Dallas Willard says many Christians mistakenly preach and live a “gospel of sin management.” Essentially all they want is a Jesus who will forgive their sins and take care of the eternity question. Willard calls them “vampire Christians.” He says their attitude is like this, "I'd like a little of your blood, please. But I don't care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won't you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I'll see you in heaven."
This is not Christianity and when we try to make it so we quickly find out that it isn’t real and it isn’t sufficient, especially when we are faced with real challenges and decisions and we need God in our lives. Thankfully this is not what the Bible talks about when it spells out our life with God. As His sons and daughters who have been forgiven of our sin and adopted into His family, we experience whole life transformation. We become brand new people in Christ and the reality of that newness is seen more and more each day. Here is how Willard goes on to describe it:
The spirit brings the inward transformation of thought, feeling and character that "cleans the inside of the cup" (Matthew 23:25) and "makes the tree good" (Matthew 12:33). As we study with Jesus we increasingly become on the inside . . . exactly what we are on the outside, where actions and moods and attitudes visibly play over our body alive in its social context. An amazing simplicity will take over our lives--a simplicity that is really just transparency.
This requires a long and careful learning from Jesus to remove the duplicity that has become second nature to us--as is perhaps inevitable in a world where, to 'manage' our relations to those about us, we must hide what we really think, feel and would like to do if only we could avoid observation. Thus, a part of Jesus' teaching was to "avoid the leaven, or permeating spirit, of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Luke 12:1)
The Pharisees were in many respects the very best people of Jesus' day. But they located goodness in behavior and tried to secure themselves by careful management at the behavioral level. However, that simply cannot be done. Behavior is driven by the hidden or secret dimension of human personality, from the depths of the soul and body, and what is present there will escape. Hence they always failed at some point to do what is right, and had to redefine, redescribe or explain it away--or simply hide it.
By contrast the fruit of the spirit, as described by Jesus and Paul, does not consist in actions, but in attitudes or settled personality traits that make up the substance of the "hidden" self, the "inner man." "Love" captures this fruit in one word, but in such a concentrated form that it needs to be spelled out. Thus, "the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatains 5:22)
How do you relate to what Willard is saying? Have there been “vampire” tendencies in your life? Where specifically can you see the Spirit at work in your life right now?
Interesting! First, just seems to me that "Spirit" is the operative word here.Too.isn't the word "fruit", in it's self plural? Had a teacher in grade school who had a real hang up about students who added an ..s..to words that were plural already.Would be a wonderful world if everyone practiced all of the traits listed...even if all christians practiced them!! Try as I do to be all that is involved in the things listed, I always fail at some point...Isn't it wonderful that we can ask and be forgiven?Thanks for a Heavenly Father who gives us the Holy ...Spirit..to help us to continue to grow, and forgives when we fail? Thank you God.
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