What's a Worldly Christian?

1 Corinthians 2 reinforces for us that we are called to life in the Holy Spirit:
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We have been delivered, set apart from the world, and God calls us to walk according to His Word by His Spirit.   Where there is worldliness in our lives and we've bought in to the principles of this world, it's important that we submit those areas to the control of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to conform us more fully to the image and character of Christ. 

Galatians 4 tells us that:
3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.

4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ""Abba", Father."

According to a report in The Christian Post, an online quiz started a year ago that examines how consistently Christians are living out the teachings of Jesus Christ has found an increase in the number of believers who are "Christians in name only."


R. Brad White, the founder of Changing the Face of Christianity, which created the test, said "The results are disturbing, as 1 in 3 self-proclaimed Christians admit they rarely live the teachings of Jesus Christ...Our  goal is to work with local churches and to help transform these unChristians into spiritually mature Christians who walk the walk, and better represent our faith to the world."

The self-assessment test asked Christians how they would act in real-life dilemmas and sought to determine whether respondents were "Far from Christ," a "Worldly Christian," a "Good Christian," or a "Spiritually Mature Christian."  Started in 2011, the results initially indicated that one in four scored as "Worldly Christians," or "Christians in name only" as the organization describes them, but now, the latest results show that the number has risen from 23.7 percent to 30.9 – or almost 1 in 3 who are now "Worldly Christians."

More than 1,500 people have responded to the quiz, which was started in Sept. 2011 and collected results up to April 2012. In the three other categories, only 2.9 percent ranked in the "Far From Christ" section, 38.5 percent were "Good Christians," while 27.8 percent were "Spiritually Mature Christians."

Some of the questions on the quiz included: "How often do you read your Bible and/or have quiet time with the Lord?" and "How have you been transformed by your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savior?" The test is still available on the website, www.changingthefaceofchristianity.com/christianity-quiz for people wishing to take it.

There has been quite a bit of debate about what makes a carnal, or worldly, Christian.   And, while we are all sinners and continue to sin, our ambition should be to please God and to release the power of His Spirit in order to reduce the amount of sin in our lives.   There are some who would have a "just getting by" mentality or who would want just enough of Jesus to get into heaven, thinking that perhaps walking the aisle or praying a prayer will be sufficient - I think that is a truly dangerous place, spiritually speaking.   It's important that we correct our motives to obey God in all things, to be totally committed to following Christ.