A Secular Christian

I just reread this blogpost and have to warn you it is truly a ramble!

A couple of days ago I was listening to one of my favorite Bible teachers, Alistair Begg, and he used a term that I am very familiar with but about which I hadn't really given much thought...secular Jews.  I knew immediately what he meant by the term, someone who was born Jewish but doesn't really practice the Jewish faith.  I assume that secular Jews observe the High Holy Days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, maybe even attend a Passover Seder, but overall their life is not really influenced by the Jewish faith although it may be greatly influenced by the Jewish race.  Dr. Begg stated in his sermon that they are a people, secular Jews that is, who make him feel particularly sad because in many ways they cling to an identity that they don't truly believe in.  I completely understand his feelings in that regard but it got me to thinking about the idea of secular Christians.  Can there BE secular Christians?  Christianity isn't a race the way Judaism is.  You aren't born a Christian and there are no DNA tests that can effectively label you a Christian as there are in Judaism. Christianity is a choice a person makes to follow Jesus Christ but we do often refer to being "born into a Christian home" as though it is something inherited.

*side note   I was fascinated a few years ago by an article I read where researchers had found DNA markers among Jewish people with the last name Cohen that proved conclusively that they had a common ancestor no matter what part of the world they were from!

People who are truly Christian universally recognize their Christianity as a faith based on the belief in the atoning work of Jesus when He died on the cross and was raised to life. But did you notice that little word "truly".  There are many, many people out there who believe they are Christians and yet at the same time believe that they will get into heaven based on the fact that they've been a "good person".  They think of God as a benevolent guide who they can come to when they THINK they need Him and basically ignore Him the rest of the time. They have no real understanding of who God is, what Jesus did and how it actually relates to them.  They observe the high holy days of Christmas and Easter (and even the occasional Good Friday) but on a daily basis Jesus has no place in their lives.  I think they are secular Christians.  Their lives are focused on this world (the secular) and they identify themselves as Christians. Are they saved?  Are they truly Christians?  I know that they are the hardest people in the world to witness to because they believe they already have the answer; and the truth is they do KNOW the answer, they just don't BELIEVE the answer.  They want to add to what Jesus has done and think it depends on themselves rather than him.  Are they saved?  I don't know, I honestly don't. BUT...I'm afraid they may not be.

My son Stephen pointed out something interesting to me a few months ago and I've thought about it a lot.  Jesus loved sinners...prostitutes, the possessed, tax collectors, liars, thieves and murderers.  The people He opposed most were the religious leaders of His time because they didn't think they WERE sinners!!!!  Many, many people in today's world want to believe that Jesus had a thing against religious leaders, that's not it!  He had a thing against unrepentant sinners.  The people who thought they were good enough, the ones who felt like they didn't need Him and that their sins weren't all that bad.  Those were the people he was opposing.  In the story of the prodigal sons He was talking to sinners AND Pharisees!  Those who recognized themselves in the profligate younger son, who realized they were sinners and needed Him AND those who should have seen themselves in the self-righteous older son who, as far as we know,  never recognized his own shortcomings or his need for redemption.  I am so afraid that many, many people who believe themselves to be Christians are not.

In many ways it is like another thing I struggle with, people who identify themselves as Christian and yet live in a repeated and perpetual state of sin.  How can you be repentant if you repeat your sin daily, revel in it or take "pride" in it?  I'm not saying Christians are sinless, merely that they are aware of their sin and repent of it, that they struggle with conquering it and rely on God to help them deal with it.  When you embrace your sin are you repenting of it?  (Sorry that's a rabbit trail from today's thought but one that I often go down.)

How are we supposed to reach them? I think the first step is to return to talking about sin, defining it and recognizing that we are ALL sinners.  I'm afraid that the current trend to avoid telling people they are sinners is resulting in a huge number of unsaved Christians, secular Christians and people who are not truly Christians. Without an understanding of God's perfect standard, our inability to meet it, and the fact that we are all sinners from birth we cannot understand the need for Jesus atoning life, death and resurrection.