“Sad Christians” vs “Happy Sinners”?

It’s been said that a big problem with the church’s evangelism is that a bunch of sad Christians are trying to save a bunch of happy sinners.

To nobody’s surprise, such a scenario would certainly be unproductive, but I doubt it’s ever truly the case. Are “sad Christians” and “happy sinners” really a thing?

Beginning with the latter, the should remember that the happiness of unrepentant sinners is extremely thin. It’s as thin as the market, as the gigs, as the thrills that are here for a moment and gone by morning. Of course there are highs, but they’re elusive and diminishing, and at some point the individual will come to his senses and recognize that “all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Luke 15:17; Ecclesiastes 1:14). 

Lostness tends to find itself lost, sooner or later, and either one doubles down on the lostness (“Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”) or one wakes up to learn there’s more (see 1 Corinthians 15:32–34). Deep down humans in rebellion against God, who suppress his knowledge and refuse to give him thanks, are extremely insecure people. And how could you not be anxious if you are a god unto yourself?

The fact is, times of prosperity divert attention away from this misery, and then lostness metastasizes, in people, institutions, and society as a whole. So what could grab the world by the both shoulders and give it a good shake? 

War.

… on the heels of what we’ve seen the last three years. 

As I’ve read the reports of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and sat in disbelief that this is actually happening, the brokenness of this world has never felt more undeniable. Except that it has actually always been right in front of us. The reality of racial injustice, political upheaval, and a global pandemic, for starters. But then don’t forget 9/11. And the Iraqi War, and the Gulf War, and the Cold War before that. And then all the international atrocities that we still rarely think about, many of which have occurred within a Millennial’s lifetime. When were things ever not broken?

What we might call “times of peace” in the past were actually only times when the diversions were most effective. Those diversions, it seems, have expired. They are certainly not abandoned, and many will indeed double down, but many more will be waking up, I pray.

As smoke clouds the sky in Kyiv, hopelessness clouds the hearts of our neighbors and it says as clearly as ever that the idea of a “happy sinner” is ridiculous. 

So what about “sad Christians”?

The idea here is not about the emotion of sadness, which is part of our humanity. Christians can feel sad, and absolutely must when it fits reality. The “sad Christian” is more of a category that targets a mood of Christian witness. It’s about a posture we carry into the world, one that’s perhaps even deeper than our stances. And that posture, if it’s truly Christian, informed by the gospel, is actually joyful, not sad.

And it’s joyful because God is joyful, and he has welcomed us into his joy through the perfect life and atoning death of Jesus in our place, not on the basis of our performance, but solely because of his love. Because of God’s love for us in Jesus, we have a future, a better country, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16). And despite the demise of our circumstances, nothing can hinder the future God has planned for us (1 Corinthians 2:9). Nothing can separate us from the love of God that secures our hope (Romans 8:35–39; 5:1–5).

And as the diversions evaporate, and the hopelessness escalates, who else but us can have true joy? Who else but us has something truly good to say? Who else!?

The insight, “Sad Christians can’t save happy sinners,” is better put: Joyful Christians have a treasure to share with disillusioned sinners, of which there are many, and of which we all once were.

What our world needs more than anything is the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need a Great Awakening. I’m very serious about this. We need a Great Awakening. And how might it start besides in our hearts, church? Personal renewal that leads to relational renewal that leads to church renewal that leads to city renewal — and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.