There are plenty of people out there who claim to be Christians but don’t really live like they’ve made Jesus the Lord of their lives. You might often hear people refer to them as “nominal” Christians.
Nominal Christians are the reason that statistics like the divorce rate among Christians vs. non-Christians are so similar. GotQuestions explains that researchers “reexamined the data pertaining to the divorce rate among Christians and found that the numbers were based on survey-takers who identified as ‘Christian’ rather than some other religion. Under that broad classification, respondents were as likely as anyone else to have been divorced. The ‘Christian’ category included people who profess a belief system but do not live a committed lifestyle. However, for those who were active in their church, the divorce rate was 27 to 50 percent lower than for non-churchgoers.”
It’s actually even worse for those who call themselves Christians but don’t live like it: “Nominal Christians—those who simply call themselves ‘Christians’ but do not actively engage with the faith—are actually 20 percent more likely than the general population to get divorced.”
Jesus had some harsh words for nominal believers in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
At Desiring God, Greg Morse writes, “Many lost men and women will go to that great judgment day believing themselves to be saved. They went to church; they did works in his name; they called him Lord. Let that sit with you a moment. Can anything be more miserable, more shocking, more pitiable than one of our people — or us — gasping in utter unbelief as angels drag them away? ‘But Lord, you are my Lord! I am one of your followers!’”
It’s a heartbreaking thought, isn’t it?
Related: Sunday Thoughts: The Conviction of Hope
In the book of Revelation, Jesus, through the Apostle John, tells the church in Sardis, “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1, ESV). And He tells the church in Laodicea, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16, ESV).
For a long time, I thought that the contrast was between three classifications of people: hot, lukewarm, and cold. I thought that those verses meant that it was better to be totally resistant to Jesus, or what I thought cold meant, than to be lukewarm.
But the truth is, hot and cold are the contrast to lukewarm. Think about it: hot water is good for cooking, making coffee, or bathing, while cold water is refreshing and perfect for drinking or swimming. By contrast, lukewarm water isn’t pleasant. That’s why Jesus says He will spit the lukewarm church members out of His mouth.
In this analogy, lukewarm means nominal, and I can’t think of anything more objectionable than being spat out of Jesus’ mouth. There’s nothing about that prospect that we should want to aspire to.
Jesus also likened nominal believers to salt that had gone bad and had no flavor. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:34-35, ESV). In other words, nominal Christians are useless to the kingdom.
“The longer I live, and the closer I come to heaven,” John Piper once wrote, “the more troubling it is that so many people identify as Christians but give so little evidence of being truly Christian.”
It’s always worth examining your life. What fruit are you bearing for God’s kingdom? Are you useful water that’s not lukewarm? Are you salt that brings flavor and preserves? If not, think about how you can become more than a nominal Christian.
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