The Fear of Conviction & Commitment

Biblically Thinking ^ | April 30, 2011 | Bill Duncan

[Faith Presses On]

In a web-based article authored by Stephen Surgener back in 2007, I ran across some words that I found compelling: “There is a fear of chaotic Biblical rhetoric not founded in sound theology, somehow contaminating the doctrinal foundations of the body. But what I find most, is the fear of conviction. And that is a fear which poses the biggest challenges.”

I do believe that “chaotic biblical rhetoric not founded in sound theology” is a serious and growing problem in modern Christianity. But like Surgener, I think the root cause of most of our problems today is a sheer fear of conviction; an unwillingness to truly follow Christ by setting aside all the things that make our lives comfortable, “normal”, and a reasonable fit in modern society and modern culture.

(snip)

Consider Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs.

If we invert the hierarchy, looking at it from top to bottom rather than bottom to top, it provides a pretty robust guide to the increasing difficulty of increasing commitment to Christ. The further one descends down the hierarchy of needs, toward the most basic needs (food / shelter / clothing), the more difficult it becomes to sacrifice those things for the cause of Christ.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

You meant it’s not a “living, breathing Bible”?

[Faith Presses On]

From the article:

[sauropod]

I will study this.