NON-TOXIC

2009 July 24
by pastorwoody

Non-Toxic Christianity

 
 
Most professed followers of Christ live a “non-toxic” brand of Christianity. That is, their “Christian” lifestyle tends to be easy, upbeat, convenient, and compatible. Their lives exhibit little, if any, self-sacrifice, discipline, humility, an otherworldly outlook, a zeal for souls, or a fear, as well as, love for God. To them, there is little guilt and no punishment, and the payoff in heaven is virtually certain.

Let me propose five root causes for this farce:

1. Religious Individualism – These individuals have come to believe that religious authority lies in them rather than in the Bible or in church leadership. Thus, they have become their own final court of appeal as to what is right or wrong:

In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  (Judges 17:6)

2. Shallow Superficiality – Most of them have only a scant acquaintance with Biblical truth, because our exposure to, and understanding of the Scriptures lacks discipline, focus and scholarship. If the Word of God is not spoon-fed to them in “touchy-feelie” bite-size portions, we soon loose interest.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables  (2 Tim 4:3-4)

3. Religious Consumerism – Exercising their ‘divine right‘ as religious consumers, they buy as much Christianity as they seem to want. The cost is low and customer satisfaction seems guaranteed. If their present religious “provider” fails to cater to their whimsical fancy, they flutter across town to one that will.

4. Cultural Christianity – Their values, norms and modes of interpreting reality have been entirely emancipated from any dependence upon God. Overwhelmed as they are by the pervading culture, they have accommodated their beliefs to fit in with their norms and values to the point that their Christian witness has lost its authenticity. Thus, the persecution mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:12 is alien to their experience:

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  (2 Tim 3:12)

5. Frenzied Materialism – While they slave away at obtaining the “finer” things in life, they openly profess a strong distaste for materialism. Yet they have become amazingly adept at learning how to deliberate an uneasy union between the spiritual and material.

QUESTION: How would you evaluate your brand of Christianity? Is it of the non-toxic variety that offends and affects no one?

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