The raging debate of atheism goes on and fuel was momentarily added to the flame with the statement a few years ago in a TV ad by Ron Reagan Jr. proclaiming his lifelong commitment to such.
That’s ok with me for him to believe that. He is not the first, nor the last atheist, and his ad will not change anything. If you do a basic Google search you will find about three per cent of Americans claim to be atheists.[i] More likely it will help the gospel because it will drive some to either sing his praises or others to question their faith which could easily have the final impact of strengthening their faith as they learn more about what the life of faith really is. This is one reason it is healthy to see ads like this—it makes people think about what is really true.
But most people will just yawn.
And that’s the real problem.
Here’s the central question:
Which is worse, disavowing the existence of God, or believing God exists but living in such a way that ignores his existence?
Simply put, what is worse, atheism or practical atheism?
It is true that one could lend intellectual assent to a belief in God and not confirm their belief in the Christian faith or the Bible. It is also possible that one could lend intellectual assent to the Christian faith and the Bible and ignore it completely in their heart and actions.
This is where practical atheism lives. There are millions of people in this nation and around the world proclaiming faith in God, yet that is where it stops. They have not repented of their sins. They have not allowed the power of God, the Holy Spirit to wrest them from a life in contradiction to God’s Word, they have not read his book—the Bible. They go into a church on Sunday (or not) and their lives are not experiencing the transformational metamorphosis into Christ-likeness (Romans 12:1–2,) nor are they equipped or passionate to change their world for Christ.
In two classic texts on this subject, Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 we read “Fools have said to themselves, there is no God.”[ii] These verses have historically been preached and taught as meaning the personal or philosophical believe that there is no God. These verses do teach that, of course, but digging deeper into the context, one can easily glean the inclusion that the wicked gives assent to the fact of God’s existence but lives in such a way as to reject it (compare Psalm 10:4,11).
There are many more people that attempt to walk the road of the practical atheist than the road of the atheist. We are called to defend the gospel before the world which includes the direct response to atheism, yet the bigger problem for the church is the lethargic nature of many claiming faith in Christ, yet apparently without the credential of being a new creation, where the “old is passed away, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
A notion that contributes to the dysfunction in the church that causes practical atheism is the perceived “easiness of the gospel.” The transformational conversion event in the life of a human being, however, is the most radical event possible. It is also the potentially most stressful. It does grant the gifts of joy and all the fruit of the Spirit, yet there is a heavy change taking place. It is not unlike the newborn passing from the womb into the here and now life. It is certainly the most wondrous of all affairs in the human/divine equation, yet by its very nature, change brings difficulty, persecution and stress on many levels. Many misunderstand the freedom of life in Christ as license, yet this license undermines the radical, holy nature of the walk of the believing life.
The church incubates this over time. As I stated in my book, The Divine Chase,
We go into a church and believe we are in a spiritual hospital that has the answers for our lost heart. More often than not, however, we find ourselves in a factory simply seeking metrics, doling out spiritual placebos, instead of the true medicine of the gospel of Christ, the saving faith of repentance of conversion from God’s dispensary.[iii]
The western church has certainly cheapened the gospel in exchange for marketing techniques, larger crowds without genuine evangelism and discipleship taught in scripture, or other perceived benefits. Christ himself teaches us in Luke 14:25–34 the sobering need to count the cost that we must pay in following him. Scholar John Oswalt tells us of the costly, radical, stressful nature of the change of conversion:
When God takes away the iniquity and sin in which we have lived for years, the experience is a wrenching, searing one. But more deeply, what causes sin and iniquity? It is the arrogant self- sufficiency which refuses to bow the knee. This is the ultimate uncleanness of which Isaiah had been accusing his people and now finds resident in himself. The spirit never gives up without a fight. Apart from the fires of self-surrender and divine surgery the clean heart is an impossibility. [iv]
It is always part of the call of Christ in this world to lovingly, patiently confront and answer atheism. But this effort would be rendered meaningless and without impact if we neglect our primary calling—knowing God in Christ through his Word, prayer, and intimate fellowship with him in relationship as that wonderful cup overflows to others. It is the overflow of love between Heavenly father and his children. As John says “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! (1 John 3:1, NLT).
This overflow of the believing heart in the life of a child of God is the best way to reach the heart away from God.
We must not neglect it.
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[i] Pew religious landscape survey 2014.
[ii] Hebrew “The fool says in his heart.”
[iii] Bounds, Ben. The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, 2017, 162.
[iv] Oswalt, John N. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, The Book of Isaiah Chapters 1–39. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986, 185.
©2019 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
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We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:
"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”
If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church. If you live in the Weslaco/Rio Grand Valley area of Texas, let me invite you to the church I attend, Mid-Valley Assembly (www.midvalleyassembly.com).
Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.
Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.
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Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.
Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).
Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.
Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.
Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.
©2022 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
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