In 2001 the Graduate Center of the City University of New York conducted a survey on religious affiliation in the United States. Here are their results:76.5% of American adults are Christian (52% Protestant; 24.5% Catholic).
14.1% do not follow any organized religion; they are Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, Secularists, or have no religious affiliation.
1.3% are Jewish.
0.5% are Muslim, followers of Islam.
0.5% are Buddhist.
0.4% are Hindu.
0.3% are Unitarian Universalist.
0.1% are Neopagan (Druids, Pagans, Wiccans, etc)
There are many more small religions, each of whom are followed by fewer than 0.1% of American adults.
American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS)
“Many . . . will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). The context of the passage seems clear, Jesus was referring to the nation of Israel at the time He was walking the earth. They claimed to know Him, but not as their Savior. He had given them many opportunities to come to Him but unfortunately they ignored them. We need to be careful about making an application that does not apply to us today.
Still there is a principle here worth noting and that is:
· We have freedom of religion in America like no other nation in the world.
· Many in America claim to know Him but there is little fruit to show that that is the case.
· It would be easy therefore to conclude that there will be a day when many who claim to be a Christian will stand before Him only to find out they missed the “narrow door.”
As true born again believers we must be persistent and consistent in our spiritual walk as not to hinder or block the path to the narrow door to Salvation in Jesus Christ before the door is closed for all of eternity. How are we doing?
Mark
7 comments:
"We have freedom of religion in America like no other nation in the world."
I have mixed feelings about this...it's hard to explain. I think that freedom of religion is taken too far and makes all religions equal which is not true. There is only one way to God!
Mark,
Excellent post! Certainly got me thinking! Great question as well, what are we doing to prevent the hindering or blocking of the narrow pathway? I cannot help but go back to "legalism." More times than not, we look like the Pharisees rather than Christ. If we're honest, who would want to hike along that path. The other way is much more appealing!
Samatha,
I understand your "mixed-feelings" about freedom of religion. I think the reality is that every "religion," in theory, is welcomed to be expressed "equally." I think that is OK. However, we need to remember that we do not serve religion nor do we raise religion to any high level. Our faith is in Jesus Christ. I refuse to link Him to any form of "religion." Let us praise HIM for the freedom we have. It likewise, gives us the freedom to reach those who worship false gods!
Michael
Mark,
Yes its scary to realize that 75% of Americans claim to be Christian. There are more foreign missionaries to other foreign fields than there are American missionaries. So what are we doing with our Christianity, we don't seem to be making "the narrow doorway" very widely advertised.
Mark,
A couple of years ago I was sitting in church and had this overwhelming fear that our circles, (yes, Baptists) are missing the point. I felt a sense of ritualism and conformity. Not conformity to Christ, but conformity to the way we always do things.
It is a fine line between the head and the heart. Do we own it. Does He own us?
II Tim. 2:19, "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His.
Andy
"...our spiritual walk as not to hinder or block the path to the narrow door to Salvation in Jesus Christ before the door is closed ..." How convicting is this statement to me. Sometimes I wondered why the losts missed the narrow door but if i think clearly, i might be blocking the way in for them. I should not be like the Pharisees who claimed to be full service for God and they look down or had nothing to do with the Gentiles. Who would want to come in through the narrow door, when we ouselves do not show our gratitude toward the grace of God?
What are we doing to not block or hinder the narrow door? We coud answer that question by stating what we do to hinder and block the door, we honk our horns when people in front of us are driving too slow, we yell at the customer service lady that our appliance broke as soon as we plugged it in, we complain to the cashier about prices going up and packaging getting smaller, we gripe at the gas station attendant about gas prices, we generally show the world that what we have is nothing special and not worth sharing.
Janis, I often think of a taped message I heard by a former Jehovah's Witness. She said When all of those Christians closed the door on me, I thought they would have told me if they had something better. I don't remember anything else that she said, but that still motivates me.
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