Are today's "Christians" any different from the world?

In my observations, I have noticed that many so-called "Christians" do not appear to be any different than non-Christians. Why is that? Should Christians really separate themselves from "the world" and be different or should Christians try to "fit in" with non-Christians and "enjoy" all that the world has to offer?

If your answer to my question of how Christians should act is contrary to the Bible, then you should seriously exam yourself to see if you are truly in "the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). By this I mean that true Christians are commanded to "set themselves apart" from the world and its influences (2 Corinthians 6:17).

If you truly desire the world and everything that it has to offer, then you most likely do not love the Lord Jesus Christ. You certainly don't love Him more than anything if your desire is to "fit in" and be accepted by your friends. Christians are supposed to be different and out of love for Jesus, they are also supposed to be His ambassadors to shine His light on the world and be "salty" as in presenting something of value (the gospel message) to "the world" around them (Matthew 5:13-15). As Jesus is the Light, we are to reflect His light to the world (John 8:12). How can we do this is we look and act no different than "the world?" What testimony do we have if Jesus has never touched our heart and given us a testimony? After all, we must be drawn to Him if we are truly His (John 6:44).

I say all of this because I am grieved to see church leaders, Sunday school teachers and their children all appearing to be of the world, in love with the things of the world and trying their best to fit in with the world. What does this do to the church? Is the church influencing the world or is the world influencing the church? By all indications, the church is becoming worldlier every day. I even see billboards trying to persuade people to attend churches by way of the latest, greatest "sermon series."

By everything that I have observed, the church has become a marketing machine, no longer interested in fulfilling the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20) by going out and making disciples, but instead are attempting to lure people into the church by getting their attention and entertaining them. And what of these slick marketing ploys? Are they "inoffensive" and "watered-down" gospel presentations that are followed by high pressure altar calls trying to get people to "make decisions" for Christ based on an emotional sermon that they may or may not have written themselves? Is the goal of the church merely to multiply its membership and to make money? If the answer is "yes" to any of these questions, then what we are seeing is the church rapidly falling into disobedience to Christ by following unbiblical "formulas" and schemes and are only gaining church members instead of genuine believers who are then discipled to follow the commands of Jesus Christ. As I read the Gospels, I see that Jesus was more interested in the quality of His disciples and followers over their quantity. Is this how the church operates today?

I know that there are still some churches that do not bow a knee to Baal (Romans 11:3-5), but for the most part, I observe that so many churches are more interested in themselves (self-centeredness) instead of the Lord Jesus. They present "sermon series" that are more "self-help" than gospel presentation. The church seems to exist to make everyone feel better about themselves instead of bringing sinners to genuine repentance. It is complete blasphemy that it has come to this, but we must not despair. It is recorded in Revelation that the church would become lukewarm to the extreme that Jesus is on the outside of the church knocking on the door to be let in (Revelation 3:20). I say that we are already there. So take heart, unless you are part of the problem. If your life does not reflect the Lord Jesus Christ, then you need to repent and bow to His Lordship. Examine your life and line it up with what Jesus said concerning the cost of discipleship (Luke 14:25-35). If your life does not line up with the requirements of Jesus, then repent and forsake the world and remember that Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). If He has overcome the world and if you remain / abide in Him (John 15:3-13), then you have overcome the world too. Also remember that if you follow Jesus, the world will not love you because you are not of the world (John 15:18-23), but remember that Jesus will love you and that is a greater gift than anything the world can offer you.

Are churches supposed to be "seeker sensitive"?

Have you every heard of the expression "seeker sensitive"? What does it mean to be "seeker sensitive"? After some quick research, you may find that most people agree that to be "seeker sensitive" means to have a friendly, happy church that only mentions the grace and love of our God without ever mentioning words like "repentance, wrath, judgment and sin."

The goal seems to be to draw people into the church without ever offending anyone. The "mega churches" that have become large and famous in this country are proof that this approach does indeed "draw them in." But, I ask you "Is this approach biblical" and "is this how Jesus operated?" Anyone who has ever read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) knows that the answer is a resounding "NO."

Jesus could have had as many followers as He wanted. In fact, He was well on His way of doing just that. If you read John 6:30-69, you'll see how Jesus thinned out most of his "followers." What happened was that those that were following Jesus asked for Him to give them a "miraculous sign" and instead, He gave them the truth of who He Is. They did not understand and did not like what He told them (basically that He is the bread of life and that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life). Since they did not like or understand what He told them, they stopped following Him, except the twelve. Now they didn't like or understand what He said either, but the difference was that they believed in Him (except Judas, of course, but he had to be there for the scriptures to be fulfilled). The difference between these two responses is the same difference between true and false converts.

The main differences between being "seeker sensitive" and being "Christ sensitive" is that Jesus Christ didn't mind offending the masses and choosing quality over quantity, while the "seeker sensitive" churches of today try hard to be non-offensive as to not hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone angry (where they will leave the church). So it seems that these type of churches are afraid of men and are "man-centered".

In the above mentioned chapter and verses in the Gospel According to John, Jesus also said that no one could come to Him unless The Father had enabled them. This means that if The Father enables someone to come to Christ, that the "offensive" message of the gospel will not chase them away. In fact, it will have the opposite effect! They may not like or understand what is being said, but they KNOW what the words of eternal life sound like when they hear them and are drawn to them! This doesn't mean that we will never understand these words, just not in the beginning of our spiritual walk (like the disciples, who understood later).

The bottom line of this particular blog is that while "seeker sensitive" churches do indeed draw a large crowd, it doesn't mean that they are actually preaching to the elect of Christ (people who are genuinely saved are called "the elect").

One other quick point that I've noticed when I've attempted to watch any presentation (I won't call it preaching) of a "seeker sensitive" pastor to see if they're presenting the gospel message or merely spewing self-help advice, is that they hardly ever use their Bible. They may hold it up before speaking or may put a few out-of-context verses up on the projection screen, but they never seem to use it as the source of their message. It's only there for effect, not to affect! If the pastor of such a congregation doesn't use the Bible, why should the congregation ever read and study it? If they did, they probably wouldn't be sitting in that congregation much longer!

I know that some people love to listen to these types of pastors, but think about it...are they preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? The first recorded word when He began preaching was "repent" (Matthew 4:17). Maybe they're just telling the people what they want to hear. I will leave you with scripture and hope that, if you don't see anything wrong with the "seeker sensitive" pastors and the way they do business, that you would pray and ask God to open your eyes to any false teachings that do not correspond with the teachings of Jesus Christ : (2 Timothy 4:3 (NIV) 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.)