The Credibility Crisis

Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

—James 1:18–27

In the Western world the Christian faith is facing a credibility crisis. In our attempt to be contemporary and to creatively reach others with the good news about Jesus Christ, we have forgotten that our credibility matters.

The differences between the first-century church and today’s church twenty centuries later can be summarized in two words: influence and power. The early church did not have enough influence to keep Peter out of prison, but the believers had enough power to pray him out. Today, few Christians seem to speak of the power of the Holy Spirit, yet they pride themselves on influence. Sadly, most of the influence they think they have is their perception, not reality.

How did the church in America get to this point? In the 1980s, the church stepped into the political arena and played a major part in electing Ronald Reagan as president of the United States. President Reagan brought renewed hope to our nation, and his policies prepared the way for some of America’s finest hours. Ever so subtly, though, this political scene seemed to impact the church. With conservative Christianity being mentioned in front-page articles of daily newspapers and in lead stories on nightly news, the church began to flex its muscles. The church took pride in its new-found influence while confusing it with spiritual power. Not unexpectedly, the church soon found itself fighting for its own integrity and credibility. Denominations declined, and churches had scandal to rival Hollywood. Immorality and extravagance ran rampant behind closed church doors.

No wonder our world today is confused, needing to see a picture of genuine Christianity. As radical Islamic movements, Eastern mysticism, and a growing secularism gain momentum, it is becoming more and more imperative that God’s church rises up in the power of the Holy Spirit, shows the world what lived-out Christianity is, and begins to make a difference once again.

“Pure . . . religion” (1:27) is the focus of James’s words in the passage above. He revealed that true faith is characterized by three important factors: knowing Christ, sowing consistency, and showing character.

For many people religion is boring. It is for me! But Christianity is actually not about religion at all. It is about having a vital and vibrant, living and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

So how can we influence our increasingly secular society? What can the church do to reach all generations including baby boomers who bought into the lie that people, possessions, position, and power bring peace and purpose to life? Although the boomers enjoyed more prosperity than any other generation, they also lead all other generations in such things as divorce, drug addiction, loneliness, and suicide. Clearly, our world needs a glimpse of true faith. To provide that, Christianity needs to be credible.

Let me repeat: Christianity is not about religion; it is about a relationship with Jesus. This is what distinguishes Christianity from all other world religions. Most other religions focus on man’s quest to guarantee himself a place in heaven through good works, penance, almsgiving, and the like, all of which are feeble attempts by sinful humans to gain acceptance by a holy God. But Christianity is not about man trying to get to God. It is about God coming down to us in the person of Jesus. Religion will never be able to change our world. It is, to this very day, at the root of most of the world’s wars and conflicts. The hope of our world is not in religion of any kind. Real hope rests in a relationship with Jesus Christ.