UNCOVER - AN AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN LIFE (4 OF 6)
by Jerry Watts
Scripture: Acts 11:19-26
This content is part of a series.
Uncover - An Authentic Christian Life (4 of 6)
Series: Back to the Basics
Jerry Watts
Acts 11:19-26
The name ''Christian'' has truly fallen on hard times. A little over 15 years ago I was a guest on a local TV talk show. Actually during those days, I was a frequent guest so the topic of discussion that day escapes me. After one of my comments one of the hosts (a friend) made this statement, ''A lot of people have been killed in the name of Christianity.'' And he was right. Now, he wasn't speaking of those who have been martyred for following Christ. He was speaking, perhaps, of the thousands of pagan believers killed between the 4th and 6th centuries because they were not believers, or maybe of the 'Crusades' from the 11th to 13th Centuries, or of the 15th and 17th century religious wars. He could have even been talking about 20th century's atrocities in Croatia during WW2 or in Vietnam in the 50's or even Rwanda in the 90's. Certainly, he could validate his point.
One of favorite scriptures (1 Samuel 16:7) says, ''Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.'' While that is true and God knows what we truly are, it is equally true that man, those people God placed us here to give the gospel to, looks out our outside. It is what this lost world has seen from us that has cause them to be so skeptical of the church and Christianity. Mahatma Ghandi said, ''If it weren't for Christians, I'd be a Christian.'' Keith Green said, ''I would have met Jesus sooner if not for Christians who led double lives.'' And it is in these two expressed statement that we discover the need for this message of ''UNCOVER - An authentic Christian Life.''
What troubles to me is the attitude expressed about ''Professing Christians'' today in America. Almost a quarter of a century ago, George Barna asked America their perception of 'a Christian' and the response was two-fold; they go to church AND they are very judgmental (this has worsened).
Th ...
Series: Back to the Basics
Jerry Watts
Acts 11:19-26
The name ''Christian'' has truly fallen on hard times. A little over 15 years ago I was a guest on a local TV talk show. Actually during those days, I was a frequent guest so the topic of discussion that day escapes me. After one of my comments one of the hosts (a friend) made this statement, ''A lot of people have been killed in the name of Christianity.'' And he was right. Now, he wasn't speaking of those who have been martyred for following Christ. He was speaking, perhaps, of the thousands of pagan believers killed between the 4th and 6th centuries because they were not believers, or maybe of the 'Crusades' from the 11th to 13th Centuries, or of the 15th and 17th century religious wars. He could have even been talking about 20th century's atrocities in Croatia during WW2 or in Vietnam in the 50's or even Rwanda in the 90's. Certainly, he could validate his point.
One of favorite scriptures (1 Samuel 16:7) says, ''Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.'' While that is true and God knows what we truly are, it is equally true that man, those people God placed us here to give the gospel to, looks out our outside. It is what this lost world has seen from us that has cause them to be so skeptical of the church and Christianity. Mahatma Ghandi said, ''If it weren't for Christians, I'd be a Christian.'' Keith Green said, ''I would have met Jesus sooner if not for Christians who led double lives.'' And it is in these two expressed statement that we discover the need for this message of ''UNCOVER - An authentic Christian Life.''
What troubles to me is the attitude expressed about ''Professing Christians'' today in America. Almost a quarter of a century ago, George Barna asked America their perception of 'a Christian' and the response was two-fold; they go to church AND they are very judgmental (this has worsened).
Th ...
There are 10924 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
