The Real Fanatics

Mark Dunagan
08/10/08 - Sunday Evening

I don"t mind people thinking that since I am a Christian and take the Bible seriously that I am a fanatic, but before I discuss joyful fanatics(Christians), I want to spend some time reminding both non-Christians and Christians that there are people far more fanatical in their beliefs than believers in Christ.

• It really isn't that fanatical to believe that God created the world, even in six days, for an all-powerful God could create the universe in six seconds if He had so desired. Yet it is definitely fanatical to believe everything in the universe came from nothing and that life came from non-life.

• One is not an extremist for believing that the Bible is the infallible word of God, for a loving God would communicate with mankind, and such a God has the ability to communicate in a way that every person could understand (Matthew 28:18-20). Yet it is fanatical to believe that God does not exist, (for the physical evidence in creation is so abundant Romans 1:20), or that God would not communicate His will to finite and fallible creatures.

• Some might feel that is it extreme to believe that the Bible is free from error and has not been corrupted, yet an all-powerful God definitely has the ability to author an infallible document and preserve it from corruption throughout the ages (1 Peter 1:23-25). To argue that God could not protect His word from corruption is an extreme and illogical position to hold.

• It is not that fanatical to believe that the author of marriage (Genesis 2:18-24) knows best how the arrangement should be governed. It is fanatical to argue that the author and designer of the marriage relationship does not know what He is talking about and that man can tinker with, corrupt and even completely ignore the relationship without any negative consequences.

So when people hear that I believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God and the final authority, some think say, "Mark you are crazy", but I am in good company, "Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad" (Acts 26:24); "He has a demon" (Matthew 11:18). God reminds us that Christian's aren't the crazy ones, rather:

• Anyone who denies God's existence is a nut (Psalms 14:1).

• Anyone who is unprepared for death and eternity is a fool (Luke 12:20).

• Anyone who lives for the moment and puts mere earthly pleasures ahead of what is true is insane (Luke 15:17 "He came to his senses").

• So is it crazy for anyone to elevate his or her feelings over Scripture and decides to follow one"s heart instead of an all-wise God (Proverbs 28:26).

Joyful Fanatics

"Here is a question for you: Is it possible to be too excited about Jesus? (Are you personally in any danger of that?) Possible to go off the deep end and think about Him overmuch? To rejoice beyond propriety? To talk about Him as freely as a football game? To have an almost giddy confidence in what He will do next? To fast and pray for deeper life with Him? To be overly preoccupied with evangelism?" (Won"t Let You Go Unless You Bless Me, Andree Seu, p. 105).

Overly Righteous?

Like me you have probably encountered Ecclesiastes 7:16, which reads, "Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?" I wonder if you and I have subconsciously tucked this passage away and used it as justification for not praying more, loving God more, reading Scripture more or talking more about God to others. Obviously, the passage never meant that God"s people are to tone down their enthusiasm for God. The same Bible that contains this passage also says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). For a long time I never noticed in Ecclesiastes 7:16 that the verse contained not only the word righteous but also the word wise. I became so focused on the word righteous that I did not even see the word wise. Excessive righteousness is the same as boasted and over-confident wisdom. That is, both have ceased to be truerighteousness and true wisdom. Arrogant wisdom is in the same category as self or perverted righteousness. Hence it is not unhealthy to be wholly dedicated to true righteousness or true wisdom (Matthew 5:20). In the context, the word "excessively" describes the attitude of the person who thinks serving God will magically protect him or her from all harm, the person who is depending upon his or her service to God as being the means of securing for themselves material blessings and material rewards - the person who views Christianity as a means of material gain (1 Timothy 6:5). This type of perverted Christianity, just like a wisdom that fosters pride, can be very destructive. The person who thinks that God will never let anything bad happen to them as long as they are keeping all His commandments, is first of all serving God for the wrong reason, and secondly, will be sadly disappointed. Often, such a person becomes an unbeliever or a cynic after a trial or tragedy.

No Limit

Not only does the Bible command a love for God that transcends and surpasses all other loves, to the point that those loves really pale in comparison (Luke 14:26), it equally teaches the unlimited nature of other virtues and acts as well:

• Prayer: "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

• Joy: "Rejoice always" (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

• Gratitude: "In everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

• Spiritual discernment: "Examine everything carefully" (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

• Morality: "Abstain from every form of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

• The Fruit of the Spirit: "Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:23).

• Evangelism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15).

Avoid Redefining and Lowering Your Standards

"Because I never had real joy. I"d learned to redefine "joy" in the Bible as an abstraction. Because I had no real faith, I took "faith" in the Bible as poetic, metaphorical. I had no real "abundant life" to speak of, and so was forced to make the term a figure of speech" (Seu p. 107). In life you will meet many people who instead of simply trusting what God has said, opted to settle for either a faint image of the real thing or a complete counterfeit.

The Pearl Merchant

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeing fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).

• Some might view this man as a "fanatic" — yet one crucial difference between the wise man and a foolish man is what you purchase when you sell all. And in a sense, many people, if not all, do sell all. The person who is following their feelings instead of Scripture, isbanking everything on feelings — they have sold all. The Evolutionist places all his or her chips on what some scientists say. Others are betting everything on the fantasy that God will change His mind or that contrary to Scripture, hell does not really exist, or everyone will have a second chance.

• When we do sell all, in a sense, we are selling all our second-rate prizes, all the things we used to be "crazy about", all lesser loves, for what is the ultimate reality.

• When Paul said, "Christ, who is our life" (Colossians 3:4), and "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians), such makes perfect sense because Christ is the ultimate (John 1:1).

• There is nothing foolish about selling everything for the truth.

2 Corinthians 5:13 "If we are beside ourselves"

This probably refers to "the fervor of the apostle, his absorption in his work, his visions, his indifference to externals, his bursts of emotion"(P.P. Comm. p. 121). "In this difficult verse Paul seems to be telling the Corinthians that they should gladly rally to his defense if only because, in all his dealings with them, he had never shown any sign of wishing to please himself. They had seen him in many moods. Sometimes, he spoke at their meetings under the stress of great spiritual emotion. At other times he was quietly and soberly engaged in instructing and exhorting his converts but always for their benefit." (Tasker p. 84). "His friends therefore could answer his enemies thus: "Viewed in one aspect, Paul"s life is wholly devoted to the glory of God, and viewed in another it is utterly sacrificed for us and our salvation" (McGarvey p. 196). The lukewarm among God's people and unbelievers are often offended or embarrassed concerning those Christians who are zealous to do God's work. One would think that the world would appreciate such diligent workers, if not catch such zeal themselves.

Steps Toward Catching The Fever

• Understand how much you have been forgiven. The person who realizes they have been forgiven much, will love much (Luke 7:47).

• Spend more time dwelling on God"s great love for you. Spend more time at the foot of the cross (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

• Contemplate the eternal glory that God is wanting to give you, "And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). Seu observes, "Try overdoing this verse if you can" (p. 108). Inexpressible joy is a joy that one can never exhaust. One might have greatly rejoiced yesterday but the joy isn't spent, one still has a tremendous reserve.