#practical atheism

 Psalm 53:1–5 (ESV)

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. 4 Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? 5 There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

 Practical Atheists live in their hearts as if there were no God. They live as if what they think and feel are the only reality that counts. They totally ignore the fact that God watches and sees everything that they think, say and do. And when he does he calls us and those who live this way: fools. The Hebrew word for this "fool" means to be "godless; futile; worthless; good-for-nothing; miser; fool; within a particular sphere of influence, counts for nothing, has nothing to offer, gives no help, commands no respect, is nothing." This type of person never gets beyond the passionate chase after fulfilling their own needs. They live in the pursuit of pleasure. They live to please only themselves.

 We can profess Christianity all we want, but how we live in our hearts before God is what really counts. He tallies up the score and says "They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one." To "fall away" means to "deviate, be disloyal, draw back, shrink back or recoil" from God and his word. And when we do, we end up in corruption and abominable iniquity. This corruption is first spiritual and then moral. It is an insensible filthiness. Men and woman are degraded and dishonorable and then drag each other down rather than uplift each other. These type of people do not like those who are upright and godly and who would challenge them to go higher and become more like Christ. Paul described us in our practical state like this:

  Romans 3:10–18 (ESV)

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

 We so easily forget that God is watching everything we do, say and think. That no matter what anyone else does or says, we as an individual will stand alone before God and give an account for every aspect of our lives. And that God sees us in the light of absolute and perfect righteousness. This is why Paul agreed with David: "There is none who does good, not even one." Oh, that we could all agree with these men of God and with God himself and see as God sees us. That we would come to the word of God and really hear him and allow these eternal words to search and cleanse our innermost parts:

  Hebrews 4:12–13 (AMP)

12 For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.

  Hebrews 4:12–13 (KJV 1900)

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

 You may be thinking, but I am saved, forgiven and declared righteous before God. His blood guarantees this for me. And so you are, if we truly believe in Christ. But today I am speaking to the diseased condition of our hearts. I am thinking on our need for transformation on a practical level. I am concerned that we may have stopped short of the purpose of the cross by living in practical atheism. Living as if God does not see and forgotten to agree with his assessments. i.e. that we are not naked, exposed, defenseless and found corrupted in our thinking and living. Perhaps Paul spoke to this condition:

  Romans 12:1–2 (KJV 1900)

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Matthew and Luke recount the three temptations of Jesus that reflect the inner struggle over his own particular mission and, at the same time, address the question as to what truly matters in human life. At the heart of all temptations, as we see here, is the act of pushing God aside because we perceive him as secondary, if not actually superfluous and annoying, in comparison with all the apparently far more urgent matters that fill our lives. Constructing a world by our own lights, without reference to God, building on our own foundation; refusing to acknowledge the reality of anything beyond the political and the material, while setting God aside as an illusion—that is the temptation that threatens us in many varied forms.

Moral posturing is part and parcel of that temptation. It does not invite us directly to do evil—no, that would be far too blatant. It pretends to show us a better way, where we finally abandon our illusions and throw ourselves in the work of actually making the world a better place. It claims, moreover, to speak for true realism: what’s real is what’s right there in front of us—power and bread. By comparison, the things of God fade into unreality, into a secondary world that no one needs.

God is the issue: Is he real, reality itself, or isn’t he? Is he good, or do we have to invent good ourselves? The God question is the fundamental question, and it sets us down right at the crossroads of human existence.