Impossible Christianity
Impossible Christianity: Why Following Jesus Does Not Mean You Have to Change the World, Be an Expert in Everything, Accept Spiritual Failure, and Feel Miserable Pretty Much All the Time
By: Kevin DeYoung
“This book is about how the line ‘how God loves us even though we are spiritual failures’, however well-intentioned is unbiblical, inaccurate, and unhelpful.”
“God does not mean for Christianity to be impossible.”
This little book is a great read!
Especially for those who feel like the subtitle suggests: guilty about how little they’re changing the world, how little they know, how much they mess up, how much money they have, and think they’re doing a terrible job at being a Christian.
It reminded me a lot of Jared Wilson’s book The Imperfect Disciple which is also very good.
I love Kevin DeYoung’s books because they are always easy to read, easy to understand, and really seem to ‘get’ where the average Christian is at in their walk with the Lord. There is nothing radical about this book that pushes you into further guilt; it’s about showing how Christianity is possible. We can get to heaven and hear the words ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’
He says about this book: “This book isn’t about getting to heaven. This book is about whether on our way to heaven we are doomed to a life of guilt, impossible standards, and failure.”
It’s not that following Christ is easy, but when we are so wrapped in guilt and the impossibility of the tasks before us, we’re more likely to sit and wallow rather than rise up. We will “do less for Christ” not more.
Even though I’m pretty aware of the popularity of assigning guilt to people in almost everything these days, I think I hadn’t really reflected on the guilt I was burdening myself with in my spiritual life.
To me, it was just part of being a Christian (and of not being prideful) to live in the place where ‘I never pray enough. I never evangelize enough. I never give enough. It’s just never enough. I could always do more, and that’s just part of being a sinner and a Christian.’
DeYoung pulls out all kinds of Scripture to show us that though we won’t be perfectly good or perfectly obedient, we can be TRULY good and obedient. That God can be pleased with us right here and now on Earth, even before we attain our glorified, perfect selves.
What an encouragement!
And a good reminder not to make little of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.
“We’ve convinced ourselves that true piety means the acceptance of spiritual failure, but we can all think of parents or pastors, or friends or family members, or missionaries or grandmothers who lived like good and faithful servants. They were champions for Christ, not punching bags for God’s disappointment.”
We’ve seen it in others, we, too, can be faithful servants of the Lord. And it doesn’t require perfection.
This book is not to excuse us from ever trying; it’s not fatalistic.
“There are some who should doubt, but not those who desire holiness, hate their sin, and flee to Christ.”
He quotes some from Hebrews which was fitting considering I just finished a Jen Wilkin’s study on Hebrews where we looked at the Hall of Faith (Chap 11) that lists all the people in the Old Testament that were counted as faithful. Both Wilkin and DeYoung pointed out what a mixed bag of ‘faithful servants’ there are.
“We have liars, cheats, doubters, braggarts, prostitutes, murderers, and adulterers.”
“And yet Scripture presents each one as commendable, not because their sins should be glossed over, but because, by faith in the promises of God, they did mighty deeds.”
We don’t have to wonder if our failures disqualify us from living faithful lives.
Hebrews 13:16 says “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Romans 12:1 says “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
We can present our offering of worship and a faithful life of obedience to God and it is acceptable and pleasing to him today.
DeYoung reminds us that God didn’t set us up for failure. He didn’t give us all of Scripture to show how we will always be sinning failures who are hopeless to please him. Christianity is not impossible.
Of course, we can’t do anything without the Holy Spirit. But we DO have him, and so we CAN please the Lord just like Abel did with his offering, just like Noah and Abraham and David and Moses.
He also reminds us that we can do something, but we can’t do EVERYTHING. God has given us very real limits. We are not failing at being Christians when we haven’t corrected all the unjust systems, adopted all the orphans, or given money to all the hurricane victims. We have physical boundaries, financial boundaries, time boundaries, emotional boundaries. We are indeed called to serve those around us, our neighbors on the side of the road; but we are not necessarily called to serve all the neighbors on the side of every road.
“God may ask me to change my priorities. He does not ask me to change the world.”
I really liked the last chapter of the book called ‘A Quiet Life.’
“One of the great disservices we have done the church is to let people think that getting married, having children, staying married, taking those children to church, teaching those children about the faith, buying shoes, and training those children to be kind and courageous Christian adults is something other than radical discipleship. If we too are ‘exiles’ (1 Pt 1:1), then Jeremiah’s counsel to the Jews in Babylon is good advice for us as well: settle down, raise a family, and seek the welfare of your temporary home. (Jer 29:4-7)”
Raising a family is not nothing. It is a big something.
In 1 Tim 2:1-2 Paul urges them to pray “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
There are going to be some people out there with David Platt’s ‘Radical’ evangelism and Bob Goff’s radical resources to do some major work for the kingdom. That is not wrong. But we don’t have to feel guilty if it’s not us.
God calls us to be faithful with what we have, where we are. To be faithful with little that we would be faithful with much.
A quiet life may seem small and simple, but if it’s a faithful quiet life of integrity, we can be commended like those in the hall of faith. ‘Small’ things are big in the hands of a big God.
As a stay-at-home mom, I’m battling the sentiment that I’ve ‘settled’ (in a negative way) and that I’ve given up my dreams and that I should be doing more, working more, or what have you; that my life isn’t big enough or loud enough. But those sentiments are not from the mouth of God. (I wrote more about that HERE.)
He may call me to something more than this, but this is more than enough for him.
Recommendation
This is definitely a book I would recommend. It’s short and could probably be read in one or two sittings. It’s accessible, relatable, and important.
It is a book meant to fuel and lift up your faithful living. It will reorient your perspective on the things that burden you with guilt. The Christian life is not a life meant to be spent in guilt. Jesus died for that.
Christianity is not impossible. Let Kevin DeYoung tell ya about it!
P.S. The cover image is a maze that is impossible to solve. Don't ask me how I know.
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