CHRISTIAN IN NAME ONLY
By Dr. Carl Parnell,
Ed.,D
October 31, 2012
NewsWithViews.com
Since the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, millions of people have claimed that they are Christians. However, according to Mark 7:6, these so-called Christians honor Jesus with their lips only, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commands of men. Also, as stated in II Timothy 3:5, they have a form of religion, but do not have the actual power of God operating in their lives. This is the manner in which many Christians worship God today in America. In fact, many self-proclaimed Christians do not even believe or follow the dictates of the Holy Bible. They also believe that there is more than one way to Heaven. Of course, any Christian who does not obey God’s Word and/or believes that salvation through Jesus Christ is not the only way to Heaven is a Christian in Name Only.
There are many examples in history of Christians in Name Only. After Theodosius I made Christianity the “official” religion of Rome in AD 395, many Romans became “Christianized,” that is, they accepted the teachings of Jesus Christ with their minds, not with their hearts. To them, it was the solution needed to prevent the collapse of ancient Rome. However, in order to save Rome, these “Christianized” Romans needed to clean the cobwebs of sin out of their hearts. But, they saw Christianity and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as a social networking experience, instead of a true, soul-searching, spiritual experience that would wash their sins away. Therefore, these professed Christians were not really Christians at all. As stated in Matthew 23:27, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.” Unfortunately, many Christians in America could very well be grouped into this category. Of course, anyone grouped into this category would be Christian in Name Only.
A second example of Christians in Name Only occurred prior to the Great Awakening in America (1730-1760). In 1662, many of the churches in New England adopted a new method to increase their congregations. It was the Halfway Covenant. This covenant between the churches and the descendants of church members permitted non-Christians to join the church with the same privileges as their descendants, except for communion (A person who takes communion without first accepting Christ as his or her Savior would be cursed). In adopting the Halfway Covenant, these churches assumed that once these descendants of church members joined their respective churches that they would become true Christians. But, sadly, these new church members, which were sinners at heart, brought sin into the church, instead of leaving it outdoors. Unfortunately, this is one of the major problems in many Christian churches in America today. Instead of the churches changing the sinners, sinners have ended up changing the churches that they attend, which explains why churches condone and promote the lifestyle of the sinner rather than the lifestyle dictated by God the Father and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. As a result, many of America’s liberal, and possibly some conservative church denominations accept abortion and homosexuality as permissible in the eyes of God. Of course, any church denomination that views abortions and homosexuality in this manner is Christian in Name Only.
A third example of Christian in Name Only occurs in churches that preach, as Mark wrote, the dictates of man over the dictates of God. Too many ministers preach their own ideologies, instead of “thus saith the Word of God.” As a result, many church congregations are fed a social gospel, instead of a gospel based on the blood-bought salvation plan brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Also, some of these same ministers preach a politically-correct gospel that believes that no one should be offended. Thereby, they do not preach anything from the Bible that might offend anyone. This is the main reason that homosexuals and abortionists would feel right at home in Christian churches in the United States. Of course, any minister who would substitute his or her feelings or the government’s feelings for the absolute truths in the inspired Word of God would be responsible for leading people to Hell and would definitely be held accountable by God and His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, these ministers would be Christians in Name Only.
A fourth example of Christian in Name Only would be anyone who claims to be a Christian but who fails to glorify God with his or her words and by his or her actions. One such person is President Barack Obama. Since he has been the President of the United States, he has spent considerably more time glorifying Islam, rather than Christianity, the religion that he professes to be a follower. However, like any good politician, he is an excellent name-dropper. Even though he spent most of his life as a convert of Islam, he has used his stated belief in Jesus Christ as a catch line to get votes from the 85 to 90 percent of Americans who profess to be followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ. But, there is no way under Heaven that anyone who professed to be a Christian would:
• Have a banquet at the White House to celebrate the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.
• Permit the production of a stamp that promotes Islam but fails to produce a stamp that promotes Christianity.
• Cancel the National Day of Prayer services at the White House.
• Use the “race card” anytime someone or some group disagreed with his decisions.
•
Promote government-controlled Socialism over Free Enterprise Capitalism.
• Sit under the teachings of Marxist community
organizer Saul Alinsky.
• Create a Communist hierarchy of Czars to help
him lead America into a way of life foreign to most American citizens.
• Deny indisputable proof that he was a natural-born
citizen, which is one of the three main requirements to be President of
the United States.
•
Go to any length to prevent Americans from knowing his true identity.
However, President Obama has actually done the aforementioned actions. As a result, based on what is stated in Matthew 12:30, is he a Christian in Name Only or is he a true Christian? It states, “Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.” As the old adage states, actions speak louder than words. Therefore, let President Obama’s actions speak for him; he does not promote and give equal time to Christianity. Instead, he spends more time referencing Islam, which he calls the “religion of peace.”
In conclusion, it is time for all truly born-again Christians to shake off the bands of denominationalism and truly promote the only way of life that leads to Heaven. It is time for all truly born-again Christians to shake off the bands of denominationalism and truly realize that they should not vote for a man who does not have their best religious interests at heart, even if they have to vote against their political party of choice. Ultimately, a person who is a true Christian would live his or her life according to the dictates of God as written in the Bible, God’s Holy Standard of Living. As a result, a true Christian’s vote would line up with the Bible. Therefore, a true Christian would not vote for a candidate and his party that promotes abortion, gay marriage, gays in the military, redistribution of wealth, a progressive income tax, and the religion of Islam.
Of course, if a professed Christian votes according to the dictates of his or her own heart, instead of the dictates of the Bible, and votes for President Obama, who openly supports and promotes all the previously mentioned planks in the Democratic Party platform, he or she would be a Christian in Name Only (Matthew 7:21-23), since the Bible clearly states God’s negative views on murder, homosexuality, redistribution of wealth, unequal taxation, false gods, and false prophets.
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P.S. It would be a shameful legacy for Christians in America if they were responsible for reelecting a person to the Office of President that ultimately was responsible for influencing the passage of laws that would deny them their religious freedoms. In fact, according to Christian News Network, a study funded by the Department of Homeland Security has already deemed Christians as “potential terrorist.” As stated in the study, “Religious groups were labeled as those ‘that seek to smite the purported enemies of God and other evildoers, impose strict religious tenets or laws on society (fundamentalists), forcibly insert religion into the political sphere (e.g., those who seek to politicize religion, such as Christian Reconstructionists and Islamists), and/or bring about Armageddon.’” Ultimately, as a result of this study, it is obvious that the current administration is anti-Christian in their ideology. Therefore, does Christendom in America need four more years of this anti-Christian administration?
© 2012 Dr. Carl Parnell - All Rights Reserved
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This ArticleCarl Parnell retired from public school teaching in 1999. He taught history and other social science courses for over forty years. He taught middle school, high school, and college level. Carl was a Lead Teacher and Principal of the On-Campus School at Georgia Baptist Children’s Home in central Georgia. Presently, he's teaching at a private, Christian high school.
Carl served in the United States Army from 1968-1971. He also served in the United States Air Force Reserves from 1983-1986, was chosen Teacher of the Year in 1991. Carl was included in the 1993, 1994 and 2007 editions of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He was selected Star Teacher at hes present school in 2007 and published his first book, "From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: Exposing America’s New Terror from Within" (ISBN: 1-58736-613-4) in July 2006.
Carl has completed his second book, which is in an eBook format, entitled "A Brewing Pot of Christian Persecution: America's Postmodern Anti-Christian Crusade." My eBook, as well as over 60 of my articles, can be viewed at FaithWriters. Com
Website: drcarlsterlingparnell.wiki.zoho.com
E-Mail: drcarlparnell@faithwriters.net
