Let’s face it: there are a lot of problems with Christianity these days. Progressive Christianity is leading people away from truth and causing them to leave the faith. Too many prominent Christians are compromising with the world. The Christian music industry is full of artists who have embraced ideas that are antithetical to the Gospel — and I hope to address that soon in a non-Sunday Thoughts column.
One of our biggest issues, which is something I’ve written about for years, is the emphasis that we often put on Christian celebrities and influencers and how these people can lead others astray when they compromise with the world. We’ve seen pastors dealing with addiction and abuse of power along with the phenomenon of famous Christians declaring that they’ve become their “true selves” by coming out as gay or lesbian. Some Christian influencers have embraced heresy or left the faith altogether, often taking followers with them.
When Christians turn their back on the Bible and sound doctrine, defenders rush to point the finger at critics. Those Christians living in and flaunting their sin are being authentic, while those who point out the obvious sins are out of touch “Pharisees.” (Let’s not forget that the Pharisees weren’t bad because they obeyed God’s laws; they were problematic because they added to what God required of His people.)
Olin Williams hits the nail on the head when he writes, “Instead of glorifying God in our body, believers glorify their body as their own and as they please. And instead of the spirit glorifying God, the spirit is used to glorify self.”
The thing about all of this is that we’re not supposed to be just like the world. God calls Christians to be different. The old-school, KJV term for what we’re supposed to be as Christians is “peculiar people,” which comes from 1 Peter 2:9 and in more modern versions translates to “a people for his own possession.” I like the connotations of both phrases: we’re different from the world, and it’s because we’re God’s people.
Related: Sunday Thoughts: The Danger of ‘You Do You’
Don’t get me wrong; it doesn’t mean we’re going to be perfect or that we should be “holier-than-thou.” I mess up every single day, but I repent and try to learn from my mistakes. I also don’t wallow in or celebrate the sins that I commit, and I don’t base my lifestyle around my sins.
The Apostle Peter told his readers (including us) that believers shouldn’t fall back into their old patterns of sin — or new ones, for that matter — when he wrote, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-15, ESV).
Jesus’ brother James put it more bluntly: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, ESV).
The Apostle Paul pointed out that avoiding being like the world requires an overhaul of our minds. “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” (Romans 12:2, ESV).
One of the excuses repeated by people who defend Christian celebrities who embrace the world is that Jesus dined with tax collectors and sinners. Yes, He did that, but He didn’t expect them to remain in their sins. Jesus wanted — and still wants — those who follow him to seek repentance and holiness. Becoming more like the world isn’t going to accomplish that.
May we seek sanctification and being more like Christ rather than being more like the world. That will always be more important and more beneficial than trying to chase the approval of a world that’s hostile to the truth of Christianity. As Paul put it, “we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4b, ESV).
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