What the Bible says about Blaspheming God's Name through Disobedience
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Many claim the title of "Christian" but do not follow Christ's example and instruction. They want its benefits but not its responsibilities. They do not see God calling them into account for their sins, so they believe they are free to continue in them. John Ritenbaugh called this "practical atheism": professing God exists but living as if He does not. So, by failing to practice biblical Christianity, such nominal Christians blaspheme God's name among unbelievers, to use a Pauline phrase (see Romans 2:24). It is no wonder that atheists, seeing the hypocrisy and wreckage of the lives of these Christians-in-name-only, want nothing to do with it.
This reality is a significant problem for Christianity overall. So many of its adherents are such hypocrites that it is almost impossible for religious seekers to find any correlation between the eternal principles found in Scripture and the lives of professing believers. There are hundreds of different "brands" of Christians, and they exist in every spot along the moral and political spectrums. The answer to the question, "What does a Christian believe?" could be anything!
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
God Has Not Called the AtheistRelated Topics: Assuming Responsibility | Atheist | Avoiding Hypocrisy | Blaspheming God's Name | Called to Responsibility | Christian Responsibility | Hypocrisy | Practical Atheism