Are you an Epicurean or Stoic?

St. Paul, in his great Acts 17 address, walked the fine line speaking to two different audiences. Even though this address was a few thousand years ago, I think that many people in our culture fall into these two categories.

EPICUREANS

“The Epicureans, we recall, believed that the gods, if they existed, were very far away, and had more or less nothing to do with human beings. As a result, they were supremely happy… to live as quietly as possible with just the right amount of everything. The ideal life is independent, untroubled, unworried about larger questions, including that of one’s own destiny.” – N.T Wright (Acts for Everyone)

You might be an epicurean if your view of God is one who stands far off in the clouds, watching us from afar, occasionally pulling some levers to make sure that the world keeps going. If you lean this way, you might find yourself thinking a lot about comfort – staying away from messy relationships, thinking about the next apartment or house that you want to live in, or looking at magazines to find out what the next upcoming style is going to be. The goal, since God is far off and will probably send everyone to heaven someday, is too live a quiet life and be comfortable in material things.

STOICS

“The Stoic, by contrast, would be happy to hear that there is indeed a divine life which is in all human beings.” – N.T. Wright (Acts for Everyone)

You might be a stoic if you consider yourself spiritual. Stoics, as they looked at the beauty of the human race or of creation, did not ignore the impulse in their hearts that something divine exists. The problem is that because of their uncertainty, they worshiped lots of different idols – clinging onto whatever the latest spiritual fad was.

RESPONDING TO THE TWO GROUPS

To the Epicureans, Paul proclaimed that the God that they thought to be far away was right here, right now. In fact, God came down out of human history to be with them! No longer could they live a quiet life, minimizing God as a distant, isolated, unknowable Being.

To the Stoics, Paul proclaimed that their divine inclinations were true, but that there was one way, one truth – which God proved through the death and resurrection of Jesus. No longer did they have to go from spiritual idol to spiritual idol – from fad to fad. They could be clear on who to worship and who to follow. They could turn around, repent, and follow someone who could actually change their lives and equip them to change the world. They could remove their fuzzy spiritual life that sounded good on the outside but was hollow on the inside.

Which side do you lean on?

God Saves Both Irreligious and Religious

“Most people in our culture believe that, if there is a God, we can relate to him and go to heaven through leading a good life. Let’s call this the “moral improvement” view. Christianity teaches the very opposite. In the Christian understanding, Jesus does not tell us how to live so we can merit salvation. Rather, he comes to forgive and save us through his life and death in our place. God’s grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior.”
– Tim Keller (The Reason for God)

I would submit that there are three types of people in your fraternity or sorority: religious, irreligious, and gospel-centered Christians.

The Irreligious

Whether these people claim to believe in God or not, they live how they want to live. They are on the throne of their life. External sins are easier to spot in this crowd – getting drunk, sex with whomever, stealing, verbally or physically abusing someone, etc. Everyone will practice external sins to varying degrees – so don’t think that someone who “isn’t that bad” is not irreligious. They key here is that they are on the throne of their life and that they don’t see a need for a Savior.

The Religious

These people claim to believe in God and practice regularly in a religious denomination – trying hard to devote themselves to the teachings of that religion. Their sins are not as easy to spot as the irreligious because they are mostly internal – greed, selfishness, envy, judgment, jealousy, and most of all – pride. These people are climbing up the ladder of morality trying to become better people. Yet, at the same time, they have a sense of pride that they are much further along than everyone else. This leads to judging others who aren’t as religious as them. They think that if they keep up their performance, then they will have a better chance of being accepted by God. Rarely does a religious person see sin in his life, and if he does, he tries to hide it.

Gospel-centered Christians

These people recognize that they are deeply flawed and broken. They realize that the gospel says that we are all sinful and in need of a Savior – which means that the irreligious and the religious are all in the same boat. No one is better than the other. Instead of spending their time rebelling and doing whatever they want (like the irreligious) or trying to earn God’s favor and judging the people who aren’t like them (like the religious) - they are confessing their brokenness daily and asking God to save them and restore them.

What do I need to do?

If you are living irreligiously, it is not too late to ask God to forgive your sins and to put Himself on the throne of your life. 1 John 1:9 says that He is faithful to forgive you if you simply ask in humility.

If you are living religiously, you need to realize that you are way more sinful than you think and that all of your efforts to earn God’s approval are useless. Ask God to give you a bigger awareness of your sin so that you can have a greater awareness of God’s mercy through Jesus’ death and resurrection. And as you experience this great mercy, you’ll be able to extend it to your fraternity brothers or sorority sisters instead of pride or judgment.

Inspiring and Robbing Your Passion for Christ

What is it that inspires you? Who is it?

Matt Chandler recently wrote an article on the things that fuel his passion for Christ and the things that drive him away from Christ.

I decided to set aside some time to meditate on these things in my own life. I want to a) take more initiative in pursuing the things that ignite a passion for Christ and b) cut out the things that rob this passion.

What stirs my affections for Christ? What, when I’m doing it, when I’m around it or dwelling on it creates in me a greater hunger for, passion for and worship of Christ and His mission?

My list:

1. Hot coffee and my bible in the morning
2. Listening to sermons on my iPod
3. Electronic Music (Djing)
4. Worship music (usually the slow, meditative kind)
5. Missiology discussions (engaging the lost and culture)
6. Spiritual conversations (with those seeking God)
7. Greek ministry discussions
8. Creative media – Short films or inspiring movies
9. Writing/thinking/dreaming
10. Listening to my best friends talk about how God is convicting, challenging, or encouraging them

What, when I do it or spend time around it create in me an unhealthy love for this world? What robs me of my hunger for Christ and passion for Him?

My list:

1. Checking my email constantly
2. Spending hours browsing the web
3. Being physically lazy around the house
5. Time with friends/family that is filled with shallow conversation
6. Listening to too many sermons
7. Watching too many TV shows on DVD (Netflix)

What increases your passion for Christ and what robs you of that passion?