Questioning the Value of Christian Survey Findings

For some time now I’ve been questioning the value of Christian survey findings carried out by National and International Research organizations. Examples: 54% of Christians believe……. 33% of Christians no longer believe…… Only 62% of Christians now believe…… The questions I ask these days when reading such headlines are: Who are they talking to? How do we know they are Christians? On what basis do they make their claim? In other words, were the people surveyed born again spiritually, or were they simply church-going, religious people? If they’re not born again then they are pseudo Christians. Therefore, the surveys are meaningless.

However, in saying they’re meaningless I am not suggesting they’re harmless. I suggest the opposite in fact. Multitudes of people brought up under our Judeo/Christian values system think of themselves as Christians even if they’ve never given Jesus a thought. So they read the percentages of these surveys and they say to themselves, “This is what I believe too (or don’t believe), but I’m still a Christian!” But it’s the religious church-goers who do the most harm for they give witness to a pseudo Christianity – a bad facsimile of the real thing. These are the people who think of Christianity merely in terms of moral and ethical codes to be lived by. The fact that non-Christian religious people think of their religious systems in the same terms gives them no cause for concern. “All roads lead to heaven,” they’ll say.

Pseudo Christian people disagree with the Bible when it speaks against their prejudices, “theological” and otherwise. If surveyed, the findings would clearly show they stand for much that God stands against. What does God stand against? 2 Timothy 3:1-5 gives us a clear picture. He stands against the ungodly heart attitudes and behaviors of religious people who are lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (Underline mine). Yes, they’re church-goers. Trouble makers too! 

Enemies of Christianity can relish in such Christian surveys also, cementing everything they believe about Christians anyway. “Hypocrites.” “Self-righteous.” “Judgmental.”  “You’re no better than me.” In addition, surveys can be a cause for them to further justify their sinning life styles, their smugness and their self-satisfaction. Not that they need a dodgy survey for that; any genuine hypocrisy from Christians will do the trick here – especially the sexually immoral kind! For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust like the gentiles who do not know God 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5. When hated, let it be for the right reasons.

Some primary reasons for born again Christians to be hated: Firstly, Jesus said it would be so. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you John 15:18-19. The deepest hatred towards us comes from church-going religious people. This is one piece of evidence that they’re not born again, but of the world. In Jesus’ day the deepest hatred came from the synagogue-going religious people. In the disciples’ day it came from the synagogue and the church-going religious people. Why the level of hatred? They intuitively know there is within us a God-given spiritual power and authority they don’t possess.

Knowledge they’re not in possession of such, brings to the surface their deepest envy and jealousy also. Hatred, envy, jealousy; wherever these are, murder is not far away and under the right conditions it would get carried out. Christian martyrdom from the time of the disciples is our evidence to this truth. Not only that, but in 33 years of proclaiming the gospel of Christ I’ve seen murder in the eyes of countless people, the majority of them by far, being religious practitioners. The greater the commitment to their pseudo Christian beliefs and practices, the greater it shows up. Religious people, energized by the spirit of Cain, I think of them as, the same one who murdered his brother Abel out of hatred, envy and jealousy. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous 1 John 3:12.

Born again Christians are hated because the Holy Spirit dwelling within us will convict the world (people) of sin, of righteousness and of judgment John 16:8. Quote: “Sin is the truth about man, righteousness is the truth about God, judgment is the inevitable combination of these two truths.” David Guznik. Deny it as we do, fight it as we do, all of us are sinners by nature. What is sin? Basically it is rebellion – lawlessness – unrighteousness. The essence of all sin is to be against God, which makes it our greatest problem. Thank God for the Holy Spirit, for if it were not for His conviction we would all die in our sins. What is righteousness? Basically it is uprightness before God. None of us are, until we receive the righteousness of Christ. If we refuse to receive it, judgment remains. 

Born again Christians are hated because of our stand for truth. Jesus said, I am the truth…. John 14:6. The truth, not a truth. In other words, Jesus is Truth itself. No greater slap to the human ego has there ever been than that! In addition, that’s why the Bible is despised; it’s only within its 66 books that the Truth is revealed; one of the eternal truths being, No one comes to the Father except through Me. “Narrow minded, fundamentalist Christians,” our enemies spew at us. We sure are, but no more so than Jesus, the Truth Himself! As has been said before on this blog, if Jesus was not the Truth and the Bible was not the sole divine revelation of truth, there would be not a murmur against either of them. Remember, Jesus was not killed because He was a Liar!   

Question: How can one tell the difference between a born again Christian and a pseudo Christian? Answer: The former will express the divine nature and character (fruit) of the Holy Spirit, not that of the human nature (flesh). But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…… And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires Galatians 5:22-24. To the objection that everybody expresses these attributes, not just born again Christians, no, they do not. The human nature expresses a facsimile of them; they are not divine. When human nature’s will gets crossed, its love, its joy, its peace, its patience etc. quickly go flying out the door, replaced by the “passions” of non-crucified flesh.

Pseudo Christians work desperately hard in their endeavors to express the fruit of the Spirit when in the presence of born again Christians but they fail miserably. Quote: “There’s nothing more pathetic than the flesh trying to be holy.” – David Wilkerson. I agree. Religious legalists they are too. That’s another way of telling the difference between us. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty 2 Corinthians 3:17. Equally, where the spirit of religious legalism is, there is bondage! It would be interesting to learn the percentage of those participating in these Christian surveys. On the other hand, the percentages probably speak for themselves!

So what questions do National and International Research organizations ask in a Christian survey? Here’s a few: Do you believe there is only one God? Do you believe Jesus Christ was born of a virgin? Do you believe in the deity of Christ? Do you believe Jesus died on a cross for our sin? Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Do you believe Jesus sits with God the Father in heaven? Do you believe salvation is a gift of God through grace alone, by faith alone through Jesus Christ alone? Do you believe in heaven? Do you believe in hell? Do you believe Jesus Christ will come again? Do you believe the dead in Christ will be resurrected? Do you believe the unbelieving dead will too be resurrected to face their eternal judgment? Do you believe the Bible is God’s holy, inerrant word?

Now, if it were 100% born again Christians surveyed with those questions, the answer should be 100% ‘YES’ to every one of them. Why? Because the questions asked are to the right people, not the wrong people – born again Christians, not pseudo Christians. Quote: “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” – Billy Sunday. True! Pseudo Christianity presented itself not long after the beginnings of the first church and will continue doing so till the earthly return of Jesus Christ. Don’t be influenced by the findings of Christian surveys. Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Pray that pseudo Christians turn to Christ and become born again Christians. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven Matthew 7:21.