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Cultural Christianity has permeated the church, and it is wreaking havoc throughout the body of Christ. This phenomenon is most prominent in the American church today. The impact of Cultural Christianity can be seen throughout the church today, especially in the United States, whether it is televangelists preaching a false gospel or people who claim to be Christians living a lifestyle that is in stark contrast to how God calls His people to live. What are some examples of the impact of Cultural Christianity on the church today? And how can we, as Christians, avoid the negative impact of Cultural Christianity and be assured that our focus is on the true Gospel? The Impact of Cultural ChristianityThe Heresy of Cultural Christianity3 Ways to Avoid Cultural ChristianityPersonal DevotionAsk QuestionsBiblically-Sound TeachingHow the True Gospel Stands Firm Against Cultural ChristianityJoin the Community! The Impact of Cultural Christianity Cultural Christianity has taken the church by storm, and with good reason. What this particular false gospel offers is living life on your terms with God sprinkled in at convenient places. This false gospel is dangerous to Christians because it has the potential to pull us away from the Truth and promote the abuse of God's grace. The most troubling impact of Cultural Christianity is that it has the appearance of Christianity but is far from the Gospel that the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches total surrender to God and His will. Cultural Christianity teaches that you can live life on your own terms, and God will bless the plans you have for your life. Do you see the difference? One requires total surrender to the plan God has for your life. The other promotes no surrender and asking for God's blessing on your plans for your life. It is easy to see which of these the Bible teaches. Another alarming aspect of Cultural Christianity is the flagrant abuse of God's grace. Living life on your terms can consist of many things. Some, if not most, will involve sin, and in Cultural Christianity, it is taken for granted that God will forgive you. Regularly abusing God's grace is not a mark of a true Christian. Abusing God's grace is a sign that the person does not understand God's grace at all. If a person truly understood what it meant to receive God's grace, they would treasure that grace much more than they do. The Heresy of Cultural Christianity Cultural Christianity would have you believe that being a Christian is something you can "add-on" to your life. That is a complimentary thing that can bring only benefits with no real effort other than attending a church service. This couldn't be further from the truth. In Luke 9, Jesus tells us, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." When Jesus tells His followers that they must "take up his cross daily," this is Jesus telling His followers to turn away from their selfish desires and put Him first. As mentioned above, Cultural Christianity abuses the gift of grace. The cultural Christian lives life on their terms. There is no regard for how Jesus has called His followers to live. Paul addresses the abuse of God's grace in Romans 6. Paul writes, "Are we to continue to sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Paul makes it clear that Christians have died to sin and now walk in the newness of life. There is no room for the flagrant abuse of God's grace. The recurring factor you will find in Cultural Christianity is that there is false doctrine. Paul warns Timothy about this in 2 Timothy 4. Paul writes, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Cultural Christianity is one of the myths Paul warns about. There are seeds of truth in Cultural Christianity; however, it is surrounded by lies. 3 Ways to Avoid Cultural Christianity The impact of Cultural Christianity is far-reaching, and it can easily slide by if Christians are not careful and pay close attention to the doctrine being taught. Here are three ways you can avoid Cultural Christianity. Personal Devotion There are many names for this, but you need to dedicate time to spend with God. First and foremost, spending time with God is the primary way Christians grow in their faith. If you want to improve your relationship with someone, the best way to do that is to spend time with them. The same applies here: spend time with God, read His Word, pray, and listen. Start by reading a passage of Scripture and meditate on what you read. What does that passage of Scripture mean? When reading Scripture and meditating, it may be helpful to use a study Bible or have a commentary close by so you can get some context if needed. After you have read and meditated on Scripture, take time to pray. Thank God for the things He has blessed you with, and show Him the honor and praise He deserves. Then, bring the things you are worried about to Him. God wants us to ask Him for help. That is how we know that we need Him. There is a saying that states, "God will not give you more than you can handle." That's not true. God will give you more than you can handle because He wants you to ask Him for help. He wants to help His children. Ask Questions Is it really okay to ask questions? Of course, it is! How else are you going to get the right answer? While doing your personal devotion and growing in your faith, you will have questions. That is normal when studying something new or revisiting certain passages. When you have a question, ask someone you trust for the answer. An important follow-up will be to make sure that their answer is in line with God's Word. I personally do this so that if someone asks me the same question, I can reference the same passage for their answer. Another type of question you can ask, and this is where studying God's Word becomes very important, is about something a person said in their teaching or lesson. If you find something a person said strange, ask that person where they found their answer in the Bible. Ask the person to show it to you so that you can understand. Hopefully, you will learn and grow in your faith. However, if the person presents you with something that is not doctrinally sound, you should be cautious around them moving forward. Biblically-Sound Teaching Fellowship with other believers is very important. God did not design us to be independent creatures. Christians come together to form the body of Christ. However, when you come together to fellowship with other believers, it is important to find a church that has biblically-sound teaching. There are many churches today that fall into specific denominations and may hold some of the core values of that denomination. But it is important to listen carefully to the teaching coming from the pulpit and those teaching in your small group. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5:8, "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." At a hint of false teaching, the devil will pounce and do his best to pull you away from God. This is where your personal devotion and asking questions come into play. Devote time to studying God's Word on your own so that when you hear something questionable, you can sniff it out. Next, don't be afraid to ask a hard question. At best, iron sharpens iron, and you learn something new. At worst, you help a brother or sister in Christ see an error and correct themselves. How the True Gospel Stands Firm Against Cultural Christianity No matter how big the impact of Cultural Christianity, the Gospel will always prevail. While Cultural Christianity may be an appealing way to live, we must remember that those who teach Cultural Christianity understand one basic rule about life. People would rather hear a sweet lie than a harsh truth. People would rather live the lie that is Cultural Christianity than practice the truth that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Cultural Christianity tells us that Christians have a place in this world, but that is far from the truth. Jesus tells us in John 15:19, "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." There is no place for Christians in this world - that is one of the biggest deceptions of Cultural Christianity. Join the Community! Are you interested in joining a growing community of like-minded Christians where you can post, discuss, learn, and interact in a safe space online? If so, I’d like to invite you to join the Engaging Apologetics community! It’s a free community and you can join by clicking this link!

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Connect With Christians
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