Many Christian Americans seem to be following the Holy Cow. Just like the Israelites clamoring for a God they can see, made of something they see as of worth, and allowing them to design their own form of worship. Many today are kneeling before their own golden calf. Often, these same individuals have spent their entire lives in church and have sat in congregations before Godly preachers proclaiming the truth, yet these individuals still design their own personal brand of Christianity.
A 2009 survey from The Barna Group (view article) showed that of 1871 professing Christians surveyed 78% said that God was the all powerful God who ruled the world. A full 22% viewed God as something different than what mainstream Christians would believe; such as we are all God’s ourselves, or perhaps that God refers to man reaching his highest potential.
Regarding Satan, 4 out of 10 surveyed said that Satan was not an actual being but a fictional symbol of evil. That’s 40%! Additionally, another 20% said that they agreed somewhat with this point of view. The remaining portion survey disagreed that Satan was fictional with 9% saying they were unsure. With this math, only 30% of the Christians surveyed actually believed in the fallen angel Satan.
A major point in Christian teaching is that Christ went to the cross for our sins having a perfect and sinless life. Yet, tens of millions of “Christians” do not accept this teaching. In fact, this survey showed that fully 22% strongly agreed that Christ was not without sin with an additional 17% who said they somewhat agreed with this statement.
The survey article list many more alarming statistics. I would say that most who have taken the time to read this blog or who will listen to the podcast, probably already know or have heard similar statistics, and at the very least do not find the statistics surprising. My question is why don’t we? We talk about reaching a lost and dying world yet that same world sits in the midst of our congregation’s week end and week out portraying themselves as believers/Christians. These beliefs go to the very core of having a real personal relationship with Christ and in having a true grasp on the basic fundamentals of our faith.
Granted, many people hold on to or create their own golden calf in the image of Christ because of their desire for personal justification. That’s the justification of self by self and not of Jesus Christ. Many in the body of Christ refuse to accept reality because to do otherwise would mean they would be forced to face their own sin. This example is easily found when the view of Christ sinlessness is brought into the picture. As a “Christian”, how easy would it be to justify my own sin if I show or portray Christ as a sinner, or if I remove the fear of hell, or its existence?
So what is the culprit: lack of sound indoctrination, rebellion, lack of accountability, or faulty teaching? It’s the opinion of this writer that it is all of the above. Here are 4 quick Examples:
1) Many churches welcome new people into the family of Christ yet never take the time to sit them down and teach the fundamentals of our faith, assuming they will catch it along the way. The result is a total lack of real discipleship.
2) Many welcome individuals into the membership of our congregations without so much as a question as to their core beliefs, life condition, or membership intent.
3) Many welcome a simple transfer of a letter without contacting the individual’s previous pastor to review their reasons of transfer. It may be a sin issue and as the individual was confronted they decided to leave. Then they simply move to the next church who welcomes them in to the membership of the church without reservation. No accountability!
4) When you combine these individuals who never grasp the core values of Christianity with the great need for workers in our churches these views pass along from one individual to the next like a virus.
When we take the lack of real spiritual accountability that is taking place in the body of Christ today and put it together with the faulty teaching that is happening in our schools, and the alternative spiritual views the world presents then, it is no wonder such a large percentage of Church goers have a flawed view of their own spiritual condition. We’ve allowed a freedom of choice to creep into the sanctity of our faith. We know that there are doctrines of which Christ set forth in scripture, which are not open to debate in principle or reality. We must begin to refocus and bring our congregations back to the realities and facts of our faith and re-insuring that our teachers persistently hold them up as absolute truths.
You may feel that you are doing a good job and the fact is you may be. That doesn’t change the fact that these statistics still hold true in some part to your congregation and certainly to our society as a whole. We must create a sense of urgency on these matters and remind ourselves of Christ words.
Matthew 7:21-23 “21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'”
This is our plight! Why does so much of our church body appear to be doing all the right things yet fail on the fundamentals? They do not know the Lord. To move forward with a right perspective, we must persistently teach the fundamentals of our faith, test the spirits of others to see where they stand, and look at the fruit being produced. I pray that this article has refreshed some these issues in your heart and that you have a renewed since of urgency in these matters, in your life, and in the life of your congregation.
Bryan Taunton
Exec. Director FootWash Ministries, inc
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