The Crisis of Casual, Complacent Counterfeit Christianity
We medics are at great peril. We have or will have a very satisfying career making most of us very busy. We will be paid reasonably, if not well paid, and people will look up to us. The danger we are in if we are Christians is that our job and status can so easily pull us away from our commitment to serve the Lord Jesus, the living God.
Our Christianity can so easily become nominal, where being successful, practising conscientious medicine and trying to be popular with our patients and colleagues become our priorities. Not that being an excellent successful doctor is wrong in itself but woe betide us if this becomes our priority.
One of my mentors in surgery was on the Board of reference of the CMF. He was a very busy popular surgeon, he even had his own ward in the Harley Street Clinic. He owned three farms! He was very kind to me but when I asked him about his local church he replied:
“My surgery is my Christianity now. I am too busy for church.”
He had allowed himself to be too busy.
The view that a Christian is anyone who is a kind, thoughtful person is widespread. Even Richard Dawkins, the neo-Atheist calls himself a ‘cultural Christian’ although he has little time for Jesus and pleasing God. No, a Christian’s life revolves around serving Jesus, our Saviour and our Lord. The Apostle Paul could write,
“For me to live is Christ.” Philippians 1:21
Anything less is not Christianity.
This drift away from living for Jesus has always been a problem since the beginning of the churches. In the West many who would call themselves Christians have a very casual approach to Jesus. Being a Christian can come to mean relatively little, perhaps quietly agreeing to Christian doctrines or behaviour and perhaps going to church occasionally.
When the Apostle John wrote to seven early churches in his book Revelation, he pronounced what Jesus thought of them. The Ephesian church had ‘lost its first love’ and they were urged to return to the relationship that they had with Jesus at first. The churches in Pergamum and Thyatira were compromising with the sexual immorality of their society, much as is happening in many churches today. The church in Sardis needed to ‘wake up’ and the church at Laodicea was only ‘lukewarm’. The remedy given to the Laodiceans was a personal one and applied to all the churches, Jesus simply says, ‘Come back to me’!
“So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” Revelation 3:19-20
Real Christianity is personal. Martin Luther reminded us that many can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ but only a Christian can say ‘Jesus is my Lord’.
The early church in Rome also needed to ‘wake up’. It seems that sexual immorality and alcohol were a problem amongst them too!
“The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. . . .Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:11-14
So often today people think of Christianity simply in terms of social action and Jesus has become less and less relevant.
This drift is seen in so many companies that started as being clearly Christian, such as Cadbury’s and Barclays. Even charities, originally started to promote the Lord Jesus, can so easily drift away from being centred on him, examples are the YMCA, Christian Aid, the Trussell Trust and even the Student Christian Movement.
1. The Danger of Self-Centred Christianity
The Bible says so much about complacency amongst Christians, where a person has a faith that is centred on themselves. They like the idea of forgiveness and being accepted as one of God’s people but their faith is essentially egocentric, They have yet to understand that Christians have been chosen to live for God’s glory, not theirs. Without the deep-seated change where we live for God’s glory and not our own, our religion is phoney.
At a CMF conference some years ago Don Carson told us about a very able American student who was head-boy at his school, captained the school in several sports and was academically bright. He went to Harvard to read law. He was tall, handsome and an excellent speaker. He went on to represent his university in some sport and was also made President of the Christian Union. After graduation he went on to become a lawyer and when relatively young became a partner in his firm. He was also made an elder in his church. He was a good preacher. He married and had a family. All went well for a while, but then he had an affair and left his wife and family and the church. His minister discussed this with Don and suggested that perhaps he was never really converted. Everything that happened to him in his Christian life was to his advantage so he was really serving himself.
Jesus makes high demands of his people. The first three gospel writers emphasised this saying of Jesus:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34
In Luke’s version he adds in the word ‘daily’, so the verse reads ‘and take up their cross daily and follow me.’ Jesus then explains that following Jesus will involve being open in our commitment to him and what he teaches:
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38
We show we are ashamed of him when we fail to speak about his importance to us.
Self-centred Christianity is a real danger. Jesus warned his followers about the danger of being outwardly religious,
“Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” Mark 12:38-40
It is so easy to be religious for our own ends.
2. The Danger of being Lukewarm
Jesus said to the church members in Laodicea:
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16
This message to the Laodicean church reminds us that God rejects half-hearted, complacent faith. All believers are called to be fully engaged in their walk with Christ, not indifferent or spiritually passive.
Being lukewarm is similar to being spiritually lazy. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews writes:
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12
This verse urges us believers to avoid laziness in our faith, but encourages us to imitate the lives of faithful people.
This danger of being lukewarm or lazy is also described in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) which illustrates the need for spiritual vigilance. Ten virgins await the bridegroom who symbolises the Lord Jesus, but only five are prepared for when he arrives. The unprepared ones are subsequently shut out, showing that complacency in waiting for and working for Christ’s return leads to eternal rejection.
This is why reading Christian biographies can be so inspiring. When I committed my life to serve the Lord Jesus in my first year at university I was encouraged to read Norman Grubb’s biography of C.T. Studd, the England opening batsman who joined the Cambridge Seven as a missionary to China.
Casual or half hearted Christianity is a sham. It is a form of religion that takes what we like from the ‘faith’, such as friendships, assurance and something to believe in but has not put Jesus on the throne of our lives. Such people will rarely seek to explain to non-Christians how they can get right with God and why faith in Jesus is essential. They will want to cling on to secret sins that they keep quiet from others. How foolish, don’t they realise that God sees into our hearts and knows all that we are thinking and doing. Such people do not care about this - but God does and they cannot enjoy a close relationship with the Lord. It is so easy to hold to comfortable doctrines and yet to be of little use for the Lord.
The renowned 19th century evangelist D.L.Moody was asked to meet an Irish Christian and he replied, ‘Is he O and O’? He used the phrase ‘O and O’ to mean ‘Out and Out’ for Jesus signifying a complete, wholehearted commitment to Jesus. It was his was of asking if someone was fully dedicated to serving Christ..
3. The Danger of Undervaluing Holiness
In heaven there will only be holy people, people who have spent their lives on earth preparing for this by learning to live for the Lord Jesus here on earth. It is in heaven that our joy will be complete.
“‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Revelation 17:16-17
The purpose of our lives here on earth is to prepare ourselves for living in the presence of God.
God is not here to ‘dance to our tune’, we have been chosen to serve him and nothing less. Christians pray,
“Your will be done.” Matthew 6:10
We can do a self-assessment on ourselves very easily. How do we spend our time? Is meeting with God and other Christians a real priority? Is learning what the Bible teaches important? Is personal Bible study and prayer a vital part of my life? Do I love to share the good news about the salvation there is in Jesus with others? Do we regard the gifts, including money, that God has given us, as being there for the Lord’s use? Do we use our homes for Christ? Are we looking forwards to being with our Lord in heaven?
In heaven, our joy will be ecstatic but only those who have a love for holiness will be there. God’s purpose for us now is to prepare us for heaven by giving us this love for holiness, by learning to live for the Lord Jesus here on earth. We are told about heaven,
“Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27
We know our names are in the Book of Life because his Spirit who is in us has led us to say,
“Yes, I live now for Jesus Christ.”
If we do not have this desire now we won’t be in heaven but in the other place, hell. The ‘Beatitudes’ and subsequent teaching at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount emphasises the way God wants his people to think. It is only through this utter change of outlook that we will experience the blessing of God. ‘Blessed are those’ whose character is becoming like that of Jesus.
Jesus has become the sin offering that has propitiated for the sins of those who have become dependent on him but there is still a response that God expects from us. We also still have a sacrifice to make:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
What could be clearer. The way we think needs to be transformed so we come to think as Jesus did.
4. The Danger of Just Outward Worship
Casual Christians think God is satisfied with enthusiastic lip service or formal worship but this is not true. The prophet Amos realised that God was dissatisfied with Israel’s worship practices because they did not come from a sincere faith:
“Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Amos 5:23-24
Religious activities, when disconnected from a love for the Lord that controls all our life, are meaningless to God. The prophet Amos criticises the people of Israel for their hypocrisy—outwardly performing religious acts while neglecting the new life God has given us. God’s focus is not on music and offerings but on a life of justice and righteousness.
This passage highlights the idea that worship without God-centred living, without care for the oppressed, for the truth, and for justice, is meaningless to God.
If my religion is meaningless to God, it will eventually become empty and meaningless for us.
Integrity is doing what is right before God. Do you know the opposite of ‘integrity’? It is ‘dis-integrity’ which becomes ‘disintegration’. When a person fails to live a sGod wants, eventually our personal lives will begin to disintegrate, then our family’s life, then our society and ultimately our nation.
Sincerity is a similar word, it means genuine. It’s origin is from the Latin word ‘cerus’ meaning wax. The story goes that sculptor in ancient Rome would fill any defects in a marble statue with wax to make it look whole or genuine. ‘Syn’ means ‘without’ so ‘sin cerus’ becomes ‘without wax ‘ or genuine.
So we see that insincere worship, offered without integrity, shown in a life that is not centred on living for Jesus and without a love of truth, kindness, justice and a care for the oppressed really is meaningless to God.
Jesus Christ is all we need. Let me remind you of some spiritual mathematics. Whatever you add to Christ you subtract. Thus the Colossian church had Christ plus visions, the Galatian church had Christ plus circumcision and religious rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, French Protestants (Huguenots) experienced severe persecution, leading some groups to emphasise signs of divine intervention such as healings, visions, and prophecy. This was notably seen among a group known as the Camisards, who were Huguenot peasants in the Cévennes region of southern France. Some of these persecuted Protestants fled to England, bringing with them a heightened expectation of miraculous signs as evidence of God’s presence and approval.
George Whitefield, the prominent 18th-century preacher, lived at this time when certain Protestant groups were emphasizing these signs. Whitfield’s ministry, however, primarily focused on preaching Christ, the need for repentance and the transforming power of Christ.
5. The Danger of Not Continuing in the Faith
The Bible consistently warns against complacency in Christians. Whether it’s the parable of the ten virgins, the message to the Laodiceans, or the admonition in Proverbs, God calls His people to active, intentional faith. Complacency leaves believers vulnerable to sin and spiritual stagnation, while diligence and vigilance lead to blessings untold.
We do not become Christians by trusting in what Jesus has done for us on that cross and subsequently grow as a Christian by trying to keep to Christian rules. No - we become Christians by faith and we continue to live out our new lives by loving and obeying Jesus himself. We are saved by faith and then live by faith.
The prophet Habakkuk distinguished the ungodly person, God’s enemy with those that God has credited with righteousness
“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous will live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4
We are saved by trusting in Jesus and then we go on living by trusting in and obeying Jesus.
But who does not feel inadequate in the light of such teaching? We are all failures. Isn’t this why we need to depend every day on the death of Jesus to pay for our continued sin. Repentance is not a one-off event, it is a continued dependance on the Lord Jesus to forgive us and guide us.
The apostle Paul himself recognised how he constantly sinned and lived in ways that were not in tune with the Almighty, all-holy God. He wrote as a Christian,
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:24
What joy and peace are given to those who continue to live trusting in Jesus. Paul reassures us:
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
Even if you are truly a follower of the Lord Jesus you may not feel that your life satisfies God yet. The word ‘satisfaction’ comes from the Latin ‘satis’ which means enough. It is what a school teacher wrote in the old days about students who have reached the right standard. The second part of the word is from ‘facere’, ‘to do’. The fact is that none of us can ever do enough to satisfy God - only Jesus can do that and the gospel is that he is willing to share his ‘righteousness’ with us. This is why to stray from Christ is a disaster, we need to stay close to him everyday. It is only by living ‘in him’ that God will be satisfied with us.
I first learned this in my first year at university. I would have happily put C of E on a questionnaire and I had been to Christian camps in Lymington so I understood the redemption Jesus won for us on the cross but, to be honest, Jesus did not mean much to me. Then a friend in my college invited me to come to his room to hear a young American called George Verwer. He had just started a mission group called Operation Mobilisation, which has now become the largest mission organisation in Britain. There were probably only twenty of us in that room. I will never forget that talk. It was on 1 John 3:18:
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”
God spoke to me, I went back to my room, got on my knees and eventually committed my life to following the Lord Jesus and he has been with me ever since.
It is because of all that Jesus has done for us that we must determine never to be casual, complacent Christians but instead to be committed, self-controlled Christ-filled people instead.
6. Keep on Living with Jesus Christ
Several Bible passages emphasise the importance of remaining faithful to Jesus Christ throughout our lives, urging believers to persevere in their faith and continue growing spiritually until the end. Paul knew his own inadequacies but he could say,
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me… I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
This passage from Paul urges believers to continue striving in their faith journey, aiming to grow closer to Christ. Paul acknowledges that spiritual growth is a lifelong pursuit, not a one-time event.
Paul compares his life to a race that requires perseverance and endurance. This verse encourages believers to remain committed to Jesus until the end of life.
This is the key message of God, nothing is so important and everything else flows from this. Jesus says,
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4-5
Jesus teaches the importance of abiding in Him continuously if we are to bear spiritual fruit. If we are to be useful to the Lord our creator, that is to be fruitful, it will only be because we are abiding in him. Unfortunately it is likely that some here will drift away from living for christ as medicine and living for this world becomes our goal. That is a perilous situation to be in. We encourage all new Christians in our area to learn Colossians 1:21-23 by heart. This ends:
“…if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” Colossians 1:22-23
Paul emphasises that believers must remain steadfast in their faith and hold on to the gospel throughout their lives to receive the promises of Christ. Stepping away from the Lord Jesus puts our salvation in peril. Without him there is no salvation.
It is a tragedy to hear of people who started well as students but then drifted away from Jesus later. What a joy it is to meet those who are still living with and for the Lord Jesus.
The Bible is clear that following Jesus is not a one-time decision but a lifelong journey that requires endurance, perseverance, and faithfulness. Believers are called to press on, remain in Christ, and run the race to the end, knowing that rewards await those who finish well.
During China’s Boxer Rebellion of 1900, insurgents captured a mission station, blocked all the gates but one, and in front of that one gate placed a cross flat on the ground. Then the word was passed to those inside that any who trampled the cross underfoot would be permitted their freedom and life, but that any refusing would be shot. Terribly frightened, the first seven students trampled the cross under their feet and were allowed to go free. But the eighth student, a young girl, refused to commit the sacrilegious act. Kneeling beside the cross in prayer for strength, she arose and moved carefully around the cross, and went out to face the firing squad. Strengthened by her example, every one of the remaining ninety-two students followed her to the firing squad.
Why is so much of our Christianity today spineless and weak? Isn’t the basic problem that we have lost the emphasis of Jesus and his apostles that the next life is more important than the present life? This present life is to train us in holiness so that we are prepared to live for eternity close with our creator.. All the decisions we make should be made on the basis that we are here on a journey to the Promised Land, just like Christian in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress was. Churches will continue to be feeble until we rediscover this truth.
Paul wrote at the end of his life:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8
That is to live by faith.
BVPalmer
