Years ago Billy Graham stated his belief that one-half of those attending churches had never trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Many were active members and leaders in their churches. Some served as pastors of those churches. I'm sure when he said those words that some doubted the number could be that high. Well, Christian researcher George Barna's team have studied those attending church services and came to the same conclusion. Approximately, one-half of those professing to be Christians have actually given their lives over to Jesus Christ. That is an amazing number, and one that should give pause to churches and their leadership.
How can such a thing be true? From my perspective, it's the result of people not truly understanding what it means to be a Christian. Some think they are Christian because their parents or grandparents were Christians. Others may believe because they attend a church service and even take an active part in those services, that they are Christians. Some may be relying on an event that happened many years ago in which they made a public profession of faith which was followed by a baptism, but in reality their lives never changed nor have they had any recent experience of God working in their lives. What we are talking about here in each of these examples is poor theology and is the direct result of inadequate preaching from the pulpit. In too many churches, the gospel has been watered down so much so that it might not offend anyone that people no longer understand what it means to become a Christian.
Several years ago a pastor shared with me a story about a young member of his church. This individual had once again been arrested for drunk driving and was in jail. After his release the family asked the pastor to visit the young man which he did. During their conversation the pastor asked the individual about his relationship with Jesus Christ. The young man shared that he had attended a church camp as a child. During a chapel service one evening he fell asleep, and when he woke up he noticed a crowd of young people down front. He went down front to see why they were there. These young people had responded to a gospel presentation to give their lives to Christ. This individual was asked his name, and a couple of weeks later his pastor received a letter from the camp stating this individual had made a profession of faith. Without looking into this apparent profession any further, the young man was baptized and became a member of the church. How many people sitting in our churches believe they are right with God because of an inadequate understanding of what it means to be a Christian?
In 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul encourages us to test ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. Such an examination should be good for each of us to perform. Let's not trust our church membership or our role in the church as proof of our relationship with God. We should also not trust our Christian upbringing as evidence that we are Christians. God has no grandchildren. Each person must make a personal decision of whether to seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ in order to be saved.
One final word to church leaders, especially pastors. Let each of us be abundantly clear on what it means to be a Christian. God doesn't need "woke" churches afraid of offending people. He has called each of us to present clearly the gospel and invite people to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. There is no other name under heaven by which people can be saved. Our churches will never impact our communities as they should until this message is shared without apology.
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