Are We Truly Christian?

 

Many individuals are very apathetic when it comes to the things of God.  They have little or no interest in our Creator nor are they willing to share their faith with others, exhibit compassion, and/or serve others.  Why is this?

 

I believe many individuals are very apathetic when it comes to the things of God because they are mere theists who do not realize their spiritual restoration is at stake.  They do not put much thought or effort into their faith because they posses a deistic worldview.  They believe in a very distant God who can never have a relationship with humanity.

 

As a result, apathetic theists go through the motions of being Christian and hope God will accept them into Heaven when they die.  They show up at church wearing expensive clothing and look down upon those who are less formally dressed.  They do not reach out to others because they enjoy residing in their personal comfort zones.  They draw near to God with their mouths and honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are very far from the Truth.  Their worship is derived from rules taught by mere men (Isaiah 29:13) and their so-called “spirituality” is only performed to meet the requirements of their church.  Their faith is routine instead of genuine.

 

In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the Apostle Paul states, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.  Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is within you: unless of course you fail the test?”

 

To put it differently, we should perform spiritual evaluations on ourselves.  We should look for a growing awareness of Christ’s presence and power in our lives.  Only then can we be certain we are truly Christians and not merely apathetic theists.

 

In addition, 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  This Scripture implies a remarkable transformation in a Christian’s life.  It involves a spiritual conversion, from darkness to light, in which God becomes the new Master in one’s life.

 

If we are truly Christian, we understand the importance of reading Scripture, praying, evangelizing, and attending church.  We read Scripture everyday because we realize the Bible provides spiritual nourishment for our daily walk with the Lord; we pray or talk to God regularly because we believe communication is essential in order to build a better relationship with our Creator; we evangelize or tell others about Jesus because we know it is our responsibility to make disciples; we attend church and meet with other Christians for prayer, Bible study, and worship because we realize God does not intend for us to be alone in our walk with Him.

 

Considering this, if we are not merely apathetic theists and have truly come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our life, there would be adequate evidence to prove we are Christians.  If we were arrested tonight for being followers of Jesus, there would be sufficient evidence to convict us.  If the police interviewed our friends, neighbors, and fellow students there would be ample evidence to prove we are following God’s path for our life.

 

Are we truly Christian or are we merely apathetic theists?