Summer Sunday Series
“Christianish”
Part 1- Are You Christianish?
Introduction:
So, here we are on the first Sunday in July, kicking off our Summer Sunday Series. In a way, it’s kind of sad that we’re starting this particular series in the summer, seeing as from now until September our members are going to be coming and going, traveling hither and yon, like New England gypsies. Summer is short, winter feels long, and to paraphrase an old saying, you’ve got to make vacation hay while the sun shines. And while I don’t begrudge anyone their holidays, as a pastor I wish that everyone could be here each and every Sunday...especially when the topic is going to address something that most Christians have to deal with at some point in their walk with God.
The name of this series is “Christianish”, and you may be wondering what on earth the word means. Well, Christianish simply refers to the state a believer can find himself in when he has the appearance of a Christian in certain areas of his life, but not necessarily the substance of Christianity in his heart. A Christianish person does some of the things you’d expect a Christian to do, and can generally give you the impression that she’s a good Christian when you’re in church with her, but outside of the church walls she can be something else entirely. That’s what it means to be Christianish; it means being a Christian, sort of.
Want to know what’s particularly sad about this state of affairs? It’s that the longer a person has been a Christian, the more they’re in danger of becoming Christiainish. This isn’t usually the state of a new believer. A new believer is generally excited about following Jesus and doing what He says and living life as a disciple. The kind of lukewarmness that’s necessary to be Christianish doesn’t usually have opportunity to develop until a person is at least several years into their walk with God. Being Christianish is usually a disease of the “experienced” Christian, of the mult-generational Pentecostal. So as this series is presented, let the mature saints listen closely to see if they fit the descriptions presented. And let the new disciples pay attention as if they were hearing a warning of what may be.
I. Are You Christianish?
I guess that the best way to start off is by finding out if you are Christianish. Finding out if you are requires three things of you.
First of all, it requires introspection. That’s simply the ability to look inside yourself, to examine yourself in order to discover your true condition. Introspection is difficult , can be painful, and Pentecostals in particular seem to find it especially challenging. Our faith is extroverted and “out there”, with a lot of emphasis placed on external demonstration and appearance. So it can be hard for us to find a quiet place to walk through the corridors of our own hearts. But introspection is necessary in order to discover if you’re actually living as Jesus would have you live, or if you’re simply Christianish.
Next, hand-in-glove with introspection is honesty...the ability to be honest with yourself about what you find in your own heart. The ability to accept the not-so-good things that turn up in the dark closets of your life, and then deal with them, is of incredible importance in transforming your life from merely Christianish to actually being Christian. In my 28 years of ministry I’ve observed that most long time believers are more apt to shut the closet door quickly and pretend they’ve found nothing. But introspection requires honesty. Look, in life’s journey you’re going to accumulate baggage...even as a believer. It should be no surprise that you’ve got things in your heart’s closet that you’d rather no one knew about. But the ability to be honest with yourself about that stuff will help you in the transformation from fake to real, from pretend to genuine.
Then, in this spirit of honest introspection, you need to ask yourself some questions...and give yourself some honest, straightforward answers. Questions like;
“Am I more concerned with being the kind of Christian that others think I should be than I am with actually being like Jesus?”
“Have I compartmentalized my life to the extent that Who Jesus is affects only a part of my living, but doesn’t shape every area of my life?”
“Does my feeling of success as a Christian largely depend upon completing a checklist of rules and regulations?”
“Do I think that by attending Sunday worship faithfully, paying tithe, and completing the checklist that I have fulfilled my Christian obligations?”
If in your heart you realize that you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you’re probably Christianish. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news; you’re not alone (which probably should be bad news, too), and you can change. You see, you weren’t always Christianish. At one time you were “on fire”, you lived for Jesus with all your heart, and your deepest longing was to be like Jesus. And you can be that way again.
II. Early Christianish: Ananias & Saphira (Acts 5)
If you’ve already aware that you have some Christianish tendencies, take heart. It’s likely that there have always been Christianish people in the Church. In fact, the Book of Acts tells us about some very early Christianish...people...named Ananias and Saphira. You’ll find their story in Acts 5. Let’s take a look at it now...(Acts 5:1-11 on the screen.)
So the question that immediately leaps to my mind is “Why?” Not as in, “Why did God strike them dead?” But as in, “Why did they do it? Why did they lie? Why did they pretend?” I know that Peter asked them why Satan had filled their hearts to lie to the Holy Spirit, but Satan couldn’t work with what wasn’t already there. Somehow their hearts had already descended to a place where they were open to the suggestion. You don’t just wake up one day having decided, “Oh! I think that today I will lie to the Holy Spirit!”
Don’t think they were the worst of the early church. They were most likely a devoted and religiously observant Jewish couple who may have actually began following Jesus when the Lord was still on earth. Or, perhaps they were among the thousands who were baptized and received the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost. In any case, they probably weren’t horrible people.
It’s just that somehow even in these early days of the Church, they had already become Christianish. In their story I see three characteristics suggested that could have quickly propelled them from sincerity to being Christianish.
First, perhaps they were insecure in their faith...insecure in the sense that if it was known that they hadn’t donated the entire sum from the sale of their land, others would perceive them as less devoted than they should be. There was absolutely nothing wrong with them keeping part of the money, and Peter even said so. “It was your land, therefore it was your money. You could have done what you wanted with it.” But the group , often unconsciously, exerts powerful pressure to conform, to be like the rest of the group, to do like the rest of the group, even at the expense of truthfulness. It takes a strong and confident person to honestly be who they are when all the group is being something else. Heaven only knows how many spiritual commitments and financial pledges have been made simply because someone wasn’t able to resist the pressure and expectation of the group.
Second, perhaps they simply wanted to be included…to belong to those who were doing such a wonderful thing. Caring for their brothers and sisters in need was a beautiful outflow of the love of God that was poured through the Early Church by the Holy Spirit. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that? I imagine that everyone who could do something was doing something, and it seems that they were generally giving all. I imagine that the warmth & love generated by such an outpouring of care would be something special to be part of. The desire to be included in such a thing could be a powerful motivator.
Third…and this possibility isn’t nearly as warm and fuzzy as the first two, though it’s just as human…perhaps they simply wanted to polish their image as good and caring Christians, as being the kind of people who sacrificially gave all, without actually being those kind of Christians.
Insecurity, the desire to be included, and the need to maintain the image of being the perfect Christian have led many otherwise sincere and truthful believers down the path from being Christian to being Christianish.
Don’t be too hard on Ananias and Saphira…they faced their judgment. But what about you? How many Christian-like things have you done simply because you felt pressured to do so? How often have you participated in a godly and noble effort simply because you wanted the great feeling of being a part? How many otherwise good and holy things have you done just because doing so airbrushed your flaws and buffed your Christian image?
Listen; Christianish doesn’t end well. It doesn’t help anyone. It doesn’t bear witness to the world of Jesus. It doesn’t bring change to lives. And it won’t take you to heaven. So if you recognize aspects of your life as being Christianish, then stop and make a course correction. Get yourself on track to being an authentic Christian.
III. The Right Standard (Ephesians 4:13)
Once you’ve recognized the tendency to be Christianish, the first thing to do is to continue with your self-examination. In particular, you need to examine the standard you measure your life by, and ask yourself some questions about it. Most everyone has a “life standard”...a person, a set of goals, a dream, that they measure the quality and success of their life by. Measuring your life by such a standard is what tells you if you’re moving forward, standing still, or falling behind in the life you’ve chosen. This morning, you need to examine that standard.
The questions you need to ask of your life standard are drawn from Ephesians 4:13. Let’s read it together now from the screen. (After reading...) Great! Okay, I know that in the immediate context of this verse Paul is talking about the great benefit that the five-fold ministry brings to the Body of Christ. But I also know that the benefits Paul talks about serve as great guidelines to test the standard of your life against. So, examine the standard you measure your life by and ask;
a. Does it promote the “unity of the faith” in me? In other words, does it place me in the Body of Christ? Does it encourage my function in the Body? Does it motivate me to do something for God’s Kingdom, to engage in some form of ministry outside of these walls? Does it help me find my place, my fit, like the pieces of a puzzle, or the bricks and boards of the Temple? Or does the standard I measure my life by isolate me from my brothers and sisters? Does it hinder me from helping others, from being the servant of Christ to those who need Him most? And does it prevent me from finding my place, my fit?
b. Does it add to my knowledge of Jesus? Does it challenge me to know Jesus better, to study Jesus more, and to learn more about what Jesus wants of me? Does it cause my heart to cry with the Great Apostle, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11) Or, does the standard I measure my life by have no room for Jesus? Does it make position, and money, and things the measure of my success? And does it make the knowledge of God and the Holy seem as unworthy of my life’s greatest effort and devotion?
c. Does the standard I measure my life by promote maturity and Christlikeness? Does it encourage me to grow in grace, or does it leave me as I am...or worse still, move me in reverse, away from God, and glory, and grace? Does it call me to a more Christlike walk? Or to a less? Who does it call me to imitate? Does it call me to become like Jesus? Or to being just a better, slicker, smarter version of my old sinful self?
To escape from the trap of being Christianish but not Christian, we must take a good look at the standard we’ve chosen to measure our lives by. And if we recognize that we are indeed Christianish but not truly Christian, we must begin our restoration by placing Jesus back in His proper place as the Standard against which we measure all of our being.
Closing:
Look...I don’t want you to be discouraged. If you’ve recognized some less-than-worthy motivations in your life, some Christianish tendencies, realize that God knew this was a possibility. God knew when He robed himself in flesh that he was placing a lot on the line. One author said it this way, “The Incarnation was God’s greatest risk.” Not that Jesus would fail, but after Jesus would come the thousands of common people housing God’s Holy Spirit...and empowered though they were, they would be all too susceptible to the wiles of the devil, to the seductions of sin, and to the mediocrity of being Christianish. God knew the risk...yet He took it.
And He’ll take it again and again and again...filling soul after soul after soul with His Spirit, knowing full well the danger that they’ll make the wrong choices and slip from being Christian to merely being Christianish.
And He’ll take the risk with you again and again and again, knowing full well your too human tendency to make bad choices, because He knows you also have the power of corrective choice. You can make a bad choice that sends you off course, then, when you’ve realized your error, you can make another choice to correct your course.
So if in the past you’ve made choices that sent your life off course, slowly transforming your life of faith into something less-than-faithful, that corrupted your love of truth into something less than truthful, you can make another choice today. You can choose to make a course correction that leads you from the path of being merely Christianish, to being a faithful and true disciple of our Lord Jesus, to being a Christian.
