Atheism in the Christian Life

Many of us Christians get on atheists for their lack of belief in God. Yet, how many of us lack belief in God for our sanctification? We believe we can’t save ourselves, and that’s right. But for some reason, we believe we can sanctify ourselves. As if we can give God a reason for His steadfast love. The Bible calls this foolishness. There’s no way to justify in our minds what He did for us. Simply put: He loves us.

Practical atheism is the belief in God for eternal salvation and the belief in oneself for sanctification.

I’ll be the first to admit, this is my problem. Time and time again, I find myself willing my way to sanctification. Time and time again, I fail. I have to remind myself all the time, like the old hymn goes,

I need Thee, O I need Thee, Every hour I need Thee

It is not in my strength, but in my weakness that His power is perfected. Why do we put so much faith in our own strength? The strongest man in the world is no match for the devil. The most righteous among us is no match for the flesh. Likewise, the most wicked soul is no match for the grace of God.

I wonder if the apostle Paul had this in mind also when he said to the Romans, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.”

We judge the unbeliever for his failure to see what is so obvious to us. But we condemn ourselves when we fail to see what is so obvious to us in God’s Word. For it says, “apart from me you can do nothing.”

Are you trying to do anything apart from Christ Jesus? Are you trying to will your way to being better? Let me save you some frustration. God is the grace giver. He’s poured out all the grace for you that you’ll ever need. And, you know what? He still has plenty of grace left for me.

For His glory,

Amen.