are still attacked or abused, remember Peter’s encouragement:

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:13-17).

A Christian Response to Racism in Society

The latest incidence of racially motivated brutality in the States is both deplorable and heart breaking. Beyond the pain of murder that will be felt by the relatives and friends of the victim, the pain resonates outwards and further deepens the divides between people groups. These groups are divided not only by race but by ideologies – the chasm between political left and right has widened even further.

The purpose of this article is not to pick a political side. My purpose is to ask – how should Christians respond? Not only to this particular incident, but what about racism in their society generally? Some Christian posts have encouraged us as Christians to “get angry” about the racial divisions we see today. They want Christians to go out and “do something” about the state of race relations today. The problem is, what exactly is the “something”?

As a demographic group – measured by those who tick this box during a census –“Christians” are very numerous in western nations like the United States. They are also the most common religious group in many African countries. So if all of those who fall under this religious heading were to vote in a particular direction, then the laws of these countries would ultimately change. If all self-identified Christians were to take to the streets tomorrow in protest, the government would do more than just take notice. Many presidents, ministers and civil servants identify themselves as Christian on the census sheet, so their countries would effectively grind to a halt as even they joined the protest.

So the argument for political action goes – if every Christian would stand up for a particular cause, then that cause would win the day. Sounds like an excellent idea, right? In this way, we could change the world’s legislation into something truly “Christian” and the world would be a better place – right? There are several problems with this thinking, but they all stem from one core issue that can be addressed through answering the question – What does it mean to be a Christian?

For many who tick the “Christian” box on the census questionnaire, this distinction is part of their general identity. It is one more thing on the list that identifies them alongside their gender, race, employment status, age group, nationality, etc. In those terms, I am a female, white, self-employed millennial from South Africa. Oh yes, and a Christian, too. The church is just another group of people I identify with that helps define who I am.

Yet this is not Christianity. Jesus Christ did not come into the world and die on the cross to add a religious category to the Roman Empire’s census sheets. He was a Jew, yet he did not come to make the Jews more politically powerful. The Jewish people were subjugated by the Romans at the time and the laws in the Empire were often exceedingly unjust. Slavery was commonplace and racism among Jews towards the “others” (Gentiles) was not only prevalent but considered righteous.

Yet Jesus paid startlingly little attention to all of this. While His earthly ministry was aimed mainly at the Jews, His primary job was much greater than preaching to one ethnic group. He came to die for the whole world (John 3:16). Once this was accomplished, the floodgate was opened so that anyone from any nation could become a disciple of Christ (Matt. 28:19). These disciples were later called “Christians”, a term they gladly accepted because it encapsulates their hearts’ most ardent desire – to be like Christ (Acts 11:26).

If we are to answer our question, then, we need to figure out what being like Christ means. Becoming a Christian, in the Biblical sense of the word, is much, much more than adding that characteristic to our present identity. It is changing our identity altogether. This is why the term “born again” is so apt – when you are born naturally you are born into a racial, cultural, socio-economic and national group. You are further defined by the age in which you were born. Being “born again” effectively confines all of your old identity to the scrap heap and gives you a completely new one.

According to Paul, the result of this radical change is: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28). Our defining categories have been thrown out of the window. We are now new people living new lives with new identities (2 Cor. 5:17). While we still have all of those physical characteristics, they no longer define who we are. I am still a white female South African, but those things no longer dominate the way I view myself or those around me. They have been relegated to boxes checked on the census page.

This is Christ’s way of dealing with racism, sexism, and every other evil “ism”. It is totally opposite from the world’s way of dealing with (or failing to deal with) these problems. The world’s approach to the divide between people groups is to try and strengthen the one against the other. To deal with sexism, they try to strengthen women by attacking men. Feminism is wonderful, while masculinity is “toxic”. Yet men still beat and kill women on a daily basis. Similarly, in dealing with racism, black lives are exalted while white privilege is sneered at. Yet racism in our societies shows no signs of abating.

In this way, each side ups the ante with each new incident. Each side digs itself a deeper trench to defend against “enemy lines”. The war is intensified with each step. Beyond physical characteristics, we increasingly identify ourselves according to our political ideologies – liberal or conservative – that help us identify friend or foe on the battlefield.

When Christians are called to “do something” politically, we are asked to enter the fray – pick a side and fight for it. Yet Christ’s way is not to strengthen either side. His way is to lay down our arms altogether. Jews were to fellowship with Gentiles, slaves and freemen worshipped together as equals, the wealthy were no longer honoured more than the poor (Acts 10:9-23; Philemon; James 2:1-7). The Gentile groups were also diverse – including Greeks, Romans, Africans and a huge number of other peoples that were part of the Roman Empire at the time. Yet in Christ, all were one.

When you lay down your arms on a battlefield, you are likely to get severely wounded, even by friendly fire because you could be seen as a traitor. Yet that is what He has called us to do, and that is exactly what the church did in the Book of Acts. Hundreds of Christians were killed as a result of metaphorically laying down their arms within their societies. Indeed, Jesus foretold of this persecution while He was on earth, warning that even families would be split apart as a result of people choosing to follow Him (Matt 10:34-39). Yet despite of this huge loss of life (and sometimes because of it) the gospel was preached to all nations and thousands of people from all parts of society became part of the church of God. This was a revolution, the like of which had never been seen before and has yet to be matched since.

That is all nice in theory, or for that time in history, you may object. But what do we do about the ills of our society right now? There is a plan of action, but the action must happen in God’s order, not man’s. Christians are being urged to go out into the world and “do something” to make it better. Yet this is not where the action must start. In God’s order, the action starts with the individual and then expands to the church, which in turn influences the people outside the church (Matt. 5:13-16).

First, the individual Christian must truly abandon their former identity. If this thought has not even occurred to you before and you are a Christian according to the census paper only, then stop right there. You need to come before the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to work this change within your heart. While a sincere request can be in the form of a short prayer, the answer must be something real. “You” as in who you consider yourself to be – your core identity – must be given up to God to be put to death. Then God gives you a new identity – Christ’s identity – and you are given a new life (Rom. 6:5-7).

This first action of killing your old identity and assuming a new one is just the first step in what is to become a lifelong tussle. The old “you” will want to come back – the old prejudices, ways of thinking and living will all threaten to come back. You need to kill each one of those things as they pop up in your thoughts or deeds and ask God to replace them with Christ’s characteristics (Rom. 7:21-25). This is what it really means to be a Christian. To become more like Christ every day until the day we see Him face to face and are finally made perfect, as He is perfect.

This transformation happens at the rate of one person at a time, not one nation at a time. Down through history, men have tried to jump the gun on this process by forcing whole nations to accept the “Christian” tag. Yet this is man’s way of doing things, not God’s way. God works in the heart of each person on an individual basis. There is no shortcut to this process. Laws against racism do not fundamentally change racists. Only God can do that from the inside out, one person at a time.

Once an individual has become a Christian, they need to learn how to act like one. This is part of the process above, which acts on both a personal level and through your relationships with others. It is one thing to say that you have cleaned up your act and another thing to demonstrate that in your actions towards others. For this purpose, God puts Christians together in churches where we are able to both demonstrate the changes He makes within us and to help each other grow in the Lord (1 John 3:10-15).

The church is more than just a place where Christians get together and help each other, though. One of its functions is to be a practical demonstration of how society could work if each individual within it becomes more like Christ. This demonstration is what reaches out into the world (John 13:35). When a slave entered a church in the first century AD and was greeted like an equal by a Roman citizen, he knew he was in a different kind of world. When a Roman governor noted two people in his town from two cultural groups that usually detest each other instead walking together as friends, he knew that these were no ordinary people. When a Jewish man willingly entered a Gentile’s house and ate dinner with him, the Gentile realised that this Jew was not of this world.

This is what Christians are called to do in the face of injustice and evil in the world. We are to declare through our lives that we are no longer of this world – we will not fight for one side or the other, we will not identify ourselves based on physical characteristics or ideological concepts (Rom 12:2). Especially within the church, we will demonstrate what it means to love one another and serve one another regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, or any other grouping. Our overriding law is self-sacrificial love for one another (1 John 4:7-11). And this love is to radiate outwards into each workplace, family and friendship a Christian enters.

This is not an easy route, nor is it a quick one. Christians then and now still struggle to get rid of our old natures and fully demonstrate our new identities in Christ. Churches then and now still experience rifts and divisions based on cultural, racial or economic differences. Then there are the many thousands today who warm the pews in churches or tick the appropriate box on the census sheet and yet who have never even met the One whose name they use to identify themselves.

The more prevalent these issues are within individuals and in churches, the weaker our testimony becomes before the world and the more we are tempted to take a shortcut by “fixing” society through our votes or civil actions. That Christians are encouraging each other to use man’s methods to try and fix society today is a terrible indictment on the state of the church. Instead of looking outwards to see where we can make some sort of political difference, we need to take a hard, critical look inwards. I will give a few practical examples based on race, but these can also apply to other groupings.

If you are a Christian, you need to take a long, hard look at your thoughts and feelings towards people who fall into a different group to your own, be it racial, cultural, or ideological. Then go beyond thoughts and feelings and look at your relationships in real life. How do you behave around people of a different race? Do you ever fellowship with Christians from a different race? Do you ever create opportunities to display Christ’s love for these brothers and sisters? We need to examine ourselves in these matters and be willing to repent of anything that falls short of the standard of love and servant-hood set by Christ Himself (John 13:13-17).

For church leaders, is your church a racial monoculture? If you happen to be in a country or area where there is little racial diversity, perhaps that is not a problem. But if the church is set within a multi-cultural society, then one needs to know why certain races are absent. Do they feel unwelcome? Has no one in the church ever invited a person from another race to come? Do the church members resist the idea of fellowshipping with others of different races?

If this examination reveals problems then changing the status quo will be difficult, no doubt. Trying to change things may well reduce church attendance, as those who are there to warm the pews become uncomfortable with the nature of true Christianity. Even the true Christians who have yet to fully kill the racial issues that came with their old identities will find it difficult to change. The churches in the New Testament often found it hard to mix different racial, social and cultural groups, as we see from the many times these issues are addressed in the epistles. But God’s way is the way of the cross, and death is never easy. If individual Christians and churches are to have even a fraction of the impact they once had during the early days, we have to do it God’s way.

Be Fearless. But Fear Him!

While the current coronavirus outbreak poses a very real physical threat to humanity, it has brought with it an even greater psychological threat, one that will affect those who never even contract the virus. One person who was interviewed on the news explained that she usually suffers from anxiety and that the virus outbreak has caused her severe panic attacks. A journalist for a South African news outlet wrote a detailed account of his personal terror of contracting the virus, knowing that he already has severe respiratory problems. Thousands of others are in danger of losing their income and are left wondering if they will survive the lock downs imposed in their home countries. These are all real, painful fears.

While the coronavirus appears to have ramped up global levels of anxiety and fear, it seems that our current society is more riddled with anxiety today than at any previous time. There are even reports of pre-teen children being anxious about their futures – so much for carefree childhoods! Anxiety and its frequent companion, depression, are rife within our society today, and the coronavirus is only making it worse.

If you already feel anxious about life – your personal future, the future of your country, the state of the natural world, your family, career or any of the other hundred and one things that seem to bear in on us every day – then the coronavirus may feel like the straw that could break the camel’s back.

The solution to the vexing problems of our day are to be found in a place where most people have stopped looking – the Bible. It even contains a specific promise about this very issue – Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad (Prov. 12:25). A good word can be a word of personal encouragement, but ultimately the Good Word contains everything that can “make our hearts glad” once more. So if you want a chance to be free from your anxiety and depression, join me as I explore the solutions found in the Good Word.

A cursory glance at what the Bible says about anxiety and worrying may seem rather flippant and shallow. Jesus made the following statements: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt. 6:34) “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.” (Luke 12:29-30). And Paul tells the church in Philippi to “Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6a). Try quoting these verses to someone in the midst of a panic attack and you may get a slap, at best!

This is why we need to go beyond quoting a few Bible verses, as though they are nice little sayings that come out of a fortune cookie. If the sayings above were just presented on their own as good advice, then they would be even less effective than said cookie, or reading your daily horoscope. They could even deepen your state of anxiety, as they command something that seems to be entirely out of your reach, or anyone’s reach, for that matter. How could any thinking person possibly be anxious for nothing? Or not worry about the basic necessities of life? Or their future? One would need to surgically remove a large chunk of our brains to achieve such a thing!

But Jesus and Paul aren’t asking us to have brain surgery. They’re asking us to use the part of our mind that feels fear for what it was originally meant to do. One of Jesus’ key teachings on fear deals with being afraid of what other people may think of us or do to us, a major source of anxiety for many people. He makes this rather drastic statement: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10:28). The fear of actually being killed is an extreme example that most of us never face; we rather fear people killing our reputation or killing our friendship or social status. These are all real fears that can be included in Jesus’s command – do not fear people.

In this verse and elsewhere, Jesus not only tells us what not to fear, but what we should fear – God (read the verses around the passages quoted above to see what I mean). These two thoughts are linked very closely for a reason. I believe that the part of our mind that feels fear can be used either to fear man or to fear God and that these fears are inversely related. The more you fear God, the less you fear man, and vice versa. The key to living the reality of “be anxious for nothing” and “do not worry about tomorrow” is found right here – fear God. Is it any wonder that a society that has rejected God and blasphemes His name daily is filled with anxiety?

But what does it mean to fear God? Surely living in fear of the awesome, holy Creator of heaven and earth is even worse than living in fear of people or the future? While the two types of fear appear to be linked, as explained above, they evoke entirely different emotions within us. The fear of man or the uncertain future (in your personal life, county, or the world) brings out anxiety, so I call it “anxious fear”. The fear of God comes with an understanding of what He has done (created the universe and each one of us) and who He is (holy, powerful, good, loving), which brings out awe – dumbstruck amazement – so I call it “awesome fear”.

Our capacity to fear seems to have both a conscious and subconscious aspect to it. Worry is usually a conscious activity, but it doesn’t always stop there. Those living with anxious fear sometimes can’t even explain what they fear or why the feeling can be so intense that it breaks out in panic attacks. People struggling with depression have some idea that it is linked to anxiety, but what exactly they are anxious about and why they even feel depressed remains an enigma. As a result, their efforts to escape from this fear are severely hampered, as their subconscious just keeps dragging them back down to the depths.

The fear of God is a similarly enigmatic experience. Awesome fear can be generated by a conscious activity as one thinks about God, but it also works in the subconscious in ways we cannot explain. Just as anxious fear is accompanied by depression, awesome fear is accompanied by joy. Joy is not an easy thing to explain (I have tried my best here) – it seems to live in the subconscious and work in exactly the opposite way to depression. Even when life around us starts closing in and we start feeling worried in our conscious mind, joy can enter our heart and drag us up to the heights where God is.

Because of the conscious-subconscious nature of fear, I believe it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to “fix” someone who has the subconscious issue of depression by giving them things for their conscious mind to think about. This is why psychotherapists can only do so much by talking to their patients; those who have deep-seated feelings of depression are almost always prescribed chemical anti-depressants. While these chemicals may help reduce the symptoms of depression, there is a more excellent way.

If the Bible were indeed just a collection of good advice for our conscious mind to contemplate, it would be useless against the terror of subconscious depression. People who read it as just that and do not seek the Author of the book will find very little lasting help for their real-world problems. Yet the Author not only wrote the book, but He also crafted the human brain and understands the very depths of the human soul. The teachings I have highlighted above about worry and anxiety are just pointers along the path; the pointers are of no use unless you follow them to the destination.

Unlike the psychologists, I do not claim to be able to relieve anyone’s anxiety or depression. This article is not a self-help guide, nor is the Bible. The deep recesses of the heart and soul are beyond our reach and all the drugs in the world cannot fully heal that which is broken deep within us. Yet there is One who can. The purpose of this writing and the Bible itself is to direct the reader to that One.

When we find out who God really is and believe in what the Son of God has done for us on the cross, then the relationship between us and our Creator begins to heal and we start to experience awesome fear. This healing takes place deep within our souls and proceeds at the same rate that we surrender to Him and let Him take His rightful place as King of our hearts and lives. This process may take a while (depending on how stubborn we are!), but as we progress along this path we start to realise something – anxious fear is declining, while awesome fear is growing. Depression will not just be dampened (as it is with chemical drugs), but muscled out of our hearts by the more powerful experience of joy.

All born again Christians are on this path of increasing surrender, awesome fear and joy. We have not yet arrived at the final destination of complete surrender and joy, so we may still struggle with the worry and anxiety of the world from time to time. Depression is one of Satan’s favourite weapons, and he will certainly use it against anyone who is slowly being released from its terrible grip. As one who is just walking along the path, I cannot tell you how to gain total freedom from anxiety and depression, but I know Someone who can set you free. As you walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, He will show you what it means to be fearless in this life, while you learn to fear Him!

Hitting the Pause Button

Life has a way of getting away from us. How often do you think, “Wow, time flies!” as things that happened ten years ago feel like events of just the other day. We all get busy with work, family, holidays and even hobbies. So busy that life itself seems to fly by faster than we want it to.

Yet there are times in this hustle and bustle where we hit the pause button. Sometimes we are forced to hit pause – it seems that the whole world has just been forced to do so by the coronavirus. People have to stay at home rather than go to work; they cannot even spend time with friends at restaurants or attend social events. As I type this, the hustle and bustle of life has ground to a halt in many European cities and is about to do so in South Africa.

While the current global pause is unprecedented, there are many times during our lives where we either willingly or unwillingly hit the pause button. This is often at major milestones, like the birth of a new family member, the start or end of a relationship, weddings, birthdays, or even the pause between jobs. Perhaps the most sobering pause of all is when a loved one dies or comes close to death, or even if you experience a serious illness. In any case, the pause may last a few moments as you reflect on what has happened in your life during a significant event, or it may last weeks, months or years as you wait for a new job or to recover from illness.

Pleasant pauses offer brief times of reflection, as we reach a milestone in life that we have looked forward to, like a birthday or wedding. We like to take a day or at most a week or two to contemplate these events in our lives, but pretty soon we get on with business as usual. We are less impressed with long, unpleasant pauses caused by ending a relationship, losing a job, or battling with serious health issues. We spend most of the time during these pauses wishing that they would end so life could go on.

Regardless of the nature of the pause, everyone experiences them from time to time. Although we may complain that our lives seem to “fly by” and that we never really have enough time to focus on the important things, in reality we like the hustle and bustle. As long as the mind and body are busy dealing with the daily struggles of life, we can ignore the things that lurk in the back of our minds and keep us up at night. We can also bury the bigger questions of life – What am I doing with my life? What is the point of it all? Will I regret my decisions one day? What will happen when I die?

These hard questions can be buried when we’re too busy thinking about today, but they have a tendency of rising to the surface when we are forced to pause for an extended period of time. This is why we hate long pauses. Yet I believe that long pauses have this very purpose – to make us think a little more deeply about life than usual.

For anyone who is currently experiencing a pause – due to the coronavirus, or any of the other reasons mentioned above – please consider using it wisely. Although we may have little or no control over how long the pause lasts, we have full control over how we respond to it. We can spend the time pitying our state of affairs (shrinking bank balance between jobs, painful symptoms of illness, or a broken heart between relationships) or we can come face-to-face with the difficult questions of life that we usually ignore. If you don’t want to get to the end of your life filled with regret and “what ifs”, then I suggest you take this latter approach.

Gaining perspective on life is not easy, because we are not objective observers, but subjective actors. We are prone to pointing out the bad decisions made by others, while glossing over the ones we make. When we see others facing difficulties, we pity them but very rarely think that we may face similar problems one day. Yet when our bad decisions come back to bite us and the problems we thought belonged to others come home to roost in our own lives, we desperately need a better perspective.

I have found that considering someone else’s life, with the express purpose of seeing if it can teach me anything about my own life, is sometimes the best way to gain such perspective. I believe this is why the Bible is filled with true-life stories, rather than just teachings. Even the passages of teaching are given in the context of a life story. So if you are going through a pause right now, dust off the Bible and see what you can learn in the lives of others.

We find many Biblical examples of pauses in life that were used for a greater purpose. Jacob was living quite comfortably at home before a series of events (mostly by his own doing) led to him having to drop everything and flee for his life. He landed up sleeping alone in the desert with a rock for a pillow. During this pause God appeared to him for the first time in his life and promised to bless him (Gen 28:10-22). Many years later, Jacob’s son Joseph had to endure an even longer pause. He too was living comfortably at home, enjoying the status of his father’s favourite son until one day his jealous brothers caught him and sold him as a slave. He spent many years as a slave, and later even as a prisoner, in Egypt. During this pause, he matured greatly, learned to apply himself diligently in every situation, and grew in wisdom and grace. After these years of preparation, he became the second most powerful man in Egypt and was in a position to save his family from starvation (Gen. 37, 39-45).

The pauses we see in the Bible are usually put there for a reason. While it may not be pleasant at the time, the pause is often required for God to be able to speak into a life. Without pauses, these lives may have been spent frivolously and history would have little or nothing to say about them. In another example, Moses was living a fast-paced life as part of the Egyptian royal family (having been adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter) when he was forced to flee into the wilderness after killing an Egyptian. This pause in his life lasted 40 years! Finally, as a humble shepherd who had had plenty of time to consider the meaning of life, God sends him to save Israel from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 2-3).

The most powerful pauses in our lives bring us face-to-face with our own mortality. Either through serious sickness, old age, or witnessing a loved one become sick or die, we are met with the stark reality that this life does not last forever. While we all know that in theory, seeing death up close and personal shakes us up and makes us take life a whole lot more seriously.

In the book of Job, we see a man who was living a good life in every sense of the word – he was a righteous man who pleased God, but he also had a large family and plenty of assets. His life is turned upside down, however, as he experiences the loss of his children, all of his possessions, and even his health. During this time he grapples with God, always asking “Why me?” until God finally delivers an answer with a breath-taking display of His power and majesty. God gives Job perspective – he eventually realises that life isn’t all about him; it is about God.

Finally, we see a man who is forced to pause from life because of old age. As Solomon comes to the end of his time on earth, he looks back on what he has done and reflects on the lessons he has learned in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is a very sad book, because Solomon had enormous potential for good yet he squandered it and lived his own way – chasing fame, wealth, lust, and glory. He had a very busy life – filled with ruling a kingdom, building enormous and elaborate houses and the temple, marrying hundreds of women (and sleeping with hundreds more), indulging in his favourite hobbies, and generally receiving the admiration of thousands of people (1 Kings 4-11). Yet in his final book, his theme is “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecc. 1:2). As old age approaches, he realises with deep shame that he had wasted most of his life. In this final pause, he concludes that anyone wanting to live a life of purpose must find God and obey Him (Ecc. 12:9-14). All else is vanity.

As the world hits the pause button because of the coronavirus outbreak, several stories of kindness and restoration have come to the fore that would have been unheard of during “business as usual” before the virus. People who previously did not care to know their neighbours are now singing and playing instruments to entertain each other during quarantine. Cities where the air pollution was so thick that people battled to breathe now have clean air for the first time in decades. Our modern society is showing greater care for the elderly than ever before. Pauses may be horribly inconvenient, but they do not necessarily need to be negative.

As we have seen from some of the life stories recounted in the Bible, life pauses are often the times when we are most likely to listen to God and learn our most important lessons. If you are going through a life pause right now, stop and consider what you can learn from it. You may find the Lord like Jacob, or grow in maturity and wisdom like Joseph, or gain valuable perspective on the meaning of life like Job. If, like Solomon, you are faced with your own mortality and are filled with regret, remember that there is still time to turn around and find that God is willing to forgive you and receive you into His family.

Hitting the pause button may be scary at first, but it can be a golden opportunity to take a step back and reassess your life, before it starts to “fly by” once more. Use the time you are given wisely.

Why the threat of Hell or the promise of Heaven are unlikely to bear the fruit of salvation

We’ve all heard a “fire and brimstone” preacher at one time or another. Their message usually describes hell in the worst possible terms, with the aim of scaring people into heaven, which is described as paradise. Perhaps some people genuinely respond to such a message, one cannot tell. I have my doubts, however, about using heaven and hell alone as the basis of preaching the gospel of salvation.

The desire to go to a wonderful place, rather than a terrible one, when you die is first and foremost driven by a sense of self-preservation. The unbeliever wants to have a nice afterlife so he/she can enjoy things, preferably very similar things to what they enjoy on earth. So the fire and brimstone preacher is ultimately appealing to their selfishness, which is the exact opposite message of the gospel as preached by Jesus Christ – “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matt. 16:24). I just cannot imagine one coming to Christ in an act of pure self-interest, and then staying with Him when you realise that He commands selflessness.

Besides the problem of motivations, there is an issue with how we describe what hell and heaven are actually like. There are very few passages in the Bible that deal with either of these, and they are usually quite thin on details. In His ministry on earth, the Lord Jesus often refers to hell simply as a place of “outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. Although He refers to heaven and the kingdom of heaven frequently, He never actually gives a description of it. The primary purpose of Jesus’ earthly ministry was to save the lost; the absence of detailed descriptions of heaven or hell in His teachings must surely give us pause for thought.

I believe that there are a few reasons for the lack of detail about these two eternal destinations in the Bible. First, the human mind while here on earth cannot fully comprehend them. Earth itself lies somewhere in between the two, and life on earth is all we know. Before the fall, Adam and Eve’s relationships with God and each other must have resembled heaven. After the fall, earth was not plunged into hell, because God was (and still is) actively involved in the dealings on earth. Humans have been separated from Him, but we still benefit from His presence and actions – the earth is still abundant with life and resources we need for survival, there is beauty all around us, we are still capable of love and we retain some capacity for kindness and compassion. All of these things are the result of God’s continued involvement in the earth and some remaining aspects of human nature that display parts of His image.

Because earth is not like either heaven or hell, and this is all we know, we simply cannot imagine how wonderful things could be if we were not separated from God by our sin (i.e. heaven) or how absolutely terrible complete separation from Him would be in hell. If Christians cannot imagine the glory of heaven or terror of hell, how are we supposed to get unbelievers to imagine these things?

Christians, at least, have already received a small taste of heaven and a glimpse of hell. We received a glimpse of hell the first time we understood the depths of wickedness and sin residing in our own hearts. Every one of us has some degree of appreciation for our own wickedness, which is necessary for repentance when we first come to Christ. Yet we still don’t fully comprehend the wickedness of our sin, and most of us have a lot to learn about just how awful it really is. Once we repented and came to the Lord who forgave us and washed us with His blood, we experienced our first taste of heaven. We found in our Lord a breadth, length, depth and height of love that we had never even known existed (Eph. 3:18). As with our understanding of sin, however, our comprehension of God’s love for us is still only the tip of the iceberg; we learn more about it as we walk with Him.

As a Christian, then, I am in a much better position to try and wrap my head around heaven or hell than the unbeliever. If I think of the blessedness of my relationship with the Lord, especially those moments when I am walking in obedience to Him, I could try to magnify that by thousands of times to create some conception of heaven. Heaven is the place where we will finally have no sin separating us from our Lord, where we can walk with Him in perfect unity and where we can fully glorify Him for all He has done for us.

For a Christian who has experienced some of the joy associated with walking with Jesus and glorifying Him, this idea of heaven is tantalising. But why should an unbeliever feel the same way? Regardless of how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ an unbeliever may appear to society, every single one of them is bound by the sin of selfishness. This bond, which has not yet been broken by the Lord, prevents them from thinking of heaven in anyway that is not inherently selfish. A self-centred view of heaven asks: What do I get out of it? How will I be rewarded? How much adulation will I receive from God and the other people there? How many of my friends will be there so we can have a good time together?

The description of the throne room in heaven provided in Revelation Chapter 4 and the first five verses of Chapter 22 are the most detailed glimpses of heaven in the Bible. Neither of them is particularly appealing to anyone who asks the questions I posed above. In the throne room, the believers spend their entire time worshipping God by throwing their crowns (rewards) at His feet. Revelation 22:1-5 is all about the Lamb of God; Christians are simply noted as His servants who reign with Him. So we get some reward that looks like a crown and some ruling power, but the whole point of both of those things is to use them for God’s glory. How is a person who is still bound by their selfishness and has not received God’s salvation supposed to be attracted to a place that is entirely God-centred, where the greatest privilege is worshipping Him?

Perhaps, then, trying to explain heaven to an unbeliever is unhelpful. The other option, the one most popular among the fire and brimstone preachers, is to try and scare them away from hell. Once again, the Bible is scant on details, so all we really know is that hell is a place of pain and torment. In this broken world we live in, both believers and unbelievers have plenty of examples of pain and torment, some of which they have experienced personally. So we could cobble together a picture of physical torture, the loss of loved ones and deep feelings regret and guilt, which we then extend for eternity. This picture of hell goes beyond the description we have in the Bible, so we are essentially creating it from our own imagination. If hell is indeed real and God is real, then why should Christians depend on their imaginations to bring people to the Lord? Would it not be better to stick to the truth?

Part of the problem with the truth of what hell is like is similar to the problem with describing the true heaven. Hell is associated with eternal death and darkness (e.g. Ps. 55:15; Prov. 5:5, 7:27; Matt. 10:28). These descriptions, I believe, are meant to define hell as the absence of our source of Life and Light – i.e. God. Although God can enter hell and He knows what is going on there (being omnipresent and omniscient), those dwelling there will not feel any of the effects of His presence. Just as heaven is wonderful is because God is there and we are fully united with Him, hell is terrible is because God’s presence is not there and we are fully separated from Him. Further, just as heaven is defined by the absence of sin among its residents, hell is the very pit of sinfulness.

Yet this accurate depiction of hell poses a problem for those trying to scare unbelievers into heaven. Some unbelievers despise God because they have formed a variety of skewed perceptions of Him. Most of these have to do with His judgement on sin, which they enjoy. Indeed, many of them are surrounded by other sinners, whom they consider to be their best friends! Additionally, these sinners may have had bad experiences with self-righteous false “Christians”; an eternity without such supposedly “sinless” people in their lives may therefore seem quite attractive (despite the fact that false Christians are also destined for hell if they do not repent). So experiencing an eternity without God and with their favourite sinners probably doesn’t sound like such a bad idea to someone who hates Him anyway and wants to keep their sin and sinful company.

For these reasons, I believe that making descriptions of heaven and hell the basis of our outreach is unwise. Obviously, our eternal destination is a key part of the gospel and it should not be left out entirely, but describing either heaven or hell accurately to one who has not learned to love the Lord or hate sin will probably not achieve much. How then do we include these concepts without creating imaginary pictures of them? How do we remain true to the Biblical concepts of heaven and hell, yet make them relevant to the unbeliever?

I think we need to start with an accurate understanding of who God is and how He influences our lives here on earth. How we relate to God for eternity is the ultimate difference between heaven and hell – either we are united with Him in love, or we are separated from Him by sin. We should therefore find out what the person we are talking to understands about who God is and what He is like. We can then clear up any misconceptions and try to replace them with a better understanding of Him.

Although the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all have the same attributes, the Son Jesus Christ is easiest for people to relate to because He came as a Man. Describing heaven or hell may be difficult from the few verses we have about them in Scripture, but describing Jesus is easy! The other benefit of this approach is that we have personal experiences with our Lord that we can relate to others with confidence. We know our Lord and can testify about His love and grace in our lives. In contrast, we have no personal experience with what hell or heaven is like, so any attempt at describing them will be a shot in the dark, at best.

The first priority, then, is to introduce the unbeliever to the real God (as opposed to their perceptions of Him) through the Person of Jesus Christ. We should nonetheless have some answers to their questions about heaven and hell. I believe the best approach to answering these questions is to show how our experiences on earth provide a little glimpse into each of these destinations.

Every human being inherently understands that there is good and evil on earth – we all have first-hand experiences of both. Which particular example of good and evil one uses will depend on the person and the situation. If someone denies the existence of good and evil, all you have to do is wait until they express a moral opinion about something. For example, they may tell you about someone who is really a “lovely person”, thus admitting goodness. Or perhaps they will rant about some deep injustice in the world (e.g. corruption), thus admitting evil. Either statement could lead into a conversation about what it is that makes that person ‘good’ or what it is about the injustice that is really ‘bad’.

Let us take a common example of goodness that most unbelievers have experienced in some way - love (e.g. for a parent, spouse or friend). The fact that God is love and that all those in heaven will love Him and each other perfectly, whereas love cannot exist without God and will therefore not exist between the people in hell may help them grasp one of the key differences between the two. In a similar way, the evil we deplore in the world today will be one of the key features of hell, so if you don’t like evil here on earth, you certainly aren’t going to enjoy hell!

Finally, in witnessing to others, we need to keep our eye on the ball. The ultimate goal of sharing the gospel is not to give someone a free pass to heaven; it is to introduce them to the God who makes heaven heavenly. While on earth, our relationship with the Lord will not be perfect (as it will be in heaven), but it is nonetheless the best relationship we could possibly have. We should not cheapen the gift of salvation by describing it only as a way to avoid hell and get into heaven. The real gift of salvation is God Himself.

Can I be Good Without God?

This question is one that pops up frequently in conversations with unbelievers. There are also numerous statements and questions that are based on the same concept, for example: “I can be a good person, without having to believe in God”, or “How can you say that good people are lost or going to hell?” or, “Why does it matter what religion or god you choose to believe? What really matters is just being a good person”. Many Christians have heard these statements, which are extremely difficult to answer, particularly in a quick conversation or online comment. I want to take a closer look at the question in the title of this article (and the others like it), in the hope of helping Christians and unbelievers in search of an answer.

Unfortunately, answering this apparently simple question is not as easy as it first appears. The first problem is that the question is usually loaded. By this I mean that the person asking it thinks that they are already being good without God, and if you answer with a simple ‘no’ then you will probably offend them. Answering this question therefore requires more than a simple yes or no – you must delve deeper into the meaning of the question first. I specifically want you to consider the meaning of the deceptively simple word ‘good’.

When we say: “so-and-so is a good person”, what exactly do we mean by that? Are we saying that they are morally better than we are, or that they share similar moral values to us, or perhaps that they are better than the average person we know? In any case, how exactly does one judge any level of goodness, be it in your own life or someone else’s? Despite claims to ‘not judge anyone’, people do this all the time, as they measure their own lives against those around them. This is clearly evident when they make statements like: “this guy/girl is the best person I know” or, “that man/woman is terrible – just look at all the awful things they’ve done!” All the while, they are situating themselves within their social context, which often goes something like this: ‘I may not be as good as that guy, but at least I’m not as bad as this other chap, nevertheless I reckon I’m a good person, generally.’

The problem with this relative morality is that it all depends on your social context. Those who have been convicted of crimes look around them and judge their crimes according to the others they find in prison – “I may be a thief, but I’ve never hurt anyone”, “I may have assaulted someone, but I’m no murderer,” “I may have killed someone (with ‘good’ reason), but I’ve never raped anyone” and so on. If each individual is left to judge their own life, then the result is simply a reflection of how they see themselves fitting on the good-bad scale created by the people around them.

Not everyone sees themselves as ‘better than average’ (although I would venture that that is the most common self-rating). Some may even be really hard on themselves for not measuring up to the apparently lofty standards set by their family or friends. Others may view themselves as really wonderful compared to those around them, and be puffed up with their own self-righteousness. Yet if you were to meet Mr. not-good-enough and Mr. better-than-everyone-else, it is highly likely that you would come to entirely different conclusions about their characters than either of their self-assessments.

So who is right? Is the thief who considers himself better than murderers really a ‘better person’ than a decent, law-abiding citizen who just feels that everyone around them is ‘better’ than they are? If the question ‘am I a good person’ is answered purely by how you see yourself, then heaven should be filled with supercilious, self-righteous folk and better-than-average criminals, whilst hell is to be populated by those who are humble and honest enough to know that they are not better than everyone else. At best, relative morality makes no sense; at worst, it is the height of injustice.

So one of the answers to “can’t I be good without God” is: we would not even be able to identify what good is if God did not exist. If you followed my blog series on morality, you will know that the evidence for morality evolving in the human race without any ultimate moral Being is hopelessly thin and shaky. Those who study moral psychology really have no answers, except where they happen to agree with the Bible. In short, if there were no God, then any question about moral goodness would make no sense. If humans were highly evolved primates, then morality would not exist (as is the case for all primate species), and we would not even consider whether we were morally better or worse than our social circle. The only considerations that would cross a highly evolved primate’s mind would be driven purely by survival and reproduction, with no space for morality.

Note that I am not saying that people can’t do good deeds without believing in God, just that to identify deeds as ‘good’ requires an objective definition of ‘good’. As I have argued above, such an objective good could not possibly come from other people – we are all just judging ourselves relative to others, so what is considered a good deed in one context (e.g. assaulting someone, rather than murdering them) may not make the grade in another context. At the end of the day, this means that either no deeds should be considered good, or all deeds should be considered good, thus stripping the word ‘good’ of all meaning. If, however, an objective standard of goodness exists, and all humans have some concept of that standard (however murky or twisted it becomes), then the idea of someone doing a good deed, or being a good person has some meaning. That objective standard must, by definition, originate from outside the human race, and therefore must come from a non-human Being who exemplifies that standard – God.

As a human being, then, you have an objective moral standard imprinted in you by God, which means that you really could not do anything objectively ‘good’ without God existing in the first place. Nevertheless, you can still choose good or evil, as a human being, without basing your choice on a belief in God. All humans have a free will (which also comes from God), which we can use according to our own discretion. This is how it is possible for an atheist can live a morally better life than a religious person – both inherently understand good and evil, and have the ability to choose between the two, regardless of what they believe. In that case, how does religion benefit anyone?

Now we are getting to the crux of the matter: anyone can do good deeds and be a good person relative to their social circle, but the question really is, are they good enough? This naturally leads to the question: “good enough for who?” If God is indeed the ultimate, objective standard of good, and the Source of our understanding of what good is, then the answer must be: good enough for God. Furthermore, if you have not accepted the Bible to be true, you may ask: good enough for which god, according to which religion?

Whilst my purpose here is not to present a full study of each of the world’s religions, this question of whether we are good enough is one of the many areas where Christianity stands in total contrast to any other religion. In all other religions, being good enough requires the believer to prove it by ticking all the ‘good deeds’ boxes relevant to that religion. In most cases, there are some guidelines regarding the standard that you should aim for, the bar is set rather high, yet whether you have succeeded or not is rarely revealed to you before you die.

For example, one of the boxes that must be ticked by Muslims is a visit to Mecca at least once in your life. While there, you must complete very specific rituals in a particular frame of mind, and only if these are done absolutely right, will your pilgrimage be considered pleasing to Allah. Yet one can do the pilgrimage according to the set rules, and still not be 100% sure that your state of mind in the process was acceptable – so has this box been ticked, or not? Similar rules and rituals can be outlined for all other religions, including some that claim to be Christian (Catholicism, for example, is replete with such rules that might, or might not, save you from purgatory).

Fake Christianity aside, the Bible presents a different picture of salvation than any other religion. In both the Old and New Testaments, God’s message to all people everywhere is: you are not good enough, and no amount of rule keeping or rituals will make you good enough. His standard of ‘good enough’ is not that the good deeds should outweigh the bad (as in Buddhism, for example), but that any bad thought or deed is enough to break His law, and no good deed done thereafter can mend that break. Every single one of us is guilty. We have not met His standard and, on our own, we will never be able to meet it.

In His teachings and by the example of His life, Jesus set this impossible standard. Jesus’ standard includes being impossibly good: forgive others, even when they sin against you over and over again (Matt. 18:22-35), and love those who hate you or treat you spitefully, which means do and think only the best for them (Matt. 5:43-48). His standard also includes not doing things that most people don’t even consider to be bad: looking lustfully at someone you are not married to is equivalent to adultery (Matt. 5:27-28), and harbouring anger and hatred towards someone is equivalent to murder (Matt. 5:21-22). He sums up His standard in one simple, yet mind-blowing, statement: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48).

Unlike other religions, the standard of Christianity is not just difficult – it is impossible (Matt. 19:25-26). Unlike other gods, the God of the Bible does not expect us to achieve His standard before He is willing to save us. Instead, He asks us to accept the simple facts that we have fallen far short of His standard, broken His law, and can do absolutely nothing to save ourselves. To any and all who recognise their wretched state, and ask Him to save us from our own wretchedness, He offers the free gift of salvation that has been made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins (Isaiah 53).

Only once we are saved can we claim to be ‘good enough’, by which we mean that God, through Jesus, has made us perfect in His sight, through no merit of our own. At the very moment of salvation, our names are written is His book of Life, which is a record of all who will be in heaven with Him for eternity (Rev. 22:21-27). Nonetheless, Christians are still living on this earth, and although we are righteous before God because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we still have lives to live. The full purpose of salvation goes far beyond a ‘ticket to heaven’ – it is the start of a brand new life to be lived on earth through the power and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the time that we have left on earth, we are to become like Jesus in our everyday lives, such that those around us recognise a level of ‘goodness’ in us that they cannot achieve without God (Matt. 5:14-16).

The contrast between salvation through Christ and the promises of all other religious systems could not be starker. Instead of working to possibly get to heaven (or a better next life), we are guaranteed a place in heaven, yet are called to continue our work here on earth. We are not good enough for heaven, but He accepts us anyway through His own sacrifice on our behalf, and He helps us draw nearer to His standard of perfection while we are still on earth.

The idea that one can be good without God is both logically and practically impossible. Logically, the question itself would make no sense in a godless universe; practically, God’s standard of good is far beyond the best we could ever hope to achieve. Those who believe that they can meet an arbitrary standard of goodness by sheer self-effort may indeed be morally better than others in their social circle, but in reality they are robbing and deluding themselves. The pure relief, joy, and comfort that comes from letting go of your own self-righteousness and effort, whilst reaching out for the righteousness of Jesus Christ is simply indescribable. The real question, therefore, is “Should you even try to be good enough without God?”