I have probably said this before in one of my posts but I think it bears repeating. When I was younger in the faith and I read in the Bible Jesus saying that the path that led to salvation was narrow and there were few that found it, I used to ask myself what he meant. My reasoning was that how can there be billions of people on the planet and about half of them were said to be "Christian" and yet here was Jesus saying that fewer people would find the road to salvation than those that walked the road to destruction. A few years down the road of faith, I now believe I know what he was talking about.
I read an article by Ed Stetzer a few months back about a survey that was done which showed that the number of people who identified as Christians in America had greatly reduced. He then proceeded to ask whether it was time to start mourning the demise of Christianity in America and the West. In answering the question, he came to a conclusion that I had arrived at some time ago. The conclusion is this, there are many people who go to church but have never met with Christ who think they are Christians. They are not aware that going to church just makes you a regular church goer and not a Christian. From the Bible we understand that to be a Christian you must first be convicted of sin, then believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord. After believing, you confess it. Then you take up your cross each day and follow him. It's therefore no surprise when people who have never been convicted of sin or confessed Jesus go back to where they never left in the first place. Then they gleefully tell us how they are no longer Christians. If I had a dollar for every atheist who thought he was a Christian before "renouncing" the Christian faith, I would be rich.
Centuries ago, someone once famously said God was dead but the only person that is dead is him. The Christian faith is still going strong the only difference is that those who believe are being separated from those who don't believe. Christianity has survived repression in countries like China and is still in existence in North Korea. Even in places like Iran, Egypt and Syria where it is dangerous to be Christians, they still exist. There is nothing man can do to stop it. I read a Tweet yesterday that made me smile. The tweeter was insinuating that Jesus would be dumped after his fear had worn off out of people's lives. I was amused at the people who make comments on things people don't understand. Just because the Christian faith talks about the "fear of God" some think the fear being talked about is literal. For the record, it's not.
I do not believe in God or Jesus because I am afraid of him. I don not believe in God because I am afraid of him, hell or something like that. To paraphrase Peter, I follow Jesus because he has the words of life. I follow him because I love him. Fear is not a factor. I follow Jesus because he has the truth. I follow Jesus because after considering the other gods men chase after like money, fame and fortune, he still is greater. I follow Jesus because I believe everything else is vanity. Whether or not only one person in the west believes in God, it doesn't matter. What matters is that in the end, those that say they're Christians really, truly know what it means.
I read an article by Ed Stetzer a few months back about a survey that was done which showed that the number of people who identified as Christians in America had greatly reduced. He then proceeded to ask whether it was time to start mourning the demise of Christianity in America and the West. In answering the question, he came to a conclusion that I had arrived at some time ago. The conclusion is this, there are many people who go to church but have never met with Christ who think they are Christians. They are not aware that going to church just makes you a regular church goer and not a Christian. From the Bible we understand that to be a Christian you must first be convicted of sin, then believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord. After believing, you confess it. Then you take up your cross each day and follow him. It's therefore no surprise when people who have never been convicted of sin or confessed Jesus go back to where they never left in the first place. Then they gleefully tell us how they are no longer Christians. If I had a dollar for every atheist who thought he was a Christian before "renouncing" the Christian faith, I would be rich.
Centuries ago, someone once famously said God was dead but the only person that is dead is him. The Christian faith is still going strong the only difference is that those who believe are being separated from those who don't believe. Christianity has survived repression in countries like China and is still in existence in North Korea. Even in places like Iran, Egypt and Syria where it is dangerous to be Christians, they still exist. There is nothing man can do to stop it. I read a Tweet yesterday that made me smile. The tweeter was insinuating that Jesus would be dumped after his fear had worn off out of people's lives. I was amused at the people who make comments on things people don't understand. Just because the Christian faith talks about the "fear of God" some think the fear being talked about is literal. For the record, it's not.
I do not believe in God or Jesus because I am afraid of him. I don not believe in God because I am afraid of him, hell or something like that. To paraphrase Peter, I follow Jesus because he has the words of life. I follow him because I love him. Fear is not a factor. I follow Jesus because he has the truth. I follow Jesus because after considering the other gods men chase after like money, fame and fortune, he still is greater. I follow Jesus because I believe everything else is vanity. Whether or not only one person in the west believes in God, it doesn't matter. What matters is that in the end, those that say they're Christians really, truly know what it means.
JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a
division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You
can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal
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