Conspiracy Hunters And Fearful Christians

Conspiracy Hunters and Fearful Christians

Jan 10, 2015 2194

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. – 2 Tim 1:7, NKJV

I am convinced that one of the reasons why some Christians shut themselves off from the world and lose the joy of Christ is because they have the spirit of fear.

The principles of the gospel cannot rule where fear rules, for fear is the opposite of what God is; “God is love” (1 John 4:16) and “there is no fear in love” (v.18). Fear is not a characteristic of the Kingdom of God.

Many people are attracted to Christianity precisely because they feel powerless, unloved, and have unsound minds. We all need healing in these areas, and these are all good reasons to accept Jesus Christ as Lord. If these people have really heard and accepted the gospel of Christ, the Spirit of God will grant them the power of the Spirit, to be filled with the love and assurance of God, and to have soundness of mind. It may sudden and miraculous at times, at times it may seem that there are two steps backwards and one step forwards, but overall, it will be a gradual healing, but it will happen.

But what do we all too often find instead? We find Christians who essentially see church as a “fortress” against the world, who are always chasing conspiracies about this or that, who are endlessly putting together end-time scenarios – of course often leaning on the Bible. We find evangelism based on fear – whether of everlasting hellfire, or the end of the world, or this secret society or that religious organisation.

These are signs of an essential lack of understanding of the gospel and an assumed relationship with Christ that is not based on faith, but on human endeavour.

The endless chasing of conspiracies is nothing other than the seeking of knowledge that will place us in a position of superior knowledge to others, and so be able to better control our lives and this world. I should know. I was once a conspiracy hunter with the best of them. I was once a fearful Christian.

There’s no question that there are conspiracies out there, or else we would not believe in the devil and in good and evil. But there’s also no question that the greatest conspiracy of all is the one that seeks to remove your eyes from Jesus and the gospel. We are warned about people who “are always learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim 3:7). It’s a matter of what consumes your mind… and what this does to it. As Des has said before, “What gets your attention gets you!”

The apostle Peter tells us that God’s

[God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. – 2 Peter 1:3, NIV

He is writing to those who through,

the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours (v.1)

The gospel is that through Christ’s righteousness, he has achieved a perfect standing for us with God. And that because of that, whatever else we need in this life he has provided for us as well – “everything we need.”

So what is there to fear? Only false gospels that teach anything else… and our very own flesh that prefers anything but the precious faith that God has given us.

What is this precious faith we have received? The truth that we access “everything we need” through “our knowledge of [Christ] (2 Peter 1:3). It is the knowledge of who Christ is and what he has done. It is knowledge of the cross.

Let’s not pursue knowledge of conspiracy theories, and any version of Christianity that leads to fear. Let’s pursue the knowledge of Him who died for our sins and rose for our victory.

For some, it seems that that’s not enough. But for others such as me, there’s enough there to be forever immersed in the ocean of his love and kindness. There’s enough fear around me that constantly seeks to invade my life. I need the grace and the peace of God.

Anyway… to be quite blunt, I’m too busy preaching the gospel to be conceded about conspiracy theories and the precise timing and manner in which Armageddon may arrive.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. – 2 Peter 1:2, NIV

– Eliezer

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