Is Your Church Christian or Christian-ish?

I’m drawing inspiration for this post from the Challies blog, which I encourage my readers to check out. But I’m writing this post because I’ve recently been on the other side of this question for the first time in a very long time. For the last fifteen years of my life I’ve been in ministry leadership, so the question I’ve asked is “how to lead a Biblical Church“, but, since transitioning out of formal ministry (at least for the time being), we’ve had to find a Church home for our family, meaning that we’ve been asking “how to know if a Church is Christian?”

So, what does it mean for a Church to be “Christian”?

Well, there are different ways of approaching this question.

The Challies blog I referenced above does so theologically, that is to say, what it means to be Christian has been framed in theological terms (what some people might refer to as “doctrinal”, but I digress). So, for example, he listed eight theological principles: a Christian church “teaches the Bible”, “admits human depravity”, “declares the finished work of Christ”, “affirms the substitutionary death of Christ”, “preaches justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone”, “proclaims the exclusivity of Christ”, “proclaims the existence of heaven and hell”, and “weekly gathers to worship God in Biblical order”. And, while some might feel that these are rather arbitrary in nature, and others might argue about what each point means, I agree in principle that each of these theological issues have value in testing whether or not a Church is really Christian. Unfortunately, some of these points can also become sectarian in nature and can produce divisions that should not occur between Christians.

So, is there any way to build on some of what Challies said to take us even further? Let me propose four Biblical tests to answer our question.

FAITH

John 3:14–16 (CSB) — 14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Acts 10:43 (CSB) — 43 All the prophets testify about him that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”

John 1:12 (CSB) — 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,

1 John 4:15 (CSB) — 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God.

Luke 12:8 (CSB) — 8 “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God…

Romans 10:10 (CSB) — 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

Faith in Jesus as God’s Son and his sacrifice as sufficient to redeem the world, as foretold by the prophets of old, is the foundation of the Christian Church. The Christian Church proclaims Jesus sacrificed upon the cross and forgiveness of sins exclusively in his name so that those who believe may receive from Jesus the right to become God’s children. Therefore, the Christian Church publicly bears witness to the world that Jesus is God’s one and only begotten Son.

Christian-ish churches speak about Jesus in both general and common terms, diminishing his uniqueness, his exclusivity, and the necessity of his sacrifice. Jesus merely becomes the figurehead of whatever the church is doing. And while the benefits of salvation may still be proclaimed and claimed in his name, they are not done so in the conviction of his unique, exclusive, and necessary work. Some examples would include churches who might elevate our adoption to the status of Jesus’ sonship, thus diminishing his uniqueness; or churches who reduce faith to mere profession, making faith barren, thus rejecting the significance of Jesus’ work; or churches might legitimize all paths as valid in Christ, thus diminishing his exclusivity. In many different ways, Christian-ish churches destroy the faith given to us by God’s Son.

FRUIT

Luke 8:15 (CSB) — 15 But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, produce fruit.

Galatians 5:22–23 (CSB) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

Matthew 7:20–23 (CSB) — 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

John 15:8 (CSB) — 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

Christian churches bear fruit because of God’s work in them. Jesus’ disciples are not known merely by their words, but also by the evidence of God at work in them. Over and over again we’re taught to discern the difference between the true and counterfeit by fruit. Churches where God is at work will bear the fruit of that work to his glory. They will be filled with the fruits of the Spirit. And they will accomplish the expressed will of God. Put simply, Christian churches are known by the evidence of God among them!

Conversely, Christian-ish churches are spiritually barren and must manufacture fruit by natural means. They’re forced to grow, not by the hand of God, but by human efforts. They will appeal to the flesh, rather than to the Spirit. They are carnal. They are sensual. So they cannot bear the cross and must prioritize organizational growth over faithfulness to God. And even though many Christian-ish churches will attempt to manufacture fruit that appears to be genuine, their fruit is the result of manufacture, program, and show rather than the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Christian-ish churches are known by their fruit.

SACRIFICE

Luke 9:23 (CSB) — 23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Luke 6:22–23 (CSB) — 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.

1 Peter 4:14 (CSB) — 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Galatians 5:24 (CSB) — 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Colossians 3:5–10 (CSB) — 5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. 8 But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

Christian churches will both proclaim and carry the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice is central to the Christian faith, which means that his followers will embrace the cross to such an extent that it’s evidenced among his people. Christian churches will both bear the shame that Jesus suffered upon the cross when the way of Jesus brings them contrary to the world around them, and teach disciples to bear the suffering of the cross in themselves as they deny their flesh and walk after Jesus.

Christian-ish churches have no tolerance for sacrifice because they’ve stifled the Spirit and are not empowered by the resurrection. The cross smells of death to such churches, so they must seek to remove the cross. They will not run contrary to the world around them and risk incurring Jesus’ shame upon themselves. Nor will they teach disciples to bear the searing pain of denying the flesh. Instead, they compromise with the world and embrace, tolerate, or make room for whatever sins they find necessary.

RELATIONSHIP

1 John 2:6 (CSB) — 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

Galatians 5:25 (CSB) — 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

1 John 3:18 (CSB) — 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

Christian churches live out the life of Jesus in their communities. They are his hands and feet. Therefore, they do what Jesus did. They are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out his life and, therefore, keep in step with his Spirit. They seek no worldly power, position, wealth, or privilege. They show no favoritism to the political factions of this world. Instead, they announce and realize the Kingdom of God. They administer his grace. They proclaim his truth. And they demonstrate the reign of his authority on earth, both of his goodness and severity.

Christian-ish churches do not resemble Jesus in how they live, nor do they keep step with the Holy Spirit. They reflect whatever aspect of the world around them best serves their purposes. They are self-determined. They are self-empowered. They do not know Jesus or walk in fellowship with the Spirit of Truth.

So How Do I Know?

You might have noticed that the tests above speak to Christians, and that’s because Jesus did not found an institution, so, therefore, there is no Biblical test for establishing the legitimacy of an institution. Instead, Jesus did something different by calling together a people for himself. Therefore, the marks of his Church are those that demarcate his people, and we must be careful not to dehumanize such tests and separate them from those that God’s people are called to embody, lest we treat the Church as if she were nothing more than another institution.

Churches are composed of both good and bad, true and false, faithful and unfaithful people. This is inevitable because God’s servants are sent out into the world to call everyone to come. But, in authentic Christian churches there will be a living faith evidenced by God’s work and an embrace of both the life and cross of Jesus. Although there are certain to be members present who do not (yet or even ever) demonstrate these qualities, and in some cases, there may even be many like this present, in Christian churches the people move along these lines because God is at work among them. It is not because they have heroic leaders. It is not because they have cutting edge programs. It’s because God is moving in their midst. Therefore, there should be a softness and sensitivity among them towards what God is doing and would have them also do. There should be an awareness and a reverence towards God’s hand. Their faith and life should reflect these things.

Unfortunately, Christian-ish churches can have their core theology decently correct. Anyone who has moved to a new city and spent any time visiting other churches knows what it’s like to read a church’s “statement of faith” and get excited, only to come and find out that their beliefs do not match their practice at all (that’s what we call “hypocrisy”). But Christian-ish churches will never make Christ the driving belief of life as they sacrificially bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in an intimate relationship with Jesus. They simply cannot bear the cross.

So, as you’re looking for a true Christian church, look for the cross and all that comes from it!