Casual, cultural Christianity sounds authentic because it honors God with the lips. What makes it faux-faith, however, is that it proceeds from a heart filled with rebellion and ruled by self (the flesh). Casual Christians never surrender their heart, soul, and lives to God, never express genuine repentance, and never undergo a life transformation by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They simply go through the motions of the Christian faith, play church, and act religious.

Polls consistently find an overwhelming majority of Americans refer to themselves as Christians. Those results seem surprisingly high against the backdrop of news stories splashed across the paper each morning and reported on by news anchors each night. Acts of greed, arrogance, hate, selfishness, violence, and debauchery appear to grow exponentially, and often in increasingly brazen ways, while acts of mercy, love, forgiveness, selflessness, humility, and self-restraint seem to occur with less and less frequency. And while the media certainly emphasizes the former while ignoring the latter, that doesn’t dismiss the fact that, as a nation and as individuals, we appear to pursue with growing regularity behaviors, attitudes, priorities, passions, and worldviews that collide head-on with God’s standards as outlined in the Bible.

How is it possible for a country to profess fidelity to Christ, claim to follow Him, and insist He is Lord, and yet find itself hurtling down a path of destruction littered with escalating amounts of sin? How can we reconcile the explosion of immorality crippling the nation with findings that two-thirds or more of Americans embrace Christianity? The answer lies in the type of Christianity much of the nation pursues. Many chase a casual, cultural Christianity that comports with societal standards instead of a fervent faith rooted in Scripture and aligned with Jesus’ example. The two expressions of Christianity have nothing in common, yield followers with dramatically different lifestyles, and lead to very different eternal destinations.

So what does casual, cultural Christianity look like and why does it thrive in our country? And what guidance does the Bible offer, to help us identify characteristics of this faux-faith so we can avoid embracing its dangerous doctrine? Fortunately, Scripture frequently addresses the subject of counterfeit faith and reveals its shortcomings in unambiguous terms – to keep us from falling victim to it. Does your faith mirror any of the attributes of artificial Christianity outlined below? If so, repent and ask God to restore you into a proper and healthy relationship with Him.

1] Casual, cultural Christianity focuses on self instead of God. It concerns itself with what it can get rather than what it can give. It desires (and demands) all the benefits God offers His people but dismisses His expectations and standards for them. It says yes to God’s mercy, healing, forgiveness, salvation, and material blessings but shouts no to obedience, trials, sacrifice, holiness, worship, and surrender.

Casual, cultural Christians proudly proclaim their faith but only when it drives more customers to their business, enhances their standing in the community, allows them to influence others, provides ‘cover’ to pursue secret sins, or furnishes power they can wield to advance their own agendas. In contrast, authentic believers publically profess Christ as Lord even when it costs them their job or financial security, soils their reputation in the community, results in the loss of freedom, subjects them to persecution or discrimination, or compromises their safety.

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