The Balanced Christian - “Both… And…”

By Roger Morris.

 

In 1975, well respected British theologian John R.W. Stott wrote a powerful and timely little book entitled Balanced Christianity - A Call To Avoid Unnecessary Polarisation (Hodder & Stoughton, London). In this book of forty-eight pages, Stott was concerned to draw attention to what he called “one of the great tragedies of contemporary Christendom”. This tragedy was “polarisation” of the Christian Church - the division into two extreme and contrasting positions. Stott then went on to elaborate on four aspects of this apparent polarisation amongst Christians:

* INTELLECT AND EMOTION

* CONSERVATIVE AND RADICAL

* FORM AND FREEDOM

* EVANGELISM AND SOCIAL ACTION

 

Stott’s main thesis in the following discussion is summarised by his quote:

 

“One of the greatest weaknesses which we Christians (especially evangelical Christians) display is our tendency to extremism or imbalance. It seems that there is almost no pastime the devil enjoys more than tipping Christians off balance.

My conviction is that we should love balance as much as the devil hates it, and seek to promote it as vigorously as he seeks to destroy it.”

 

I am not a regular or enthusiastic journaler, but almost exactly one year ago I briefly jotted down my thoughts on the attributes of the most dangerous and effective type of Christian believer - the one I am striving to be and the one I am working towards - the BALANCED CHRISTIAN.

 

WHAT IS A BALANCED CHRISTIAN?

The balanced Christian is the believer who manages to embrace aspects of the polarised extremes and hold them together in sometimes uncomfortable tension, while successfully occupying the “radical middle”. I call this kind of Christian “dangerous” because they are well versed and well aware of what occupies each extreme, and somehow manage to take the best from both, while leaving the crud behind at the poles. By inhabiting the extreme poles, the “unbalanced” Christian limits their knowledge and their influence, while maintaining a narrow and restricted view of the magnificent historic Christian faith.

Examples of the two extremes that the Balanced Christian learns to hold in tension include:

 

* WORD AND SPIRIT

* HEAD AND HEART

* PURITAN AND MYSTIC

* CORRECT DOCTRINE AND  SPIRITUAL FORMATION

* MIND/INTELLECT AND SOUL/SPIRIT

* THEOLOGY AND PIETY

* OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE

 

So many times, Christians can major in one of these two aspects of the Christian faith, while neglecting or sometimes actively rejecting the other. Quite correctly, many Christians are determined to grasp hold of the truth, correct doctrine and good theology, and devote their lives to meticulous study of the Scriptures. They may have all the answers and may be able to argue any point of theology with finesse, but somewhere along the way the have neglected or rejected the inner man, the experiential spiritual element of their relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The faith and spiritual walk of this type of Christian can become dry, arid and cold. They know ABOUT God, by they have failed to come to truly KNOW God personally. Their faith is purely Word, purely head, puritanical, purely about correct doctrine and good theology, and coldly intellectual. They are right, they are correct, they are meticulously and enviably accurate - but they have not been transformed. They are at real risk of spiritual burn-out, exhaustion, depression and eventually apostacy. Sometimes it is this type of overly intellectual Christian, when apostate, who becomes the most vigorous and aggressive critic of Christianity.

At the other extreme, some Christians may be so determined and so enthusiastic to experience the emotional buzz of the spiritual, that they go looking for this subjective spiritual experience at the expense of the other side of the coin. These Christians become addicted to experiencing what they believe (or are told) is the moving and workings of the Holy Spirit. Of course, we all know of examples of this type of Christian, who often inhabit pentecostal and “charismatic” churches. These Christians are so focussed on experiencing the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit, exercising spiritual gifts and living within the supernatural and the “prophetic”, that they ignore or consciously reject the Word, correct doctrine, good theology, the intellect and the life of the Christian mind. Their faith is purely mystical, purely subjective, purely heart-driven and purely experiential. These Christians can be all hype, all froth and bubble, but no substance. As a result, they can easily fall away from the Christian faith, particularly when the extreme feelings wear off and the emotional buzz leaves them, as it inevitably does. These Christians are substantially weakened by their rejection of the life of the Christian mind and Christian scholarship. They are therefore prone to false teaching (think Prosperity Gospel) and in extreme cases, are prone to potentially dangerous deviation from the biblical Christian faith in the search new spiritual experience and buzz. At this extreme point, these Christians may become apostate and syncretistic in their beliefs, as they mistakenly combine Christianity with other mystical spiritual teachings - Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age teachings (think some Emergent Christians, Christian Gnostics and pluralists).

By inhabiting the two extremes, these Christians  - the overly objective intellectual and the overly subjective experiential - become at best narrow, limited and weakened in their Christian faith, and at worst slide off the extreme ends altogether into false teaching and apostacy. Only the Balanced Christian who manages to hold the two extremes in tension, and occupy the radical middle, can effectively live out the Christian life in maturity and power.

 

HOW TO BECOME A BALANCED CHRISTIAN

1. Occupy the radical middle of the Christian spectrum, holding in tension the two extreme poles of the spectrum, accepting and practising the biblical and most effective elements of each extreme. Reject what is unbiblical and unhelpful in the extreme positions.

2. Be sure to cultivate the life of the Christian mind. Pursue Christian scholarship, either formally or informally. Read God’s Word constantly and think about what you are reading, with the illumination of the Spirit. Understand the context and the historical background of Scripture. Read everything you can get your hands on about the Christian faith, the history of the Christian Church, and the history of the development of Christian theology, Christian doctrine and Christian thought. Become conversant with Christian apologetic methods, styles and arguments. Learn about the Canon and how it developed. Learn what was rejected during the development of the Christian canon, when it was rejected and why. Learn how the learned Christian faith interfaces with philosophy, with culture and with modern science. Become conversant with common arguments against and criticisms of the Christian faith, and learn how to respond in an intelligent and thoughtful manner. Learn what a “circular argument” is, and learn how to avoid it when defending the Christian faith. Study, study, study. Learn, learn, learn. Never stop studying and learning about the Christian faith. Develop the life of the Christian mind.

3. Be sure to cultivate the life of the spirit. Engage in Christian spiritual formation practices. Remember that the Christian faith is not just a set of truth claims and correct doctine to assent to intellectually and to defend apologetically. The Christian faith is an individual and corporate relationship with the Triune God, the Living God. Develop your relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Develop your understanding of who you are as a Child of God, and how you have been set free from the shackles of sin and death by the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Learn to hear the voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit through times of quiet reflection, devotional reading and contemplation of God’s Word. Pray at all times and without ceasing. Realise that failing to develop the personal, relational and experiential side of your faith will leave you open to spiritual burn-out, exhaustion and spiritual dryness. Without constantly and repeatedly plugging ourselves into the Source, our internal spiritual energies with gradually wind down. Learn how to walk in, by and with the Holy Spirit. Develop the life in the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

If you are a Christian, where on this spectrum do you find yourself? If you recognise that you are at either extreme of the Christian spectrum  - objective intellectual or subjective experiential - I issue you a challenge. Take steps now to move to the radical middle, to the region of the Balanced Christian. Aim to be a Christian who is both… and…

Only there can a Christian reach full maturity. Only there can a Christian be most dangerous.