CONVICTION OR CONVENIENCE?

It would be interesting, though somewhat disturbing, perhaps, if we could know what percentage of those who “profess” Christianity do so only for the sake of convenience. Not many, of course, would admit even to themselves that religion is no more than a vehicle of convenience.

But history is replete with stories of those who have accepted some sort of religion for marital reasons, for political advantage, social prestige, or monetary purposes. From the days of Constantine until now, world rulers have espoused certain religious convictions because it united their subjects and strengthened their hands.

Not infrequently religious bodies have altered their creeds, changed their practices, and shaped their dogmas for the sake of expediency. They were not even concerned with what the Lord thought. Whether such religious ideals would have anything to do with their entrance into heaven, or their eternal condemnation, scarcely entered their minds.

We often wonder how many attend some religious services today — when it is convenient — primarily because it is “in good taste.” It carries with it a certain amount of “respectability” and acceptance in “good society.” We have heard from reliable sources, we think, of a number of people in prominent places who attend religious services with a reasonable degree of regularity — people who are in “good standing” religiously — yet they hesitate not to use the Lord’s name in vain, to imbibe intoxicating liquors, to conceal the truth, or even to misrepresent the truth when it seems “expedient.” Apparently, their religious convictions — if they have any — do not deter them from following whatever course of action that serves their purposes at the time.

Such a religion may have some utilitarian value in this life, but it serves no useful purpose, as far as preparing one to dwell with God and all the redeemed in the hereafter. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Those who enjoy it must be prepared in heart and life. Life on this earth is a testing time.

New Testament Christianity is more than a convenience. A philosophy, or a principle by which one gains a certain amount of prestige and respectability is sheer mockery.

Christianity is a new life with Christ. It is the putting off of the old man of sin; it is being born anew, born from above “... of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:3, 5). When one becomes a Christian he dies to the things of this world and is recreated in Christ Jesus. He then becomes “a new creature” (1 Cor. 5:17). After his conversion, the apostle Paul could write, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20), and “…they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts thereof” (Gal. 5:24).

When one becomes a Christian he ceases from the love and practice of the things of the world. Political preferment, social prestige, fleshly lust, earthly power, and worldly gain must all be put aside when we are raised up to a new life with Him (Rom. 63–5). True Christianity does not seek its own, but the accomplishment of God’s will. It does not grasp for power or any earthly reward. True Christianity is manifest in a life of humility, of service, of dedication, of love, of confidence in God and in His power to save.

This is what Christianity meant to the apostle Paul. Yet he never hesitated to express his convictions, to warn against sin, to expose false teachers, or to reprove governors and kings when he stood before them.

With Paul, Christianity was everything but a matter of convenience. Truly he could say “If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable” (1 Cor. 15:19).

It is our firm conviction that the form of Christianity professed by some is but a dead weight about their necks. It is not something enjoyed, but something endured. Someone has said, “They have too much religion to do the things they want to do, yet not enough to do what they really should do.” If Christianity does not fill our hearts with joy, give us the strength to carry our burdens without complaining, enable us to endure whatever afflictions may be ours, fortify our souls against any temptation that may confront us, then it is of no value.

When an individual becomes a Christian he becomes a “partaker of the divine Nature” (2 Pet. 1:4); he receives “the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38); he no longer yields to the temptation to steal, lie, cheat, defraud, commit fornication, or murder; he no longer imbibes intoxicating liquors, or engages in any fleshly desires. Contrariwise, true Christianity fills one with the spirit of love, truth, holiness, meekness, yet firmness for the right, and the courage to stand against all the evil forces which may confront him from any source, whether of a religious, political, or social nature.

One cannot be a true child of God and at the same time be a “conformist” to things of the world. Well could Paul say, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this present world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1, 2).

True Christianity is not a profession of belief in certain dogmas and creeds. It is a life to be lived with Christ; it is union with the giver and preserver of life. Well could Jesus say, “Apart from Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Unity with Christ is man’s only hope. Sectarian unity is but a farce, while Roman Catholic unity (so-called) is only “make-believe.”

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