Tag: Christianity-lite

Biblical Christianity vs. Christianity-Lite

The Hidden Danger of Christianity-Lite

Cinnamon vs. CuminEvery morning I look forward to having the same breakfast.

I call it “the smoothie of champions.” Lol.

There’s a chocolate protein liquid to start, and then I mix in cucumber slices, chia seeds, frozen strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and more.

This shake tastes so good!

Except for one day . . . when it didn’t. 

I grabbed what I thought was cinnamon and sprinkled a nice helping into my little blender.

I didn’t realize it at first, but it was cumin!!!!

The bottle looked the same, the color of the ingredient was the same, but in my morning fog, I wasn’t careful and grabbed the bottle at face value and went to town.

Blech.

Cumin and cinnamon certainly aren’t the same, and on a lot more serious note, neither are Biblical Christianity and Christianity-lite.

Not even close.

A watered-down version of Christianity is not authentic Christianity.

Biblical Christianity vs. Christianity-LiteSadly, millions can be led astray by the dilution of God’s Word offered up by a world of disturbing re-interpreters.

Do any of these sound familiar?

The Bible needs to change with the times

We need to remove certain sins from “the list”  

Jesus isn’t the only way

Faithfulness to God equals material wealth

Cultural Relativism 

Sadly, the list of cultural dilutions goes on and on.

Without practicing discernment in matters of our faith, continuing to follow ear-tickling Christianity-lite will have disastrous eternal consequences.

Biblical Christianity vs. Christianity-Lite

What in the world is going on?

Sadly, the question also contains the answer.

The world.

We’re talking about a secular world inhabited by over “8 billion people”. (worldometers.info, n.d.)1

A devastating majority of our fellow men and women do not want to believe the authority of the Bible – God’s Word – because they consider it harsh, archaic, or it convicts them of their sins.

World population of an estimated over 8 billion people

I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church. – Charles Haddon Spurgeon, pastor and author.2

Friends – there are millions of lost people in need of a Savior.

I’m talking about the true Savior we read about in God’s Word.

He died for our sins so that repentant sinners could have eternal life with Him in Heaven – proof of God’s love for us.

But, God’s love does not include tolerating unrepentant sin.

Eternal separation from God would be agony, grief, regret, and sadness to a degree unimaginable.

The only just punishment for high treason against our perfect Creator is eternal separation from Him. That separation means the absence of goodness, light, relationship, and joy, which are all facets of God’s nature. To excuse our sin would require God to be less than just, and to allow sin-tainted humans into His perfect heaven would render that place less than perfect. That’s why only the perfect Son of God could go to the cross in our place. Only His perfect blood was an acceptable payment for the debt we each owe God (Colossians 2:14). When we refuse Jesus as our substitute, we must pay the price ourselves (Romans 6:23). – Got Questions.org.3

I pray for a spiritual revival.

Will it happen as it has in generations past?

That remains to be seen depending on God’s providence and grace.

In the meantime, as discerning believers we know that compromising God’s Word isn’t Christianity at all.

Beware.

God’s Word will never pass away, but looking back to the Old Testament and since the time of Christ, with tears we must say that because of lack of fortitude and faithfulness on the part of God’s people, God’s Word has many times been allowed to be bent, to conform to the surrounding, passing, changing culture of that moment rather than to stand as the inerrant Word of God judging the form of the world spirit and the surrounding culture of that moment. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, may our children and grandchildren not say that such can be said about us. – Francis Schaeffer, theologian.4

# # # 

1 World population statistic from “Worldometer | Current World Population Clock”. Web. Accessed January 19, 2024. Retrieved from: World population stats, updated.

2 Quotation by Charles Spurgeon, influential Christian pastor and author, (1834-1892) courtesy of courtesy of Christian quotes.info.

3 Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “How can a loving God send someone to hell? n.d., para. 8. Web. Accessed January 19, 2024. Retrieved from a loving God send someone to hell

4 Francis August Schaeffer, (1912-1984), evangelical Christian and theologian. Schaeffer quotation courtesy of AZquotes.com. Accessed 20 January, 2024. Francis Schaeffer quotation

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Discerning False Teachers

We Should Be Discerning False Teachers

Discerning false teachers

Have you ever heard the howling sounds of a pack of coyotes?

They’re fascinating, but also a little frightening.

Late one night, my husband and I heard some loud, high-pitched, noises outside. They were so loud we could hear them over the television.

We cracked open our back door and realized that we were hearing the yipping and barking of coyotes in the woods nearby.

It was pitch black dark and we couldn’t “see” anything, but we sure heard them, several yards behind our house.

From the sound of them, you could tell they had a fresh kill and were whipped into a frenzy.

Glad we didn’t go for a late-night walk.
They’re so close!

These coyotes creep in and devour their unsuspecting prey.

Kind of reminds me of what has happened in some churches across the United States.

If you do the research, you hear sad news such as this church or that church is compromising the Bible and teaching instead a counterfeit gospel.

These teachings slowly eat away at Scripture piece by piece so that His Word hardly resembles what God originally inspired.

Honoring God’s Word

Since when does God’s Word need to conform to the world because a majority don’t want to hear about sin anymore and their need for a Savior?

“Unfortunately, preachers who distort God’s Word are all too common today. Sometimes this springs from a sincere desire to soften hard hearts, but hearts aren’t changed by compromise.”

 

– Alistair Begg, Christian pastor, Truth For Life Teaching Ministry, and Author.

A Healthy Balance

Is your church still teaching about Sin, God’s forgiveness, grace, mercy, Heaven, Hell and the End Times?

If not, why not?

Is the emphasis in your church “only” on the love of God?

That may sound good initially, but there are important fundamental truths missing if the consequences of sin are never discussed.

Christianity-Lite bothers me because eternal lives are at stake.

God is a Loving Father and He is also our Righteous Judge.

The last thing churches need to do is compromise God’s Word and leave out the message that we desperately need Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Real Issues

need to be discerning

Do any of these concerning statements sound familiar?

The Bible is offensive.

 The Bible is too hard.

 God is Love. He will not judge unrepentant sinners.

 If a person just believes hard enough, God will make them rich and prosperous.

 Rich people don’t deserve God’s grace and mercy like the rest of us.

 There are many paths to God, Christianity is too exclusive.

 Universalism is the key to peace and unity in this world.

I heard a popular Christian artist say a few days ago at a concert that he believes “a revival is coming.”

We need a holy revival where people aren’t afraid to stand up for their faith, have the courage to love and care for others, but also teach people about their need for the Savior.

The apostle Paul never compromised the truths of the gospel to make them more palatable to the masses. He laid out the pure gospel message. A beautiful thing happened, churches spread throughout the Roman Empire.

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*Pastor Alistair Begg quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

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