The Danger of Cultural Christianity
"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Wikipedia says there were approximately 2.4 billion Christians, as of 2021, making Christianity the largest religion in the world.
And yet, Jesus, in the book of Matthew, chapter 7, says:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
How can we reconcile those two things? According to Wikipedia, a lot of people have found Christianity, and therefore life, no? No.
I think we can reconcile this paradox in two ways:
Jesus’s description of the end-times judgement and the sheep and the goats, in Matthew 25.
Jesus’s description of the end of the age, in Matthew 24.
I’ve written before about the sheep and the goats.
Here’s the full passage from Matthew 24.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
In Matthew 24, Jesus describes the the end times:
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away[a] and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
What can we take away from these two passages? Well, obviously, not all of the 2.4 billion people that call themselves Christians today will be saved.
The story of the sheep and the goats tells us that many people that think they are Christians today will be surprised when Jesus tells them, “Depart from me.” While they have claimed that they are righteous, they have not been obedient to the one they ostensibly call their Lord.
Matthew 24 tells us that during the end times, when Christians are delivered up to tribulation and death, and despised by all the nations because they identify with Jesus, many people who call themselves Christians will fall away and betray and hate others.
These three passages, describing the narrow gate, the sheep and the goats, and the great falling away of Christians during the end times, make clear that most of the 2.4 billion Christians in the world are not really Christians.
So, how does that happen? These people claim to be Christians. Who are we to doubt them?
The reality is that most Christians in the world are cultural Christians. They identify as Christians, they say that they are, but if you were to press them and ask what makes them Christian, they would not be able to justify their own claim.
George Barna does a yearly survey of Christians in America and asks them questions about their worldview and behaviors. Barna consistently finds a big gap between the number of people who claim to be Christian and what people say that they believe.
For instance, Wikipedia says that 65% - 75% of Americans identify as Christian. But Barna’s research surveys show that only 50% of Americans believe in a God that is “omniscient, omnipotent, perfect, and just, and is the Creator and eternal ruler of the world.”
Further, only 35% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ is the only means to salvation. So, that suggests only about half of self-identified Christians believe Christ’s own admonition in John 14:6, that he is the way and the truth and the life and that nobody comes to the father except through him.
Only 25% accept the existence of absolute moral truth.
That’s pretty weak sauce.
My hunch is that most of these American “Christians”
Don’t attend any sort of church regularly.
Don’t pray except under exceptional circumstances (“Save me!” and “Heal Uncle Joe from cancer!”).
Haven’t read the Bible in years.
Don’t have a good answer to the question of what the Bible says about who goes to heaven and why.
These folks identify as Christian because their parents identified as Christian, and their parents before them, and so on. Some may have been baptized as infants (which does not save; I’ll write something about this at another time). The best of them may attend a church periodically, typically on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday, but otherwise do not attend regularly. Some may know various denominational rituals (liturgy, mass, etc.), but otherwise don’t have a clue about Christian doctrine.
Let’s be clear: none of those simple things make you right in the eyes of God or save you from destruction at the last judgement. Those are fine things to do, and people who are faithful Christians tend to do those things, some are even commands of Jesus (e.g., prayer), but they don’t save.
It’s safe to say, most American Christians wear a thin veneer of Christianity, but have absolutely no depth, and if asked even the most basic doctrinal questions would not have any sound answers. They are a Christian because they’ve always grown up believing that they were and nobody told them that they might not be.
These are the goats. These are the Christians who fall away during the end times, as soon as persecution comes. Satan doesn’t even need to use the Satanic Lullaby on these folks. They are already doomed.
Romans 10:6-13 tells us how to be saved:
6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Confess with your mouth. Believe in your heart. It’s that simple. But you have to do it.
Importantly, you must understand that sitting in a church or participating in church activities does not save you.
Going to church doesn’t save.
Going to Sunday school doesn’t save.
Singing songs doesn’t save.
Being baptized doesn’t save.
Communion or mass doesn’t save.
Saying the liturgy doesn’t save.
Lighting candles or incense doesn’t save.
Random prayers don’t save. (But saying the right prayer, a prayer of confession and acceptance, absolutely can.)
Those are all fine things to do, and they can hold great symbolic significance and grow our relationship with God, but in and of themselves they do not save.
Make sure you’re not just a cultural Christian. Your (eternal) life depends on it. Maybe you grew up “going to church,” and maybe you’re still going, but in your heart you haven’t yet believed. Take the next step.
If you need help, talk to a Christian friend, and tell them that you’re ready to embrace Jesus. If you don’t know any Christian friends, reply to this email, and I’ll call you and help you over the phone.
Today’s Prayer
Father God, creator of all things, we welcome your Kingdom here on earth. Help us to look at ourselves and know that we have taken the affirmative step to be saved, that we are your chosen people, not merely a cultural Christian. Help us to respond in faith and support those in need around us, just as we would do if we saw Jesus in those same circumstances. Keep us strong and engaged with your Kingdom work, so that we will not be seduced by the “Satanic Lullaby” and fall away when persecution comes. Help us to know that we will be called sheep and not goats at the final judgement. Amen.
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My husband and I ran into an old friend. She commented about the world today. I said, “Yes, this has all been prophesied in the Bible.” She said, “Yes someone else told me that!”
I said, “ We better all get right with God”, to which she replied, “I’m a good person”.
Later, I asked my husband who is not saved, “Do you believe Christ died on the cross and rose again? He said, “Yes”. He remembers what he learned in the Lutheran church as a child.
I said, “What would be the purpose of His death and resurrection if we were all “good enough” to go to heaven. His reply, “I never really thought about it.”
He’s been thinking about it. He came to church with me on Sunday. My fervent prayer is that he continues. 🙏🙏🙏. Time is short and it grieves me so to think he will not be entering God’s kingdom along with me. I have told him this.
Another really good piece. Just discussing the concept of what you call "cultural Christianity" with a close friend of mine earlier this evening. I'm concerned about a friend who has created what I call their own "blend" of New Age fluff and Christianity. The person even talked about "toxic fundamentalism" on a public platform today. I'm concerned for not only this person but for those that "follow" them in their public forums.
Many will be deceived and fall away. <sigh>
I prayed about it; the Holy Spirit will find a way to open a conversation. I'm going to send your post, as a point to start the discussion. thank you.
Also check out www.StateOfTheology.com - I wrote three substacks at https://tenpennywalkwithgod.substack.com earlier this year about the sad state of those who "claim" to be Believers but didn't finish parts 4 & 5. It was hard writing and most didn't want to hear it.
Maybe I'll go back and finish it over the holidays for the first of the year. Thank you for the inspiration.