Over The Top Christians?

Recently a man who is very close to me said, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not one of those ‘over the top’ Christians.”  I asked him what that meant and he went on to say that there were things he enjoyed doing and he didn’t want to stop doing them.  Drinking was one of those things he liked to do.  He resented some Christians suggesting that his drinking might not be too pleasing to God.   He believed their attitude to be a bit ‘over the top’.   Sadly, I have personal knowledge that this man doesn’t just take an occasional drink.  When he drinks he gets drunk and it happens several times a week.  This man’s focus is on pleasing himself – not God!  His attitude is not uncommon in the American Church.

External and Internal Christians

There are two types of Christians:  The external and the internal.  The external Christian approaches their relationship with God as a matter of doing what they think a Christian is supposed to do.  It’s almost as if they keep a checklist of things they must do to be a good Christian.  The checklist may include tithing, volunteering, attending church, reading completely through the Bible every year,  obligatory public praying and a host of other religious activities.  An external Christian approaches their faith as an system of works.  External Christians don’t change much – they just make adjustments to their lists as their opinions change about what constitutes Christian behavior.

An internal Christian is a believer who has an intimate personal relationship with Christ and is continually growing in the knowledge of God and His word.  An internal Christian understands that the Christian life is about Christ living in and through them supernaturally.  An internal Christian realizes that pleasing God involves the death of self, not the keeping of a religious checklist.  Which type of Christian are you?