Christians Who Are Alive But Dead, or The Dying Christian, Part 1

Proverbs 21:16: "The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead."

One of the most popular television shows of our day is The Walking Dead -- about a man who wakes up from a months-long coma to find the world overrun by zombies -- walking, living creatures from the grave. The creation known as the zombie has found a place in popular culture, becoming the subject of numerous books, movies, and television shows. Some people even fear a zombie apocalypse. The depiction of the zombie as creature that is living, yet dead, is a reminder of the natural-born state of every human. When Adam and Eve sinned, they cut themselves and their descendants off from God. To be cut off from God is to be spiritually dead -- a walking corpse -- living, breathing, but not really alive.

When Jesus Christ came on the scene, he described himself as the "life." He came to awaken a world which was "dead in trespasses and sins." For this reason, Paul declared in Ephesians 5, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." As Christians, because we are united with God, we are spiritually alive.

Unfortunately, however, despite our status of being alive in Christ, some Christians live as though they are still dead. Some who were experiencing and living out their new status have since lost their fire. In the classic allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, the two main characters, Christian and Hopeful, witness such believers during their stay at the Delectable Mountains after they escape from Giant Despair and Doubting Castle.

It is sad, indeed, when Christians are drawn away from the straight and narrow path. Proverbs 21:16 warns us of this tendency, stating, "The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead."