"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24).
"Christians" in North America have this attitude of "I worked hard for my money, why should I give it away to help someone else?" That is not a Christ-like attitude. That is not even a biblical Christian's attitude, according to all that we read in the book of Acts, the Gospels, and the Epistles. What makes North American Christianity even more pathetic looking is how the cults are doing the very things these Christians should be doing. Mormonism, for example, is winning over tons of people, despite its erroneous and heretical teachings, due to the fact that they treat people as if they actually care about them and will go out of their way to help them out. They will come over and do yard work for you without expecting any pay. The Christian who sees the Mormon doing these things and is not doing them himself/herself should be ashamed of himself/herself and convicted over his/her weak religious practices.
"Let me warn everyone who wants to be saved not to be content with the world's standard of Christianity. Surely no man with his eyes open can fail to see that the Christianity of the New Testament is something far higher and deeper than the Christianity of most professing Christians. That formal, easy-going, do-little thing, which most people call 'religion,' is evidently not the religion of the Lord Jesus. The things which He praises are not praised by the world. The things which He blames are not things in which the world sees any harm. Oh, if you would follow Christ, do not be content with the world's Christianity! Tremble, tremble and repent!"Two years ago, I read through the entire New Testament in a day and made notes on various verses and passages. After having made my notes, it was very evident to me that what the Bible says about the Christian and what most churches and most "Christians" say about the Christian are two completely different things. Christianity today makes all sorts of excuses for people's sins and will have none of repentance and forsaking of one's sins. When you speak on these things and on holiness, they immediately charge you with legalism. The majority of churches out there have turned the grace of our Lord Jesus into a license to sin as we want to. They have been preaching a false gospel for so long that they have had to water down and reject much of what the Bible actually has to say on these matters.
(J. C. Ryle, Holiness, Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, 1879.)
"We do believe the truths of God's Word but we need to make them bear more upon our experience and practice. Our religion is too much in the head and too little in the heart. Truth rather floats in the understanding than sinks down into the soul. Our memory lets it slip and nothing but frequent meditation on these things, will cause us to profit by them. The truths of God's Word are calculated and intended to benefit the Lord's people, but unless we exercise our minds upon them we shall not be benefited by them.When I was first in Peru, I experienced a Christianity unlike I had ever experienced in North America. The Christianity I experienced down there was akin to what we read in the New Testament in the book of Acts: "And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need" (2:44-45). The Peruvian believers have very little to begin with and yet they are willing to reach out and help you (whoever the "you" may be) with what little that they have. Here in North America where we have an abundance, Christians typically will not lift a finger to help you (unless you are part of their clique). Even the church itself, from all the tithes it receives, will rarely lift a finger to give you aid. If you are without a job and struggling to pay your bills and put food on your table, the entire church can be informed about your predicament and yet no one will lift a finger to see you through your struggles. Oh, one person might slip you a $20, but that is as far as that goes. You have to stretch what little you have just to make sure you can survive, even if that means having a single meal per day because you cannot afford anything more.
One truth, brought home to the soul by the Holy Spirit, and digested by meditation does us more good than volumes which just pass through the mind! We ought, therefore, to pray more over what we read and look to the Holy Spirit, beseeching Him to unfold and apply the truth to us!"
(James Smith, Christ Exalted, Saints Comforted, and Sinners Directed, 1855.)
"Christians" in North America have this attitude of "I worked hard for my money, why should I give it away to help someone else?" That is not a Christ-like attitude. That is not even a biblical Christian's attitude, according to all that we read in the book of Acts, the Gospels, and the Epistles. What makes North American Christianity even more pathetic looking is how the cults are doing the very things these Christians should be doing. Mormonism, for example, is winning over tons of people, despite its erroneous and heretical teachings, due to the fact that they treat people as if they actually care about them and will go out of their way to help them out. They will come over and do yard work for you without expecting any pay. The Christian who sees the Mormon doing these things and is not doing them himself/herself should be ashamed of himself/herself and convicted over his/her weak religious practices.
"I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world, is because the world has so much influence over the church.""I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me" (Matt. 25:42-43). This verse is what many today (Christian and non-Christian) experience inside most North American churches. Why? Because their love has grown cold. This verse is what most Christians in North America are guilty of. These professing Christians are nothing more than selfish, self-centered, greedy, egotistical, hard-hearted, loveless frauds who claim the name of Jesus and yet do none of His works. Jesus said we will know you by your fruits. Well, your fruits are speaking loud and clear. Clean up your act, church—Christian, or may God tear down your house and leave it desolate the same way He did to the temple for the mockery you make of His name. "And so, by sinning against the brethren...you sin against Christ" (1 Cor. 8:12).
—Charles Spurgeon
"The Christian is supposed to be different from the people of this present world. If there is no difference to be seen between a Christian and a non-Christian, then how will sinners see the change in our lives if we are exactly like them? If they do not see the difference that Christ has made in our lives, then how can we lead them to saving faith in Christ when our life contradicts our message to the lost?"
—Jerry Sheppard
Adapted from Matthew 23:13-33"I want to see a Christianity in action; not a Christianity in distraction." —Jerry Sheppard
(and fitting for most North American Christians today):
"Woe to you, Christians, you hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, Christians, you hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, Christians, you hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land preaching your false brand of Christianity ("Pray this prayer and you're in the club; you can even be a carnal Christian if you want. You don't need to repent or forsake your sins.") in order to make one convert; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, Christians, you hypocrites! For you tithe your ten percent, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the other. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, Christians, you hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Christian, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, Christians, you hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, Christians, you hypocrites! You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?"