MEMORY VERSE:‘’And when he had found him,he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught many people.And the disciples were called christians first in Antioch.” Acts 11:26
BIBLE PASSAGE:Matthew 7:21-23
INTRODUCTION
The Christian faith is the experience of daily living in a dynamic and new personal relationship with God Romans 10:9-10; John 1:11-13. The very term “Christian” was coined in the city of Antioch to identify the first followers of Christ Acts 11:26. The first disciples were so much like Jesus that they were called “little Christs” by their detractors. Unfortunately, the term has lost meaning over the years and come to represent an ideology or a social class rather than a lifestyle of obedience to God. Today, there are two shades of Christianity: Cultural Christianity and Biblical Christianity.
OUTLINE
1.WHAT IS CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY?
2. IDENTIFICATION MARKS
1.WHAT IS CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY?
Cultural Christians are nominal believers who superficially identify themselves as “Christians” but do not truly adhere to the tenets of the Christian faith Matthew 15:8. They wear the label “Christian” without personal conviction that Jesus is the true Lord over all aspects of their lives 2 Timothy 3:5.
Cultural Christianity is more focused on the social experiences than deepening personal spiritual encounters with God 1 Corinthians 2:14-15. A cultural Christian identifies with certain aspects of Christianity, such as the good works of Jesus John 6:26-27, but rejects the spiritual aspects required to be a biblically defined Christian Romans 8:5. Some people consider themselves “Christians” because of their family heritage, charity giving, place of residence, Christian name or title in the Christendom, their regular church attendance or social environment. Others identify as “Christian” as a way of declaring a religious affiliation. Cultural Christianity is not true Christianity. There was no such thing as cultural Christianity in the days of the early church.
2. IDENTIFICATION MARKS
The following are some identifying marks of cultural Christians:
1.They deny the inspiration of Scripture or parts of Scripture not compatible with their lifestyle choices 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21.
2.They ignore or downplay true repentance as the first step toward knowing God at a personal level Matthew 4:17; Acts 2:38.
3.They focus on Jesus’ love and acceptance to the exclusion of His teaching on hell, obedience, self-sacrifice Matthew 4:17; 23:33;Mark 9:43; Luke 12:5.
4.They tolerate or even celebrate ongoing sin while claiming to know God Romans 1:32; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2; 1 John 3:9-10.
5.They redefine scriptural truths to accommodate culture Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6.
6.Claiming God’s promises while ignoring the requirements included with them Psalm 50:16; Jeremiah 18:10.
7.They deny or minimise Jesus’ claim that He is the only way to God John 3:15-18; 14:6.
8.They engage actively in religious activity believing this puts them in good standing with God without a true devotion to Jesus Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 8:9.
9.They see protection and blessing as goals to be achieved, rather than by-products of a love relationship with God Mark 12:30, Deuteronomy 11:13-17.
10.They are lukewarm and choose the church to attend based on any or all the above considerations Revelation 3:15-17.
CONCLUSION
Jesus ‘ warning in Matthew 7:21-23 should be a wake-up call to cultural Christians.