Zombie Christians
Scriptures: Rev. 3:5-6; 15-16; Heb. 10:23-25; James 2:14-24
Since the start of the year I have been sharing with you how we are in a battle. I have focused on the spiritual battle that we are fighting against Satan but starting with this message I will be shifting to the battle we are waging within ourselves. I have told you before that Satan is not behind everything that is happening in our lives and that some of what we are dealing with is of our own making. This message serves as a precursor to the series I will be starting in two weeks on the Ten Commandments which deals with our internal struggles.
The title of my message this morning is “Zombie Christians.” When I discussed the title of the message with my brother Barry, we actually spent some time making a list of examples that we would consider to those with a mental state of a Zombie Christian. That list was too long for one message so I chose three that I think will capture the essence of most of that list. I know that many of you have probably seen a movie or read a book about Zombies so I will not bore you with a lot of details about these fictional beings. However, what I do want you to know is that historically the word Zombie came to suggest that “the vital, human force which makes us who we are leaves the physical body and is ultimately replaced by a creature, while human in form, lacks the self-awareness, intelligence, and soul of a real person.” Zombies can infect others through personal contact. Now before anyone goes off the very deep end, I want to clarify that I am not saying that I believe in Zombies or that I believe that Christians can become Zombies. However, for illustration purposes only, I am using Zombies to illustrate a state of mind that Christians can “spiritually” get into when we allow our guards to drop and our focus to shift. For the purpose of this message, I want to give you my definition of a Zombie Christian. A Zombie Christian is “someone who, although they have accepted Jesus the Christ as their personal Savior, is actually living a life that is void of the self-awareness, intelligence and power associated with being a Christian.” In other words, they are Christians without the intelligence or self-awareness to understand the spiritual power available to them through the Spirit of God.
This morning I will review 3 examples of someone in a Zombie-like state of mind and conclude with the dangers of letting this state of mind spread to others which it will do if we do not address and/or deal with it. The three examples that I will review this morning are: a person with low energy for God; a person who enters the Church but the Church does not enter them; and a person who spends a lot of personal time with God versus doing the things of God. As we examine each of these states of mind, I want you to also consider how they impact those around them.
Zombie Christians Have Low Energy For The Things Of God
The first sign that you may have the mental state of a Zombie Christian is you have low energy for the things of God. This appears in the form of boredom, no fire/excitement for what God is doing and the desire to get things done so they can be checked off a list. This person does not consider the eternal impact of the things they are doing for God. Their walk with God is a check the box exercise. Consider what Jesus said to the Church in Laodicea. Revelations 3:15-16 says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” In verse seventeen we find that this Church was not a poor Church as they had financial means. It was because of their wealth and success that they became very lukewarm. Their being lukewarm was based on “how” they did things in their service to God, not what they did. Jesus told them that He knew their deed and what they were doing was neither cold nor hot. There was no life behind what they were doing – they were checking a box. If you are doing things for the Lord but your attitude is one of doing it because you are supposed to do it because it’s your job, you could be experiencing a Christian Zombie state of mind. You have the Christian body but you are void of the power associated with being a Christian.
Let me give you an example that we can all identify with. There are many definitions of what people would call a “dead Church” based on the actions of their members. People have said that in a dead Church the praise and worship is boring; the songs are dull with no life; the preaching is lifeless and monotone; people are present in body but their minds are asleep. People have also defined a “live” Church by how loud the music is; how much shouting goes on and how loud and exciting the preaching is. We need to know that neither of these descriptions accurately defines in God’s eyes what Church is alive and which is dead. Jesus told the Church of Sardis in Revelations chapter three that they were known as a live Church but in reality they were dead. I will discuss that in more detail later. A Zombie Christian will come into the Church because Church is where they are supposed to be on Sundays. They come not expecting to hear or experience anything because Church is somewhere you go, not something they experience. All of us are doing work for the Lord, but are we still on fire? Have our relationship with the Lord cooled off? Are we struggling to get things done because we are weary? A Zombie Christian will not need a reason to miss Church because they go because it what they are supposed to do. When we start experiencing Church, the Church will enter us versus us just entering it. Let’s move on to the second example.
Zombie Christians Enter The Church, But The Church Does Not Enter Them
A Zombie Christian will enter the Church and leave the same way in which they entered. They are not moved by the fellowship, the praise and worship or the preached Word of God. They are there because they are supposed to be there. This is different from the lukewarm Zombie Christians who, while they are doing some things, there is no fire (life) behind their deeds. When a person enters the place of God after spending six days in the world (if they do not attend Bible study) they should be ready to be refreshed. They should be expecting something. They should desire for the Spirit to move within them even if no one else feels Him. Church is not a place you just go to, it’s a place you experience.
Do you recall the disciple who betrayed Jesus? His name was Judas. Judas was around Jesus for almost three years. He walked with Him, ate with Him and traveled with Him. He received power from Jesus to heal the sick and cast out demons. Judas was one of Jesus twelve disciples who He depended on and yet he still betrayed Jesus. Why? Because even though he had entered Jesus’ presence, he never fully allowed Jesus to enter him. You see, we can grant God total access or limited access to us. We can give the Spirit total control or we can try and be in control. Zombie Christians enters the Church every week but they do not allow the Church to enter them. They attend Church on auto pilot; they pray on auto pilot; they give on auto-pilot. Everything is done out of habit versus out of truly experiencing the Spirit moving within them.
Now I really want you to see this because there are plenty of people who still disagree with me on the once saved always saved teaching. When you read the book of Revelations you will find in the third chapter what I mentioned earlier about the Church at Sardis. Jesus told the Church that while they had a name that they were alive (known for being alive) they were actually dead. This Church could have had all of the loud music, jumping and shouting, and everything else associated with what we would call a “live” Church, but Jesus said the Church was dead. It was filled with Zombie Christians. He said their works were not perfect before God. Now here is the verse I want you to read, memorize and meditate on because these are the Word of our Lord and Savior. Revelations 3:5-6 says, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I WILL NOT blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
In the twentieth chapter of Revelations it says that the Book of Life was opened and if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life they were cast into the lake of fire. If someone’s name is in the Book of Life, they will inherit eternal life. If their name is not in the Book of Life, they will be cast into the lake of fire which burns forever. When Jesus addressed the Church of Sardis, he said they were dead. Then He said only those who overcame would He not erase their names out of the Book of Life. If your name is there, you are saved. If your name is not there, you go into the Lake of Fire. Jesus cannot erase a name from the Book of Life if it had not first been there. How we live matters!!! If you read Revelations and you say that it is impossible for someone’s name to be erased from the Book of Life then you are accusing God of using vain threats, something I can promise you that He does not do. Exodus chapter thirty-two records the following: “Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, ‘Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin, and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!’ The LORD said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.” (Exodus 32:31-33) A Zombie Christian will not have the self-awareness and/or intelligence to understand that “how” they live does matter to God! This bring us to the third example, spending time with God versus spending time doing His Work.
Zombie Christians Spend Time With God Versus Doing Things For God
I know that this one might be a little confusing but stay with me and I will explain it fully. A Zombie Christian will spend more time “alone” with God than spending time doing the things of God. In other words, this person is focused solely on themselves and not on having a relationship with others. Do you know that God is a God of relationships? When God created Adam and placed him in the garden He said, “…..It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18) We were created to have relationships. God made Eve because He knew that Adam needed someone like himself to communicate and have a relationship with. I am not saying that everyone should be married; but everyone should have relationships (non-romantic if you will) with other people. So if God said that it is not good that man should be alone, why do we think it is preferable to Him that we spend our time with Him versus doing things for Him? Consider what was written in Hebrews 10:23-25: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” The writer of Hebrews expressly points out that we should come together with other believers – to stimulate one another’s growth and, wait for it – Good Deeds. He also stresses that we should come together to encourage one another especially as we get closer and closer to Jesus’ return which we are!
How many of you know Zombie Christians who spends hours and hours reading their Bibles and being alone with God and never doing anything to help others? Even when they come to Church their idea of helping others is defined by their example of themselves and how perfect they are with God? This is not what God is seeking from us. He is about relationship and what we are doing for others – not what we are doing privately for ourselves. Let me read what James 2:14-24 says, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” God did not create man to be alone nor did he create man to spend most of his time in God’s presence without doing God’s work. God expects us to commune with others and to assist others. My faith is useless if all I do with it is spend time with God through prayer and studying His word. Prayer and study are necessary, but we must put into action what we learn through studying and what is revealed to us while we are in prayer.
Each of these examples are specific to the individual and how that person thinks and believes about their situation. I alone will determine my energy level for the work of the Lord. I alone will determine how much time I spend doing the things of God versus spending personal time “with” God. Finally, it is my decision to allow or disallow the Church to enter me as I enter it. Each of these three examples are controlled by the individual. So what is the problem? If it is individual then it stays within a person right?
The Problem With Zombie Christians
The problem is that Zombie Christians will reproduce themselves in others. There is a mathematical term called the lowest common denominator. In math, when dealing with fractions, it means the lowest number that is a multiple of all the denominators, their lowest common multiple. But, when used in slang it usually describes, in a negative manner, a rule, proposal, opinion or media that is deliberately simplified so as to appeal to the largest possible number of people. Think about it, the lowest common denominator is used to defined how low you make the bar so the most people can benefit from it. You have heard the term “raising the bar” which means to raise a standard to a higher level but the opposite is true when you make decisions for the lowest common denominator.
With Zombie Christians their bars are set extremely low and if we are not careful, they will influence others to lower their bars to their level. You see this play out when someone in Church leadership half do their jobs and then others watching them decides that they can half do theirs. When Christians see Zombie Christians laughing at co-workers off color jokes; hear them tell a little white lie; or see them watching “soft-porn” on HBO, they begin to lower their standards because it’s easier to live like them versus the life they are trying to live. Zombie Christians will lower the bar for a Church! Bro. Willis tells the story of a Church he went to where people would not say “Amen” during the sermon because they were supposed to be quiet during the preached word. Well if a visitor came to that Church from a Church where people verbally agreed with the preached word, they would receive stares because they are “interrupting the preaching.” Think about how this person would respond to the stares. Chances are high that this person would stop saying “Amen” and become like the others, quietly listening to the preaching. This is how Zombie Christians infect other Christians. They lower the standard to a desirable level where it is easy to meet with very little exertion.
So, are you a Zombie Christian? Does your life exemplify the high standards of God, of the lower standards of the world? In two weeks I will start the series on the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments sets a very high bar, especially when you balance it with the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. If you have slowly taken on the mental state of a Zombie Christian, it is time to wake up. It is time to become self-aware of who you really are in Christ. It is time, as Paul told Timothy, to stir up the gift that is within you.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
