"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)
The term "practicing Christian" is not found anywhere in the Bible. In the first century, if a person chose to become a Christian, it was assumed they would do their best to follow Jesus and live out his teachings. The idea that a person would call themselves a Christian but not do what Jesus says was unimaginable. To be a Christian was to live like Christ and belong to a Christian community where others were engaged in the same pursuit. In the years following the death of Jesus, all Christians were practicing Christians.
Christianity obtained legal status in the Roman Empire in 313 A.D. and became the official state church of the empire in 380 A.D. As Christianity began to be embraced by emperors, kings, and governments, a form of Christianity was created that was cultural rather than practicing. Cultural Christianity embraces the name Christian but not the practices. It seeks to use Christianity to its advantage and sometimes labels certain practices or beliefs as Christian, which are not Christian at all. Cultural Christians are often not active members of a church community. They do not live transformed lives that produce the fruit of the Spirit because their Christianity is a label rather than a way of living.
We live in a time and place where both realities exist. We must be careful about who we listen to and follow. Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian deserves our time and attention. Cultural Christianity is a misnomer because it is not Christianity. There is no Christianity in the New Testament that advocates adopting the label but not the practices. Christianity is about following Jesus. It is sharing our lives with fellow Christians and living in community with them. It is having our lives transformed into the image of Jesus. It is continuing the ministry of Jesus by helping people in need. Christianity is not a label. It is a practice. People should not know us as Christians because we call ourselves Christians but because we are living it, and they see Jesus in what we say and do.
No comments:
Post a Comment