Gallup Finds Most Americans Claim Christianity

Gallup has a new poll out based on 327,244 interviews that shows 78% of all Americans self-identify with "some form of Christianity." Of those claiming any religion at all, 95% claim Christianity. That's a LOT of folks claiming to be Christians! We should show respect for all people and their professions of faith. But not all professors are possessors. What percent of Pharisees in Jesus' day would have self-identified as loyal followers of Jehovah?

Christianity Remains Dominant Religion in the United States

Why it is good to rejoice in the Lord

“Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). Rejoicing in the Lord is good for us and brings glory to God. Jonathan Edwards: “The happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted.”

A Christian can be joyful even in times of sorrow. Paul described himself as "sorrowful yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor 6:10). John Piper: “I think Paul was always crying and always happy. How could he not be crying? He was so beat up. His back must have looked like a hunk of jelly most of the time because he had these five-times-thirty-nine lashes beat over his back and then healed in all kinds of gnarly ways. So this man lived with a thorn in his flesh, probably in his back, in his eyes, in his mind. And he had enemies all around him. And he said, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!"

Charles Spurgeon: “Why should Christians be such a happy people? 1) It is good for our God; it gives him honor among men when we are glad. 2) It is good for us; it makes us strong. 'The joy of the Lord is your strength' (Neh 8:10). 3) It is good for the ungodly; when they see Christians glad, they long to be believers themselves. 4) It is good for our fellow Christians; it comforts them and tends to cheer them.” 

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Is Christopher Hitchens in Heaven?

Christopher Hitchens, author and essayist, died Thursday night at age 62 after a long battle with esophageal cancer. A militant atheist, Hitchens understood Christianity better than many so-called Christians. From a January 2010 conversation with a liberal minister reported in the Portland Monthly:

Sewell: The religion you cite in your book is a generally fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?

Hitchens: I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.


An audio recording from Hitchen's conversation with Sewell.
Hitchens-Sewell


December 20 Update
I tracked with Hitchens somewhat more after he began writing about his cancer and the painful treatments. He described excrutiating burning and pain and he knew death was imminent; that, along with his spending a good deal of time with Christian leaders debating the merits of Christianity during his book tour, seemed like the kinds of experiences the God of all grace might use to humble and draw an atheist to himself. Hitchens was far beyond my grade intellectually but I considered him no more a sinner than myself, and Christ has saved me. He saved Paul, who until his conversion was a fire-breathing persecutor of Christians. He saved C.S. Lewis, another British intellectual who espoused atheism before turning to Christ. I knew people around the world were praying for his conversion, and that was another reason why I anticipated his turning to Christ. I thought he might in some way become another C.S. Lewis. But we did not see that happen. I linked elsewhere to an article about deathbed conversions; while rare, the thief on the cross turning to Christ at the last possible moment is a memorable proof that it can happen. My earnest hope is that at the last Hitchens found forgiveness and salvation. But given his avowed atheism and in the absence of any evidence of repentance and faith, the probability of his being in torment now is high. That has sobered me. And it has put an edge on my concern about other people I've been praying for with similar anticipation of a conversion.

Is Christopher Hitchens in Heaven now? That's the question I think many Christians are asking, especially those of us who were praying for his conversion and thought it would happen one day.

Maybe

What do you think?


Why believers loved Christopher Hitchens...
The Believer's Atheist


Victor Davis Hanson reflects on his conversations and relationship with Hitchens...
Goodbye, Mr. Hitchens


Andy McCarthy was not impressed with Hitchens...or his admirers
Why They Wept for Hitchens

The Gospel in 155 Words

Jesus Christ, God’s Only Beloved Son, was sent into the world to be mankind’s Savior and Lord. Jesus lived a sinless life and then offered himself in the place of sinners upon the cross to bear the judgment of God’s holy wrath against sin for their sake. After he suffered and died, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, having secured forgiveness, peace and eternal life with God for those who trust in him. God regards those who believe in Christ as righteous in His sight, for He credits the righteousness of Christ to the account of those who turn from sin and receive Jesus by faith. All of this—forgiveness, peace with God, righteousness and eternal life—come about, not by right thinking or good works, but only by the free grace of a just and loving God who chose to deliver from sin and death those who could never deliver themselves.

Beholding the Glory of Christ

John Owen in The Glory of Christ stated a foundational truth when he said, “One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ.” In this duty, Owen wrote, “I desire to live and to die. On Christ’s glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires, and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes and I will be more and more crucified to this world."

 

Beholding by Sight and by Faith

There are two ways of beholding Christ. The angels and departed saints behold Christ’s glory by sight, as did Jesus’ first disciples. John said, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The Lord Jesus wants all his followers of Christ to behold him by sight and enjoy him to the highest degree of intimacy. He prayed for that day in John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory that you have given me."

The Mortification of Sin

John Owen’s The Mortification of Sin is a classic work on sanctification based on Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death [mortify-KJV] the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Published over 300 years ago, this small book is by no means an easy read but it continues to have a profound impact.

Jerry Bridges, a leading author on godliness and writer of The Pursuit of Holiness and The Discipline of Grace, said in his opinion Owen's Indwelling Sin in Believers and The Mortification of Sin are "the most helpful writings on personal holiness ever written.” Bible scholar J.I. Packer gives similar praise. “I owe more to John Owen than to any other theologian, ancient or modern; and I owe more to [The Mortification of Sin] than to anything else he wrote.”

Killing Sin

Today the word "mortify" seems strange but it simply means to kill sin. Owen urges in one place, "Be killing sin or sin will be killing you."

The killing of sin is one side of sanctification; the other is spiritual-mindedness (Romans 8:6). Paul used metaphors like “putting on” and “putting off” for these two daily duties of holy living. We are to "put on" the new--be increasingly focused on Christ and the new life--and "put off" the old--be increasingly disengaged from what remains of our old patterns of thought and conduct apart from Christ.

To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.  (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Put to death [mortify-KJ] therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry….But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator…..Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (see Colossians 3:5-12)

Aspiration & Mortification

John Stott in Men Made New (pp. 91-92) helpfully explains two theological terms for the two sides of sanctification.

Aspiration is the process of setting our mind on the things of the Spirit. “Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit”(Romans 8:5). Aspiration, Stott writes, is:

a whole-hearted giving of ourselves, in thought and energy and ambition, to ‘whatever is true and honorable, just and pure, lovely and gracious’ (see Phil. 4:8). It will include a diligent use of the ‘means of grace,’ such as prayer, Bible reading, fellowship, worship, the Lord’s Supper, and so on.

Mortification means:

a ruthless rejection of all practices we know to be wrong; a daily repentance, turning from all known sins of habit, practice, association or thought; a plucking out of the eye, a cutting off of the hand or foot, if temptation comes to us through what we see or do or where we go. The only attitude to adopt towards the flesh is to kill it.

Stott says aspiration and mortification should both be viewed as life-giving processes:

Both hold the secret to life, in the fullest sense. There is no true life without the death called mortification, and there is no true life without the discipline called aspiration. It is while we put to death the deeds of the body that we shall live (vs 13); it is while we set our minds on the things of the Spirit that we find “life and peace” (vs 6).

Why Owen Wrote

Three things moved John Owen to write “The Mortification of Sin.” First, as a doctor of souls, he had discovered that most believers were not able to stand up against temptation. He said he had observed in the general condition of believers "a great disability” in the handling of temptations.

Second, Owen was moved by the “dangerous mistakes” of spiritual leaders who emphasized harsh bodily discipline as the path to holiness. Their teaching was not Christ-centered and grace-based; it was a man-focused, man-empowered attempt at holiness. Owen said such people were “unacquainted with the mystery of the gospel and the efficacy of the death of Christ.” These men had:

imposed the yoke of a self-wrought-out mortification on the necks of their disciples, which neither they nor their forefathers were ever able to bear. A mortification they cry up and press, suitable to that of the gospel neither in respect of nature, subject, causes, means, nor effects; which constantly produces the deplorable issues of superstition, self-righteousness, and anxiety of conscience in them who take up the burden which is so bound for them.

False mortification

The apostle Paul opposed fleshly asceticism in Colossians 2:16. “They have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (see 2:16-23).

Third, Owen wrote out of a desire to glorify God and adorn the gospel by being holy in his personal life and by fostering holiness in others.

I hope I may own in sincerity, that my heart’s desire unto God, and the chief design of my life in the station wherein the good providence of God hath placed me, are, that mortification and universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of others, to the glory of God; that so the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be adorned in all things.

If I Die Before I Wake

I was four years old when my grandfather died and I distinctly remember sitting in my mother's lap as she replaced the phone and began to cry. I was of course too young to comprehend the reason for her tears, but in time I must have understood somewhat, for I’ve always traced the beginning of my fear of death to that moment.

 
And my bedtime prayers did not dispel those fears. "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." Take my soul? Before I wake? It's a good prayer and I'm glad I learned it from my mother and sister. I’m sure it was meant to comfort me, but in some way it contributed to a sense that my death was ever at hand.
 
In my fifth grade Bible class the teacher had us memorize Psalm 23, the Shepherd psalm, in the King James version. There the psalmist says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Believers find great comfort in that verse. But I did not. I did not yet know the Shepherd, and all I got from that verse was a disturbing image of walking in a valley with Death casting a dark shadow over me.
 
Understand, I wasn’t always ruminating on these things, and I suspect my family will be surprised to hear I had such thoughts at all. But I was concerned enough to wonder if I'd live to age seven, and then when I did, if I’d live to age nine, and then it was eleven and so on. By no means the only factor in my turning to Christ at age nineteen, the fear of death and, sometimes, the fear of having to face God, certainly played a part.
 
So it was an incredible thing how I immediately found freedom from the fear of death when I became a Christian. And it was not at all an unusual thing. For the Bible says Jesus died that "through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15).

"If our death problem is solved,” says Pastor John Piper, “we are the freest of people."

If you have two minutes, you might enjoy listening to John Piper's excellent remarks on the power of the gospel to take away the fear of death.

Here's the link: The Power of the Gospel and the Fear of Death

What Famous People Said About Jesus

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him. --Napoleon

I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history. -- H.G. Wells

A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act. -- Mahatma Gandhi

Jesus was the greatest religious genius that ever lived. -- Ernest Renan

As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene....No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. -- Albert Einstein

No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped; no other man has been so devoutly loved. -- John Knox

Even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor the ardour of their hearts has been able to create a higher ideal of man and of virtue than the ideal given by Christ of old. -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times. –- Historian Philip Schaff

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.-- C.S. Lewis

Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins." -- Unknown

Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." -- J. Sidlow Baxter

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth. -- Henry Morris

To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living. --John Henry Newman

God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son. -- Watchman Nee

I have one passion. It is He, only He. -- Count Zinzendorf

Bing Crosby recites "ONE SOLITARY LIFE"

St. Patrick's Breastplate--A Prayer

Warfare prayers have a long history in the life of God's people. Typically these are prayed aloud or sung. Verbalizing better enables us to focus our thoughts, appropriate the truth of our position and resources in Christ, and assert our firm stand against evil powers.

St. Patrick's Breastplate is a prayer attributed to the famous 5th century missionary to Ireland. It was written in the style of a druidic incantation for protection on a journey and was no doubt inspired by Ephesians 6:10-18.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
The invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
 
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth
With his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion
With his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection
With his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent
For the judgment of Doom.
 
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
 
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun, radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire, speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind, depth of sea,
Stability of earth, firmness of rock.
 
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear, alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers

Between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power
That may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that
Corrupts man's body and soul.
 
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me
Abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength,
The invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.