Maturing Beyond Surface Level Christianity (Part Three)

From the desk of Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Th.D. In Part One, we saw that surface level is defined as, “shallow, lacking depth.” Surface level Christianity focuses on the superficial aspects of faith, rather than leading people to a deeper encounter with God! Plenty of Christians are rightly concerned about the number of shallow fellow-believers today. Just take a look at the Christian section of a bookstore and you’ll find books that look more like a self-help or positive thinking section than a serious selection of Christian doctrine. Too many Christian radio and television programs have long been rightly accused of promoting money and worldly success over getting to know God on an intimate basis. Whereas worldly success is centered on the promotion and gratification of ourselves, biblical success is centered on obedience to and glorification of God (Romans 13:14; Galatians 5:16; 1 Corinthians 10:31). Biblical faith has been redefined. Too often, Christians think of genuine faith as something that leads to more when it comes to money and better when it comes to health. But the Bible teaches that genuine faith in and of itself, has no power to accomplish what God has promised. The power in faith comes from its object. In other words, faith as seen in the Bible must have an object. And that object is always God. Biblical faith is always object-centered. That is why the “prosperity gospel” which is foreign to Scripture is so prevalent in American Christianity. We have “Christianized” the American dream. Shallow Christian teaching revolves around self-improvement without articulating what the Holy Spirit of God does or how He works. It downplays and reduces the importance of God’s character and concentrates more on our character, focusing on how we benefit from God instead of on the whole redemption story. However, Christianity isn’t about you or me. It’s about God in you and me! Paul said it this way, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Am I really living Christ in my life, or is my life more about me and what I get from God? If the latter is true, that’s not where you want to be! Be encouraged!