OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to Sermons Next  Click to download Audio

A Christian Atheist
by: Dalton Gilreath

I.              Introduction

A.   A Christian atheist is someone who claims to be a Christians but lives their life as though God does not exist

                                          i.    Biblically, we would simply call this hypocrisy

                                        ii.    There are many people who masquerade themselves to be someone they are not

B.   Who we are on the inside determines the true outward identity (Matt 23:25-28)

                                          i.    If the interior is defiled then no matter how clean we appear on the outside we are no good to God

                                        ii.    Consider some signs that can help you determine if you are a Christian atheist

II.            You love people more than God

A.   The Pharisees were rebuked for doing good in order to be seen of men (Matt 6:1-6)

                                          i.    Jesus called them hypocrites for loving men more than God

                                        ii.    Jesus reminded them that God knew their hearts (Luke 16:15)

                                       iii.    Solomon said men like to proclaim their own goodness (Prov 20:6-7)

                                       iv.    Some do that verbally and others do so by actions

B.   Loving people can also cause us to compromise our faith to be accepted

                                          i.    We want to be accepted and popular among men but we go to lengths we shouldn’t to achieve their “love” (John 12:42-43)

                                        ii.    Don’t be a Christian atheist when it comes to your actions and intentions around the people of this world

III.           You lack knowledge

A.   Jesus rebuked the Pharisees on another occasion for their ignorance of the scriptures (Luke 12:54-56)

                                          i.    They knew about meteorology but couldn’t tell Jesus was the Messiah prophesied of old

                                        ii.    Jesus told many they had erred not knowing the scriptures (Matt 22:29)

B.   If we love our Lord we must keep His commands

                                          i.    How can I do that when I do not even know what His commands are?

                                        ii.    We must study and grow daily in the Word (1 Peter 2:2)

                                       iii.    If I am not learning His will then I am a Christian atheist remaining stagnant instead of growing in Christ

IV.          You live for self

A.   Jesus rebuked hypocrites yet again for worshiping God by traditions of men and not according to His will (Matt 15:7-9)

                                          i.    Jesus expected us to live for Him not for ourselves

                                        ii.    We must be willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to put Him first (Matt 10:34-39)

B.   Worship is not about me it is about God

                                          i.    If I leave feeling good because I was happy all through the service then I missed the point

                                        ii.    Worship is about pleasing the Creator and feeling good about that

                                       iii.    Sometimes we need to hear we have sin and need to repent and that doesn’t make us happy

C.   Hypocrites can gain acceptance of men, learn about the world, and love selfishly but they have no hope when God takes their soul (Job 27:8)