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If you pay attention to celebrities, athletes, and other public figures, their lifestyles are not Christ-like, to say the least. However, when these same celebrities and athletes receive awards for their accomplishments, they always make a point to thank God for their success. Seems a little odd, right? This is what has come to be known as Cultural Christianity.
Cultural Christianity is the concept of a person claiming to be a Christian, by agreeing with moral values and what Jesus did, but their lifestyle resembles culture more than Christ.
With such a general definition, Christians need to know some specifics and what to look out for.
What is Cultural Christianity?
As stated above, Cultural Christianity agrees with the moral values and what Jesus did, but the lifestyle of a Cultural Christian resembles the culture more than Christ. There are different variations of Cultural Christianity, but for the most part, the Cultural Christian believes that calling themselves a Christian is their “get out of Hell” free card.
Some Cultural Christians claim to be Christians but abuse the grace God has shown them. They claim to believe in Jesus, but their lifestyle shows no evidence of repentance. Jesus says in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Repentance is the first step in salvation. Cultural Christians tend to overlook this step and only focus on believing the Gospel.
This can take many forms, and some may even be Cultural Christians without even realizing it. Some use Christianity as a moral compass, asking themselves, “what would Jesus do?,” when they do not have a relationship with Him. Some may try to twist Scripture to fit their desires, saying things like, “Solomon was the smartest man alive, and he had 1,000 women (700 wives and 300 concubines as stated in 1 Kings 11:3), so why can’t I have more than one partner?”
If we read Scripture carefully, we can see that this question from Cultural Christianity is quickly disproven when we look at the original relationship between Adam and Eve. One man and one woman come together in marriage. There is no mention of another person or persons.
Others may serve in the church, but for the wrong reason. Serving in the local church should be in an area where you feel called to serve, your spiritual gifts are utilized, and the person enjoys doing it. Above all else, Jesus and serving others should be at the forefront of this. However, some do not volunteer their time for this reason; rather, they volunteer to look good to other church members.
A great way to recognize this is to ask yourself this question with every area you serve in: “Am I doing this because God has called me to, or because I want to look good in front of others.” If you answer honestly, and the answer you give is the latter, you should reevaluate your service and get your priorities in order before continuing to serve in that area.
The Deception of Cultural Christianity
The true deception of Cultural Christianity is believing that the Christian can find a place to fit in in the world. This is the exact opposite of what Scripture teaches. In Romans 12:2, Paul tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Christians are never told that they will be accepted by the world. If you are, that may be a sign you are doing something wrong. Jesus tells Christians in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 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.” According to Jesus, persecution is to be expected when you walk on the narrow path. That is not true for Cultural Christianity.
Cultural Christianity dilutes the true Gospel to the point where the only difference between an unbeliever and a Cultural Christian is where they spend Sunday mornings. It is nothing more than a false doctrine designed to mislead Christians.
The False Doctrine of Cultural Christianity
In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul tells Timothy, “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.”
Does this sound familiar? A doctrine that focuses on worldly passions rather than what God wants? A gospel that is easily accepted by everyone and requires no change to your life whatsoever? This “gospel” is what has taken the world, the United States in particular, by storm. Any gospel that is preached that does not require sacrifice and change, with an intentional turn toward Jesus Christ, is not the one true Gospel.
The appeal of Cultural Christianity is what makes this false doctrine so dangerous. The great lie is that you can become a Christian while continuing to live the same sinful life you were living before. Scripture does not teach that you can become a genuine, born-again Christian and continue living according to the culture. True Christians are fundamentally different from the rest of the world. We serve Christ while others serve their own selfish desires.
The Lifestyle of a Cultural Christian
The lifestyle of a Cultural Christian isn’t that much different from the world. While the person is aware of sin and that it is wrong in the eyes of God, they continue with a life of willful sin. Each person is different; some will find themselves caught up in sexual immorality, idolatry, coveting, stealing, etc., and oftentimes a mixture of sins.
Along with their actions, oftentimes, the Cultural Christian hangs out with the wrong crowd. Let me give you an example. Say that a person had a problem with alcohol before they came to know Christ (whether Christians should drink alcohol or not is a topic for another time). The person was a binge drinker and could not control themselves when they were around alcohol. Instead of turning from the temptation of alcohol and becoming belligerently intoxicated, the person chose to continue drinking, even after claiming to come to Christ. This would be an example of a Cultural Christian with no evidence of change after claiming to become a Christian.
Before the next section, some clarification is needed about the last paragraph. The point I was making was a regularly occurring action. The person was consistently choosing to continue his lifestyle of binge drinking rather than turning to Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one is perfect, and, at times, Christians fall into temptation. This example was not examining a fall into temptation but a regularly occurring action.
How to Identify if Your Church Preaches Cultural Christianity
One of the most enticing features of Cultural Christianity, and with all false doctrine for that matter, is that it twists Scripture and takes things out of context, making something seem acceptable when, in reality, it is not. One of the common topics today involves sexual immorality. The world has taken what God originally designed to stay within the confines of marriage and perverted it into nothing more than short-lived pleasure. This, and many other twisted views, have crept their way into the church.
Without sound, biblical teaching, many unsuspecting Christians may fall into the trap that Cultural Christianity has laid. So, how can you recognize if your church preaches Cultural Christianity? One of the biggest giveaways is that repentance is not preached. Jesus tells us in Mark 1:15, “Repent and believe the Gospel.” Turning to Christ is a two-step process. First, the sinner must repent of their sins and turn away from the life of sin they were living. Second, they choose to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If repentance is not taught at your church, I would recommend you find a church that does.
Conclusion
Cultural Christianity is a dangerous false doctrine to fall into. The convenience of not changing your lifestyle alone makes it appealing to unsuspecting Christians to lean into. However, with sound doctrine and consistent biblical teaching, Christians can take a stand against the false doctrine of Cultural Christianity.
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