Christianity in the Real World
Author: Andy Robbins
Last year I was in a little Kentucky town and bumped into a young Asian girl who approached me with a leaflet in her hand. I thought she was soliciting, and in fact she was selling something, but it wasn’t merchandise. What she was selling was Jesus. I discovered while listening to her broken English that she was a missionary. That’s right. She had come from a distant land half way across the globe to evangelize Americans in the heartland. I think that speaks volumes about how far we have fallen in this nation spiritually. We used to be the ones sending missionaries to Asia. Now they have come to evangelize us, because we no longer appear to hold to the principles we once professed.
Now, contrast that young Asian girl to the 40% plus American pastors who admitted to being users of pornography in a Promise Keepers anonymous poll, and the countless number of American Christians who have never shared their faith even once.
Hmmm. What’s wrong with this picture?
Much has been said and written about the state of Westernized Christianity. The consensus among experts is that Christianity in America is sick, churches are becoming a cultural relic, and Christians are so infected with worldliness that you can’t tell the redeemed apart from the unredeemed. I think it is a telling statistic that a full 85% of Americans consider themselves “Christians.” Obviously, we have some fundamental problems in understanding what it really means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Christian pollster George Barna, founder of the Barna Research Group, set out to put some numbers to the percentage of Americans who fit the Biblical description of “born again.” In doing so, he asks people to respond to a number of questions that are designed to help establish their worldview. Following are some of those questions and their corresponding percentages which you may find interesting.
Only 52% of all adults say their religious faith is very important in their life. Of those who describe themselves as born again, the numbers are 98%. (2004)
Half of those claiming to be born again Christians (46%) believe that Satan is “not a living being but is a symbol of evil,” (2005) which is a concept completely opposite of what the Bible teaches. Among the general population, 60% do not believe that Satan exists.
About one-third of those claiming to be born again (33%) believe that if a person is good enough they can earn a place in Heaven, (2005) which is a heretical belief. The Bible clearly teaches that man cannot on his own good merits earn a place in Heaven because all of us have sinned and violated God’s Holy decrees (Romans 3:23). Therefore, salvation must come through faith in Jesus alone or not at all (see Romans 3:21-25).
28% of those claiming to be born again agree that “while he lived on earth, Jesus committed sins, like other people,” compared to 42% of all adults (2005). Again, the Bible describes Jesus as the perfect, sinless Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of those who place their trust in Him.
Astonishingly, only 32% of those claiming to be born again said they believe in moral absolutes, compared to just half as many (15%) among non-born agains. (2002)
One third of born again adults (33%) say that abortion is a morally acceptable behavior (2004).
15% of those claiming to be born again Christian claim that “after He was crucified and died, Jesus Christ did not return to life physically” (2000). The Bible teaches that Jesus arose from the dead bodily and literally, and then ascended into heaven.
About one out of four (26%) of those claiming to be born again Christians believe that it doesn’t matter what faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons; a belief held by 56% of non-Christians (2000). (Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the ONLY way, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him.)
Only half of those who attend a Christian church (50%) say that they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, and another 37% say that they are moderately committed. (2004)
In light of the above statistics, it is interesting to note that compared to 63% of all adults, 86% of born again Christians believe “the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings” (2005). Why then, do so many people believe that Satan is simply a “symbol of evil” and not a real entity? Why do one-third of born again Christians believe that a person can earn their way to heaven based on moral behavior? Why do so many Christians believe that Jesus committed sins, and why do so many not believe in any moral absolutes? Many of these “Christians” who believe that the Bible is totally accurate have apparently rarely, if ever, read the Bible!
So what does it mean to be a Christian? Perhaps Barna’s description of “evangelicals” would more closely describe what it means to be a Biblical Christian:
“ ‘Evangelicals’ meet the born again criteria [described above] plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as ‘evangelical.’ ” (Barna.org)
Only 7% of American adults fit this description, according to Barna. His research on the beliefs and behaviors of the general adult population show that not everyone who claims to be a Christian (which, again, is apparently 85% of Americans) is really practicing his/her faith. Consider the following:
Percentage of adults who view certain behavior as morally acceptable (2003):
61% of adults view gambling as a morally acceptable behavior.
Enjoying sexual thoughts or fantasies about someone 59%
Living with someone of the opposite sex without being married, sometimes called co-habitation 60%
Having an abortion 45%
Having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex to whom you are not married 42%
Looking at pictures of nudity or explicit sexual behavior 38%
Using profanity 36%
Getting drunk 35%
Having a sexual relationship with someone of the same sex 30%
Using drugs not prescribed by a medical doctor 17%
Indeed, what Barna describes as a “Notional Christian” represents 36% of the population (2005). Barna’s group categorized “Notional Christian” as those who describe themselves as Christians, but do not believe that they will have eternal life because of their reliance upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the grace extended to people through a relationship with Christ. (A large majority of these individuals believe they WILL have eternal life, but NOT because of a grace-based relationship with Jesus Christ.)
The appalling difference between American Christians and those who have embraced the beliefs of Islam is that Muslims are typically tenaciously devoted to their faith and the lifestyle that their faith demands, while most Americans who describe themselves as Christians give little more than lip-service to their faith. Most American Christians do not have a Christian worldview, they believe and behave just like the rest of their non-Christian counterparts, and they bear little if any resemblance to the character of the patriarchs of the Christian faith and the symbol and object of worship of the Christian faith, which is Jesus Christ Himself. Scripture says that without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14), and Jesus Himself said that on the great day of Judgment, many people will come to Him expecting to receive salvation because of the religious things they did, but will instead receive damnation because they did not do the will of the Father (see Matthew 7:21-23). Furthermore, the book of James tells us that if we really have faith, that faith should result in a change of behavior. Not that the change in behavior is what saves a person, but that their change in behavior is evidence of the genuine faith they possess (see James 2:14-24). Again, Jesus said that if we love Him, then we will keep His commandments (John 14:15).
So I believe it is time to cease giving people the benefit of the doubt simply because they claim to be this or that. I could claim to believe in communism, but I wouldn’t actually be a communist unless I joined the party and participated in its cause. Likewise, there are many people who claim to believe in Jesus and to be born again, but that does not make them true Christians. Jesus said that wide is the gate that leads to destruction, and many are they who are on that road; but narrow is the gate that leads to salvation, and few are those who will find it. But, of course, since people don’t like being characterized as being outside the grace of God, those who point out the standards that God requires for His followers are often labeled as “judgmental” and “legalistic.”
The reason that this country is in the condition that it currently finds itself is because so few people actually have any strong convictions based upon Biblical principles. The masses are swayed by their feelings, not Biblical principles. The reason this is the case is because almost no one sees himself/herself as a sinner worthy of God’s punishment, and therefore, based upon their own faulty belief that they are good people whose lifestyles are worthy of God’s pardon, most believe that the principles of the Bible are take-it-or-leave-it propositions. King David wrote: There is an oracle within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked. There is no fear of God before his eyes, for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to hate or detect his sin (Psalm 36:1-3). Until he sees himself as a sinner worthy of God’s judgment, no one can actually come to a place of repentance, which the Bible says in necessary for salvation. And until a person truly repents, he/she will see no need to fully embrace the teachings of the Bible. Instead, they will perhaps give mental assent to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but they will not truly become His disciples by being radically obedient to Biblical principles and seeking to center one’s entire existence around God’s will, even if that devotion costs them greatly (such as is the case in other countries where being a devoted Christian could cost you your life).
True discipleship is a high cost that not many are willing to pay, and therefore, I respectfully submit that much of the 85% of Americans who claim to be Christians are just as hell bound as any local pimp or drug dealer. Yet, the wonderful message of the gospel is that true faith in Jesus Christ that results in repentance leads to salvation in spite of our past sins. This is the message we should be preaching if we are to change the course of this country. Giving people false hope by bolstering their belief that they are part of a Kingdom family that they may have never truly understood or belonged to in the first place will only exacerbate the problem of unbiblical beliefs and behaviors proliferating in this country. What we need is to see ourselves in the light of Biblical truth, and then repent accordingly. Scripture says that the person who says “I love God” but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him (see 1 John 2:3-6), and 2 Chronicles 7:14 tell us that “if my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
So you see, being a Christian is not about one’s church attendance; it’s not about denominational affiliation; and it’s not even about believing in God or agreeing that Jesus is God’s representation of Himself on earth to provide a way of salvation. Being a Christian is not about agreeing with a philosophy if that belief is void of commitment. Being a Christian is about repentance – seeing one’s self as a person who has willfully and repeatedly violated God’s law, and are therefore under His wrath, and then repenting of the lifestyle of self-serving sinfulness in order to embrace Jesus as the atonement for one’s sins and committing one’s self to God’s standards and will for one’s life – and that level of obedience, by the way, will require a high level of self-sacrifice.
Speaking of sacrifice, Americans – intoxicated with entertainment and obsessed with pleasure – typically believe of God that it is His highest priority to make them happy. This is why there are so many professing Christians who do not live righteous lives, because due to their Biblical illiteracy they do not understand that it is NOT God’s highest priority to make people comfortable, but rather, He concerns Himself with the character of His chosen ones, and that often involves suffering and self-denial. While God DOES want His children to enjoy abundant lives, He never said we would achieve His kind of abundance by indulging our base appetites. God’s method of abundant living is sacrifice on the front end in order to enjoy abundance on the back end. Most people, however, serve a god of their own making – one that doesn’t exist except in their own minds, and their “gospel” declares that you can violate just about every command in the Bible and still be in God’s good graces as long as you go to church and wear the title of “Christian.”
If the people who are claiming to be Christians really ever read their Bibles, they would understand that God doesn’t want to be a mere part of one’s life; He wants to BE your life, and indeed He demands that one must be willing to give up everything to follow Him and love Him supremely even more than mother, father, spouse, and children. God demands of His followers to “come out from among them and be separate,” so He is requiring that Christians live noticeably different than the rest of the world. THAT is the message of the Bible, and that’s what it means to be a Christian.
I leave you with a quote from Charles Colson’s award-winning book, Loving God:
“Repentance is an inescapable consequence of regeneration, an indispensable part of the conversion process that takes place under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. But repentance is also a continuing state of mind… Believers ‘prove their repentance by their deeds.’ Without a continuing repentant attitude – a persistent desire to turn away from our own nature and seek God’s nature – Christian growth is impossible. Loving God is impossible.” (pg. 95)
Let us return to a devotion to the principles of the faith we profess!