Jeremiah 3:6-13; 7:8-11, Casual Harlotry

Twice, in the same day recently, I heard people say, ‘I’ve always been a Christian.”  That is a statement that always concerns me.  The one person was a young boy who was from a Christian home and was saying he always believed that Jesus died for his sin and was raised from the dead.  The second was an adult woman who always “believed in God,” had been taken to the Catholic church by her mother, and could answer in the affirmative that she believed the truth of the gospel. 

Now I am not interested in explaining the validity or lack of validity of the born again status of either of these individuals.  Believe it or not, I do not know their hearts.  In the case of the woman there was more to her testimony that suggested to me that she had an experience like the people at Cornelius’ house who came to faith as they were listening to Peter’s sermon (Ac. 10:44). 

Having said that I still want to tell you what concerns me.  When I hear the testimony of people that does not include some recognition of their struggle with sin I am concerned.  Again, I am not the judge; I do not know anyone’s heart.  Because I have experienced it myself and heard many other’s testify to it, I suspect the young boy at some time later in life, perhaps when he leaves home, will have a mighty struggle with the depths of sin.  I would never tell him he is not a believer; that is not my place and is way above my pay grade, so to speak.  But I would tell him, and anyone, make sure!  (2 Cor. 13:5)

Did you see this in the passages from Jeremiah?  He speaks of treacherous Judah and backsliding Israel.  What a powerful charge is laid against Judah.  They are engaging in casual harlotry.  The harlotry is, of course, spiritual harlotry, idolatry.  But it is casual.  Judah is living the Baalite life while still calling on Yahweh.  Jeremiah describes it in chapter 7: walking after other gods and then standing before Yahweh in His house. 

In what may be surprising to some, and yet makes perfect sense, the out-and-out sinful backsliding Israel is more righteous than treacherous Judah.  Israel, who has already been dispersed by the Assyrians, is called by God to only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the LORD your God.  Recognize your sin!  Judah’s situation is treacherous because she is engaged in a massive cover-up.  The prophets are telling lies, that because of His covenant God will not remove them from the land and will not allow His temple to be destroyed.  And the people are believing it because that’s what they want to hear.  It allows them to live loose lives while still going through the motions of public worship.

Do you understand why this concerns me today, in the USA?  And I don’t think this is anything new; there have always been these kinds of situations.  Many can say I have always been a Christian, people who have been involved in church attendance or who hold what they perceive to be Christian political views or who equate citizenship in the US as making them a Christian just like citizenship in Iran makes one a Muslim. 

None of that is true.  What is true is that the good news is set against the bad news.  The publican went away justified; the Pharisee was not.  And the difference was: one acknowledged his sin, the other did not.  If I say “I have always been a Christian” it sounds like I am not recognizing that I entered this world as a lost person.  Whether it is dramatic like Paul’s (Ac. 9) or smooth as the Ethiopian’s (Ac. 8) I must be born again.  At some point in my life I must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and become a new creation!

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. (2 Cor. 13:5).