It’s estimated that 33% of our entire world’s population represents Christianity (about 2.1 billion people) ranking as the top organized religion in the world. After Christianity follows Islam, Secularism, Hinduism, etc. and even Christianity can be dissected into different denominations but the point follows that the majority of our world claims Christianity. The statistics can be translated into a mighty encouragement and inspiration to us yet we live in a time where the values of our faith are constantly being thrown to shame. Purity, honesty, sacrifice, integrity, modesty and even the name of our savior Jesus Christ is all being shoved under the rug and replaced with the ultimate self-pleasing life experience in our culture. You can hear it in secular music, see it in movies, read it in magazines and the list goes on. The problem is that when you live for a cause dedicated to the pursuit of self that cause dies with you. You’ll see that while most of the world claims Christianity a lot of our lifestyles reflect an example quite contrary to the teachings of Christ.
Now I don’t for one second want to set this up to bash Christianity. After all, I am a devoted Christian myself and I truly believe that the body of Christ is “the hope of the word” as Bill Hybel said. I want to make it clear today that there is a HUGE difference between “claiming” Christianity and actually BEING a Christian. There’s a difference between a life of knowing who Christ is and surrendering to a life completely yielded to the salvation plan of Jesus Christ. There’s a difference between an empty religion set to rules of what you “can” and “cannot” do to an intimate love relationship with the Lord our God which leads you genuinely to the righteous life. And once we have made an awareness of the difference and have truly applied this to our lives, it is SOUL-CHANGING.
I’ve noticed that when we come to the point of sharing our faith with others we find ourselves sugar-coating or watering down the message so that it seems more acceptable to the person we are sharing with. Sometimes we don’t even share at all because we’re afraid of risking rejection. How is it that we become ashamed of the same faith that is the leading faith of our world? Our culture is outright blunt and unashamed in its sin. In fact, we glorify sin. Things like “friends with benefits”, casual violence, getting drunk, taking drugs etc. are common examples of glorified sins clearly prohibited by God. I feel like as a Christian it’s equally necessary to be unashamed in Christ in a way that stands out as a polar opposite of our fallen society. In Romans 1:16 Paul states confidently “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul was a fantastic example of an unashamed Christian fighting for a life dedicated to the Gospel truth. When you know more about a reality show then the Bible, or more about some secular artists lyrics then the Word of God or more about a celebrities life details then the scripture then your reality of Gods truth becomes distorted. Soon we start believing that life is supposed to be just like all of these things. This is the start of how Christians can backslide into a lifestyle that blends in with the world but contradicts the Word. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NLT) perfectly predicts our world’s intake on guidance, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”
We need to make sure that we are giving out the Gospel in raw truth and not only what we think people want to hear. The truth is the truth whether we like it or not. And God’s truth is to lead us to the ultimate greater good in the end so it is for our overall benefit. Most people are more convinced of the faith by witnessing a life impacted by Christ then preaching all day long with no actions supporting the claim of their faith. Let’s lead others to the truth of the Gospel by the way that we live. Let our lives be the proof of our faith. Let’s NOT misrepresent our God by titling ourselves as Christians while acting out against Him. That would be a contradiction in itself; it would be misleading and subject to His righteous judgment.
I titled this post “Please Excuse My Christianity” in reference to the way we approach sharing our faith. Nothing is wrong with being a Christian. Nothing is wrong with dedicating our lives to the God who gave us life. Nothing is wrong with sharing your God-given beliefs even if NO ONE believes you. Mark 16:15 states, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” This is our calling. Our purpose is to impact not just the world, but ETERNITY. When we stand before our God of the universe one day, seated on His throne surrounded in glory, do you think it will matter then whether we got rejected by someone or not for sharing the Gospel? This is what we call eternity-thinking.
We are making choices that glorify Gods eternal plan for the salvation of mankind. These are choices for a cause that goes beyond the grave. But the first step is leading with your own life. I would hope that you have read this and made the decision to start making changes today. It’s easy to read something like this and think it is simply a good message or a motivating read. It is something very different to read this and say “Starting now I choose to follow God with all my heart and soul and fight for the cause of soul transformation.” I pray that this has blessed you all and sparked a fire to fight the good fight of faith. Amen!
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