There are several reasons why Christians and congregations might lose their passion for Jesus. In this article I want to point out seven of these reasons.
The first one is persecution. Christians have often faced persecution throughout the centuries because their values and standards are foreign to this world. Just as Jesus himself was persecuted and killed because He was different and held to heavenly morals, teachings and principles, so also might Christians because they seek to live a Christlike way of life. Although persecution can involve physical abuse, sometimes, and more likely in present-day western cultures, the persecution can be verbal and emotional. Sometimes such persecution comes in the form of mockery, disdain and subtle forms of social distancing.
Either way, Christians will always face some level of opposition, which can be tiring. Without an intense commitment, persecution can cause Christians and congregations to wane in their passion for Christ and even cause them to consider giving up their faith.
The Christians to whom the Hebrew letter was written were Jewish Christians who had suffered much for their faith. In Hebrews 10:32, the writer describes some of what these Christians had endured. He writes, “…you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times, you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those imprisoned and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property”. As you can read from this passage, they had endured much for their faith in Christ.
Nevertheless, the overall content of this letter indicates that these Christians had grown weary and weak in faith and were at risk of falling away. That’s why the writer encourages them by saying, “strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed”. The writer is not speaking of physical disability but spiritual. These weak and weary Christians needed to re-commit back to Jesus and be strong in their faith and zeal despite what they faced.
Another reason people can lose their passion for Jesus is by becoming too focused on the things of this world. Yes, we must live in this world, and we can enjoy many of the things this world provides. However, we must never let ourselves become distracted, excessively worried or caught in pursuing what the world has to offer. In Mark 4, we read about the parable of the Sower. In this parable, Jesus describes the different reactions to the gospel message. In explaining this parable to his disciples, Jesus speaks of the soil full of thorns. Jesus explains that these thorns represent “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things”, all of which take away a focus on God and can choke out God’s word and destroy faith. Unfortunately, many people lose their passion for Christ because they become too focused on the troubles or spoils of this world.
Conflict within the church is a third reason people can lose their zeal for Christ. Unfortunately, Christians, although saved, still struggle with immaturity and sin. For these reasons, they can still be caught up in various disputes and disagreements with other Christians. Of course, sometimes, we have to take a stand on matters of doctrine. However, even so, conflicts with the church can be nasty and messy and often cause many to become weakened in faith and even fall away.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians in the fourth chapter, we read that two women, Euodia and Syntyche, were at odds with each other. Sometimes church splits begin with just two people who eventually gather others to their side. When this happens, church splits can eventuate. Paul, very tactfully throughout his letter to the Philippians, brings everyone’s attention back to a healthy focus on Christ and His humble serving attitude towards others before directly addressing this conflict. Even when there is conflict within the congregation, this is the key to staying strong in our faith. Those who lose sight of Christ in congregational disputes can become discouraged to the point where they are no longer keen to live a passionate life for Jesus.
One primary reason people lose their passion for Jesus is a failure to cultivate good spiritual disciplines. Although there are many spiritual disciplines, two basic yet often neglected disciplines are spending time with God in prayer and studying His word. For any relationship to be maintained, it requires good communication. It is the same with our relationship with God. If we wish to keep our love and passion for Him, we must communicate with Him and allow Him to communicate with us. Jesus set the example for this. Several times throughout the gospel of Luke, we find Jesus spending time with His father alone in prayer. One example is Luke 5:16, where Luke records that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”. Of course, if Jesus needed to pray regularly, so do we as His followers. In 2 Peter 2:1-3, Peter writes about our need for the word of God. He says we must crave God’s words, just like a baby craves its mother’s milk. When babies are hungry, they demand food. And a mother’s milk is the most healthy and nutritious food they can have. Spiritually, the most nutritious food that we can have is God’s word. And we should crave it and desire it every day of our lives.
One of the most obvious reasons Christians and congregations can wane in their zeal for Jesus is sin. Sin, when unconfessed or purposefully pursued after, always takes us away from God. That is why Paul warns in Galatians 6:7-10, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature (or as other translations write flesh) from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life”. If you pursue sin, you will move further and further away from Christ. However, a life lived after those things that please the Spirit fuels passion, holiness and intimacy with Jesus.
A sixth reason you may lose your passion for Jesus is that you endeavour to live by law, not by grace. A law system always requires perfection. From religious point of view, it is a performance-based approach that seeks to merit one’s way into God’s favour. Unfortunately, it is an approach that humans always fail because we tend to always turn away from God. Sadly, many Christians and congregations still, although perhaps subtly, adhere to such a system. The result is some end up feeling like they are always failing and, therefore, experience a loss of joy. However, the New Testament teaches that Christians are not under law but grace. That is precisely what the apostle Paul says in Romans 6:14. He writes, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace”. That does not mean that Paul believes Christians have a licence to sin. In fact, in the previous 13 verses, he argues that such a notion is absurd. So, what is the difference between a law approach to obedience and a grace approach? A law approach means you must merit your way into God’s favour by being perfectly obedient. A grace approach starts with salvation and God’s blessing, although there is a role we play in accepting this, and therefore calls us to strive to live righteously because God has made us righteous in Christ. That does not mean we will be perfect. However, it does mean we can keep repenting and returning to righteous living within a secure relationship with God. This latter type of obedience flows not from performance but from being a new creation, gratitude and love for God.
Finally, we can lose our passion for Jesus by living isolated lives from other believers. God wants and expects us to grow in community. In Acts 2:42, we read that the first Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”. In Romans 12:4-5, Paul says, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”. Notice that Paul says that each member belongs to all the others in Christ. In other words, we need each other and therefore are dependent upon each other to remain faithful and grow as Jesus wants us desires.
If you are attempting to live as a Christian in isolation from a Christian community, you are going to struggle to grow, and you will struggle to maintain your passion for Christ.
Final thoughts:
So, here are seven reasons that Christians sometimes lose their zeal for Jesus. It’s perhaps not an exhaustive list, yet they are some of the leading causes for why Christians sometimes lose their passion and fire for Jesus and even fall away from Him. We need to be aware of these and continually re-commit back to Christ when we encounter them.
