by Mike Ratliff
17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; Ephesians 4:17-18 (NASB)
Genuine Christianity is that which is within the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Christians are commanded to work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) within that Lordship. We are to obey our Lord as branches abiding in the True Vine (John 15). How do we practically do this? We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, that is, with every thought, intent, and action taken captive to the will of God. We do this by approaching and living life with God at the center of all things instead of ourselves. In the passage above, (Ephesians 4:17-18) we see the opposite way to walk and the outcome of that. Unfortunately, that is how most professing believers approach this life, that is, in functional unbelief.
Unbelief is rooted in neutralist thinking. The demand for neutrality in our scholarly, apologetically, or educational endeavors actually robs one of all the treasure of knowledge that exists. The actual act of taking a neutral approach to knowledge has been demonstrated to be immoral in character. Some may protest that, but it has been shown repeatedly that those who slide into this allow their Christian distinctives to be muffled and finally integrated into the rebellious ways of an unbelieving mind-set. It is impossible for the genuine Christian to be neutral in his or her intellectual life. Why? This neutrality in a Christian would call for dual commitment: one to secular agnosticism, one to saving faith. It is would be what our Lord called “serving two masters.”
Those who are outside of a saving relationship to God, when they follow the intellectual methods mired in unbelief, are actually doing so in the futility of their minds and are darkened in their understanding. Neutralist thinking is, therefore, characterized by intellectual futility and ignorance. Contrast that with Psalm 36:9.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light. Psalms 36:9 (NASB)
True Christians in God’s light are able to see light. There a boatloads of highly educated people with a many letters after their names who can call themselves scholars, but if they have turned away from intellectual dependence upon the light of God, the truth about and from God, they have actually turned away from knowledge to the darkness of ignorance. I am sure we could come up with many lists of names to fit this category. Those professing Christians who desire to begin their scholarly endeavors from a position of neutrality are thus willing to begin their thinking in the dark. They would not allow God’s Word to be a light unto their path (cf. Psalm 119:105). To walk on in neutrality would be stumbling along in darkness.
The Christian who strives for neutrality in the world of thought is (1) not neutral, and thus (2) in danger of unwittingly endorsing assumptions that are hostile to the Christian faith. The pressure to be neutral causes professing Christians to actually compromise while they never actually realize they are doing so. They may believe that their intellectual neutrality is compatible with a Christian profession, but actually, they are operating in terms of unbelief. Why is this so? If the believer caught in this trap refuses to presuppose the truth of Christ, he or she invariably ends up presupposing the outlook of the world instead. Remember, our Lord made it clear that we cannot serve two masters. No one is truly neutral. All have their presuppositions. Shall your presuppositions be the teachings of Christ or the opposite, which are nothing more than vain deceptions?
Choose this day whom you will serve!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Possessing the Treasure 