Posted on 04/10/2021 6:28:02 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Paul Maxwell, a former Desiring God writer and the author of the book The Trauma of Doctrine, has announced he is no longer a Christian.
“What I really miss is connection with people,” Maxwell said on his Instagram feed. “What I’ve discovered is that I’m ready to connect again. And I’m kind of ready not to be angry anymore. I love you guys, and I love all the friendships and support I’ve built here. And I think it’s important to say that I’m just not a Christian anymore, and it feels really good. I’m really happy.”
“I can’t wait to discover what kind of connection I can have with all of you beautiful people as I try to figure out what’s next,” he added. “I love you guys. I’m in a really good spot. Probably the best spot of my life. I’m so full of joy for the first time. I love my life.”
Maxwell, who has his Ph.D. in theology and has written on the topics of theology, trauma, and fitness, later followed up with a message to those who told him he’s going to Hell and are “not really happy” as a result of his rejection of Christianity.
“I just say, ‘I know that you love me.’ I know, and I receive it as love. I know you care about the eternal state of my soul and you pushed through the social awkwardness of telling me this because you don't want me to suffer. And that is a good thing. That's a loving thing to do. And I hear where you're coming from, and I respect your perspective.”
Maxwell is the latest high-profile Christian figure to publicly renounce his faith in recent years.
Last year, Jon Steingard, the Canadian Christian rock band Hawk Nelson’s lead vocalist, announced on social media that “I no longer believe in God,” explaining “it didn’t happen overnight.”
In 2019, Joshua Harris, author of the controversial Christian bestseller I Kissed Dating Goodbye, sent shockwaves through the evangelical Christian community after he published an Instagram post announcing: “I am not a Christian. Many people tell me that there is a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.”
A short time later, former Hillsong singer and songwriter Marty Sampson posted on Instagram: “Time for some real talk … I’m genuinely losing my faith … and it doesn’t bother me.”
In an interview with The Christian Post, H.B. Charles Jr., author and pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, said stories of defections from the Christian faith should serve as a “wake-up call” to the Western Church.
“The corporate worship of the Church is a key way to not only disciple the young generation but to strengthen all the saints to be steadfast in their faith,” he said. “My perseverance in the faith is not so much about me holding fast to Christ, but Him holding fast to me. We need to be teaching and singing sound doctrine. I believe that there is no need for something exotic or special in order to build faith and sustain faith for the long haul.”
Charles added that teaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith will “nurture the coming generation and help the saints to be focused on Christ and not man.”
“I feel like, to the degree we fail to do that, we'll hear many more of those stories, unfortunately,” he warned. “If faithful pastors and worship leaders don't declare their faithfulness to the Word of God and seek to lead their congregations in faithfully worshiping Him, this drift will continue.”
In a 2019 interview, Gospel Coalition founder and theologian Don Carson issued a word of caution to those tempted to judge those who have apostatized and called for discernment, offering the reminder that “just as it's possible to stereotype those who have fallen away as losers, so it's possible to stereotype those who are saying that they're losers.”
“They don't have labels on their foreheads,” Carson told CP. “So it might be that they need listening to and praying over, praying with, and so on. They might come back. I could tell you some remarkable stories of people who wandered away and what we would call backsliding, who nevertheless returned to the Lord a couple of decades later. So you want to allow that as a possibility and not, in any case, be supercilious or condescending.”
“It's all ‘good guys and bad guys' without discernment and recognition that the Bible pictures falling away and inconsistency in many, many different categories,” the theologian added. “Repentance is possible, as well as a renewed commitment to the covenant. It doesn't have to turn out in a bad way.”
The proper response to deconversion stories, according to Carson, is humility and prayer, acknowledging that “but for the grace of God, go I.”
“At the end of the day, apart from the grace of God,” he said, “we're all dead.”
Agreed but we must not forget that every person is responsible for their own relationship with God. Their spiritual success or failure is between them and God.
And you, that were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight: If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, and which was preached to every creature who is under heaven; of which I Paul am made a minister; (Colossians 1:21-23)
We see these recently that have made these statements. The statements though seem to me to be prideful instead of a ‘I am losing my faith, pray for me’ type of statement. It seems like a ‘Look at me’ type of thing if the statement was made and reported correctly.
In a microcosm though don’t we all ‘lose’ our salvation each time we choose to sin. We go our own way. God’s grace has to be unfathomable to our human mind.
I do agree, though, that we can throw salvation away with our choice. It is not lost per say, it is given away like Esau’s birthright, when we reach a point it no longer means anything to us. As the old saying goes, ‘God is not the one who moved.’
And the bottom line, God knows what these individuals are saying and how it lines up with exactly what their heart is thinking. Matthew 12:34 say, ‘out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.’ This would be our clue, to their heart, but God knows it deeper than we do.
ok.. he’s not a Christian ... then what is he?
call anything you like.. it isn’t the name
. it’s the commitment.. its putting the Man .. the SON of God. as your Master.. the One you follow..
Jesus said to “follow Me”... He said “I am the way”, the truth and the life..and no man comes into the gates except thru Jesus.
someone posted Queen Elizabeth’s Phillip, was at peace now.. if he gave his life to the Man who went to the cross for that very reason... that we have a way back to God.. after we all lost it through Adam and eve..then he is in perfect peace...
if we neglect that great sacrifice.. we are as lost as lost can be...
the way was made.. it’s our choice.
1 John 2:19
If I posted the text here you would not remember it. If you don’t have a clue what bible verse directly answers the questions posed in the article, read the scripture.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39,40)
My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38,39)
How does the person who doesn't believe there is a Heaven get to spend an eternity there?
(Do they force him in?)
The comeback I always heard, it wasn’t real the first time.
It’s not a quick explanation. Are you just asking or do you really want to know?
placemarker
Hey idiot! Either you weren’t a Christian to begin with or you were and have denied Jesus by ‘un’Christianizing (my word) yourself. You better get straight......I wouldn’t want to be where you’re going. Anyhoo, I was raised once saved always saved but had heard recently that if you deny Christ He will remove Himself from you......I gladly stand corrected......
I guess he is committing the unpardonable sin. Hope he doesn’t die before realizing his error. I suppose he has to be treated as a nonbeliever. Prayed for...cared about...but no more fellowship is possible on a Christian level. Got a feeling he loves something that he won’t give up for Christ. Very common.
A second factor that often causes this disillusionment with Christianity is that so many churches these days (really false or apostate churches) are designed to cater to the worldly culture in order to attract the “un-churched.” If your “pastor” wears ripped jeans and spends 99% of his time spouting his own opinions in ways that are designed to never confront sin or sinners, you’re probably attending one of these churches. What I think happens here is that those who have spent their entire life as a (supposed) Christian focused on accommodating worldly culture and ensuring that they never have conflict with anyone eventually become more attracted to the world than to God, and just throw in the towel on Christianity. They seem to value avoiding unpleasantness or conflict above all else, which leads them to abandon any faith they had, because even in a very watered-down version of Christianity they get weary of being perceived by non-Christians as “judgmental.” That sounds a lot like what happened with this guy.
But any true Christian who holds to the true Gospel and to sound doctrine knows that first, we are not bestowed with magical powers to use to create some kind of Heaven on Earth, and we are not promised a life of peace and harmony, but rather of difficulty and persecution. God’s Word makes it crystal clear that if we are truly following Jesus, we will not be loved but rather hated. And we will not have an easy life, full of signs, wonders, and miracles, but rather a difficult marathon in which, like Christ, we must carry our cross daily.
What all of these apostate churches need to hear is that if you are a true Christian, you will know you are “over the target” if non-Christians despise you, persecute you, and if your life is filled with trials and tribulations. Jesus said that men hate the truth. Therefore, if you find that your church is loved by worldly people it’s very likely because it is not preaching the unvarnished truth and the true Gospel.
Contrary to all of these recent drop-outs, it is nearly impossible for a true Christian to become disillusioned, because we are never promised an easy life in the first place. We understand that we shouldn’t expect acceptance or ease, but rather that we should count it all joy when we are persecuted or face trials. Our “best life now” (to quote a prominent heretic) is not this brief corruptible life, but will instead be our eternal life with God himself. To borrow from John MacArthur, if we are living our “best life now”, then it really will be our best life because it will be all we have to look forward to, a brief “vapor” of life lived in pursuit of those things that are finite and ultimately worthless, followed by an eternity separated from what truly matters.
I believe you can reject Christianity (a man made construct) while not rejecting Christ. I’ve often argued that the single greatest thing dividing Christians is doctrine. There are about 30,000 Christian sects bickering about whose interpretation of this fragment of scripture or that part of a verse is correct. I don’t think this divisiveness is what Jesus intended when He founded His church. Read your Bible, winnow out the basics (love God, love your neighbor as yourself, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord) and you’ll be on solid ground and never have any doubts.
This would be a pretty big torpedo to the idea of “Once saved, always saved”.
—
Not really.
Maybe they weren’t truly saved? Consider all of them in this article that denounced their faith. Everyone of them advanced their career or gained notoriety from it. Maybe they were just along for the ride?
What Jesus says here is the definitive Word. So in Whose hands are the redeemed?
1 John 2:19
Exactly!
It is my belief that IF this man has been born from above and he persists in leading sheep astray, God will snuff him out to protect the precious spirits of those seeking God but being trapped in false doctrine by this man. IF on the other hand he was never born into God’s family, he will do the work of the devil and prosper. In the one case pray for those he is misguiding. In the other case pray that God will snatch a knot in his tail and humble him.
No question.
Jesus was sent by God.
He is the truth and the light.
He was the Messiah suffered immensely and died for our sins.
Paid in full.
The rest is nonsense.
Probably another book by somebody who spends their entire life as a Christian trying to rationalize their sins.
whoop-de-doo.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.