Apathy - The Cause...Unbelief.

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily,
while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness
of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end;

- Hebrews 3:12-14

As I searched the scriptures and looked to see what the cause of apathy is…I spent some time battling it myself. Ever since I started this task of breaking down the enemy’s tactics, I found myself battling the very thing that I was determined to expose.

As I was contemplating in my mind the cause of apathy, I asked myself some questions. “Why do you not share your faith with the lost as much as you should”? Fear…maybe. But then I thought about my mother-in-law who drove eight hours to our house when she was battling depression and her own fears about driving to see her daughter who was in unbearable pain after getting a spinal tap. Love conquers fear. But what if the spinal tap didn’t exist? Then there would be no reason to drive. So what if there was no hell? Then there would be no reason to witness. If there was no sickness, there would be no reason for the cure.

What is Unbelief?
Unbelief (Strong’s #570, apistia) simply means, faithlessness, disbelief; and comes from Strong’s #571 (apistos), meaning distrustful, disbeliever, unbeliever, and one without the Christian faith. The reason why unbelief is so dangerous is because everywhere in the bible (including the above verse), unbelief is a characteristic of the unbeliever, the heathen, the evil, and unredeemed. When a person believes, they must act on that belief. Actions speak louder than words as the saying goes.

The Dangers of Unbelief
Unbelief is like a cancer that continues to grow and if untreated will kill and change cells that were once good and pure. Unbelief breeds ingratitude, and makes us cold and uncaring of what is around us. We don’t act according to those beliefs and then those beliefs slowly die. We become indifferent to what is around us, and the people whom we need to share our hope with.
15 Unto the pure (free from the defilements of the flesh and the world), all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16 They profess to know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate (not passing the test, rejected). – Titus 1:15-16 (emphasis mine).

When a person is defiled, it is so easy to defile others. That is why in Deuteronomy 20:8 the officers told the people to go home if they are fearful and fainthearted (unbelieving) because fear and unbelief are both contagious. Remember this, “it is easier to pull someone off a ladder, than to pull them up one.”

Not only that, but the final end of the unbelieving, is hell.

8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will have their part in the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. – Revelation 20:8

Why do the cowardly and unbelieving come first and second in this list? I believe because they have not believed the Father, nor the Son of God, and therefore make him a liar (1 John 5:10). If the end of the unbeliever is eternity in a lake of fire, why should we be like them here on earth?

What about me?
Are you grateful to God and what He has done? Are you grateful for His Provision by sending Jesus Christ on the cross as a payment for your sin debt? Think about what He has done. Take some time to look around you and see all that God has given. Is He worth it? Is He worth my time, talents, and treasure? I wish I can spend so much more time on this subject, for it may be the heart of the matter. Next time, I will look at how one can overcome unbelief with help from the Lord, and others.

Apathy In The Bible

The hottest places in Hell reserved for those who,

in times of moral crisis,

preserved their neutrality.

-Dante

The ancient Greek word in Strong’s Concordance is apalgeo (524) which means to grieve out, become apathetic, or be past feeling. Thayer’s Definition’s says it like this: to cease to feel pain or grief; to become callous, insensible to pain, and apathetic. This word is only used once in the entire bible in Ephesians 4:19. To get the context of the verse, lets look at a larger view of scripture.

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (Ephesians 4:17-19 NKJV)

If we took a look at the above verse, we can see a pattern anyway and a hint of why people are apathetic. For starters, let’s get a firm grasp of the verse in context. Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus between 60 and 62 AD. Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire with a seaport that was so large it was called, “The Gateway to Asia”. The people of Ephesus worshipped all kinds of false idols…particularly to the god Artemis, better known as Diana. Its temple was so large that it was deemed one of the wonders of the ancient world. The people not only worshipped the goddess, but some of their livelihood was based on the making of idols. This is what got Paul and his fellow missionaries in trouble in Acts 18. So the church was made up of the people who came out of this lifestyle. They knew what Paul was talking about when he wrote. They lived it every day.

So, going back to the text, the bible says it’s “as the Gentiles walk”. So our next questions should be, “how do they walk?” As we examine each one, think about how it would be to live back then, and compare it to our own life in present-day America.

They are futile in their mind – Futile meaning “emptiness as to results”.
They have their understanding darkened – meaning their thinking is deprived of light; obscured.
They are alienated from the life of God – to estrange away; become a non-participant in the life God has given you to do.
They are ignorant – or wanting knowledge but never having it.
They are blind in their heart – stupidity, hardness, and callousness. The heart is where moral, rational, and emotional originate.
Given to lewdness, uncleanness, and greediness – and they surrendered themselves to lawless acts. Not struggling with remorse and having no restraints. It’s having a moral impurity with covetousness, always wanting more and never being satisfied.

We as Christians can only wonder about the church and not those who are outside the body of Christ. My concern for us (and that’s me included) is the world becoming more like us, or are we becoming more like the world. Who is influencing who? Are we walking as the Gentiles walk? I am a member of Facebook, and am amazed of how people who call themselves “Christian” have in their popular tv programs, music, and other forms of entertainment. Shows like “Family Guy” and “Southpark” that blaspheme God. Groups and lifestyles that don’t match up to God’s Word, and you can guess what people really love because it’s plastered all over their profile. I have one friend who claims to be “Christian” but on her profile considers herself “spiritual” as to be so vague that it could mean anything and fit in to any worldview that would gladly receive her. I wonder if these same people would be considered Christians in the days of Acts, when Cesar Nero ruled the Roman Empire.

Apathy - The Other Evangelism Killer

All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ,
all hell is terribly afraid of it,
while men are the only beings who more or less ignore it’s meaning.
– Oswald Chambers

In my previous series on fear we learned together what fear is, where it comes from, why we have it, and how to conquer it. But there is another enemy that lurks about wanting to take away our thunder as believers to be the church we were destined to be. Like fear, apathy is probably the only other killer of evangelism today.

What Is Apathy?

According to the Encarta Dictionary of North American English, apathy is the lack of enthusiasm or energy in the interest in anything, or the absence of any wish to do anything. It also means the inability to feel normal or passionate human feelings or to respond emotionally. Its synonyms are even more telling. Words like indifference; lack of concern or interest; lethargy; laziness; and boredom.

In modern Greek, apatheia, literally means “absence of passion”, “insensibility”, or “coolness”.



The graph to the left is the mental state between challenge level and skill level from a psychologist’s point of view, but can still be used to illustrate a typical problem in the church. As you can see we already have dealt with fear (anxiety) and even worry, though not at the level of anxiety, thus fears nonetheless. With fear and worry you see that the challenge level is from medium to high, with the skill level being the lowest on the scale. The Christian sees the need and desire to win souls, but doesn’t have (or think they have) the skills to do the task. One excuse might be “I don’t know enough”, where with apathy, both challenge and skill level is at the lowest on the scale. This means that the person is not skilled at all, and failing to be challenged to do so and whose excuse is plainly, “I don’t know…and I don’t care.”

I think of the modern church today when it comes to apathy and evangelism. Christians (and I say loosely) don’t know how to witness and care not to learn. A couple years ago when my friend Tony held an evangelism course in my church of 75 people, only three showed up. That means that only 4% of the church came to the course. Unfortunately it was one of the reasons why he left. The only bad thing is that even though he went to a larger church and had more people come to his class, it was still about 4% of the entire congregation which tells me that apathy crosses denominational lines as well. It’s not only a problem in one denomination or group, but the church as a whole.

Where should the Christian church be in the above diagram? Shouldn’t it be in FLOW? As a Christian, don’t you have a desire to see 6 billion people saved? Aren’t you challenged to see that come to pass? With two people dying every second (150,000 people/day), doesn’t that seem like an overwhelmingly important task? Even if you have family and friends who are unsaved, wouldn’t you like to spend eternity with them and be assured they are saved from God’s wrath in hell? So why do we feel apathy much of our lives?

Do you know why I am doing this blog? It’s because I need to be freed from apathy just like the next person. I struggle with apathy on a daily basis as much as much as I struggle with fear. My spirit is always at war with my flesh, and my flesh with my spirit. Personally, I am tired of it. In my spirit I want that passion and desire to see 6 billion people saved. I want to see bars and strip clubs shut down and hold bible studies. I want to see a person who hated Jesus Christ metamorphosisized by the power of the Holy Spirit and totally be sold out for God. Wouldn’t you like to see that happen? Just think a worldwide revival. If I can help myself along with others who are like minded…then I will do it…and God be glorified in it.

So mighty man or woman of valor…let’s break the bondage of apathy and live the life we were destined to live. To God be the glory.