Tag: follow Jesus

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Christian Living

Secular Christians

Don't be a Secular Christian

Carefully Consider Your Faith Foundation and the Basis for What You Believe

Some Christians base their faith on what the Bible says. Others, however, reject this view as outdated and judgmental. Instead, they allow society to guide their practices, which veers further and further from a firm faith foundation. They have become secular Christians.

Here are some characteristics of secular Christians:

Being Politically Correct Is More Important Than Being Biblically Correct

Political correctness guides their perspectives, their thoughts, and their words. When this view contradicts what the Bible says, they dismiss Scripture and align with the current prevailing opinion of secular society.

Public opinion matters more to them than God’s Word, so they waffle in the wind of societal attitudes. And when that attitude shifts, they shift with it. As a result, they build their life on a foundation of sand. What they don’t realize is that it won’t last (Matthew 7:26).

Jesus Isn’t Central but Ancillary

Jesus is the star of the Bible, with the Old Testament anticipating him and the New Testament telling us about him and the work of his followers. He calls his disciples to put him first in their lives, to make him a priority (Matthew 10:38).

Yet secular Christians move away from this ideal. Yes, they may view Jesus as a wise teacher, a good man, or someone worthy of admiration, but he’s not someone to give their life to. As a result, Jesus becomes one pursuit among many. He doesn’t rise above all else. Instead, he’s more apt to be buried by it.

Society’s Views Supersede Scripture

Sometimes what the Bible says isn’t popular among progressive thinking people. When they read Scripture—if they read it at all—it’s as if they have a highlighter in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. But this is Christian idolatry. They don’t read and believe the entire Bible (2 Timothy 3:16).

When the Bible agrees with what society says, secular Christians affirm Scripture. But when it runs contrary to popular opinion, they dismiss or decry those passages.

At best, secular Christians view the Bible through the lens of culture. In the process, they distort the Word of God and delude themselves into assuming it says something it doesn’t say.

Christian Is a Label More Than a Lifestyle

Given this, it’s easy for these folks to treat the word Christian as a name that carries little weight. It may encompass a political perspective, a vague reference that means whatever they want it to mean, or a convenient description that allows for acceptance among some groups.

Instead, Jesus calls us to go all in for him (Matthew 19:29). To fully follow him is a full-time commitment. We make a U-turn with our lives to be his disciple. Saying we’re a Christian means nothing unless our lifestyle matches what Jesus calls us to do.

Don’t Be a Secular Christian

Just because someone says they’re a Christian doesn’t mean they really are. Too many people in our world today are secular Christians and nothing more. But Jesus has a higher calling for us (Hebrews 3:1).

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Make Disciples Not Converts

We Should Do What Jesus Commands and Push Secondary Pursuits Aside

Jesus wants us to be his disciples. Each of the biographies of Jesus mention this. To be his disciple means to set all else aside and follow him (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:26–33).

As his disciples he expects us to produce fruit, that is to help other people become disciples too (John 15:8). It’s clear. We need to make disciples.

Matthew’s biography of Jesus records his final instructions to his followers before he returns to heaven. Jesus tells his followers to go everywhere and make disciples (Matthew 28:18–20, which some call the Great Commission).

He doesn’t say he wants them to go and make converts. He wants disciples. Though believing in God is the first step, it’s not enough. Jesus wants more. He wants followers who go all in for him.

Much of today’s church has missed this call for discipleship. Instead they focus on conversions, such as praying a prayer, being baptized, or making a public declaration of belief in Jesus. But this is just the first step on a lifelong journey of faith, a journey into discipleship.

Jesus commands us to make disciples, yet few churches do this on a corporate level. And few people do this on a personal level.

When a person says “yes” to Jesus, that’s wonderful news and the angels celebrate (Luke 15:10). Yet too many churches then abandon those new believers and leave them to flounder (Luke 8:11–15).

Instead they should invest in that person and help them become a disciple of Jesus, just as he commanded. Then that person can go out and make another disciple.

If we all made disciples—just as Jesus instructed—there would be many more people following him and the world would be a much better place.

Jesus told us to go out and make disciples. We need to take this command seriously and obey it. We can start today.

Read the first post in this series about things we must change in our discussion about our church buildings and facilities.

Read more about this in Peter’s new book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

What’s It Mean to Take Up Your Cross Daily and Follow Jesus?

Make sacrifices

Discover the Truth and Spiritual Significance of Luke 9:23

What did Jesus mean when he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23)? This reference to the cross—the torturous instrument of Jesus’s death—is enough to make us squirm.

Though not to dismiss this idea of taking up our cross to be a follower of Jesus, it’s not where we should place our focus—at least not right away. This verse contains three key elements. It’s a progression, a spiritual journey.

Here they are in order.

Follow Jesus

The foremost thing—the most important part of this verse—is to follow Jesus. When we follow Jesus, it implies we stop following the things of this world. We make a U-turn with our life and go after Jesus. We say yes to him and no to other distractions.

This is the first step to becoming his disciple.

Yet this isn’t the destination, it’s the beginning.

Yes, making this decision may be enough to get our go-to-heaven-card when we die. But if that’s the only reason for us to say yes to Jesus, we’ll miss out on so much here on earth. And though we may enter heaven by the smallest of margins, we’ll miss out on a fuller reward.

Do It Daily

The next word to focus on in this verse from Luke 9:23 is daily. Following Jesus shouldn’t be a once-and-done decision. We should make it a daily commitment. When we open our eyes each morning, we should make a conscious decision to say yes to Jesus again.

Who would get married and think that saying I do at the wedding ceremony would be enough to establish and sustain a strong, long-term marriage? No one. For a marriage to work well, we need to work at it daily. We need to say I do every day.

The same is true when we follow Jesus. To grow in our relationship with him and realize the riches of being his disciple, we must do it daily.

Make Sacrifices

Having committed ourselves to following Jesus each day, we can now address this troublesome phrase of taking up our cross. For Jesus, the cross meant sacrifice. For him it was the ultimate sacrifice of giving his life for us. Though as Jesus’s disciple, we should be willing to die for him, few of us will be called to do that. Yet we must be prepared that it could happen.

A more applicable understanding is that the cross implies making less lethal sacrifices as we live a life a following Jesus in service to him. Yet if we love Jesus, these sacrifices need not be burdensome. Instead, these are things we willingly give up to serve him and to be a part of team Jesus.

What’s critical here is to comprehend that we don’t need to make sacrifices to get Jesus’s attention, earn our salvation, or merit his favor. Jesus loves us regardless of the things we do or don’t do.

When we make sacrifices for him, we do it in response to the ultimate sacrifice he made for us. It’s how we show our love to him since he already showed his love for us.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

5 Things God Asks of Us

book of Deuteronomy

The book of Deuteronomy offers surprising insights into our relationship with God

The book of Deuteronomy is never high on my reading list. The seemingly endless instructions about the form and format of God’s expectations for his people vex me, especially given that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, and today we live under a New Testament arrangement.

Yet there are surprising truths buried in this stodgy book. We can easily miss these amazing insights if we read too hurriedly—or skip the book altogether.

One such passage presents a succinct summary of what God asks of us:

1. Fear God

Does this mean God wants his people to be afraid of him? No! He wants his people to stand in awe of him, with reverence and respect.

2. Walk with God

God asks us to move in relationship with him, to go where he goes. The word repent (which is found throughout the Bible) implies this. It basically means to change course and follow God (and Jesus).

3. Love God

God wants us to love him. That’s a great start. In the New Testament we see God’s love for us. Though it’s evident in the Old Testament, we can’t miss it in the New Testament.

4. Serve God

If we fear, walk with, and love God, we will spontaneously desire to serve him. Yet to make sure we don’t miss this part of our relationship with God, he spells it out for us.

5. Obey God

The fifth item also flows from those before it: obedience. Though obeying an authority is often dismissed in today’s culture, God is one authority who never disappoints, never falters, and never makes a mistake.

The book of Deuteronomy tells us that God is worthy of us doing the things he asks, starting with this passage: fear, walk, love, serve, and obey.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 10-12, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 10:12-13.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

3 Religious Terms I Struggle With

religious term

Exploring Doctrine, Theology, and Systematic Theology

There are three religious terms I don’t care for. Hearing or reading about them has a negative impact on me. These words are doctrine, theology, and systematic theology. I don’t like them because they take the awesome mystery of God and try to provide structure to something that transcends human organization.

Let’s consider these three terms and what place they might have in our faith journey.

Doctrine

The first religious term I don’t care for is doctrine. Doctrine is a principle or group of principles presented as a body of belief in a religious context. Other words to describe doctrine include creed, canon, and tenet. A fourth word is dogma, which is the root word for dogmatic.

Dogmatic means insisting unexamined ideas coming often from a position of arrogance.

When I read about Christian doctrine, it’s too often presented with dogmatic fervor. This may be a huge reason why the discussion of doctrine so turns me off.

Yet we all form and adhere to various religious doctrines. Some of these have a sound biblical foundation. But many do not.

We learn much of our doctrinal positions through the teaching of ministers. Often these pronouncements support tradition and align with current societal norms more so than being based on Scripture.

I fear, however, that we simply make up too many of our doctrine ideas because they feel right to us. Or because we want them to be true. Or since they allow us to avoid uncomfortable confrontations with biblical truth.

May we base all our doctrinal perspectives on what the Bible says.

Theology

The second religious term I prefer to avoid is theology. For Christians, at a base level, theology is a study of God. In this respect, I love theology. Yet my study of God has the sole purpose of helping me draw closer to him.

It’s a futile attempt to study God for the sake of amassing knowledge about him or to comprehend him from an intellectual standpoint. It’s arrogant to pursue theology if that’s our goal.

Bearing fruit is more important than having a right theology.

God far surpasses are human comprehension. We’ll never understand him in an academic way, at least not with any significant result—or producing any positive eternal outcome.

We cannot organize God, but that doesn’t keep people from trying. This brings us to our third religious term.

Systematic Theology

Systematic theology is a subset of theology. In the Christian sense, systematic theology seeks to condense our understanding of God and our faith in him into a series of interconnected thoughts that constitute a comprehensive and organized treatise. In a way, we can view a systematic theology is an interconnected set of doctrines.

The God who is revealed in the Bible transcends our ability to organize him and force him into a system of our own making. To attempt to do so diminishes him and elevates us to unwarranted levels.

Yes, most people have a systematic theology. Many were taught it and accept what they were taught. Others arrived at their systematic theology with intentionality.

I resist the urge to force the all-mighty, all-knowing, and all-present God who is revealed in the Bible into a system of my own making. It’s simply not possible.

Instead, my desire is to follow Jesus the best I can as I let the Holy Spirit bring me into a closer relationship with Father God. Toward that end, doctrine, theology, and systematic theology don’t matter so much and only get in the way.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

One Body with Many Members: Correct the Church Membership Fallacy

church membership

Instead of Joining a Church, Align Yourself with Jesus

Most churches talk about church membership—a lot. Some treat it as the next step after salvation, even as if it’s salvation part two. It’s not. And if your church is part of a denomination, membership in the local church is automatic membership in the denomination.

Church Membership

With membership, many carry a smug pride of religious superiority. Others expect their membership to provide them with benefits.

Some church membership benefits are explicit, carrying specified privileges. These include being able to vote at meetings, eligibility for certain church positions, and enjoying a higher status than nonmembers, who are mere attendees.

Other church membership benefits are assumed. Basically, this means our ministers must be available whenever we need them. This includes celebrating our special events, dealing with any crisis we may encounter, and listening to our “concerns” about some church issue or theology. When we say “jump,” they’re supposed to act.

Denomination Membership

Church denominations used to be much more important than they are now. Church members were loyal to their denomination.

When they moved, they sought out a church in their same denomination. And as a member of the denomination, they’d be accepted without question at the new church—even though no one knew them. It was a simple matter to transfer their membership to the new congregation.

Most denominations struggle today. They’re losing members (and affiliated churches) at an alarming rate. Some had scandals. Others faced a theological rift between polarized perspectives, where it was impossible to please everyone. And the dissenters voiced their frustration by leaving.

Most denominations have become nothing more than institutions fighting for survival. Membership numbers are the way they gage their battle.

What Does the Bible Say?

Scripture never mentions church membership. There are no commands to join a local church. The apostle Paul, however, does talk about members. He repeatedly says that we are members of one body. That’s right. Not a church or a denomination, but a body—one body.

He writes that there is one body. He tells this to the church in Rome (Romans 12:5), Ephesus (Ephesians 3:6 and Ephesians 4:25), and Colossae (Colossians 3:15). He even gets more specific, saying we are members of his body, that is Jesus’s body, the body of Christ (Ephesians 2:19-20, Ephesians 5:29-30 and 1 Corinthians 6:15a).

There is one body with many members, each with their own function (Romans 12:3-4).

What Does Jesus Want?

In his final prayer before his execution, Jesus prayed that we—his future followers—would be one, just as he and Papa are one. Why is this? By being one, we become the optimum witness to the world so that they may believe (John 17:20-21).

Jesus knew that if we divided ourselves by forming denominations, we would divide ourselves and our witness, fracturing the ideas of one body in the process.

He knew that by establishing church memberships, we would divide ourselves—and his one body—into two levels of followers, with some in and others second-class.

Jesus wants us to be members of one body, the universal body of Christ. We automatically become a member when we follow Jesus. Local church membership doesn’t matter.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

Count the Cost: Is Christianity Easy or Hard?

Christian

Regardless of Circumstances, God Walks With Us

In Paul’s second letter to the believers in Corinth, he warns them not to deceive others or distort God’s word (2 Corinthians 4:2). That is, don’t misrepresent God’s character or intent to the world.

Yet, this happens. Some people, in their zeal for Jesus, promise those on the outside that if they just say “yes” to Jesus, then all their problems will go away and life will become easy.

It doesn’t work that way.

Jesus says to “count the cost” (Luke 14:28), that his followers may pay a price for their commitment to him.

Paul details this heavy cost. But along with each threat he gives assurance of God’s provision (2 Corinthians 4:8-9):

  • Hard pressed from every direction, but not crushed
  • Perplexed, but not in despair.
  • Persecuted, but not abandoned.
  • Struck down, but not destroyed.

So when we follow Jesus we can expect to be harassed, mystified, attacked, and hurt. Yet in this, God promises we will not be defeated, anguished, forgotten, or ruined.

We must count the cost before we follow Jesus, because committing ourselves to him may bring about hardship, but take courage knowing that God will prevail and help us through these trying situations.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 4-6, and today’s post is on 2 Corinthians 4:2, 8-9.]

Read more in Peter’s book, Love is Patient (book 7 in the Dear Theophilus series).

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

God’s Book of Life

book of life

Is Your Name on the List?

Chapter 2 in the book of Ezra overflows with names. We often skim it or may face the temptation to skip it altogether. Buried among this dizzying array of names is a sidenote that’s easy to miss, but it carries an important lesson.

Many of the Israelite exiles prepare to return to God’s promised land. Among them is a group of people, but they can’t prove their heritage. They search for their family records but do not find them.

As a result, they can’t serve as priests because their inability to prove their lineage to Aaron makes them unclean for service.

Someone did not keep good records, and the price for their sloppiness is exclusion from the priesthood. They didn’t value their heritage and that makes them ineligible to serve.

The Good List

Although Santa Claus has a good list and a naughty list based on behavior, God does not—even though many people believe differently. True, the Old Testament values genealogies and lineages to determine who is in and who was out, but Jesus did away with that.

Instead, he saves us by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). It’s open to everyone. God’s grace and our faith puts us on God’s list. Our family tree doesn’t matter to God.

The Lamb’s Book of Life

The only list God has is the book of life. David talks about it (Psalm 69:28), and so does Paul (Philippians 4:3).

But most of the references to the book of life occur in Revelation, which is fitting because Revelation concludes with us going to meet Jesus in a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1).

Usually, John calls this the book of life, but twice he refers to it as the Lamb’s book of life. That is, Jesus’s book of life.

It’s the only book we need to be in, the only list that matters. We don’t need to keep our own records to prove we’re on this list because God maintains it. He enters our names when we follow Jesus, and never crosses them off.

Thank you, Jesus for saving us and entering our names in the Lamb’s book of life.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Ezra 1-3 and today’s post is on Ezra 2:59-62.]

Check out the parallel passage is in Nehemiah 7:61-65.

Read more in Peter’s devotional Bible study, A New Heaven and a New Earth: 40 Practical Insights from John’s Book of Revelation.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Make a U-Turn to Follow Jesus

Make a Uturn to follow Jesus

Discover the Key to Be Saved and Inherit Eternal Life

In the Bible, when people seek Jesus to be saved and have eternal life, he gives them different instructions. This is perplexing. Let’s dig into it. The most common direction he gives them is to “follow me” (Luke 5:27). That is, we must follow Jesus.

Other times Jesus adds the precursor to repent. To repent is to make a U-turn with our life. We make a U-turn to follow Jesus.

When we make a U-turn in our life, we stop moving in one direction and change course to head in a different direction. This is a good illustration of what it means to repent. When it comes to eternal life, we change directions to follow Jesus. It’s that simple.

But what about those times when Jesus tells people to do other things as a prerequisite to following him? For some he said to give away their money. To others he said to change their ways or persevere or obey God. Then there’s the command to take up their cross and follow him.

Do we need to do all these things to receive eternal life through Jesus? It’s an exhausting list if we heap all these requirements together.

Yet each of these instructions was to a particular person or group. It’s specifically how Jesus instructed them to make a U-turn in their lives. The direction they were going was taking them away from him—not toward him.

He needed them to change course so they could follow him. They needed to make a U-turn to follow Jesus.

To continue our understanding of repenting as making a U-turn with our life, know that it’s not about reaching a destination. Instead, it’s that initial act of heading in a different direction. That’s what it means to repent.

We repent and follow Jesus to be saved and inherit eternal life. This means we don’t need to do anything else; we can’t do anything else to earn our salvation.

We don’t need to follow a bunch of rules or check off things on a lengthy to-do list. All other religions carry the expectations of a performance-based solution.

Christianity does not—even though too many Christians wrongly pursue their faith as a performance-based religion. In Christianity, however, we are saved by grace, through faith and it’s not something we must work for to earn (Ephesians 2:8-9).

All we need to do is to make a U-turn to follow Jesus. Everything else is secondary.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

The Dangers of Christian Celebrity

Christian Celebrity

Don’t Place Ministers on a Pedestal

It’s sad when it happens, but we don’t need to wait long before another prominent Christian leader falls from his pedestal. Yes, it is usually men. While their moral failings are the reason, we, too, are to blame.

With ungodly fervor, we elevate our cherished leaders, hoisting them to lofty expectations that no one can maintain. Our unbridled admiration only increases their risk of failure and our profound disappointment when they stumble.

This is not just a modern occurrence, however. Two thousand years ago, the Christians living in the city of Corinth also suffer from this unwarranted celebration of its leaders.

The people there exalt the missionaries who stop by: Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, following them with great zeal (1 Corinthians 3:4-5).

This adoration approaches the level of hero worship, just as often happens today when people gush with praise for well-known Christian teachers. The risk is that the fame of these superstars threatens to supersede Jesus.

While the Bible celebrates our faith’s heroes, such as in Hebrews 11, it does so posthumously. Their record has been set; they can no longer disappoint us by their human failings. We know their strengths and their weaknesses.

We esteem them accordingly, celebrating what is good and guarding against what is not.

Christian celebrity is dangerous, both for them and us. May we not fall victim to it; may we keep our focus on Jesus. We need to follow Jesus and no one else.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 1-4 and today’s post is on 1 Corinthians 1:11-13.]

Read more in Peter’s book, Love is Patient (book 7 in the Dear Theophilus series).

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.