Ghandi once said “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." It is sad to me, but many people would nod their heads in agreement today. Many have been hurt by people who proclaim to know Christ or have been mislead by their actions.
Lately I have been noticing more and more how the actions of Christians often paint a bad picture of God. It saddens me to see God misrepresented by the very people who claim to know him and follow him.
With all the Christian videos circulating the social media these days I have witnessed more and more the misconceptions and misrepresentations of God that people believe due to a bad witness on the part of Christians. It has frustrated me to see how our sins have been a stumbling block to others and caused them to believe things about God that simply are not true. Whether we like it or not- our actions have a very real influence on how others think and act towards God.
I grouped some of these actions and behaviours among Christians into 4 categories (not exclusive) and would like to try to address them.
First the "Christian Athiests" These Christians say they follow God but act like they don't. They say one thing but do another. They act one way at church but are different around everyone else. They are hypocritical and elevate themselves to please others. Whenever their faith is questioned they compromise or diminish it. When people look at their lives they ask "If God is real then how does it really make a difference anyway?"
1 Titus 1:16 "They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good."
Revelation 3:15-16 5 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
If I am being honest here- all Christians can act like this and it is often not hard. Why? Because we are sinful and often put our selfish desires above what we know God's are. No one is perfect and therefore can ever be as good and just and righteous as Jesus. However many of these Christians have never experienced the love of God and therefore are motivated to follow him. I think the biggest reason we desire to follow God is because we love him as he first loved us. It is not out of obligation or guilt, as the penalty of our sin was already paid on the cross by Jesus so we no longer have to worry about doing enough good things to gain access into heaven.
If you have met a Christian like this before I beg you to please not discredit God simply because of the actions of someone like this. I have met many Christians with radical transformation stories who love God with all their heart and have experienced him in a real way. He changes lives it’s true.
To Christian Athiests out there I pray you would meet God and truly know the love he has for you. I pray you would re-evaluate how you are living and how it influences other people’s views of God. Ask God to help you cut off those things that may give you temporary pleasure but in the end you know will never fully satisfy.
Second the “I say I am a Christian but I don’t really believe what the bible says.” These Christians take the parts of the Bible they like and apply them to their lives but take the other parts and change them. (Love wins anyone?) They misinterpret God’s word so to push their own political and social agendas on others. (Crusades) They pick and choose which parts of the bible to follow and which parts to push aside. They stand on street corners holding signs like “God hates Gays” or “If you have an abortion you’re going to hell”. They create their own doctrines and ideas and treat it like its divine revelation.
When I see people claim something about God that is clearly not true it makes me so angry. Imagine being a new student and before you even got to school rumors had been spread that you were racist, sexist, cruel, and ignorant. How would you feel if you were rejected and ridiculed but were never given a chance to explain yourself?
Romans 16:17 “And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.”
If you have met a Christian like this I would ask you to take some time and really evaluate what God has to say for himself. Don’t just take someone else’s word for it. The Bible is a big book with many different types of literature that need to be interpreted differently, just as you wouldn’t read a poem as a piece of history or vice versa. Ask people who have studied the scriptures in their proper context with literary and historical backgrounds what they think and you might be quite surprised.
To all people out there who claim to be Christians I would challenge you to re-examine your beliefs and why you believe what you do. Don’t take things for face value just because a certain person said them. Look to God’s Word itself for the truth in all things. Don’t be afraid to correct someone gently if they are misconstruing God’s word or adding things to it. Our beliefs guide our actions and thus they have extreme importance.
Thirdly to the “Religious Christians", or should I say “Pharisees”. These Christians maintain a holier than thou attitude. They think that they are better than others and more precious to God because of how they act, as if their actions are what gain their salvation. They are quick to criticize and condemn others for their actions and feel entitled to high position among God and others. They can put on a fake front and will rarely admit their faults or struggles.
When the Jesus is greater than Religion video came out there was much debate. Many people questioned it because they consider the belief in Jesus to be a religion. By dictionary definition Christianity is a religion yes (a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects), but what I believe the guy was referring to by the word religion was the “belief” that our works determine our standing with God and the hypocrisy and holier than thou attitude that can come with it.
Now there are many stories in the bible that clearly show that Jesus hated this idea, and in fact came to abolish it.
Galatians 2:16 says "we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified."
Look at the story of the adulteress who the religious leaders wanted to stone (John 8:1-11) and you will clearly see how Jesus dealt with people of this sort. He said this about them in Matthew 23: 27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean."
The reality is that many people like this still exist. In fact the belief that by our own actions we can earn our salvation characterizes many of the other religions of the world. Pride is a very real thing and it fools us into thinking we can get to God ourselves. Our pride likes the idea of earning our own salvation because then we don’t really need God's help and can be good on our own. However the reality is there was a penalty to be paid for our sin- and it required a perfect sacrifice to satisfy God’s just and holy nature. Instead of making us pay our sins penalty of death, God gave up his son Jesus Christ to take our place and pay it so we could have relationship and eternal life with him. Therefore our salvation is not about doing the right things- it’s about recognizing what was already done for us.
We are all sinful and have weakness and need God’s help. It is by admitting our weakness and dependence on God that we can avoid this trap of trying to earn salvation on our own and judging others based on their actions. We really have no right, we are not God.
Luke 6:36-38 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
If you have met a religious Christian or been hurt by one my prayer is that you would find forgiveness in your heart for them. Please don’t discredit Jesus because of the sins of someone who judged, criticized, or condemned you. Know that God accepts you for exactly who you are through Jesus Christ, flaws and all, and gave his son so that you could be without sin in his sight. He doesn’t condemn you but gently corrects you as follow him, and there is always grace for when you fall. He will never expect you to be perfect.
If you have fallen into the trap of being a religious Christian and are recognizing it you have taken the first step toward correction. Ask God to show you how much you need him and to change your critical heart. Oftentimes we don’t have grace for others because we don’t have grace for ourselves. I pray that as you come to understand his grace for yourself you will be able to give it to others. Confess your weakness and dependence on him daily.
And lastly the “I am a Christian but don’t really know what I believe.” These Christians are usually wishy-washy when it comes to defending their beliefs. They have faith in God but cannot explain why they do and are easily swayed by competing ideas. They appear to be sleepwalkers, trudging ahead with no real idea where they are walking or why they are walking there. When their faith is questioned they usually have little or nothing to say.
Now I don’t want you to think I am putting you down if you find yourself in this category. The reason I made this a category is because I simply want to challenge those who have not put much thought into why they believe to dig deeper. As I have seen from experience these kinds of Christians can put a bitter taste in the mouth of seekers as they have no real substance to offer to others but appear to be walking “blindly”.
If you have met a Christian like this and been turned off of the faith because it appeared those following it were “brainwashed” and couldn’t defend their beliefs with logic and plausibility I ask you to re-think your assumptions. Please do some research and look into apologetics to find the answers you seek. Christianity is not a blind faith but is quite grounded in history, human experience, science, and logic- but you will only come to see that if you are willing to research further.
For Christians who find themselves in this category I challenge you to study apologetics and theology. Discover why you believe what you do and learn to articulate it to others. Don’t remain stagnant in your faith but constantly learn of who God is. Not only will you gain a new boldness in sharing your faith but your faith will be strengthened as well.
1 Peter 3:15 “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”
In closing I again want to say in no way have I written this post out of the intention of putting others down or condemning other Christians. We Christians are not "perfect" and we recognize we are broken and sinful people who need God's help everyday. As Paul did in Romans 7:17-19 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Christianity is not about having it all together and following all the "rules" to become a "good" person. It is about accepting and knowing Jesus love in the midst of our crap and following him not out of obligation or fear of condemnation but because we love him and want to demonstrate his love to the world.
However the reality is our actions do have serious implications on how others view God. I want to challenge Christians to be more aware of this and rely on God's strength to become the people he has called them to be. Instead of being known for hypocrisy, judgement, and blind faith I desire we are known for our love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. These are the fruits of the Spirit working in us. (Gal 5:22-23)
I deeply desire to see the misconceptions people have of God fall to the ground as they come to realize who He really is. He is good, loving, faithful, gentle, compassionate, strong, powerful, and full of grace despite how our actions have reflected him to be.
My youth pastor once said something like this “Your life may be the only book some people read about God- the only real representation they have of Christ in their lives-so make it count”
I recognize that some of the stuff I wrote in here is controversial. I would love to respond to your questions or comments as long as they are given in a respectful way. Also if you feel this is something that would benefit others by all means go ahead and re-post it.
Tess :)
