Appearance or God's Power
Addressing a national seminar, George Gallup said, "We find there is very little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not active religiously.” The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing were found to be remarkably similar in both groups. Gallup found that eight out of ten Americans consider themselves to be Christians, yet only half of them could identify the person who gave the Sermon on the Mount and fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments. Of the respondents in the poll, only two in ten said they would be willing to suffer for their faith.
I doubt that anyone serious about their faith would find the above circumstances acceptable. Why is such weak, jaded “Christianity” the norm? Could it be that many who name the Name have never been changed by His grace and power?
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7 ESV)
