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5 Hidden Dangers that Corrode Faith

For most believers, the greatest danger to faith is not some cataclysmic event that dramatically pushes them away from God.

Rather, it’s the slow, gradual dulling of their hearts toward Him. They lose all ability to “see” God, to perceive His activity on Earth.

The author of Hebrews enumerates five such dangers:

1. Division (Heb 12:14) 

Division and strife have a way of making us forget all about the Kingdom of God. Someone offends us, and our pride gets riled up—we are consumed with our rights and our interests.

The author of Hebrews encourages us to “seek peace,” which means we are to be the first to offer forgiveness, even when wronged. It means we take the towel and wash the feet of those in conflict with us, like Christ did. It means we serve our “enemies” and seek their well-being.

This has a way of immediately renewing our commitment to the Kingdom of Christ. Humility in service and forgiveness is a grace God gives us to renew our faith.

2. Worldliness (Heb 12:14)

The author of Hebrews tells us to pursue holiness, a word the Hebrews used to describe both God’s absolute perfection and “otherness.” The opposite of holiness is worldliness (which means both a toleration of impurity as well as a fixation on material things). When our minds are saturated with worldly pursuits, we will never be able to “see” God.

The Greek word for “pursue” literally means “persecute” or “hunt.” We are supposed to hunt it down relentlessly. Think Jason Bourne. As Charles Spurgeon said:

“You will never gain holiness by standing still. Nobody ever grew holy without agonizing to be holy. Sin will grow without sowing, but holiness needs cultivation. Follow it; it will not run after you. You must pursue it with determination, with eagerness, with perseverance, as a hunter pursues its prey.”

This doesn’t come any more naturally to me than it does to you. I have to discipline myself to read the Bible, to memorize Scripture, to listen to good podcasts, read good books, and be in accountability where I confess my sins. I hear a lot of objections from people that they are “too busy” to read Christian books that stoke their faith. You would be surprised what you can accomplish if you set aside 15 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes a night. The greatest danger to most Christians’ faith is not a Richard Dawkins book but the slow rot of American Idol (which isn’t necessarily wrong in and of itself). Distraction is usually a more effective weapon against our faith than unbelief.

Worldliness slowly destroys our ability even to “see” God, i.e. to perceive by faith His beauty and activity on Earth.