The more I talk to Christians the more I start to notice how
often certain phrases reveal a belief system that’s just under the surface.
For example, the other day I shared something on Facebook
about an infamously anti-Christian celebrity who had posted a video on their
wall which suggested they might possibly have turned to Christ.
Some people were genuinely excited that this man may have
found faith in Christ.
Most, however, were angry that I had shared the video at
all.
Still others doubted the legitimacy of the man’s conversion because
he was not a "Bible-believing Christian” and that got me thinking about another
famous person who wasn’t “Bible-believing” but most certainly was a
Jesus-follower.
Gandhi, who would never have called himself a “Christian”
and most certainly not a “Bible-believer,” was a Jesus-follower. By that I
mean, for the last several years of his life he read the Sermon on the Mount
every day and tried to put it into practice.
What would you call someone who did that? Possibly not a “Bible-believing
Christian” but at the very least, a “Jesus-follower” would be an accurate description.
But, the funny thing is, I hardly know any “Bible-believing
Christians” who read the Sermon on the Mount every day and then try to live it
out in their daily lives.
Do you?
I think we should be more alarmed at the fact that there are
apparently many more “Bible-believing Christians” in the world who don’t read the
words of Jesus daily or try to put His teachings into practice.
Isn’t this exactly what Jesus was talking about when he
rebuked the Pharisees saying:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that
in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you
refuse to come to me that you may have life.“ [John 5:39-40]
It’s not in the Bible that we find life. We only find life in
Christ. He is the One we need to go to and follow if we want eternal life.
Maybe we need to move beyond the idea of "Bible-believing Christianity" towards a "Jesus-following Christianity"?
Because believing in something is worthless if you're not actually putting it into practice in your daily life.
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." [James 1:22]
-kg
