Dr. Gary VanDeWalker

July 5, 2009

Evangelical Free Church of Mount Shasta 

Adapted from a series from LifeChurch

PRACTICAL ATHEIST—1
I BELIEVE IN GOD, BUT I’M FORGIVEN

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power… 2 Timothy 3:1-5

PRACTICAL ATHEIST: SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES IN GOD, BUT LIVES AS IF HE DOESN’T EXIST.

1.      The Great Pretender

The Bible says, But mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves.  Is that true?  I would say check.  There'll be lovers of money.  Check.  Boastful.  Check.  Proud.  Check.  Abusive.  Check.  Disobedient to their parents.  Yep.  Ungrateful.  Yes.  Unholy.  Check.  Without love.  Often, yes.  Unforgiving.  Check.  Slanderous.  Yes.  Without self control.  Check again.  Brutal.  Check.  Not lovers of the good.  Check.  Treacherous.  Check.  Rash.  Check.  Conceited.  Check, check.  Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.  Check.  Having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Check. 

.  I believe in God, but I want to do whatever the heck I want to do.  I want enough of God to keep me out of hell and enough of God to get me into heaven, but I don't want so much of God that it makes me change my lifestyle because at its root I believe in God, but I do not fear Him.  Practical atheism.  If you're taking notes, what is a practical atheist?  It is someone who believes in God but lives as if He does not exist.  Someone who believes in God, but lives as if He does not exist

2.      Some people are cultural Christians

·         What kind of God do you have?

It's kinda what I call a cafeteria Christianity.  How many of you guys like cafeterias?  Do you like cafeterias?  Raise your hands, all of our campuses.  Man, some of you guys are missing out.  You are leaving it all to the old people and that's just not right because cafeterias should not be reserved just for old people.  Now, don't go around 4:00 in the afternoon because that is rush hour when they are there but cafeterias are wonderful thing, especially when you can get all you can eat for one low price.  The reason it is so great is because you walk in, you get to the little line, you get your little tray and you sit it down on the little thing and you get to walk by and choose whatever you want and you don't have to get things you don't want, which is a beautiful thing.  Typically starts over here at this side, you put your little tray down and you start with the salads.  I'd like some fruit salad please, but not pea salad.  That shouldn't even be a salad.  Anything with peas in shouldn't be right.  Anyway, and so you get to choose what you want and then you go and you come to like the main course where you can get chicken friend steak, glory to God in heaven on high.  You can get fish, fried fish, and they will always you, would you like a whole fish or a half of fish.  Put your knife down baby.  No sense in taking half a fish in this house.  Give me the whole with tartar sauce put a lemon on that baby and give it to me now.  You can get side foods.  Any kind of things you want.  You want vegetable medley, french fries, mashed potatoes, you know, whatever you want.  You get to the desserts and if you're close to God you will get a strawberry shortcake with whipped cream on top of it because that's what you do when you are close to God.  If you are sorta close to God you'll get vanilla pudding with bananas and little wafers in it.  If you are not close to God you will order tapioca, which is just wrong in every since of the word or you'll get green Jell-O with rice in it, which is never supposed to happen.  Whoever did that will answer to God in the worst sort of way.  You get to go through and you get to pick and choose what you want, which is exactly what a lot of people are doing with God today.  Right?  I'll take a little bit of the grace of God please, put me one helping of the grace of God but I don't want any judgement please, no thank you.  I'll take this verse that says that God blesses me, a double portion of God's blessings please, but no discipline.  Oh I like that verse that says God has plans to prosper me and to bless me and not to harm me and such, but I don't like that verse that tells me to be generous.  You know I don't want to believe in a God who makes me do something I don't want to do.  I want my God this way and so God created us in his image and many of us we return the favor.  This is the kind of God I want to believe in.  Pick and choose.  Cafeteria Christianity. 

·         It is possible to have a belief in God that has no power.

Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.

Psalms 36:1-2 NLT

·         Belief in God’s existence is not Christianity.

You can’t just take a little bit of God in.

·         Belief in morality is not Christianity.

·         Belief in a magical formula prayer is not Christianity.

·         Christianity cannot be inherited.

·         Christianity is not measured by private devotion.

·         You and I have an amazing ability to blind ourselves as to how we are in truth

3.       When you learn to fear God in the right way, you become authentic

• YOU’LL SERVE HIM WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITHOUT ANY CONDITIONS.  

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Genesis 22:12

If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15

·         Forgiveness is not license to do what you want

·         The Cross does not lower God’s standards.

·         We believe little things will pass by

·         You won’t be perfect, but learn not to be conditional with excuses

• YOU’LL BE FOREVER RUINED, BUT BEING RUINED ISN’T A BAD THING

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Isaiah 6:5

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

when you truly fear God, you will be forever ruined.  You will never be the same again, ever, when you truly know Him.  Some of you, you know what I'm talking about.  Everything you thought was important is no longer important and there is a whole new mission that drives you. 

·         You will let God’s beliefs rather than your own opinions influence what you do

·         You will view the world through God’s lenses rather than the world’s

·         You will let God cultivate your heart

·         You will live and practice your life the presence of Christ  

Don’t go back to normal, find a new normal