『125. Are We Christians—or Are We Actually Following Jesus?』のカバーアート

125. Are We Christians—or Are We Actually Following Jesus?

125. Are We Christians—or Are We Actually Following Jesus?

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When Christianity Becomes a Lifestyle Instead of a Life Surrendered I have had a phrase running through my mind lately that I simply cannot shake: I never want to become a “Country Club Christian.” And no, I do not mean someone who literally belongs to a country club. I mean something much deeper. I mean the kind of Christianity that becomes part of our lifestyle without becoming the Lordship of our lives. We can go to church, attend Christian marriage retreats, have Christian friends, listen to Christian podcasts, know Scripture, pray before meals, serve in ministry, and speak the language of faith… …and still have areas of our lives that we have not truly surrendered to Jesus. That realization hit me hard recently as I found myself noticing behavior in other Christians that felt deeply inconsistent with the way of Christ—drunkenness, crude speech, degrading conversations, inappropriate joking, and attitudes that simply did not seem to reflect Jesus. My first thought was: "I never want to be that kind of Christian." But then the Holy Spirit turned the mirror around. And suddenly the question was no longer: “How can they call themselves Christians and behave like that?” The question became: “Danielle, where are YOU professing Jesus while resisting Him?” Oof. That changed everything. Because there is a danger in cultural Christianity. But there is also a danger in becoming self-righteous toward cultural Christians. And that is where today’s conversation begins. What Does It Really Mean to Follow Jesus? In this episode, I take you into my recent Bible reading through Acts 21–23, where Paul finds himself surrounded by deeply religious people—people who know Scripture, believe in God, understand religious culture, and are absolutely convinced they are defending truth. And yet some of them are actively resisting the work of God happening right in front of them. That should humble every one of us. Paul himself once had tremendous religious knowledge, zeal, discipline, and identity. But then he encountered Jesus. And Jesus did not simply become another addition to Paul’s religious life. Jesus completely changed the direction of his life. That raises a question I believe every follower of Christ needs to ask from time to time: Has Christianity simply become part of my identity—or is following Jesus actually changing the way I live? Because Jesus never said, “Add Me to your life.” He said: “Follow Me.” The Difference Between Sinfulness and Surrender This episode is not about pretending Christians never sin. We do. I do. You do. We have blind spots. We fall back into old patterns. We say things we regret. We hurt people. We make mistakes. But there is an important difference between struggling with sin and making peace with it. One of the truths I keep coming back to is this: The evidence of discipleship is not sinlessness. It is responsiveness to conviction. What happens when the Holy Spirit points something out? What happens when Scripture confronts something we have normalized? What happens when someone we trust lovingly says, “That really hurt me,” or, “I do not think that was okay”? Do we defend? Minimize? Blame? Dismiss? Or do we become teachable enough to say: “Lord, is there something here You want me to see?” Repentance is not condemnation. Repentance is the beautiful invitation to recognize that we are walking in the wrong direction and allow Jesus to turn us toward Him again. Discernment Is Not the Same as Self-Righteousness This was probably the part of this conviction that challenged me the most. There are times when something genuinely is unhealthy. There are times when behavior genuinely does not reflect the character of Christ. We are allowed to discern fruit. But discernment and spiritual superiority are not the same thing. Discernment says: “That behavior does not seem consistent with the way of Jesus.” Self-righteousness says: “And therefore I am better than that person.” That difference matters. I can correctly recognize that someone else’s behavior does not resemble Jesus and still respond to that person in a way that does not resemble Jesus. Acts 23 gives us such a beautiful picture of this through Paul. Even when Paul was treated unjustly, he remained willing to examine his own response. And that is a question I am carrying with me: Can I recognize what is wrong in someone else while still allowing Jesus to correct what is wrong in me? When Christian Culture Becomes the Standard Every Christian community develops a culture. Church culture. Ministry culture. Family culture. Political culture. Social culture. Regional culture. Economic culture. And if we are not careful, the question can quietly shift from: “What does Jesus say?” to: “What do people like us do?” But following Jesus will eventually challenge every culture we belong to. Including mine. Including yours. The invitation is not to become better at fitting into ...
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