In our last post we evaluated the process of faith deconstruction, concluding that it is not a helpful method for trying to reconstruct a faith impacted by crisis. In this post we want to look at a contemporary example of a Christian who had a crisis of faith and found his way back. My hope is this series of posts have helped readers who are in faith crisis or those who want to help others.
Reconstructing faith.
As we loop back to our main text at 2 Timothy 4:5-8, after Paul has warned Timothy of what will be mass defection by alleged professors of the faith, he gives this exhortation in 2 Timothy 4:5-8
“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
This urges us to run the race and finish strong. What happens when our faith is in crisis? Let’s look at someone in fairly recent times, a Bible-believing Christian who influenced a whole generation for decades – Francis Schaeffer.
A man who reconstructed a shattered
faith.
This
case study will recall Schaeffer’s own crisis of faith in 1951 when he and his
wife Edith were living in Switzerland, what he experienced, and the steps taken
to put the pieces back together and to be stronger in one’s faith [two main
sources for my case study are these: Edith Schaeffer. “The Tapestry”. W Pub
Group. 1985, and Francis Schaeffer. “True Spirituality”. 1971. Tyndale House Publishers].
Schaeffer remarked how the coldness and staleness of the churches contrasted
with the vitality and love for Christ he saw in the New Testament. This challenged his faith.
In her book “The Tapestry”, Edith notes her husband’s words:
“Edith, I feel torn to pieces by the lack of reality, the lack of seeing the results the Bible talks about, which should be seen in the Lord’s people. I’m not only talking about people I’m working with in the movement. I’m not satisfied with myself. It seems the only honest thing to do is to rethink, re-examine the whole matter of Christianity. Is it true? I need to go back to my Agnosticism and start at the beginning.”
As
one reads the preface to “True Spirituality” and Edith Schaeffer’s “The Tapestry”,
five steps to reconstructing faith were discernable from Francis Schaeffer. As
I list these in the prepared slides below, we can not how the following verses of Scripture aided Schaeffer back to a
stronger faith (Ps 13; Ps 88; Jer. 29:13; Luke 11:9).
In her “Tapestry”, Edith Schaeffer closed Her recollections with this poem penned by Schaeffer after his crisis of faith.
Conclusions.
In this series we’ve looked at faith deconstruction and how to reconstruct a faith in crisis. One path leads to spiritual death, the other to a stronger faith. Let us finish with final thoughts.
1. First, not everyone who professes faith in Christ necessarily possesses faith in Christ. Assurance of one’s genuineness of faith is found in Christ Himself as the objective anchor (Hebrews 6:19-20).
2. Secondly, do I love Him for Him? Is He the joy of my heart? (1 Peter 1:8).
3. Thirdly, are my actions and thoughts overall curved Christ-wardly or only me-wardly (2 Corinthians 13:5)?
4. Fourth, if you have a loved-one who is undergoing faith deconstruction, be prayerful, be patient, don’t take it personal, be prayerful, and don’t quit loving that person.
5. Lastly, don’t give up the above, since we cannot be certain who is ultimately apostate and who is not. All we can do is live the Gospel, share the Gospel, and leave the results up to God.
