Do you ever wonder why so many people claim to be Christians, but they don't really live the life? To quote dc Talk, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Have you ever happened to think that just maybe the biggest reason people hate Christianity and Christians is because they look at all the hypocrites and liars and fakers that mingle in our midst...and we just accept them? If a person were to come up to you and say, "I'm great friends with Nic Laughter, and he agrees that I should sleep with you," what would you think of me? Or, a better example, if you saw a man killing somebody and stopped to ask him what he was doing, to which he replied, "I'm doing this in the name of God. He commanded me to kill this person," what would you think? You'd probably think the man was just insane, but is that any different than people who live immoral, ungodly lives, but claim they know and love Christ?
Look at it from an outsider's perspective. This person may know nothing about Christ, but looks at Christians and sees envy, abortions, killings, greed, pride, lust, etc. etc. etc. What could possibly go through said person's mind to think, "Hey, I want to be a Christian!"
Why is it that we, as Christians, have become so intertwined in the morality and ideologies of this world, that onlookers see no difference? How is it, my dear brothers and sisters, that a person can look at someone that claims to know Christ, and not even know it until they're told so? Doesn't this just disgust you?
My real question to you is this: How often have you tolerated it?
How often have you looked at a person that says they're a Christian and lies by their actions...and you had done nothing? How often have you just let it go on, thinking it's just okay? Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:11, "I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat."
Tell me...if the definition of idolatry (according to Noah Webster) is "the worship of idols, images, of anything made by hands, or anything which is not God," and a person has a twisted sense of God, would that not prove said person to be an idolater? For instance, if a person thinks God doesn't care if he or she chooses to indulge in fornication, would that not dictate that the person is an idolater--worshiping something other than the true God?
Let me give you an example: an old friend of mine decided that she and her boyfriend were going to start having sex. They both claimed to be Christians. Her boyfriend, at one point, threatened my life because he thought I was trying to "hook up" with his girlfriend (my friend). These were two people who went to church every Sunday. They prayed and read their Bibles. They did community service. And yet, they did not, I can safely say, have a deep love for God. They didn't care what God thought of their actions. They looked at God as a convenience--something bigger than them that they could come to should they need to be comforted, but ignore when he told them to change.
The repercussions of a liar in our circle are endless. These people pervert the truth of our God. Jesus describes said people as "swine" and "dirty dogs." How often have you accepted them?
Take note--I am not talking about people that openly deny Christ. I am talking about people who know what the very Word of God tells them to (or not to) do, and they ignore him and move on, doing what they do. But praise God, they're still followers of Christ.
If you know someone that is like this, I pray you will share God's truth with them. You know who they are--you probably have someone in mind right now that fits the bill. Someone who says they're a follower, but they're doing something you know is wrong of them to do, but you've said nothing. I pray you would correct them. As Proverbs 12:1 says, "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid."
But follow through with what God's Word tells us. Should said person not listen to your correction, ignore you, and say you're not in the right to tell them to change, in the words of Paul, "hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." Have nothing to do with such a person. "Dust your feet" and move on. Should they need you in the future, THEY will come to YOU. But just by accepting an attitude that paints a wicked description of God makes you guilty by association.
If you just tolerate such a wicked heart, how will they ever change? And if they never change...where will they be when they die and face judgment? Not with God, I can assure you.
Now, there is a plethora of instances in which you need to take special consideration. I'm not saying to run with this forever. But use your logic and discern what course of action to take. But please, I beg, do not allow people to call themselves Christians when they live as though they have never heard His message. Otherwise...what does it really mean to be a Christian?
This is the difference between tolerance and intolerance. This is the difference, brothers and sisters, between "Christians" that pervert the truth of God and a defined body of Christ that loves holiness more than relationships.
This is the difference between Christ and your own fleshly desires.
