CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY

 

Marcella Ward  September 25, 2024

Is Christianity shaping our culture or is the culture shaping our Christianity?  Are you a Biblical Christian or a cultural Christian?  Are you trying to have the best of both worlds by compromising your beliefs as a Christian?  

Sadly to say, we seem to be adopting some of the values of the world.  We have been exchanging the truth and the absolutes of God with the lies of the enemy.  We have become saturated in the material world and have sought after fleshly desires. 

We use God as an ATM.  God I want this.  God I want that.  We make God Who we want Him to be, not Who He is.  How many of us who call ourselves Christians are born again and read and know the scriptures?

In the parable of the sower, Jesus says, in Matthew 13:19, “While anyone is hearing the Word of the kingdom and does not grasp and comprehend it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is what was sown along the roadside.”  Jesus is making it clear that not everyone who hears the Word of God accepts it.

The cultural Christian is the one who is living a counterfeit faith because he or she is not living out the true Gospel.  It is not genuine.  They are Christian in name only because they think that just going to church and filling up a pew qualifies them to be a Christian but when they go home “they live like the devil.”  Remember, even the devil shows up at church!!  He can also quote the gospel such as when Jesus was being tempted by the devil when Jesus had been fasting in the desert.

In many instances, there appears to be little difference between some Christians and other people in the world.  The temptations of the world are sought out more than the fruits of the Spirit.  They seem more influenced by what the world is saying than what God is saying in His Word.  They may have faith but have not made Jesus Lord over their lives.

Who is the true Christian, the Biblical Christian so to speak?  He or she is a person who has surrendered their life to Christ.  They are obedient to the Word of God.  They stand up to the world and are not afraid to speak out against laws or ideas that are not Biblically based.  They are not afraid to speak truth in love.  They do not fear back lash and give in to popular beliefs for fear that they will lose their job or that others will ridicule them.  There have been brave people who have stood such as the baker who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple because he did not want to be forced to do something that his faith did not support.  

We live in a world that is rapidly losing its way.  Universities and colleges and even high schools are rewriting history.  If they can rewrite history, then the Bible becomes a myth and ancient history in which people can ignore it or redefine it with their own agenda and dogma.

Don’t get sucked in to the world.  Jesus talked a lot about being in the world but not being of the world.  Jesus came down from heaven to show us how to be.  We need to be who He made us to be.  We are not robots being programed by the world but we are sons and daughters of the most High King of the Universe.  We need to act as such.  We have authority over the evil one.  Jesus came so we could take back our authority that was stolen from us at the Garden.  We have authority in and through Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Live the Word.  Be the Word to others.  Stand and don’t become a cultural Christian.  Just remember that people are being martyred every day because they will not renounce their faith and some of us are afraid to speak out for the Kingdom.  Let us look, act, and speak like Jesus and we will truly be able to stand against those that would have us cave in to their agenda and beliefs.

For those of you who would like to give your life to Jesus or those of you who want to rekindle your commitment to the Lord, say this prayer out loud with me:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus to die on the Cross for my sins

Forgive me for my sins.

Wash them away with the Blood of Jesus

Jesus, take over my life. 

I give it to you

Reign in my heart and my soul

Change me and make me whole

I ask all of these things in Jesus Name

Amen 

 

Marcella Ward   September 25, 2024   Author of  "Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One" 

 

ASYMPTOMATIC CHRISTIANITY

Marcella Ward    

Have you ever heard the term asymptomatic?  According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary it says: not causing, marked by, or presenting with signs or symptoms of infection, illness, or disease.

We hear the term used more often now because of the pandemic.  But I would argue that it can also be applied to Christians who claim to be Christians but lack the evidence or “symptoms” or signs manifesting their true identity as a follower of Christ.

You probably have heard the saying, “If you were brought before a court of law, could you be convicted of being a Christian?  What would be the evidence that you are a Believer in Christ? 

“So, how do I know if you are a Christian? How do you know if I'm one? There must be evidence. Jesus said, "By their fruits you shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). If someone examined your life, would they find any spiritual fruit—hard evidence to prove that you are a true follower of Jesus Christ?

Or, let me put it another way: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? By "evidence," I don't mean how many Bibles you own, or how many bumper stickers you might have on your car with Christian sayings on them. I mean hard evidence. If your family members, neighbors, and coworkers were interviewed and asked the question, "Is (your name here), in your opinion, a real Christian?" we might not be happy with the response.

The only way others can tell whether you are a Christian is by your works. While all the good works in the world won't save a person (Titus 3:5), they are reasonable evidence that someone is saved.”  (Are You A Christian? Greg Laurie Harvest Ministries November 24, 2009)

It is by our works.  It is by what people see or hear from the Believer.  Jesus did not only preach to the people but He showed His love and compassion in action by healing people and meeting their needs.  He went out to the people.  He went out to the streets and interacted with people.  Jesus is the embodiment of God on the earth.  Jesus showed us how to live and how to love.

Galatians 5:14-18; 22-26 NIV

 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
Where there is injury, pardon; 
Where there is doubt, faith; 
Where there is despair, hope; 
Where there is darkness, light; 
And where there is sadness, joy. 

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console; 
To be understood, as to understand; 
To be loved, as to love; 
For it is in giving that we receive, 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. 
Amen.

1.  Christians speaks out rather than be silent about moral issues even when it is not “politically correct” to do so.

2.  Christians do not hide from the truth or are ashamed of who they are in Christ.

3.  Christians do their part to come against the “powers that be” when it comes to standing up for issues such as pro-life; Biblical marriage; freedom of speech; etc.

4.  Christians exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit--- love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

5.  Christians, though not perfect, are “a work in progress.”

Yes, we are all “a work in progress.”  Thank God for His grace and His mercy.  We don’t deserve His love and we will never be worthy of it but because God loved us first, we are clothed in the righteousness of God in Christ because of His death and resurrection.

Let’s not be asymptomatic Christians but lights shining in the darkness in which others will be attracted to us because they see the love of God in us that is uncompromisingly dedicated to bringing the Kingdom of God on the earth. We live in the realm of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”  John 18:36 NIV

WE ARE KINGDOM DWELLERS!

 Marcella Ward August 4, 2021  Author of "Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One"

 

                                             ARE WE LIVING IN A POST-CHRISTIAN WORLD?

When I first thought about writing a blog, I wanted to write about how the world would be like if Jesus had never been born.  As I did my research and contemplated about it, I realized that we are living in a world that is rapidly becoming a post-Christian world. 

”Before Christ, human life was cheap and expendable all over the world.  In the Americas, the Near East, Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East child sacrifice was a common phenomenon. Babies, particularly females -- who were considered inferior -- were regularly abandoned. Author George Grant points out: “Before the explosive and penetrating growth of medieval Christian influence, the primordial evils of abortion, infanticide, abandonment, and exposure were a normal part of everyday life…” That changed in the West with the 6th century Christian Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian whose Law Code declared child abandonment and abortion a crime.” (What Would the World Look Like if Christ had Never Been Born? Scott S. Powell, December 25, 2017)

“In general, in a post-Christian culture, the dominant world-view is no longer founded on Christian principles — or at least we can no longer assume that it will be. The Church no longer shapes the culture. But in a very real sense, this “post-Christian” world is actually coming full circle to resemble the pre-Christian world — the world in which Christians were persecuted because they criticized the ethics of the culture and refused to participate in its idolatrous practices, which involved the exploitation of human beings.” Are We Living in a Post-Christian World?”  (Mike Aquilina & James L. Papandrea  May 3, 2019)

We have entered the era of “Cultural Christianity.”  What does this mean?  The Church, seemingly, is not impacting the culture, but the culture is impacting the Church.  Unfortunately, many Church leaders have not stood up to the political correctness of the left. The Achilles heel happened when most of the churches closed down instead of standing up for freedom of religion. There were a few Pastors that did not close their churches, in spite of the government’s persecution of religious freedom.  They put their faith in God knowing that the Church is essential, especially in these times. 

Where was the Church in the 1973 when Roe vs. Wade became law?  Yes, there were marches but it was most of the Pastors in the churches who did not lead the way and continue leading the way and get directly involved. 

Christians have been “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to voting.  I have been awakened to the fact that I need to get more involved with those on my local school boards, etc. and vote for those who are conservative.  We can only make a difference if we get involved because politics is part of our world system and we, as Christians, need to be the ones who are shaping the world and overcoming the world because Jesus came to change the world.  

Of course there is hope because the Remnant Church is arising!  Many Christians are awakening to the fact that we are living in a time when “good is bad and bad is good.” 

John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.  NIV

We need to be taking a stand whenever we can and be the light in the darkness because one life can change the whole world!

“This is a popular poem about the life of Jesus Christ. Although the author is frequently cited as "unknown" the poem is actually attributed to James Allen Francis.” (Tullylish Parish, County Down, Ireland)

                                                                       One Solitary Life

 
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life. (Tullylish Parish, County Down, Ireland)

 Marcella Ward December 8, 2021 (Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”)