Judea
We had our bi-weekly Tuesday night men’s group tonight. My notes for the class talked about Cultural Christians and I realized when I mentioned it on the last post I was talking about notes I had not shared yet. Sorry about that! I will jump into those notes now.
We are up to the week of September 22. Remember, we only meet every other Tuesday night so I try to cover more than one lesson, but this time there was much discussion. The topic is Your Church’s Judea and it continues the theme from -
Acts 1:8 NIRV - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.
This isn’t just about distant places; it’s about the people right where we live, in our local communities. For us, that means Beech Grove’s Judea—or your church’s Judea, wherever you’re called. I led the group with an evangelical focus, as always, but especially because that’s the whole purpose of the verse.
Why Judea?
Historically, Judea was central to the early church, contrasting sharply with Samaria, which we previously discussed as more of an outsider territory. Judea, especially Jerusalem, was where Christianity began, yet it wasn’t the majority faith; it was dominated by Jewish religious leaders and mixed with various pagan practices. The church’s roots here highlight the challenge and courage of early Christians, spreading their message in a region steeped in strong, established beliefs.
The writer clarifies, “for the twenty-first-century churches the Judea mission field represents the immediate state, province, or region in which the church is located.” This is why I mention it is Beech Grove’s Judea or YOUR Church’s Judea. Three type of people are mentioned - Irreligious, Religious Status Quo, and Cultural Christians.
Irreligious
The irreligious in our area—those who not only reject religion but actively resist it—aren’t necessarily opposed to the idea of God. Many may ask for prayer in difficult times, yet they prefer that religion stay out of public life, including politics and school. Why? Because the truth of Christianity calls people to repentance and change—a truth that many find uncomfortable.
Now why is this the case? I believe it is because people don’t want truth; they want happiness. The truth is that you shouldn’t lie, steal, murder or commit adultery. They want to cheat on their taxes; say what they want to get what they want; have the choice to murder (abortion); have access to pornography; have as many boyfriends or girlfriends as they want (or both, as the case may be). Yet they don’t want any repercussions from their choices.
Christianity, specifically, will not let them do these things and simply get away with it. To turn to Christ is to turn away (repent) of sin and let Him have control. Let’s be honest; you can’t choose the things I mentioned in that list AND let Christ have control too.
So what’s the solution? Well, to them it is to keep religion out of anything they might come into contact with. We as Christians know that murder is wrong, including murder of the unborn. If we ‘push’ for that to be illegal then we are… How do they put it? “Pushing your religion onto others.”
Something we can get into at a later time, but I’ll touch on now. The separation between church and state doesn’t mean what they think it does.
Religious Status Quo
How can I discuss this without gossiping about other churches? Let’s just say that if someone is compromising the Word to either maintain power or wealth, then they are not doing the true work of the church.
As a hypothetical, a pastor that refuses to preach on pornography or abortion. Why? Because he doesn’t want to upset the congregation or lose members. The same would be true of a lawmaker (representative) that doesn’t want to make a public stand against abortion because he or she might lose votes. If they are a Christian and trying to do what is right in the sight of God then they shouldn’t worry about votes. If God wants them in that position then He will support it. Period.
Cultural Christians
I see this as just as big of a problem as the others. This is individuals that identify as Christian without putting God first. For example, a recent Barna poll from 2023 reports -
Most Americans (68%) consider themselves to be Christians. Among these self-defined Christians, though, only 6% have a biblical worldview. Less than half of the self-defined Christians can be classified as born-again, defined as believing that they will go to Heaven after they die but only because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Within the born-again population (just 33% of the adult population), a shockingly small proportion (13%) hold a biblical worldview.
What’s the takeaway? That 68% of Americans identify as Christian. Maybe they are members of a church. Maybe they don’t go to church, but they pray. Maybe they don’t pray but like the 10 Commandments - or at least the ones they agree with.
I know people personally that say they are “Christian,” but when pushed to tell me why, it’s usually because they believe in God and believe in Jesus. Is that enough?
James 2:19 NIRV - You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that. And they tremble!
Do you believe that the demons are “Christian?” No? Then why would the belief in God and Jesus make you one?
Why Bring These Up?
Now I bring this all to mind because this is Judea - this is our local mission field! What do we do about it? First, for the irreligious, they don’t need religion. Remember, Christianity might be called a religion, and in my local area that is what people refer to in a general sense, but that is NOT what they need. They need Jesus! Until they put Jesus first, having a religion means nothing!
There’s an old saying, “at least he got religion before he died.” Is this a euphemism for saying he got saved? If not, then he didn’t really get anything.
Again, to the irreligious, they need Jesus. So what should we do? Present Jesus to them. Yes, we should witness, but we should also LIVE that witness in front of them. Don’t argue about why they are wrong; they will simply dig in deeper. Instead ask them questions; present things to them to make them think. You are not going to scare them into believing.
Also be open to witnessing without pushing for conversion. Remember that we are gardeners. Sometimes we plant a seed; sometimes we water; sometimes we pull weeds; and every so often we get to harvest. Don’t look at it as harvest or nothing! And that thing you say may be what they think of when they are in their dying moments, so don’t waste it!
Breaking the Status Quo
As for these people, if they are compromising the Word, then what they need to to examine their personal commitment to Jesus. Since they are likely ‘religious’ then we don’t have to worry about them, right?
WRONG! We are to encourage and to help disciple people. Remember that if you love someone, you want them to know the truth, even if they disagree with it. It’s not a call to stand up and argue and always be right, but again to at the very least plant a seed.
There are examples in the New Testament where Paul spoke in the synagogues as well as homes. He was sharing the Messiah to the religious people of the day. That’s all I’m saying that we should do. And remember, just as we shouldn’t assume every person that is a member of a church is saved, we shouldn’t assume that every one that fails to live up to OUR standard is not saved. And since we don’t know, we share; we disciple; we love.
Cultural but not Truthful
If you think the last category is bad, what about this one? I have a person in my life that says she believes in God; she believes in Jesus; she says she’s going to Heaven because she believes, but she has never made a conversion to Christianity. I’m not saying that she needs to join a church - I’m saying that she hasn’t accepted Jesus and repented of her sins. She has the ‘I’m good enough’ attitude.
This is hard to deal with, because if someone is part of that 68% mentioned above, they already think they are ‘good enough.’ We still have to reach these people. They may require more time and effort, but is there something more worthwhile? Remember, it’s part of the Great Commission! We aren’t told to go into all the world and share the Gospel with everyone “except those that have a false belief they are going to Heaven.”
American Judea?
The writer says…
“Of all the places where Jesus said His disciples would be witnesses, Judea must have seemed the most inviting. Judea represented the remnant of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.”
This might sound like America, right? I mean especially in Tennessee. Not only are we in the Bible Belt, but we are pretty much the Belt Buckle! So it should be easy, right? I wish it were so… America has so much overall prosperity that people don’t see the need for Jesus.
Ray Comfort likes to put it this way. You offer someone on an airplane diamonds, gold or a parachute and they won’t even think about taking the parachute. You tell them the plane is crashing and suddenly the gold and diamonds are worthless! What good is wealth if you are about to die?
People in America are bullet proof - or at least we feel that way. We have doctors to give us meds; we have television to keep us entertained; we have TikTok to keep us from talking to people when we are in line at the grocery store. Why do we need Jesus?
Speaking of doctors, when does someone go to the doctor? When they are sick. When do they go to Jesus? When their soul is sick. Those 68% that say they are Christian - how many of them are spiritually sick and don’t know it?
America was founded on Judaeo Christian beliefs. Look how far we have fallen from that though! And the world - the public - sees nothing wrong with it. When I was young, being “gay” was not something you talked about. Now we have a month to celebrate it. Are there more gay people now? I don’t think so - I think they just don’t repress it.
Of course the world would step in here and say, “be true to yourself.” But what does the Bible say? Jesus never condemned someone for having the urge to commit adultery. It’s hard to look at a pretty girl in a bathing suit and not have lust, but you should turn away. Accidentally stumble on something on the Internet? Get away from it! Feel like you want to have a homosexual relationship? Don’t.
Yes, it sounds simple, and I don’t mean to make light of it. Someone with an addiction, be it drinking, smoking, pornography, sex, whatever - that person has a real issue with things. But just because someone has an addiction to alcohol doesn’t mean they MUST take a drink. It’s a struggle, but they don’t have to give in. It’s the same with a homosexual. You don’t want to be with a woman? Fine - then don’t get married. Stay single; stay celibate. You have a choice!
A Bigger Job
Sounds like we have our work cut out for us! Witnessing is not easy, but it GETS easier with experience. Not everyone is bold at first, but look for opportunities to be bold. Look for chances to speak to the people you talk to all the time. Have you invited them to church? Maybe they go to church somewhere. Maybe they are cultural Christians because you don’t see a true Fruit of the Spirit. Don’t assume they are saved; go to them! Ask them to pray with you about something. They will see that you are serious and you’ll find out very quickly how serious they are!
If I had to sum it up in one sentence, let’s open our hearts, open our eyes, and be ready to meet the challenge.
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