Why do some people lose their faith?
There are many factors that cause some to walk away from their Christian faith or A Faith driven Church
I believe that these three are the most obvious.
SIN is the first and foremost example. In fact, all of the reasons one would deny the faith are sin, but here I am thinking of a person who wishes to continue to sin against God.
One such example is the friend of the Apostle Paul, Demas.
We read in 2 Timothy 4:10
"For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me.”
One could not have a greater teacher, mentor or example that the Apostle Paul, yet for Demas, the lure of sin was so strong that he left Paul’s side to continue in whatever worldly practices to which he was lured.
PERSECUTION or TRIALS are another reason that some walk away. Jesus spoke of this as the “seed that fell in the rocky soil.”
Matthew 13:20–21 "[the rocky soil] is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away." (No root, No back bone, no heart )
A third reason some fall away is PRESSURE from the WORLD.
Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
By the renewing of your mind.—“The mind” (i.e., the mental faculties, reason, or understanding) is in itself neutral. When informed by an evil principle, it becomes an instrument of evil; (here lay the issues informed by evil principle) even in serving are Lord an Savior, people are full of bad information, as soon you try to get close to God & Surrender those bad evil information begins to appear.
When informed by the Spirit, it is an instrument of good. It performs the process of discrimination between good and evil, and so supplies the data to conscience. “The mind” here is not strictly identical with what we now mean by “conscience;” it is, as it were, the rational part of conscience, to which the moral quality needs to be superadded. The “renewed mind,” or the mind acting under the influence of the Spirit, comes very near to “conscience”
How can I keep my faith from faltering when there is so much pressure from the world?
The Pressure can be GREAT! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego experienced a tremendous amount of pressure to bow down and worship the statute of Nebuchadnezzar.
Their dilemma is similar to the pressure that we are facing today. No one is asking us to bow down to a gold statute.
No, we are just asked to bow down to the thinking and practices of everyone around us.
The pressure comes with challenges like.....
“Everyone is doing it.”
“Even some Christians are doing it.”
“If you stand out too much, you will lose family or friends and face ridicule.”
In America, the pressure is to conform to our society. But in other parts of the world, the pressure is much more like that faced by the three Hebrew men in Daniel 3.
Christians today are facing the threat of death if they insist on remaining faithful to Christ.
The gods of our day cry out to be embraced in our minds and actions.
The gods of:
Tolerance The word tolerant means liberal and broad-minded. In one sense, it implies the compromise of one’s convictions, a yielding of ground upon important issues.
We have become tolerant about divorce, the use of alcohol, delinquency, wickedness in high places, immorality, crime and godlessness. We have been sapped of conviction, drained of our beliefs, and we are bereft of our faith.
Pleasure at all cost
Self-worship
Victimization
Unrestrained sexual fulfillment outside of marriage
Nebuchadnezzar’s Image was a DIRECT ATTACK against God!
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego aware of the danger, would not BOW DOWN!
Read Daniel 3 for your own read
