Consider what “normal” Christianity looks like today to the typical believer. The typical Christian is primarily self-seeking, maybe materialistic, somewhat consumerist. Most of their daily choices are centered upon improving their quality of life. For many modern Christians the Christian participation is a little short of worldly pursuits. They’re about self-improvement, moral environment for the children, not about becoming a sacrificial servant – a disciple of Christ.
To me, what passes for normal Christianity today must be an outrage to God. It’s not only powerless; it is misdirected to lifestyle, lacking self-sacrifice, essentially idolatry. In other words, it is cross-less and therefore Christ-less. Don’t misunderstand: I’m all about God’s grace, and I wouldn’t lay an undue burden on anyone. But it’s time for the church to take a spiritual inventory to see whether our “spiritual” pursuits are leading us closer to God’s heart or luring us into self- indulgent containment, serving self and family.
Many of us have to make a tough admission. That is, we want to know God’s way — to hear the gospel truth — but we manage to avoid living it. Sadly, the church culture today encourages this kind of life. Come join our family and find acceptance, a type of humanism created by the leadership. It’s acceptable to enjoy sermons and enter into worship — yet go home and live the week entirely unchanged. Is it the leaders fault? Partially, for like children, we only know what we are taught by example.
Whatever happened to a life of total surrender to Jesus? What happened to being willing to lay down our lives for the gospel’s sake? Paul said of his own testimony, “My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4). If we aren’t living a life empowered by God, we can’t blame the Lord. It isn’t because his grace lacks power. The problem is with us.
“Understand this that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless… not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Paul said these Christians were “always learning and never able to arrive at knowledge of the truth” (3:7). In other words, they listened to all gospel teachings but never can make practical application for no transformation of the heart. That made them powerless to be like Christ, Paul said, because they “oppose(d) the truth” (3:8). In the modern Church, it is in part due for not having been challenged to know the difference, but also is the choice of the confessed not be committed to the Christ-life.
For the first time in history, less than 50 percent of Americans identify themselves as believers of any kind of spirituality. That figure is even lower — 30 percent — for people under thirty. Many of these check “none” as their religious affiliation. It is estimated that within a decade this generation will be lost completely to secularism and godlessness. And tolerance for genuine Christians will only decrease as the social institution increases.
We can’t afford to be normal in our faith any longer nor fearful of what others think. There will come scoffers in the Church who repress the truth for preference of worldly thinking. Think about the fast-growing numbers of non-believers I mentioned. Each represents a soul headed to hell, someone for whom Jesus died. Those numbers alone call us to rise above “normal” Christianity, to proclaim Christ’s gospel without fear or hindrance. This action requires his power, which can’t be achieved or obtained on our own. It is endued from above by grace alone.