In the post “You’re A Christian? Prove It!” I asked a question out of unChristian, by Dave Kinnaman.

It’s not just our lifestyles that have gotten us [Christians] in trouble; it’s the very way in which we convey the priorities of being a Christian. The most common message people hear from us is that Christianity is a religion of rules and regulations. They think of us as hypocritical because they are measuring us by our own standards.

The most compelling research we did on this is a recent study in which we asked Christian adults to identify the priorities Christians pursue in terms of their personal faith. We did not prompt any answers; respondents were able to mention anything that came to mind.

I then offered a challenge:

What do you imagine was the most common response?

I wish Kristina was right with her answer (mine would have been very similar):

To love God and love our neighbor whoever they may be. Do this in every circumstance in every situation. To be honest about who you are to everyone to not show a false gospel.

It would have been nice if Deb was right with her response:

I would say, love for people, trying your best to live every day as Christ would want you to, and point others to Him, even in our failures.

Tiffany was closest with her response:

Going to church

The actual answer: “It was lifestyle - being good, doing the right thing, not sinning.”

Anybody see the problem with this? We’ve set ourselves up for failure. Moreover, we’ve robbed the cross of its power. To me, being good, doing the right thing, and not sinning are fruits of a relationship with Christ. Pursuing these will only tire you and out make you want to give up. Trust me, I’ve been there…have you?

I’d love to hear what you guys have to say. Ben, sorry this took me so long

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