America has an identity crisis. She doesn’t know who she is, where she came from, or what she will become. Once liberals infiltrated education a great sanitization ensued. Narrative replaced facts. Instead of a solid rock foundation, history became a clay tablet in the hands of progressives who omitted what didn’t fit the narrative or rewrote it to suit their agenda. And it continues today. We now have generations of people who are convinced there never was anything great about America. As a matter of fact, they believe the American republic is a blight on the entire world. America’s future seems to be uncertain and up for grabs.
The American church has an identity crisis too. Once education fell to the liberals and progressives their next target was religion in general and Christianity in particular. Creeds were replaced with cute but vacuous little ditties that resemble eastern mysticism mantras more than vital Christian worship. Sermons are preached to gain approval rather than convict a sinner. Many seminaries are churning out woke graduates who believe cultural norms take precedence over biblical truths.
While many are individually faithful followers of Christ, generally speaking, the American church as a corporate entity is not really Christian anymore. You simply cannot have churches promoting sexual immorality, theological pluralism, and equating social justice to evangelism and have it all reside under the umbrella of authentic Christianity.
I like what author Hans Küng says in his book Why I am Still a Christian. He was a Catholic theologian and reformer (he rejected the idea of papal infallibility). First, he acknowledges all of the hate and injustices done by people and groups calling themselves Christians:
“I have no intention of whitewashing the history of Christianity, or glossing over its defects; not only the persecutions of our Jewish brothers and sisters, the crusades, the heretic trials, the witch burnings and the religious wars…the slavery question, the war question, and the race question; and the manifold complicity of the churches with the rulers of various countries in their neglect of the despised, downtrodden, oppressed, and exploited peoples…”
We’ve all heard the sins of the church dragged out to justify why the world would be a better place without Christianity. But then Küng makes a powerful point when he writes,
“But I ask you: is all this even “Christian”? Believers and unbelievers must affirm that it is “Christian” only in a traditional, superficial, and untrue sense…none of this is Christian in the deeper, pure, original sense; none of it is truly Christian. It has nothing to do with the Christ to whose name it appeals. In many ways it is part of what brought him to the cross. It is in fact pseudo-Christian or anti-Christian” (pp. 29-30).
The claim of being Christian doesn’t always equate to the reality. Much of what is being passed off as the church is a cheap substitute; a farce. Remember, Jesus warned of false prophets and christs (Matthew 7:15; 24:11).
Let me suggest five things that reveal authentic Christianity over and against what is calling itself Christian today. This isn’t meant to be exhaustive or even definitive. However, if you have read your Bible you will know that these five things are universally recognized as authentically “Christian.”
One: Jesus Christ
You would think this would be obvious. However, there are more churches than you would like to think that have no real need for Jesus any longer. A delegate to a denominational conference rolled his eyes and groaned after someone appealed to Jesus for His guidance, “We’ve gone beyond Jesus.” For many who call themselves Christians, Jesus is nothing more than a love guru. He is not real, authoritative, or even relevant to contemporary issues. Their “worship” services reflect that. You can go through an entire service in many churches without ever hearing His name in song, prayer, or sermon. The same can be said for far too many individuals who think they are Christians. They are unwilling or afraid to say His name (see Acts 4:12 and Philippians 2:10). Culture demands they keep their religious views to themselves or be branded ‘Christian Nationalists.’ They oblige.
There is no such thing as a Christianity devoid of either the person or lordship of Jesus.
Two: the Bible
Reading a couple of verses a day from a devotional magazine or book that includes an application and a prayer is not reading the Bible. It (he/she) is not Christian that is not immersed in God’s Word. Jesus Himself relied on it, quoted frequently from it, and equated His own words to it when He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Listen carefully to much of the music in many churches today (particularly the megachurches). There is a lot about feelings and almost nothing derived from Scripture. Hymnals that actually taught the Bible in song have been shelved for electronic media that puts pretty pictures in the background of meaningless oft-repeated phrases.
Unfortunately, we have far too many preachers who know more about what Thomas Merton, Richard Foster, and Rick Warren have said and written than what Jesus and the Bible say. According to 2 Tim. 3:16-17 Scripture alone contains what is needed to make human beings complete. There is no true Christianity without the Bible.
Three: Obedience
Christians in name only give lip service to the Word of God (Matt. 15:8). Authentic Christians obey it (John 15:14). They obey it when it’s convenient and they obey it when it is difficult to do so. Yes, authentic Christians sin. But if they are the real deal, they heed the relentless conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent. What they don’t do is change the clear meaning of Scripture in order to justify their lusts and misbehavior. John says, “the one who practices sin is of the devil; and “No one who is born of God practices sin…” (1 John 3:8; 9).
You are not a true Christian if your greatest interest is in how much you can do as you please and still go to heaven. Many churchgoers wonder how little they can give and still be accounted a good steward. How many times they can forsake corporate worship and still be considered a faithful follower of God. How antiquated the Bible is concerning human sexuality and how proud God must be of their new found sexual freedom. There is no true Christianity that seeks to avert faithful and joyful obedience to God and His Word.
Four: Persecution
It’s not likely Christian if the world endorses it. The last beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount is “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Matt. 5:11). James affirms this when he writes, “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). And Peter says, “do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).
People despise the truth. Remember, Jesus said, “men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). There is simply no getting through this life faithfully as a Christian without making waves and feeling pressure. Never forget…they killed Jesus and savaged His apostles.
Five: Love
True Christian love neither accommodates nor accepts sin. It weeps over it. It stands in front of it trying to block its path and nullify its influence. When Jesus talked about love He framed it in terms of self-sacrifice; not self-indulgence: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Christian love is willing to pay the price for being faithful and staying true. God so loved the world that He gave it His only Son…to forever defeat sin. Love doesn’t accept sin. It conquers it (1 John 3:8).
Not everything that passes itself off as Christian is authentic. While there is more to being a Christian than the five things I’ve listed above, every true Christian reflects these characteristics. What we say of ourselves is far less relevant than what He says of us.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven … And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ (Matt. 7:21; 23).
