The Almost Christian

Matthew Mead regarding Felix and Agrippa (Acts 25-26)

“An almost Christian is one that has much light and knowledge, but no grace; he may know something of himself and of sin, of its being a violation of the law of God, and of the bad consequences of it, but has not true repentance for it; he may know much of Christ in a speculative way, concerning his person and offices, as the devils themselves do, and of the good things which come by him, as peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation; but has no application of these things to himself; he may have a large notional knowledge of the doctrines of the Gospel, but has no experience of the power, sweetness, and comfort of them in his own soul; all his knowledge is unsanctified, and without practice: he is one that has a taste of divine things, but has not the truth of them; he may taste of the heavenly gift, of the good word of God, and of the powers of the world to come; yet it is but a taste, a superficial one, which he has; he does not savour and relish these things, nor is he nourished by them: he has a great deal of faith in the historical way, and sometimes a bold confidence and assurance of everlasting happiness; but has not faith of the right kind, which is spiritual and special, which is the faith of God’s elect, the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit; by which the soul beholds the glory, fulness, and suitableness of Christ, under a sense of need, and goes forth to him, renouncing everything of self, and lays hold upon him, and trusts in him for salvation; and which works by love to Christ and his people, and has with it the fruits of righteousness: he may express a great deal of flashy affectation to the word, and the ministers of it, for a while, but has nothing solid and substantial in him; he may partake of the Holy Ghost, of his gifts largely, but not of special and internal grace; and indeed he can only be an almost Christian, that becomes one merely through the persuasion of men: it is one part of the Gospel ministry to persuade men, but this of itself is ineffectual; a real Christian is made so by the power of divine grace. Agrippa was only persuaded, and but almost persuaded by the apostle to be a Christian, but not by the Lord, nor altogether, who persuades Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem"

Nikolai Bodarevsky, The Apostle Paul Explains the Law before King Agrippa, 1875. Sotheby’s

In The Almost Christian Discovered by Puritan Matthew Mead, he exhorts the reader to “examine yourselves, [to see] whether [you] be in the faith,” to “make your calling and election sure.” He talks about the dangers of being an almost Christian and gives several illustrations from Scripture. Please allow me to give you a couple of examples from the book:

- A man may hate sin, and yet be but almost a Christian.

-A man may have great hopes of heaven, great hopes of being saved, and yet be but almost a Christian.

Following are a few lessons we can learn from almost Christians Felix and Agrippa in the same style as Mead. May we heed their warnings.

-A man may be acquainted with Christ, and yet be but almost a Christian.

-A man may desire to hear the Word preached, and yet be but almost a Christian.

-A man may tremble with conviction under the preaching of the Word, and yet be but almost a Christian.

-A man may be familiar with, and even an expert on, the things of God, and yet be but almost a Christian.

-A man may believe the prophets,  and yet be but almost a Christian.

-A man may be almost persuaded to be a Christian, and yet be but almost a Christian.

All of these demonstrate how close a person may be to being a Christian without actually being one, and the danger of being in such a state. It’s dangerous because it’s deceptive; and it can be hard to reach a person in such a state and awaken them out of it. Both Festus and Agrippa were deceived. This fact that one can come so close to being a Christian and yet be so far from actually being one, should give each of us pause and cause to examine ourselves. “Take heed that ye be not deceived.”

John Gill