Bring Out Biblical Christianity

1/1/2007

I remember in the ‘80s, Keith Green sang in his song that just because you enter McDonald’s, that doesn’t make you a hamburger. Or just because you sleep in a garage that doesn’t make you a car…

Right.

…Or swimming in the water doesn’t make you a fish. I think what we are dealing with is cultural Christianity. So many people who call themselves Christians and identify themselves with born-again groups are trapped in a cultural mindset. Their definition of what it means to be a Christian is based on what they see from the people around them. It is based on what they see their parents do or what they see their neighbors or their friends do. “They are doing it and so am I. Therefore, I’m a Christian.”

I think the need is to bring people into a situation where they ask, “Have I really had my own crisis experience? Have I had that kind of encounter with the Lord Jesus that goes beyond just dealing with things that stand between me and Him?”

Amen.

I know there are many people here in our country that see themselves as Christians and consider themselves to be Believers. It is probably an offense to those in the evangelical community especially, to hear that they are possibly not Christians, and they are unbelievers. I’m beginning to see why they feel such offense. It’s because their understanding of being a Christian is based on what has been passed on to them.

So, the challenge for us and for anyone who wants to bring people into a Real experience with Jesus is to bring them true Christianity in the Biblical sense of the word. There are just so many coatings, if you’d like to look at it that way. There are so many coatings to get into the core of Christianity. It’s not an easy job; it’s not an easy task. We need the Holy Spirit working in us and guiding us even as we witness and share. We should go beyond the traditional, typical way of presenting the Gospel. We should not feel satisfied when a person makes a sinner’s prayer. That is not necessarily a guarantee that the person has experienced New Birth! Who knows exactly when and where, or even if this person experienced New Birth?

That’s right.

It’s a cultural thing and I don’t think it is unique to our country. I believe every generation whether it’s in the west or here, has developed some kind of cultural mentality as far as their understanding of Christianity. It has become a hindrance to people experiencing the real Jesus and true Christianity.

•  Bring Out Biblical Christianity