Faith Without Works

If we say that we are Christians, then we recognize that there are certain actions that are consistent with that name, or label. We are called to be followers of Jesus Christ, which means that there are certain responsibilities that we have. In Luke chapter 9, Jesus is teaching, and we can read:
23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

James related that faith without works is dead.  We cannot earn our salvation through our works - that is a settled matter - but God has dispatched us into this world to serve Him and to radiate His glory. We are told in Scripture that we are no longer our own. So, we walk with a sense of God's presence and His purpose, being careful to allow the Spirit to work through us, so that we testify that He is in us and that His love is available to those who observe us.

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A new name was given to members of the early Church, according to Acts chapter 11. This passage actually shows that not only was there a name, but there was action that reinforced that name. Let's pick up in verse 25 of that chapter:
25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.
26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
27 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.
29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.
30 This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

There has been quite a bit of attention among Christian websites as of late about a new survey about the religious makeup of Congress.  I have to say, I think it is important, and can change the direction of a country or a community, when people who profess Christ and possess a Christian worldview are in positions of power.  So, that can be a good thing.

But, a politician's profession of faith is not nearly important as what he or she does.  If a person claims Christ, then he or she is expected to act in a way that is consistent with the presence of Christ and the teachings of Scripture...that is true for each of us, including those who are placed in positions of governmental leadership.

So, let's see what that survey had to say. The Christian Post had an article, published last Friday, which said this: "Whenever the lower chamber of the 118th United States Congress is sworn in...Christians will comprise 88% of voting members, according to Pew Research Center’s latest Faith on the Hill report."  It goes on to say:

That number — unchanged from the 117th session — stands in stark contrast with the share of Christians in the general U.S. population, which, since 2007, has declined from 78% to its current level of 63%.

That's actually the "second-highest percentage since 1979-’80, when 91% of members of the 96th Congress identified as Christian."  Now, it appears the definition of "Christian" includes Catholics and Mormons.  And, again this is based on lawmakers' "self-identification."  By and large, it seems that a large majority of professing "Christians" are Protestant, with around 300 out of the 535 or so members in the last decade.

Expand it to the entire Congress: House and Senate, and this statistic emerges, according to the Post:

Digging a bit deeper into the data, the actual number of Christians at the start of the 2023-2024 session — 469 in total — makes up the lowest number since Pew first started surveying the religious affiliation of the House and Senate for the 2009-2010 session. The number of Christians in Congress during the last eight sessions was above 470, according to Pew.

The number of lawmakers who do not identify as Christians remains at 65, a slight uptick from 64 in the 117th Congress. Of those, 33 are Jewish, three are Unitarian Universalist, another three are Muslim, along with two Hindus and two Buddhists.

Here are a few more nuggets from the article: "While 29% of American adults are religiously unaffiliated, only one member — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema...identifies as such. Sinema is also the first openly bisexual U.S. Senator." Some 21 members "were categorized as having unknown religious affiliations." And, one, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, is a Messianic Jew, so, the article surmises "it’s not clear whether Pew counted her as 'Christian' or 'Other.'"

It's not necessarily the label you wear, but the actions you take - it's a matter of what's in the heart and what a person truly believes.  That's a challenge for each of us: we have to make sure that if we call ourselves a Christian, or as others say, a "Christ-follower," that our lives actually reflect that.  The Christians at Antioch not only bore the name, but they walked the walk.

It's incongruous that so many so-called "Christians" or even religious people demonstrate hostility toward matters to which, I believe, the Scriptures speak plainly.  Like the sanctity of life. Like religious freedom and freedom of conscience.  What's up with a Congress that voted recently to affirm this faux marriage construct known as same-sex marriage?  I'm way less concerned about the lipservice paid to religious faith, while many of these same leaders demonstrate a wanton hostility toward Christianity and Biblical principles.  It's a sobering reminder of how we need to pray for our leaders and for an infusion of godly wisdom in the chambers of Congress and other lawmaking bodies across our land.