A question that
quickly arises is the ranking of true believers among the religions of the
world. Again, no one really knows except for God, but this article will take the position that though it is not in the number one spot and never will be, it is
much smaller than Weed (tares, non-Christian) Christianity.
Though the
precise number comprising the smaller number is unobtainable, however, getting into
the ballpark is theoretically possible. I am of the opinion that characterizing
it as much smaller than you will see on stats showing up in Wikipedia, for
instance, is an accurate characterization. One other question that is germane
to our discussion is this; are you with the weeds or the wheat or some other
religion?
I am certain
that a brief description of Wheat Christianity will not satisfy all, even among
those who share a theology similar to mine. I will go to its debatable core, describing
some but not all of its characteristics. The world’s understanding of the
meaning of Christianity will obviously never be accurate according to the Bible
(cf. 1 Cor 2:14). I believe my core definition of Wheat Christianity is rather
raw, but it is principled as well as practical. In its simplistic form, this is
at the heart of it.
Biblical
Christianity is a lifelong journey in knowing and doing the will of God in
every aspect of a believer’s life in conformity to the Scriptures.
From the
outset, I must emphasize a very important distinction about Wheat Christianity and Weed Christianity. As with tares (non-Christians, claiming to be Christians,
Mt 13:24-30), they can learn the vernacular (oftentimes they will twist the meanings
of biblical terminology to fit their theology), go through Christian-like
motions, and do good deeds, thinking they are heavenbound, having a form of wheat
but are nothing more than weeds that thrives in Christian soil and loves to
cultivate their weediness amidst the wheat.
The main
characteristic that separates the wheat from the weeds is that only those of
wheat Christianity has the Holy Spirit living within the heart (cf. Jn 14:17; Rom
5:5; 8:11; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Eph 2:22; 2 Tim 1:14; 1 Jn 3:24). This is the critical spiritual
differentiation between wheat and weeds (cf. Rom 8:9b, Now if anyone does not have the Spirit
of Christ, he is not His.).
The Holy Spirit is who separates humanity into two spiritual classes: the lost (weed,
darkness, the heart is devoid of the Holy Spirit, Jude 1:19; 1 Cor 2:14) and the
saved (wheat, light, the Holy Spirit lives within the heart).
No one can
enter into the body of Christ (a spiritual living organism) and practice Biblical
Christianity to the glory of God, in a Christ-like manner, in worship and service
to Him apart from being justified by faith (Gal 2:16); only those who have been
spiritually regenerated or born again can be a part of the body of Christ (Jn
3:3; Eph 2:8-9; 1 Cor 12:27; Titus 3:5).
As a genuine
believer, knowing and doing the will of God is literally thinking the right
things, speaking the right things, and doing the right things as a lifestyle in
alignment with Scripture in submission to the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:16; Eph 5:8). It
sounds like a piece of cake, doesn’t it (cf. Zech 4:6; Php 4:13)? It is
Christ-centric concerning the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6). God is
glorified when born again believers love God with the totality of their
being. That love for God is reflected through loving obedience to His Word (cf.
Jn 14:15; 2 Jn 1:6; cf Lk 6:46).
When we love (agapao)
God in such a manner without restraint; we love (agapao) others as
ourselves and so fulfilling the first and second commandments that are divinely
designed to be inseparable (cf. Mk 12:30-31). This couplet, love God, love
others, is the prime directive of all of Scripture. Wheat Christianity is more
a matter of loving relationships between God and believer and believer and believer,
not a batch of religious peer-pressured rules and regulations.
Wheat
Christianity adheres to the absolute truth that the Bible is the supreme and
final authority in all matters of faith and practice. It serves as the moral
and ethical compass in a believer’s life. It contains His will for all
believers and reveals how God views the world. If we are to have the mind of
Christ, it is solely based on Scripture; what we think, say, or do should be
backed by the Word. The merits of biblical Christianity are based upon the
birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, not a man’s
poor poetry of Christlikeness. See my Essentials page for some non-negotiable
truths.
How many born
again believers living today are part of Wheat Christianity? My friend, Dr.
Michael Womack, Th.M., D.Min., and I were discussing evangelism some time back,
and what we thought were the number of genuine believers living in the world
today. I was curious about how he reached his conclusion. Ironically, I
had recently did an approximation of this very thing just the week prior, but I
did not tell him before hearing how he derived at what he believed to be the number of saints in the world today.
Call it
coincidence; call it what you will, but our general numbers were the same! What
does this all mean? Absolutely nothing as far as accuracy is concerned; it was
merely an exercise in metaphysical speculation between two friends who love the
Word of God, good theology, and people; some would call it judging, of course. Listen,
if you articulate John 14:6, you will get flak from the world, yes (cf. 2 Tim
3:12)?
Wisely, we kept
and will keep our number to ourselves and will not share it like the message of the Gospel, but if our conclusions on the number of genuine believers in the world
have any degree of accuracy, then the numbers of true believers are small in
comparison to the other followers of the major religions. If there is any
takeaway from this, it should enhance a greater sense of urgency to reach out
to those who are spiritually lost. God so loved the world that He reached out
in love, right, and so should all believers reach out in love (agape) to
those without Christ.
We have to try,
for the cost to the lost is beyond imagination – eternal separation from God in
the outer darkness. It is vital to understand that we do not fully understand
the serious nature of the penalty of sin and what all was unleashed because of what
took place in the Garden with Adam and Eve. What we do know is that God graciously
sent His Son to pay that penalty for man’s sin against God, and there is an
eternal separation associated with those who reject God’s offer of salvation.
Imagine God, who delights in exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and
righteousness in the earth, exacting a penalty that fits the transgression. Now think of
Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. This clearly illustrates that we do not
view sin nor its consequences as God does; nor do we fully comprehend the purity of His holiness. Selah.
<><
 |
| To Part 2 |
