Today’s Modernized Christian

There are so many blogs on the Christian faith and a ton of websites, why another blog on the subject? After looking at many of the books, teachings on television and the like, I pray that many will carefully choose what they read and listen to about God. We need to be careful about what we allow to influence our fellowship with God, after all isn’t that something to take seriously?

Walking into Barnes & Nobles, or any Christian bookstore, you find a large amount of options to choose from. So many options that it really is overwhelming. In the Christian circles, many are very skeptical about who to read, who not to read, and others will read anything and go with the latest fad.

In the New Testament (NKJV), 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Christians are to always be on guard that they are following the ‘truth’. So, if you go to find a Christian book to read, or follow a pastors sermon, it really depends on which Bible they read, their understanding of scriptures and what their personal beliefs are. Knowing all these things upfront will pretty much tell you if you may enjoy it or get discouraged by it. If you are already a Christian, and may have been for a while, you may be able to pick out mis-quotes of scriptures or any teaching that may be contradictory to say the original KJV. The problem is the books or sermons might be presented to a non-Christian or someone wanting to learn about God and get steered into a structured belief system rather than forming their own understanding of scriptures from the Bible itself. Trying to convince others into a common shared belief is what the early Christian churches had to deal with and a reason that their are so many denominations today.

More and more you see a list of TV evangelists and authors leading people into this ‘quick fix/’self help’ type of Christianity, which by the way is very popular. In books, on TV, they tell you that if you follow God your life will be blessed. You will be blessed, healed, finances turned around, children obedient, good marriage, great job, all if you follow God.

If this has lead people to Christ, then what’s wrong with that?

Because, when they earnestly strive daily to follow God and their bank account isn’t getting fatter or they haven’t been healed, others tell them their faith must be weak and they need to try harder. So, the person feels guilt and wonders what they are doing wrong, does God love me, why are bad things still occurring in my life, eventually getting discouraged, leave the church, or worse walking away from God.

You can sell more books, fill your church with more people, if you say what it is that people want to hear. Positive thinking has been known to work wonders, but then the focus is turned to self, the individual and not God. It may be a good thing for self, but it won’t save you. These authors and pastors should relay the truth, and keep pressing the truth of the Gospels, and not be afraid of being unpopular.

Have you noticed some of the largest and quickest growing churches are the ones teaching this new self help method of preaching? What does that say about the Christians of today?

There was a young successful TV pastor on the Larry King show. Larry King tried to pin this pastor down asking him direct questions…

King: What if you’re Jewish or Muslim and you don’t believe in Christ at all?

Pastor X : I am very careful to say who would and would not go to heaven… I just don’t know.

King: If you believe you have to believe in Christ, then they’re wrong aren’t they?

Pastor X: Well I don’t know if I believe they are wrong…

Basically he continued to sidestep any question that could possibly make him unpopular with anyone. This young pastor spends about 85% of the time telling stories instead of quoting scripture, and is more popular than ever.

When you follow God, it should never be about ‘What can I get out of it!’ A belief in God does not mean you will lead a wonderful trouble free life. Yes, a belief in God is terrific, but not for any personal self indulgent reasons. The positive preachers teach that you must have great faith, and you will be blessed, God loves you and wants you to be happy. If you preach or write about God, stand behind the teachings of the Bible, no matter how unpopular they are.

Those teaching about the Gospels will be held more accountable. It is a heavy load to take care to what you say and how you portray the message of Christ. I wish more of those teaching would read James 3:1 over and over again.

(KJV) 1 John 2:15 – 17

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

God is not concerned with how big our bank account is, or giving you material wealth. God’s only concern is our relationship to Him. Everything about God is His relationship to His creation, including us. There is no instant fix when it comes to God. God is in control and no matter how much faith you think you have, it is still up to God to bless who he chooses, and when He chooses.

The disciples had great faith and what became of them?

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

Luke was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

Peter was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross, according to church tradition because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

James the Just, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller’s club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

James the Greater, a son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

Bartholomew, also know as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed to our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia when he was flayed to death by a whip.

Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

The apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the subcontinent.

Jude, the brother of Jesus, was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

Barnabas, one of the group of seventy disciples, wrote the Epistle of Barnabas. He preached throughout Italy and Cyprus. Barnabas was stoned to death at Salonica.

The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

When you listen to a sermon, how many times does the pastor quote from the KJV and are you able to follow along? Does he take a verse out of context to push his point across? Does he ask every church service if there is someone who wants to accept Jesus as their savior? How much service time is spent on teaching the Word of God rather than preaching, announcements, music, building funds etc.?

If you are a follower of Christ and dedicated your life to Him, wouldn’t it seem reasonable to examine the Holy Bible for yourself on how you should be living for Him? You would trust eternity on someone else’s interpretation? Without Jesus and the disciples sitting in the room with you, the only way to know Him is through His Holy Word and no matter how hard people try to change it or add to it or take away from it, it remains the same. Society has changed, not God. If we don’t agree with the scriptures as today’s modernized Christian, then we are the ones that are wrong, not God.

God Bless