A subject that I have been thinking about is how the love of the world affects our religion.  I have come to the tentative conclusion that there is a very insidious false religion that is best titled “Fire Insurance Christianity”.  What I mean by this is that a convert to “Fire Insurance Christianity” has said a prayer to become a Christian motivated by the desire to escape Hell.  The main difference between this and true Christianity is that the motivation to convert to true Christianity is to enter into a proper relationship with God.  A proper relationship with God is based on the understanding that the number one commandment, the primary desire of God for us, is that we love God with all of our heart/soul/strength/mind.  This is tied quite closely to the fact that He is our Lord.  The word ‘Lord’ is not a synonym for the word ‘God’.  If someone’s servant was to call them ‘Lord’ they would clearly not mean that they were a god, but rather they would be communicating their relationship with that person that they called ‘Lord’.

Fire Insurance Evangelism is evangelism that produces converts to Fire Insurance Christianity.  It is not I believe primarily done by Fire Insurance Christians.  I believe that mostly it is done by Christians who genuinely love God and people and who wish to serve God faithfully, but they have not thought through clearly the implications of the gospel message.  One example of this type of evangelism is preaching Romans 6:23 and ignoring Rom 6:22.  They teach that eternal life is a “free gift”.  They then explain that to receive a free gift you simply need to ask for it.  Well, they ignore the previous context, especially 6:22 which says that eternal life is the result of a process which comes out of right relationship with God (we have becomes slaves to God- New American Standard Version).

True evangelism (the message I am wrestling with) must, I believe, teach that the motivation to convert must be a desire to enter into a love relationship with the LORD.  It also must include that sin is first of all defined by not loving God, to neglect this and go straight to sin means doing things like breaking the 10 commandments leads to a “Fire Insurance” world view and very possibly to conversion to false religion.

Fire insurance Christians can look very much like true Christians.  They may study the Bible diligently, attend church religiously and preach many of the proper doctrines.  The parable of the wheat and the tares tells us that you can only know them by their fruits.  Church attendance is not one of the fruits that distinguishes the two types of religion.  You want to look for things like are they/you partaking in the great commission? Are they/you feeding the hungry?  Are they/you involved in visiting those in prison or hospitals? Look at the sermon on the mount which Jesus concluded 4 different ways, all of which tell us we need to take his teachings very seriously.  The true differences are in the heart, not in outward manifestations of course, but a right heart produces right actions. 

I believe that there are many Christians who are too much in love with the world and the lusts of the world to be considered true Christians.  In James it tells us that if we would be friends of the world we make ourselves enemies of God. In I John it tells us that if we love the world the love of God is not in us.  The parable of the sower teaches us that the love of the world or the fear of it will cause the Word of God to not produce fruit in our lives.  In the Sermon on the Mount we see that if the Word of God does not produce fruit in our lives then Jesus will tell us on “that day” to depart from Him, that He never knew us.

What I am really interested in the most is how should the gospel be preached so that it does not result in “Fire Insurance” Christians.  I believe that “Fire Insurance Christianity” inoculates people against True Christianity in a way that other false religions do not do.  Like inoculations against physical disease, inoculation against Christianity has the real thing, but in a dead or extremely weakened form.  The result is a false hope which destroys the necessary spiritual hunger to be truly converted.  How do we preach the true gospel in a way that will not give people a false hope but will actually lead people into the arms of Jesus?

Hi Daniel

What a thought provoking post.

Just a few of my scattered thoughts.

1) There is nothing new under the sun.

2) The story of the Rich young ruler

3) Serving God and money. (Mammon)

4) The message to the church in Laodecia

5) What about “Flood insurance Christians”? (Build your house upon the Rock)

Personally I battle love of the world issue’s vs. my love for Jesus daily, hourly, and even at times moment to moment.

My Lord, God, Saviour, Sheppard, Teacher, is also the Author and Finisher of my faith. He already paid the premium’s on my fire insurance policy.

Danny

Wow Dan Brown!

I agree that there are versions of “christianity” practiced by people that are powered by the greed of wanting heaven. The question was then “how do we teach our fellow men and women who God really is? And how do we help them understand that there is more to this religion thing than making sure we don’t get extinguished forever” I beleive that when God helps us understand his personality, and his unwaivering love for us...that we can’t help but want to be in a relationship with him. So now the question becomes “how do we teach people how important it is to study the bible, and to continually seek out who God really is?” The answer in my own opinion is to tell them (and support it with bible texts) that…

“knowing God, is Falling in Love forever...therefore know him! If you find yourself not reading the bible, not praying, not persuing that understanding of his character...you are doing a great injustice to yourself!”

To me, when I wrote it at 12:50 at night, this seems like the answer to your question. I think if we made sure christians had this in their understanding, we would get a lot more “Intercongregational Converts” people claiming faith would realize they had been mising out on a LOT, and most of us are...no! EVERYONE I know...is missing out in understanding who God really is, including myself. Your question, is helping me realize how shallow my own relationship with God currently is. I have heard it before but I am really realizing that the ETERNAL depths of Gods love are more than worth the effort of diving in.

Great thoughts in here…

What do you think about the concept/phrase “selfish righteousness”?  When I became a Christian, I started listening to all the prayers of people.  I heard the discussions of why people were going to church or why people were reading their Bibles and praying and often times there was a strong, yet subtle level of selfishness driving their thoughts.  Is this entirely wrong?  I mean, does God allow us to desire eternal life for selfish reason?  Is He dissappointed, frustrated, or disgusted every time we come to Him with a self-centered prayer? 

What are your thoughts? 

Pastor Matthew

I see what you are saying. I dont think he is disgusted, I think he fully understands how our human brains work. Here’s another question. Why do you love your mom? Or your wife? Is it selfish to want to hang around with them? (I want to be near my wife because I think she is a really cool person) I will benefit from being close to my wife, is that selfish?

My point was if we see who God is, much like when we want to spend time with a neat person, we will want to spend time with him.

But I guess I have to ask myself why God let us know about heaven. If we didnt know about it, our only motivation to be with him, would be him. I guess that has to do with letting us know that justice will be had...those who deserve punishment will have it (those who never asked for forgiveness) and those who took the narrow path with God will be rewarded. After all they may have had a really hard life because of their faith, and they are sinless because they DID ask for forgiveness..and they WERE forgiven. So they shouldnt have to die.

Here is a question relating to the first post by DanileBrown...Would it be wrong to have a spouse for the sole purpose of getting their money?

I think what he was saying in his post was we should want to love God because what he has done and will do for us is amazing and that makes him a really cool guy.

Thank you all for answering my prayer’s and need’s for something to study pray and meditate on. (is that selfish)

Why did any of us choose Jesus?

Why did the 12 apostles choose to follow Jesus? One could certainly argue that it was for worldly gain, power and position.
They believed that a worldly kingdom would be set up with them as the top dog’s. They even argued amongst themselves as to who was the lead top dog. Some even crying to their momma to talk to Jesus for them to help secure the best position!

Jesus called them just as they were,selfish crude and full of worldly desires. But by living and working and learning from Him they fell in love with Him and lost their love of what they thought He could do for them in this world. They gave up their self centered worldly frame of mind for a Jesus centered other oriented change of life.

Why did Abraham pack up all his stuff and leave the land of Ur? God called and offered some promises.

Why did the city of Ninevah survive and not be destroyed? They believed what God said through Jonah.

When my boy’s were infant’s they would cry until until Carol or I feed them, they would cry until Carol or I rocked them to sleep, they would cry until Carol or I comforted them, and they would cry until Carol or I changed their diaper. Were they being selfish? Were Carol or I being selfish for wanting some quiet? A mother and father fulfill those need’s and other need’s the child is not even aware of because of Love.

Our own need of the LOVE OF JESUS, that’s what we are all crying for. He gave it before we knew Him, gives it in the here and now as we live and learn from him and He promises more is coming in the future. I want it. I want other people to have it and want it. Is that selfish?

The Doubleday dictionary defines selfish as: Motivated by personnel need’s and desires to the disregard of the welfare or wishes of other’s.

I find it interesting that the very next word is, selfless: Having, showing, or prompted by a lack of concern for self.

Maybe when Jesus tell’s us he is the way the truth and the life, He’s leading us on the journey from selfish to selfless.

“Selfish Righteousness”. A definite contradiction in terms. My best understanding of the word righteousness is a right relationship with God. In a nutshell, this means that the righteous person is submitted to the desires of God, that God’s desires are their desires, that God’s interests are their interests. A righteous person is a person who’s mind, heart, strength and soul are committed to God rather than to their own self-interests. The term “selfish righteousness” is a contradiction in terms. What God requires sounds harsh to the natural man, but what the natural man does not understand is the Goodness of God. Our natural man, our “old self” as the NASB puts in Colassians 3, is very confused as to what is actually best for him. If a person truly knew what was in their own best interests their desires would line up with the desires of God, because God is truly Good.

Peoples prayer and “Selfish Righteousness”. I visited a church recently in which the sermon referred frequently to the fact that God wants them healthy. A dominate idea was that people see very little of God’s power in their life because they lack faith, that people need to strengthen their faith and then they will see God’s power to heal (and make wealthy and wise). What came to my mind is James 4:3. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” Most of those involved in church in our country are still very much centered on their own narrow life and still in love with the things of the world. It looks to me like God is very unlikely to answer prayers for physical healing when the purpose of that healing is to continue to use their strength for pursuit of worldly desires. I John 2:15 tells us “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It is our prayers that are centered on the will of God which God will honor. I John 5:14- “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

“Does God allow us to desire eternal life for selfish reason?” It looks to me like the tricky part of this question is that eternal life is an area where God’s desires for us are starting to line up with our desires for us. Neither God nor I want me to suffer everlasting torment in Hell. This is a tough call. My tentative answer is that we teach people to pray for a right relationship with God but hold off on offering them assurance that they are “saved”. In the parable of the sower it looks to me that there are people in whom the word of God was planted, but they never produce fruit. I tentatively believe that they are not saved, that soil types two and three people will be told, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you you who practice lawlessness.” For these people to be told that they have eternal life is very dangerous, it can quench the spiritual thirst that may draw them on to true salvation.

How many Churches have you been to D.B.? I know you visited numerous ones in your travels, but if you could make a guess (out of curiosity)

It is because you have been to such a variety of churches that I put credibility in your words as you say that your point of view is that most christians are “insurance driven”. No one wants to go to “Hell” in any way it has been described. To me they would have to be thinking “I am worried that this God thing is real, if it is...then I don’t want to go to hell” Which is about the smallest amount of faith you can have, I have been there...I have thought the thought

“If I live a life of sin and I’m wrong (that there is no God) then I’m in trouble, so I’ll try to find out if he is real”
I have also heard “If there is a God I guess I had better go to church”

While this is not the most healthy form of religion, it IS better than none...why do I say that? Because it DOES put someone in a seeking attitude. So I disagree that we should criticize people for their weak faith, critiscism is going to have a negative effect on someones faith. I have been there too, I was having a weak time in my walk with God and another christian told me to “get right” with him. He was rude enough about it that I realized that some christians can be huge jerks sometimes. I almost decided outright that if that was a reflection of the face of God that God must not be very loving.

But when I was thinkig about it later, I knew I had learned that people’s attitudes can get in the way of God and his love and that Satan uses christians especially well at preventing strong bonds with God, I have experienced this and heard stories of this many many times...and its totally a sad situation. I wonder how often I myself have let my ego or my need to be “right” interfere with my communication, so that it left my friend feeling negatively about my beleifs.

Something just crossed my mind… Fire insurance christianity “If I go to church, I will be in heaven” is preached by pastors...and is not true....... Satan uses these and many other pastors to teach slanted lessons about releigon, bad theology, and greed based God following...so it would probably be better for members in their congregations to not even attend church. WHY? Then these misled people won’t venture out trying to correct the “Lost” masses with their opinions and repulsive judgementalness. Am I being Judgemental right now?

YES

SHOOT

See how easy it is for us to indulge in feeling like we have it right? I am underqualified to be telling you this. I have cited not bible texts in here so far, people who use TONS of bible texts (not just one) are the ones I trust. Someone calling them self a pastor is not someone to automatically trust, in my opinion (see now ill say that its my opinion incase im wrong then people wont get mad at me for saying something is true that they personally dont think IS true).

I had a pastor that seemed perfect. He was a vegetarian, he had a beautiful wife and kids who were all talented muscisians, he always smiled during the sermon, and his hair was always a perfect soft cloud, sculpted, like the breath of an infant exhaling on a chilly spring morn. I disliked him, he would mispronounce things during his sermons and never acknowledged it, or corrected it. Slaughtering your words is not anything bad, but to me it was like the truth bubbling to the surface. That he was an imperfect man, a sinner like I was but his willingness to hide the fact that he was a messed up lustfull sinner from the congregation also made him a liar. NO ONE BUT JESUS is sinless (for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God [thats from the bible]). For me it was impossible to relate to him, and he scared me because he seemed like he probably had so many secrets.

I want the truth. I want to Love people. I want to live in a way that shows the difference between “right” and “Kind”, I want people I meet who MAY BE “Fire Insurance Christians” to see me and realize that they are missing out!

If you look up AKA LOST and or Off The Map this is the message that they are promoting as “the Revolution”

DanielBrown - 20 November 2006 02:40 PM

“For these people to be told that they have eternal life is very dangerous, it can quench the spiritual thirst that may draw them on to true salvation.

I think your right that it can lead them further from the truth, and further from definitely being saved. But I think it doesn’t “Quench” the spiritual thirst rather to me it gives them a lie to believe so they don’t think they have to (laboriously) look it up for themselves. I think its really a problem of laziness, taught by our entire country and most of our churches. So pastors and teachers of America…

Tell us what it REALLY takes to find out the truth about the world in which we live. And help us.......

I take back that call to a new paradigm. I will practice that which I preach.

If you are reading this. Pick up a bible for once, and don’t put it down until you LOVE our Gracious-Loving-Heavenly-Father more than ever. To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:(that’s you)

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. REV 3:14

Our biggest problem (I believe) is complacency, lack of willingness to do some old fashioned bible study (Using a computer bible DOES count) as a result we wait for other HUMANS to TELL us what to believe, humans are hardly trustworthy. Look it up for yourself. (Now ask yourself the question “am I ACTUALLY going to change? Am I actually going to do this?” the answer is...no? That’s what I am talking about. Complacency. I must say if you are one who DOES read their bible, congratulations you must have something else to work on...and Im jealous of your ambition and commitment.

Hmm. I like this post. Thanks for sharing this. It’s very well thought.

Regards,
Burke
Ordinateur portable pas cher

Wow!!!!!!!!!
What a great thought. I agree that there are versions of Christianity. Very well said.
Thank you all for sharing your views.