There is a crisis in American Christianity today. It is epitomized by an anemic church whose members look like the world, speak like the world, act the world, prioritize like the world, spend their time like the world, watch what the world watches, listen to what the world listens to, are materialistic like the world, practice idolatry like the world, and think like the world. The only difference between these self-proclaimed Christians and the world around them is that they go to church activities a few hours a week and they may occasionally put Christian bumper stickers on their cars and Bible verses on their Facebook page. They are the poster children of Wimpy Christianity and in the world’s eyes their hypocrisy denies the truth that when you are in Christ you are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
They claim the name Christian but there is little to no evidence of redemption in their lives:
· they are not fruitful (John 15:8-9; Gal. 5:22-23; 1 John 4:7-14),
· they are not working (Eph. 2:10; James 2:14-17),
· they are not obedient (John 14:15; 15:10-11; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:3-6; 3:21-22; 5:1-4).
· and they are not being persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).
Many belong to congregations whose statements of faith may contain solid Biblical doctrine, but whose actual practice is not based on God’s Word. The truth is that what you believe is best demonstrated not by what you say, but rather by what you do. At home, in the church, and in the public sphere, these self-proclaimed Christians mix the teachings of God with the ideas of man and then live lives of compromise rather than lives of conviction. They also put Biblical truth in a box and do not let it out except under certain circumstances. This compartmentalization is not always a deliberate decision, but rather a natural consequence of living unexamined lives and simply going with the flow of culture. Unfortunately, I believe that nonbelievers and wimpy Christians make up the majority of people sitting in the pews today.
There is No Neutrality
“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”-1 Cor. 2:14
The Bible says that all of life is religious. There is no neutrality. We are either with Christ or we are against Him (Rev. 3:16). The Bible also says that the natural (unredeemed) man is blinded by his sinful nature and cannot know truth apart from God’s grace. Therefore, the natural man:
· cannot trust his experience to know truth,
· he cannot trust his emotion to know truth,
· and he cannot trust human reason to know truth (Pr. 28:26; Jer. 17:9; 1 Cor. 3:18-20; Eph. 2:3; Titus 1:15-16).
When we come to faith in Christ, our eyes are opened to see that truth can be known through what God revealed to us through His Word-the Bible. Why then do so many self-proclaimed Christians say they believe the Bible, but then go back to using experience, emotion, and human reason as their standard for truth?
By What Standard?
The Bible is God’s self-disclosure of who He is, who man is in relation to Him, how we are reconciled with God, and all other important doctrines. Biblical Authority means that the Bible is the only infallible and sufficient rule of life and faith. You cannot rightly call yourself a Christian and reject Biblical Authority because it was inspired by God specifically to serve as our fixed standard of truth. If you reject this central doctrine of the faith then you can’t claim to know anything because experience, emotion, and reason are all moving standards that are not built on the bedrock of Biblical truth (Matt. 7:24-27), but rather on the shifting sands of humanistic culture.
If anyone can pull any idea out of thin air and not have to defend it based on a fixed standard of truth then we are wasting our time. Without the Bible as our standard, Christians don’t have a nexus (common point of connection) and, therefore, we cannot discuss truth because everyone will do what is right in their own eyes (Deut. 12:8; Judges 17:6; 21:25). The Bible must be our standard and any deviation from it toward the ideas of man is sinful.
The War between the Bible and Humanism
“Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’”-1 Kings 18:21
There is a war raging within the American Church today between Biblical Christianity and Secular Humanism. Biblical Christianity bases truth on God-centered principle and believes that God’s Word is our guide for all matters of life and faith and then seeks to apply it. Secular Humanism, on the other hand, bases truth on man-centered pragmatism and believes that man should decide for himself in all matters of life and faith. Wimpy Christianity is the double-mindedness that comes from dividing one’s loyalties between the things of God and the things of man (Ps. 119:113). Biblical Christians start their sentences with the words “God said…” while Secular Humanists respond with the words “Did God really say…” (Gen. 3). One group believes while the other doubts. One group applies while the other denies. Sadly, secular humanism has had a profound impact on the church in America.
This impact is clearly evident in the Godless antics of denominations that were formerly Christian, but have fallen into apostasy (i.e. Episcopal, ELCA, PCUSA, etc.) because they stopped using the Bible as their standard and followed the culture. Instead of calling people to repent of sin and turn to faith in Christ, these social justice clubs are calling people to sin and turn to faith in man. Instead of seeking to advance the cause of Christ in the world, they are consolidating power and using religion as a vehicle to advance Marxist theology and leftist politics in the world.
Unfortunately, many conservative evangelical congregations fail to see that they too are choosing pragmatism over principle because they give lip service to Biblical authority, but then make their decisions based on man’s ideas. Such compromise is having a devastatingly negative impact on our families, our churches, and our nation.
Normal is now considered Radical
Secular humanism has so skewed the church in America that what should be considered normal is now considered radical. A system of compromised establishment religiosity has taken hold in seminaries, denominational bureaucracies, megachurches, and beyond so that examined faith, New Testament models, and biblical application have been replaced with unexamined faith, corporate models, and country club programs. Even though God’s Word is truth (John 17:17) and the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Pr. 1:7), Biblical Christians who believe that the Bible is the absolute standard and have the audacity to sincerely apply Scripture at home, in the church, and in the public sphere are not only being persecuted by the world, but they are also being persecuted and marginalized by the church itself!
The quality of the fruit of Biblical Christianity stands in stark contrast to the diseased fruit of Wimpy Christianity. Church leaders that perpetuate Wimpy Christianity do not like the light of Scripture exposing their hypocrisy. Sadly, there are many pastors who are complicit in this either because they are too indoctrinated by the system to know better or because they have lost their fear of God and replaced it with a fear of man. My guess is that it is a little of both. Of course, the solution to our problem is that true faith in God is the opposite of double-mindedness. The church must stop chasing the foolishness of men and trying to adapt it for use by and in the church. Instead, we must apply all of Scripture to all of life!
Reformation!
reformation: The act of reforming doctrine and practice with the Bible as the standard of truth
I believe without reservation that Wimpy Christianity is the dominant paradigm in the American church today. However, even as the church in America continues to compromise truth in favor of the traditions of men, God is also moving in the hearts and minds of many believers throughout our nation and they are taking positive steps to realign their doctrine and practice with the Bible. This is a work of reformation and my prayer is that God would fan the flames of reformation throughout the church.
After much prayer and meditation, I have decided to write a series of articles that will specifically challenge the double-mindedness of secular humanism in the church. My goal is to expose this hypocrisy and then make strategic applications based on Biblical principles that will help to restore the family, reform the church, and impact the world for Christ. Of course, you are welcome to disagree with me, but I’m not interested in hearing your opinion unless it comes from Scripture. If your argument doesn’t come from an honest reading of the Bible, then you are proving my point and you need to repent and turn back to God’s Word as your guidebook for life.
A Fork in the Road
“I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”-Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
The conservative evangelical church in America is at a fork in the road. Like the words of Robert Frost’s poem, we too must make a decision on which direction to go next. One path is Biblical Christianity and the other path is Secular Humanism. Nearly a century ago, the mainline denominations reached a similar fork and chose the path of secular humanism, which led to heretical teachings and, ultimately, to their apostasy. Today, we face a similar decision. Much of our doctrine is orthodox, but our practice is not. We can continue to go the way of compromise and pragmatism by following the ideas of man or we can go the way of conviction and principle by making honest application from the Bible. Some day we will look back on this moment in time and (for good or for bad) our decision today will make all the difference in our families, in our churches, and in our nation.
May God be glorified by our response!
