What Is the Difference Between a Deist and a Christian?

A deist is somebody who believes that God indeed created the world, but they say that all He did basically was to set it in motion and get it going like a clock. They suggest that from the point of creation until now God has operated with a hands-off policy. He doesn’t intervene. Second Peter speaks of some who would come in the last days, scoffers walking after their own lusts, and saying “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:3–4).

These people ignore the fact that God has intervened in the world of men both individually and corporately. He showed His power when He halted construction of the Tower of Babel, where He brought humiliating confusion to men’s speech in a singular indictment of their pride. God also intervened in the lives of sinful men who needed a Savior by providing His own Son as the only acceptable sacrifice for sin. There is no way that a discerning reader can open the Bible and not see God’s hand in the lives of people.

In contrast, a genuine man or woman of faith is described in Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Not only does God exist, but He is a personal God who has a purpose for each of us. You can’t get much more personal than that. It is commendable to believe in a god who creates the world—but it’s not enough.