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Hey guys,

There’s a common piece of advice for Christian writers I hear thrown around now and again. It basically states that you shouldn’t worry too much about how to write a story that glorifies God because if you’re a Christian you can’t help but express your love for the God you know.

Recently, this advice hasn’t settled with me so well. Today, I finally figured out why it feels wrong to me. I’d like to present an argument for why I think this advice is misleading and if there are any gaps in my logic, I’d appreciate you pointing them out!

Point #1: Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Specifically, focus on that last line. Jesus, of course, is speaking here to his disciples. He is not speaking to those who do not know him, but to those who do. Even saved people may be, in a sense, “without Jesus”. This is why we are instructed not to walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. If we do walk according to the flesh, what benefit can we have for the Kingdom? Jesus says none.

Point #2: Christians are too self-assured in their walk with God. It is easy for us, for instance, to think that because we read our Bible every day we must be abiding in Christ. This, however, is not the imagery of the vine. A branch that spends 1hr a day in the vine is pretty much dead. The sap of a branch is like our oxygen. We should be breathing in the breath (Spirit) of God every moment of our lives. To abide completely, we must be unceasingly conscious of God and our relationship with him.

The Bible gives us some tests to see if we are perfectly abiding.

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

Unfortunately, most Christians do not really expect God to answer their prayers, and this is a sign they do not abide in him and his word very much.

1 John 3:6 “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”

Of course, in the context of the whole book, John is not arguing that Christians never sin, but it is true that whoever abides in the perfect vine perfectly will be perfect on the merits of the vine that gives him life. Our constant sins should be a reminder to us that we do not abide in Christ as we ought.

Point #3: This does not mean however that you have to be perfect to do anything for the Kingdom of God. It is simply a call to throw off complacency. There is a warning to those who are complacent.

Revelation 3:15-18 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—”

Point #4: I believe most Christians will understand knowing that God wants them to share some hard truth with someone, and then wimping out. I have done this several times and if I can do it in real life, can I not also quench the Spirit in my fiction?

Point #5: Christian works of fiction should generally be recognizable from secular works of fiction (even clean secular fiction, I think), even if it is not explicitly Christian fiction.

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.”

Point #6: If Christian works of fiction should generally be recognizable from secular works of fiction, then the distinctions being apparent, we should be able to state these distinctions in categorical terms, meaning we do not need to rely solely on the promptings of our heart for what we should write, but can analyze these promptings objectively to see if they are good and true.

Point #7: While I feel fairly confident that most every story I have written has been God-glorifying and worth reading, I can think of one novel I wrote I am glad I did not publish. While I would not call it morally relativistic, it did touch on some of the great existential questions of life without, I think, providing solid enough answers. The worldview was perhaps too open to interpretation. Also, it was slightly cliche and I feel if I ask a reader for hours of their time I should give them something more worthwhile.

Point #8: I have read works of allegedly Christian fiction I found to have little or no substance and I would probably serve myself better by reading Whinee the Pooh. These works shall remain unnamed.

Thoughts?

@taylor-clogston @josiah @r-m-archer @hope-ann @mlbolangerauthor @brandon-miller @rolena-hatfield @wordsmith