Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson — both reached an impasse where their sense of morality conflicted with their understanding of Christianity. One denounced the Christian faith. The other expressed a sincere struggle with doubts.
Harris made a bold statement on an Instagram post that he is not a Christian by Christian standards. He concluded that his ideologies could not be reconciled with biblical principles. Likewise, Sampson shared his struggle to marry his sense of morality with the Bible. However, he has not denied the faith.
As a young adult Christian, this news concerns me. I’m concerned not because these influential figures have expressed doubts; honest challenges to our faith can refine our understanding of the truth. Rather, I’m concerned because they may represent how our generation perceives Christianity — a set of good, moral beliefs.
But the Christian faith cannot be grounded in agreeable principles or persuasive arguments. It must be found in the person of Christ.
In the book of Daniel, there was a king named Nebuchadnezzar. He was religious — openly accepting multiple gods. But he didn’t recognize the God of the Bible as absolute until he witnessed three miracles performed through Daniel and his friends.
When Daniel deciphered the king’s first dream, which no other wise men could interpret, Nebuchadnezzar responded, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Dan 2:47). God made Himself known in this first miracle.
Later in the book, the king sentenced Daniel’s friends into a fiery furnace. The furnace was so hot that the guards escorting Daniel’s friends burned to death. A few moments later, Nebuchadnezzar called for them to come out, and they returned completely unharmed. In response, the king declared that anyone who spoke against the God of the Bible was punishable by death (Dan 3:29).
Despite witnessing these two miracles, the king did not admit that Daniel’s God is the one, true God. He confounded the God of the Bible into his “god collection”.
“At last Daniel came in before me — he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods…” (Dan 4:8).
But in the last miracle, Nebuchadnezzar’s perspective of God changed. Daniel interpreted another dream, dictating that God would humble the king by turning him insane. It came to pass. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was taken away, and he wandered the wilderness and lived among animals. After a period of time, God restored the king. It was then that he understood and acknowledged God to be the “Most High” (Dan. 4:34).
Nebuchadnezzar found many gods to be reasonable. The miracles he witnessed convinced him of God’s existence. He was, like many today, pluralistic — believing what may be conveniently observable and agreeable. But when the king personally encountered the Most High, the divine reality of God required honest recognition from the king*.
Author’s Side Note: No one knows whether Nebuchadnezzar truly believed in God. What is certain, however, is that the king could not simply forget the God of the Bible after his personal encounter. He was compelled to recognize God Almighty as the Most High.
If the agreement of biblical principles is the sole reason we believe in Christianity, then our roots are shallow. The moment we reach the crossroad in which a principle does not align with our sense of morality, we will abandon Christianity. But to experience God and know the person of Christ — that is something much different; the crossroad itself becomes a different, more complicated one.
When a person encounters God, denying Christianity is no longer a rejection of principles. Denouncing the faith is an act of rejecting the person of Christ — a man of sorrows who was beaten, mocked, and scorn for the sake of those who might find redemption in his blood. When we know this truth, it is not simple to part ways.
At this crossroad, a believer is willing to face doubts and pray that, by His grace, He makes known what we do not understand. We ask for strength to trust in His sovereignty, knowing that He is good. For the believer finds that it is far better to struggle with doubts than to reject the Savior of the world.
Just as a father cried out to Christ, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23).
The Christian faith cannot be grounded in agreeable principles or persuasive arguments. It must be found in the person of Christ.
I worry because some have detached the Word from the Author. Some believe in agreeable principles such as the idea of love and grace. But when other ideologies cause friction, denouncing the faith is a simple task because love and grace Himself has been forsaken.
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8-10)
Soli Deo Gloria.