Beyond Demonic Faith

Beyond Demonic Faith

Beyond Demonic Faith

Mark 1:21-28

There is a story of a bride who was extremely nervous on her wedding day. She confided to her minister that she was not sure she could make it all the way down the aisle without shaking or crying. So the minister, a seasoned veteran of weddings, gave her a bit of advice.
“When you begin your walk,” he said, “just remember this three-point formula: First, look straight down the aisle – there won’t be anyone between you and where you are going in that path. Second, when you get about half-way, look straight up at the altar; it will remind you that God is with us, and through God all good things are possible. And third, when you get near the front of the church, look straight at your groom, for this is the person who loves you. Look first at the aisle, then look at the altar, then finally look at him. I think this will help relieve your nervousness.”
The trembling bride agreed to try his advice. And it worked beautifully. She walked with a radiant glow on her face, and with poise and confidence in her step, with no sign of nervousness. However, there was one small problem. Imagine the surprise of the congregation as they heard her rhythmically repeating three words over and over as she performed her bridal walk, “Aisle, altar, him!”

Most of us believe that there is always room for improvement. Our gas mileage could be better. Our house could be nicer. Our lawn could be greener. Our food could be tastier. Our diet could be healthier. Our spouse could be more attentive. Our children could be more deferential. Our boss could be more grateful.

Personally, I believe that polls and surveys could be better. Hardly a day goes by without some poll or survey claiming a new truth or insight about how we live, or how we think, or how we feel. And hardly a day goes by when I don’t shake my head at how poorly the results of that poll or survey may correlate to reality.

For just one easy example, about 50 years ago, social scientists were looking for good predictors of academic success for children. We want to believe that if something is predictably associated with success, then it must have something to do with causing the success. If something can predictably cause success, then it would be good policy to make it more widely available to improve the academic success of our children.

Well, after sifting through the surveys, it was discovered that there was in fact a very good predictor of academic success. There was a positive correlation between the academic success of children and the number of frying pans in the household. If there were 3 or more frying pans in the house, the children did well in school. If there weren’t any frying pans, the children were more likely to fail. So, according to the information in the survey, instead of spending money on helping children develop good study habits, or providing teachers with more support for the class room, the surest and most cost-effective way to raise test scores would be to distribute frying pans to every child.

It isn’t too hard to see the flaw in that thinking. Frying pans don’t raise test scores, but living in the kind of household that had a stay-at-home parent or grandparent who cared about cooking also meant having an adultwhocared enough to spend time with the children. And that advantage can help raise test scores. If there isn’t a caring adult, a shiny new frying pan isn’t going to help.

There is another poll that causes too many people to draw the wrong conclusion. A recent Gallup Poll claims that 92% of all Americans believe in God, which is about the same percentage as their poll showed in 1947. This poll is usually cited as proof that Americans are religious, or that we are a Christian nation. And, of course, as any good Wesleyan theologian knows, it doesn’t prove that at all.

This is a good time to clear up the confusion about what constitutes genuine Christian faith. And there is a lot of confusion about what it means to be Christian in our world today – but this is nothing new.

John Wesley wrote in 1762,“I would consider, first, who is a Christian indeed? What does that term properly imply? It has been so long abused, I fear, not only to mean nothing at all, but what was far worse than nothing, to be a cloak for the vilest hypocrisy, for the grossest abominations and immoralities of every kind, that it is high time to rescue it out of the hands of wretches that are a reproach to human nature, to show determinately what manner of man he is to whom this name of right belongs.”

That is pretty strong language. It is language meant to do one thing, and one thing only – to cast out an evil spirit in the church, which had reduced Christianity to a listing of baptized names in a parish register. The Wesleys cared deeply about people having an authentic relationship with God through Jesus Christ, as enabled by the Holy Spirit. They cared so much that what generally passed for Christianity offended them; and John particularly, wasn’t always so pastoral in expressing his offense.

However well-intentioned it may have been, that kind of direct language can also upset people. No one likes being accused of the vilest hypocrisy, the grossest abominations, and of being a wretch that is a reproach to human nature – even though it all too often seems to be the language of political discourse today. And while Mark’s gospel doesn’t tell us what Jesus taught the people in that synagogue meeting, their reaction indicates that they were less than kindly disposed towards Jesus and his authoritative manner. The surprise is not that an unclean spirit cried out, but that the rest of the crowd was able to keep their unclean spirits from joining in!

It is one thing to say there is an evil spirit in the church. It is quite another to identify what a holy faith would be. Never timid, John Wesley, in his first and foundational sermon of the Methodist Connection, accepted the challenge.

He began by saying that Christian faith is not the faith of a heathen. A heathen believes that God is, and that God is good. If the Gallup Poll’s 92% represents anything with certainty, it is that we are at the very least a nation of heathens!

Of course, we are not all heathens. Most people can also make the confession that Jesus is the Son of God. That is how most churches count Christians – by those who confess Jesus is the Son of God. But that is not enough, according to Wesley. Even the demons know that Jesus is the Son of God.

We see that in our reading for today. The unclean spirit knows who Jesus is, and declares it for all to hear. So knowing that there is a god, and that God is good, and that Jesus is the Son of God, doesn’t make you a Christian. If that is all the farther your faith goes, you may not be a heathen, but there is no religious distinction from that of a demon.

Any one feeling nervous yet? If so, maybe it is time for a joke that may help shed a little light on this distinction. It is a “fill in the blank” joke which can use any denomination that hires their pastor, rather than receives one through a connectional system like ours, so I am not picking on a particular group.

A Baptist search team was interviewing a candidate for the position of senior pastor. One of the committee members asked him, “Are you a narrow Baptist?” The candidate asked, “What do you mean by ‘narrow’?” “Do you believe that only Baptists are going to heaven?” The candidate smiled. “I’m narrower than that. I don’t think half of them are going, either.”

In that first and foundational sermon, John Wesley pushed the definition of Christian faith a little further, a little more narrowly. We have already established that it has to be more than knowing there is a god, and that God is good, and that Jesus is the Son of God. Now he tells us thattrue Christian faith is not even the faith of the apostles, while Jesus was still with them in the flesh.

Yes, the apostles talked with Jesus, just as we can when we pray, but that didn’t make them Christian. The apostles walked with Jesus, making sacrifices to follow him, just as some of us have done, but that didn’t make them Christian. The apostles learned from Jesus, about how to live together and treat those who are in need, just as we do when we study our Bibles and reach out in mission, but that did not make them Christian.

So, it is not enough to know that there is a god. It is not enough to know that God is good. It is not enough to know that Jesus is the Son of God. It isn’t even enough to pray, and sacrifice, and do what Jesus did. So what does it take to be an authentic, actual Christian? What does it take to be a disciple of Christ? What is missing?

Take a deep breath. You know this. There is good news.

The goal of the Wesleys, and of the Methodist movement, was never merely to bring persons into the church. It was neverjustto revive the commitments of those in church to do good. It was never just to bring scriptural holiness to society. Their mission was to bring persons into a God-dependent, Christ-like, and Spirit-empowered discipleship so that God could be at work among us in bringing the kingdom.

If all we cared about was the acknowledgement of God, we could take some satisfaction in theGallup polls, even as we continue to depend on our selves. If all we cared about was a confession that Jesus is the Son of God, then membership at any house of worship would be enough for us, even if our actions are not very Christ-like. If all we cared about was righteous behavior, then we would be content if people were simply good neighbors who pitched in when needed and followed the rules when no one was looking.

We are now ready to hear what it means to be a Christian. Real, genuine, authentic Christian faith is the faith that Jesus was raised from the dead, the victor over sin and death. It is the faith that acknowledges the necessity and merit of Jesus’ death, and the power of his resurrection. It is an assent to the whole gospel, with a full reliance on the blood of Christ, and trusting in the merits of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for our salvation.

Our salvation is from sin and its consequences. Our salvation means that we have been delivered from guilt and punishment by the atonement of Christ. Our salvationalso means that we are delivered from the power of sin, as Christ is formed in our hearts. This new life is what it means to be “born again.” This new life has as its goal to “go on to perfection in love.”

Demonic faith depends on people being good. We are called beyond demonic faith to Christian faith, which depends on God being good. Demonic faith seeks conformity to a personal Christian standard of behavior. We are called beyond demonic faith, to Christian faith, which seeks to love everyone as Christ has loved us. Demonic faith finds its power in the prevailing spirit of a society. We are called beyond demonic faith, to Christian faith, which finds its power in the Holy Spirit.

We may be nervous about walking the straight and narrow, like that nervous bride. But the answer is not to be found by repeating over and over again an altered version of what it means to be a Christian. We have to be possessed of a faith that declares that we are not just saved from the wrath to come, but that we are saved for life in the kingdom of God. If our spirit is anything else, or anything less, then it doesn’t matter if we believe there is a god, and that God is good, and that Jesus is the Son of God. It doesn’t even matter how good you live your life – we still have an unclean spirit which must be cast out before we have an authentic Christian spirit of salvation.

John and Charles Wesley sometimes referred to themselves as the “chief of sinners.” It is because they knew better. They knew what it means to be an authentic disciple, and how far they often fell short. Perhaps, today, you know how far short you have fallen. Perhaps, today, you will humble yourself and seek again the mercy and salvation of Jesus Christ. And perhaps, today, you will allow Jesus to cast out the evil spirit so that you may be filled with the Holy Spirit. #355 “Depth of Mercy”