Don’t Neglect the Ordinary Means of Grace
Every year from childhood until I went to college, I spent a week at a Christian summer camp. There is so much to be said for those weeks: reading the Bible together, having fun, and spending some time with the older kids from my church. But if there is one negative to bring to light, it’s the phenomenon we call the “camp high”.
The camp high is a pretty simple concept. When we went to camp, many kids/youth would make professions of faith or “re-dedicate themselves to the Lord” (which merits an article of its own) or discovered a new sense of zeal for the gospel, for evangelism, for Bible reading, or just for God in general. What makes this a negative is that as the campgrounds faded into the distance at the end of the week, so too did the professions, dedication, and zeal.
While I can’t say for sure what causes this, it seems to me that sensationalism plays a large role. By sensationalism, I mean a focus on special, emotional, or unique experiences or participation in an exciting or new kind of event. This focus is not modern but something that concerned Christian pastors and theologians centuries ago.
J. C. Ryle had this issue on his mind in the 1800’s. He wrote in his book on holiness:
There is an Athenian love of novelty abroad, and a morbid distaste for anything old and regular, and in the beaten path of our forefathers. Thousands will crowd to hear a new voice and a new doctrine, without considering for a moment whether what they hear is true!
There is an incessant craving after any teaching which is sensational, and exciting, and rousing to the feelings. There is an unhealthy appetite for a sort of spasmodic and hysterical Christianity. The religious life of many is little better then spiritual dram-drinking, and the “meek and quiet spirit” which Peter commends, is clean forgotten. (1 Peter 3:4.) Large crowds, and sensationalism, and dramatic singing, and an incessant rousing of the emotions — are the only things which many care for!
Holiness, J. C. Ryle
Sensationalism can be seen in even the most orthodox of churches in the goals and ways to craft their services. An emphasis on having an experience is often at the forefront of American churches. And unfortunately, just like camp highs, many who participate fall away just as quickly as they enter in.
I say all of this as an over-long introduction because I fear that Christians today see no problem in this kind of thinking. I freely and happily admit that many who are engaged in sensationalism are truly saved and are seeing others genuinely converted. Yet, my fear is that for every genuine conversion there is the chance for an emotional outburst tethered not to the reality of regeneration but to the passions of the moment.
My concerns about experience-driven Christianity are many, but one stands out as imminently important. When we make Christianity a constantly emotional, constantly entertaining, constantly novel adventure, we will have little patience and little attention for the ordinary means of grace.
We talk big about loving the Bible until we reach Leviticus. We want to wrestle with God like Jacob until it comes time to kneel and pray. God uses conferences and camps and all manner of special events and experiences -even our emotions- to conform us to the image of Christ. What we must notice however, is that these events and experiences are not His prescribed and promised way to make us holy. Christian, don’t neglect the ordinary means of grace.
Consider the story of Naaman and Elisha for example. Naaman was a Syrian man who was struck with leprosy and sought out Elisha to cleanse him by the power of God. It’s a pretty cool story of God’s love for non-Jews and his power to cleanse our impurities. But we often neglect a small exchange that occurs after Elisha instructs him to dip in the Jordan river seven times.
“And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.”
2 Kings 5:10-12
Naaman was not impressed with Elisha’s solution. He thought it would be more dramatic, more authoritative, and far less like taking a swim. Dipping in the Jordan river seemed like a silly solution to a serious problem. How could bathing in the Jordan river, not nearly as nice as the rivers he knew back home, have any power to cure him? Would God really work through something as rote and uninteresting as a bath?
Eventually, his servant convinced him that since it really was such an ordinary thing, he should have no problem in doing it just to see. Lo and behold, when Naaman’s head came up from the water on the seventh dip, he was completely clean of leprosy and decided to worship God forever with total devotion!
Like Naaman, we all want to be made clean. As Christians, we want to be sanctified and made holy and righteous. We want help with fighting our sins and we want solutions to our problems. We want to be guided by God and do all the things we should. Also like Naaman, I think we want deep down for God to do all this for us in a spectacular way. We want fireworks and conference speakers and emotional, heart-rending, worship music. While all of those things might help us, it is too easy to forget that Jesus prayed simply “Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth.”
Why was it that the bus-load of kids coming back from camp full of zeal for God ran dry within a month? Why did the people return to their sins and their frivolity during the Great Awakening and during the revival meeting movement? It’s hard to address every single case, but I think its clear that one of the major factors was disillusionment with the ordinary means of grace.
Like seeds sown among thorns, they sprung up with joy only to be crushed by the weight of other concerns and desires. They found that reading the Bible for themselves was not quite as fun as hearing that engaging speaker talk about it. They found that prayer felt like a duty when weeping wasn’t involved. They found themselves unimpressed by God’s ways of sanctifying them.
At this point, I want to conclude with an explanation. Why did I write this article? It’s certainly more abrasive in tone than my usual content.
First, because the more our churches emphasize the fun, entertaining, and dramatic, the less we are preparing our congregations for the long and sometimes difficult journey of walking with God, hating sin, and loving others.
Second, and this is probably the heart of what I hope you have learned is that while I may have insinuated that the ordinary means of grace are boring, difficult, and a drudgery this could not be further from the truth. Yes, some parts of God’s Word are difficult to apply and to understand. But never stop being amazed that He is making you holy by speaking to you through His own Words. It’s an incredible, awe-inspiring, terrifying thought that the Bible we hold in our hands is how the ultimate being, full of glory, is speaking to us, teaching us, guiding us, humbling us.
I focused particularly on the Bible as a means of grace, but this goes for prayer, for the Word, for church fellowship, and for the sacraments as well. Christian, I beg you not to overlook or underestimate the amazing, incredible, sanctifying means of grace. Just as Naaman’ s servant said, ‘It is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?””
By ordinary means, God has promised to do extraordinary things with and to and by us. Let us not neglect the calling. Do not neglect the ordinary means of grace.
