Will isolated Christians be attacked?

October 20, 2023 • Bible Teachings

13 min read

Followers of Christ can find themselves isolated for various reasons. Perhaps they are going through a season of isolation, or maybe they haven't found a safe group to be a part of yet. Whatever the reason, isolated Christians are often referred to as "lone ranger Christians" by church leaders.

The "lone ranger Christian" label is a derogatory term of judgement upon isolated followers of Christ. Church leaders who use this term assume that because an individual doesn't join their church, then they're rebelliously trying to live the Christian life all by themselves.

Many church leaders teach that the more isolated you are, the more attacked by the devil and by temptation you'll be. Is this true? Let's find out.

Lone ranger, more danger?

Church leaders often use fear tactics to get isolated Christians to become members of their church. They want to make "lone ranger Christians" believe that because they are not members of a church, they will be attacked and destroyed by the devil. Church leaders attempt to use fear of temptation and fear of the devil to get "lone ranger Christians" to do what they want, which is to join their church.

Church leaders should be considering ways to comfort and encourage the isolated. Church leaders should not be resorting to fear tactics to manipulate the isolated so that they can grow their church. This is an abuse of power.

A "lone ranger Christian" is not any more a target for temptation than a member of a church. Temptations don't only happen when we are alone. They also happen when we are within church buildings. There are enough church abuse and church corruption scandals in the news to prove this. Temptation is not afraid of crowds.

Not neglecting to meet together

Church leaders often use the following verse to say that being an isolated believer is wrong. Their argument is that no believer should be neglecting to meet together.

We must realize that the main point of this verse is about encouraging one another. Meeting together is just one of the means for encouragement to happen. Nowadays, we can also encourage one another over phone calls, video calls, emails, text messages, etc.

Notice that Hebrews 10:25 does not say "not neglecting to go to church." It says "not neglecting to meet together." Just because a believer is not a member of a church, it does not mean they are not meeting together with other believers. A church building is not and should not be the only setting where believers meet together.

Even so-called “lone ranger Christians” can be encouraged and encourage others from wherever they are and wherever they meet. This is because encouragement does not need a church building. Let's not forget that the early church met in the homes of believers.

Encouragement does not automatically happen just because believers meet together in a building. In fact, there's many local church buildings that one can walk in and out of and not feel encouraged at all. Encouragement must be intentional and it must be inspired by our reading of the Bible.

Nowadays, there seems to be more focus on meeting together for fellowship with other believers than meeting together with God. There are way more Bible verses exhorting us to draw near to God than there are Bible verses about meeting together for fellowship. If we have not first developed a lifestyle of meeting together with God in our own prayer closets and in our own devotion time with the Bible, meeting together for fellowship is useless. It won't be any different than attending a country club. It will be devoid of any true spiritual encouragement.

Temptation in isolation

Pastor Domenic Ruso of the180 Church in Laval, Quebec recently presented the following slide during his Sunday morning sermon. This part of the sermon was about the dangers of being isolated as a Christian.

Instead of automatically accepting this information as truth, we must stop to ask questions (Acts 17:11). Are these really examples of temptations that attack individuals in isolation? Is isolation really the cause of temptation?

Insufficient biblical context was provided for these examples during the sermon. Without enough biblical context, we are tempted to believe these examples at face value. However, in order to learn the truth, we must examine the Scriptures for ourselves to learn the full context of each example.

Eve in the garden

God and Adam were still in the garden (Gen 3:6, Gen 3:8) when the serpent approached Eve. In fact, Adam was with Eve (Gen 3:6) when they both ate of the fruit. Neither of them were alone when they disobeyed God. Even if Eve had Adam with her, and Adam had God's word given to him (Gen 2:16-17), and God was in the garden, it did not prevent the temptation. Therefore, we can't make the argument that isolation is what leads to temptation for Eve.

Similarly, being a member of a church doesn't mean that temptations won't show up. Church membership is not immunity against temptation. One can be a member of a church and still lack the discernment and spirit-filled life to resist temptation.

We should not generalize by stating that an isolated believer, or "lone ranger Christian", is more susceptible to temptation than a church member is. We are more susceptible to temptation when we do not take the time for private prayer and private reading of the Bible. This applies to both church members and "lone ranger Christians".

David at his palace

Spring came and it was time when kings went off to war. In David's time, one of the main duties of the king was to go out to war. However, David remained in Jerusalem, which represented a place of comfort for David. David had his palace in Jerusalem. David was likely not truly alone at the king's house. It was probably well-protected with guards.

We don't know exactly why David remained in Jerusalem. Was David getting old? Was David sick? Was David injured? The Bible doesn't say.

It probably didn't seem like a big deal for David to remain in Jerusalem because it wasn't the first time that he did not go to war. In 2 Samuel 10:7, David did not immediately go to war but instead sent Joab and the host of all the mighty men. Nothing happened when David remained in Jerusalem that time. So, David probably thought it was fine for him to remain in Jerusalem again this second time. However, as we learn in 2 Samuel 11, it was not fine.

Did David become complacent?

Some Bible commentaries explain that David became complacent. They think that David got so content with what he had achieved that he decided to take a break from his calling to go to war. It's easy for us to become complacent when we are living mountain-top experiences. When we become complacent, we tend to stop fighting the good fight of the faith.

We'll never know for sure why David remained in Jerusalem a second time. Therefore, teaching that David was purposely trying to isolate himself is not accurate.

If David stayed home due to complacency, then the lesson from this story is about the dangers of becoming a complacent believer. Complacency can impact any believer, "lone ranger" or not. When turning his attention to the church of Laodicea (Rev 3:16), it's not specifically isolated believers that Jesus calls lukewarm, it's those inside the church.

David's abuse of authority

Being the king, David abused his authority. He thought he would not get caught and could escape the consequences of using a married woman for his pleasure and then discarding her in private.

This holds an important lesson for everyone, but for leaders in particular, since David was king. If the anointed psalmist and king can be tempted to abuse his authority for personal gain and gratification, how much more can leaders today be tempted to do the same. In fact, many such stories from Christian circles have made the news in recent times.

The cause of David's sin

To discover the real cause of David's sin, we must look past the reason why David stayed home and rewind to earlier in David's life. David had previously shown a history of lacking restraint when it came to women.

Years before the Bathsheba incident, David disregarded God's will for marriage and took more than one wife (1 Sam 25:42-43, 2 Sam 3:2-5). This sin was left unchecked for a while in David's life. As a result, it gave birth to his sin with Bathsheba.

Even though David was surrounded by armies, priests, and prophets, and spent wonderful times in God's presence, he was still responsible for dealing with his own sin. Staying home from the battle simply provided the opportunity for David's unrestrained sensual desires to manifest once again. However, staying home was not the cause of his sin. The cause of David's sin with Bathsheba was a history of sensual sin in his life that he never dealt with.

Judas in an alley

First, we must clarify that the Bible never says that Judas isolated himself in an alley. This detail was added by pastor Domenic Ruso.

Judas wasn't a "lone ranger Christian." Just like the other eleven disciples, Judas left his former life and followed Jesus. When Jesus sent out the twelve (Mt 10:1-5), Judas was part of them.

In John 13:21-27, the devil entered Judas while he was sitting right in front of Jesus, with the disciples all around him. The devil didn't need Judas to be isolated to fill his heart (Acts 5:3). As a result, we can conclude that temptation does not need isolation.

The story of Judas teaches us that one can be identified with Jesus and yet not truly belong to Him. The same is true today. We can also say that identifying with a church does not necessarily mean that one belongs to Jesus.

In John 12:5, we see that it's possible for an individual to be part of a group of disciples and yet still be self-willed enough to not belong to Jesus.

If the devil was able to enter the heart of one of the twelve disciples that were with Jesus, then the devil is also able to enter the heart of individuals attending churches today. Attending a church does not automatically protect anyone. The devil tempts those who go to a church building and those who don't go to a church building.

Jesus in the wilderness

In Matthew 4:1, we learn that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not purposely isolate himself. This was a Spirit-led isolation rather than something Jesus did on his own. Jesus' isolation was purposed by God.

It was not an isolation intended by Jesus that caused the temptations that he faced. It was the leading of the Holy Spirit that brought about Jesus' battle against the devil in the wilderness.

Paul in Arabia

We can learn a lot about isolation from the apostle Paul. Unfortunately, Paul and his isolation were not used or referenced in the sermon.

If any apostle knew isolation in the New Testament, it was Paul. After his conversion experience, the apostle Paul went into the wilderness of Arabia and spent three years there (Gal 1:17-19). Paul didn't go up to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles at all. Paul went straight into the wilderness and didn't return from there for three years.

Three whole years is a lot of isolation, and yet it was purposed by God. Did Paul lose his salvation or get destroyed by temptations in isolation? No. Instead, Paul became one of the most impactful apostles who ever lived.

Seasons of isolation

There are seasons in a believer's life where the Holy Spirit purposely leads them into a wilderness of solitude. It's not necessarily their intention to be isolated, but it's part of God's purpose. We need to recognize this work of the Spirit and be careful not to label such individuals as "lone ranger Christians".

Sometimes, God will accomplish his purposes through isolation. When God does isolate us from others, it is to bring us closer to Himself.

Joseph didn't do anything to purposely isolate himself. He was betrayed by his brothers and that betrayal led to his isolation (Gen 37:1-36). Did Joseph give up on God and lose his faith? Not at all. Was Joseph tempted in isolation? Yes, but he didn't give in (Gen 39:12-21).

Joseph's isolation was purposed by God in order to bring about God's plan. Joseph shows us that temptations can be won and are won in isolation. We should never give the impression that anyone in isolation will be destroyed by temptation.

Conclusion

It's a shame to see Pastor Domenic Ruso of the180 Church provide insufficient biblical context for the Bible examples that he used in his sermon. After an in-depth analysis of each example, it was determined that the passages were misused to say something that they don't intend to say.

After examining the context, we saw that isolation was not the main cause of the temptations that came to Eve, David, Judas, and Jesus. Eve and Judas were not isolated when tempted. Jesus didn't purposely isolate himself. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted. Lastly, David had a history of unchecked sensual sin in his life that resurfaced while he was being complacent.

Even with a PhD in Theology, Pastor Domenic Ruso mishandled the Scriptures during his sermon. This is why it's important to never accept teachings at face value just because the preacher has one or more university degrees. Remember that the disciples of Jesus who turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6) had no degrees or formal training. Several of them were just fishermen!

Will isolated believers, or so-called "lone ranger Christians", be attacked? Yes, they will. However, you'll be surprised to know who they'll be attacked by - certain church leaders!