Man has changed!
The message, Casual Christian, came about because of my deep concern for the Lord’s Church. I pray that I can help you focus on what I see happening today.
The world around us has become much more casual about everything. At first, I did not think it would negatively affect the church, but it has.
As Christians and the Church become more casual along with society, fundamental doctrines seem less critical. As a result, our faithfulness to the truths of the Bible weakens. We began to accept what was happening around us as normal.
Christians sometimes forget who they are. 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV says, 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
We should not stumble and allow ourselves to become disobedient to God’s word.
When casual Friday turned into casual every day, our society shifted in more than how they dress. It became relaxed everything. Even our beliefs come under attack.
Instead of attending church in casual dress, many began to put other activities before church. For example, it became acceptable to schedule children’s activities on Sundays. Many chose to pull their children out of church so they could take part in some sport or other event.
Christian parents got too busy to have daily family Bible study and prayer together. As a result, the Word of God became less important than the world’s views to our children. We are seeing a generation maturing without Bibical restraint.
Has God changed?
No! The truth of God never changes. It is the one tangible thing that we can hold on to as the world changes around us. Paul says in Hebrews 13:8 NKJV, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
God’s unchanging nature is our anchor in the storm of life. We can know what is right by going back to His word. When we accept what the world says is correct, we reject what God says. The world and God will always conflict, and we always have to choose which side we will stand on.
Will you stand by God’s Word or by man’s ideas? God gave you the right to choose Him or the world.
It is apparent in the words of Jesus that the world hates Him and that we are hated if we follow Him. Therefore, if we take a stand for what is right as God reveals in His Word, we automatically stand against evil.
“Casual Christians” do not exist in the real world. Counterfeit Christians do. Jesus says in John 7:7 NKJV, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.”
But if like Jesus, you stand against the world and proclaim the truth, Jesus says in Matthew 10:22 NKJV, “ And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
As Christians, we should stand apart from the world like a lamp shining out in the darkness. People should see Jesus in us and all our actions. And they should hear our voices!
If they do see us in the light of Jesus we are promised they will hate us. You can see that today with the rise of hate for all things good. Our churches are being attacked, even those that do not stand for the truth.
We Need To Backup!
Remember back when you first believed and accepted Jesus as your savior and surrendered your life to Him? The joy of that experience moved you to tell others what had happened to you. There was a commitment to follow after Jesus and do the good things He showed you.
Note: If you did not feel the joy and want to tell others I believe that you need to go back and truly give yourself to Jesus and seek His salvation.
At different times in our lives, we all need to back up and take stock. We quickly forget what is essential in our lives and start looking around us for answers. The world offers a set of solutions that we often see as good, even when they go against God’s law.
Do not be deceived by Satan’s lies as presented by worldly leaders. We do not ever have the right to put our ideas before those of God.
John offers these words of direction in 1 John 2:15-18, “15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”
Last Days
It does not matter if these are the last days or not! Today is when we are living, and this is our time to respond to God’s Word. We must reach the world we live in while we can. The saying, “Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come,” should be our theme. Live for Jesus today and it does not matter if tomorrow never comes.
Today is all we have! So let us rededicate our lives to serving God and doing the work He gave us to do.
Paul admonishes us in Romans 6:13, “Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Remember that you cannot serve two masters. You are either for God or against God. Approaching God only at your convenience will lead to your downfall.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 NKJV, “ No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You can not serve God and mammon.”
In Closing
There is no such thing as a “casual Christian”. However, there certainly are “counterfeit Christians”. People who claim the name of Jesus but have never surrendered their hearts to Him are not His followers. Ministers who do not proclaim the Word of God are “counterfeit Christians.”
A “casual Christian” may attend church every time the door opens and make sure that their children attend. They may even teach a class, but their lives outside and maybe in the church do not reflect sound doctrine.
Christians are to live their lives focused on serving God and not their selves. Keeping oneself clean from sin is part of that life.
We are now seeing divorce rates among the churches approach the same level as non-Christians. Our children are leaving the church as being irrelevant to their lives.
“Casual Christians” do not pray together, even in those families who take their children to church regularly. Bible study is almost non-existent in homes. Instead, TV, phones, and games are used to train our children for life.
If you are willing to accept Jesus into your heart and follow Him with all your heart and soul, do so now. Then, you can change from claiming to be a Christian to being one.
You might also want to read this article, “What are You? A Question You Need To Answer!“
I love that I can come here and find truth in each of Pastor Bruce’s sermons. They are are fully Biblically based. Clearly,he seeks God’s heart before writing each and every one.