Fraudulent to Faithful: Living an Authentic Life

 Fraudulent to Faithful: Living an Authentic Life 

• Author: Alan Swartz
• Date: November 16, 2025, Proper 28c
• EUMC & BCUMC
• Texts: Isaiah 65:17-25; Malachi 4:1-2a; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19

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Introduction: The Urgency of Change and the Problem of Fraud

It has been said that true change only comes when we reach a point of dissatisfaction—a moment when we realize we cannot remain where we are and must move forward. For the church today, that moment of dissatisfaction is upon us. The projections for this year, 2025, are stark: an estimated 15,000 churches in the United States will close their doors. Over the next two decades, somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 could follow. We are facing what one writer has called a “death tsunami,” as the baby boomer generation, which forms the bulk of the church, passes on. We cannot be satisfied with our current state when we are failing to reach people whose skin color may be different, who may have grown up speaking a different language—people that Jesus loves and wants us to reach. To bring about change, we must first recognize the deep presence of fraud that undermines our mission.

We are all familiar with fraud in our daily lives. Each week, our inboxes and phones are flooded with fraudulent attempts to steal our information and our money. We receive urgent texts claiming our FedEx account is being closed, or emails impersonating our bank, warning that if we do not update our credentials immediately, our accounts will be compromised. These imposters are sophisticated, posing as government employees or banking officials. They even pose as your pastor. I have had to repeatedly warn congregations that no member of the church staff will ever contact them by email or text asking for money or gift cards. These emails look authentic, but they are fraudulent.

Just as there are financial imposters prowling for our assets, there are also spiritual imposters. There are many people who say they are Christian, yet their lives tell a different story. The purpose of our time together today is to explore this critical movement: the journey from a fraudulent, cultural Christianity to an authentic, genuine faith. The problem of counterfeit religion is not a new one; its roots run deep into the soil of scripture itself.

The New Testament’s Warning Against Counterfeit Religion

The problem of religious hypocrisy is as old as faith itself, and the New Testament is filled with explicit and severe warnings against it. The writers of scripture understood that a faith that is merely an outward show is not only useless but also dangerous, bringing shame to the very gospel it claims to represent.

Systematically, the New Testament sounds the alarm against counterfeit faith:

• Jesus’s Warning: In Matthew 23, Christ issues a blistering condemnation of the religious leaders of his day, saying, “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside look beautiful, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of filth.” Imagine a beautiful tomb, whitewashed and gleaming in the sun. It looks pristine. But if you were to roll away the stone and look inside, you would be overcome by the stench of decay. You can try to mask that stench with perfumes and ointments, but you cannot eliminate it. Like a modern forensics team uncovering a hidden crime scene with specialized lights, the truth of what lies inside will eventually be exposed. Jesus warns that a life that looks righteous on the outside but is full of hypocrisy and lawlessness on the inside cannot hide its inner decay.
• Paul’s Warning: The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthian church about “false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” He added, “And no wonder, even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness.” This reminds us of the saying of Jesus, who reminds us that Satan is the father of all lies. And if people lie, they are children of Satan. Writing to Titus, Paul was even more direct about those whose actions betray their words: “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”
• James’s Warning: The brother of Jesus, James, cautioned believers to “be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” He compared a person who only hears the word to someone who looks at their face in a mirror and, upon walking away, immediately forgets what they look like. The image doesn’t translate into action. James drives the point home by declaring that “faith by itself if it has no works is dead.” He illustrates this with a piercing example: if you see a brother or sister in need of food and clothing and merely say, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat your fill,” without providing for their physical needs, what good is that?
• John’s Warning: In his first letter, the Apostle John draws a sharp, clear line: “Whoever says, ‘I have come to know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist.” He continues, “Whoever says ‘I am in the light’ while hating a brother or sister is still in darkness.” For John, there is no middle ground; our love for God is proven by our obedience and our love for others.
• Peter’s Warning: Finally, the Apostle Peter warned that false teachers would arise from within the church itself, who will “secretly bring in destructive opinions.” He cautioned that “in their greed, they will exploit you with deceptive words,” and because of them, the way of truth will be maligned.

These scriptures collectively paint a sobering picture. They explain why so many people refuse to attend church today. They see a profound disconnect between what the church professes and how its people live. They hear about Jesus, they hear what he teaches and they look at his disciples and they don’t see they don’t see that picture. They don’t see that image. This leads us to a modern expression of this counterfeit faith: the culture of “fandom” that Jesus soundly rejects.

Jesus Doesn’t Want Fans

A few years ago, a book by Kyle Idleman titled Not a Fan captured this problem perfectly. Its central premise is simple yet profound: Jesus is not looking for fans; he is looking for followers.

Think about what a fan is. Fans are people who sit in the bleachers, in the stadium seats. They are spectators. We see them at football games, shirtless in the cold, their bodies painted in team colors with a ram or a Blue Devil emblazoned on their chest. They wear strange hats, they yell and scream, and they are passionately supportive. But they remain on the sidelines. They are not in the game. There are fans of Jesus, too—people who are enthusiastic about him but are ultimately observers.

Jesus doesn’t want spectators in the stands; he wants players on the field. When he calls you to be a disciple, he is calling you to get in the game. Imagine if Michael Jordan had spent his four years at the University of North Carolina just sitting in the stands. The history of college basketball here in North Carolina would be entirely different. Jesus calls people to be active participants, ready to engage in the work of ministry. This distinction between a fan and a follower is at the heart of the difference between a cultural faith and a genuine one.

Genuine Christianity vs. Cultural Christianity

In a society where many people identify as Christian by default, it is critical to distinguish between a “cultural” faith and a “genuine” one. For those of us who grew up in a Christian home, a Christian community, and a Christian-professing nation, it can be easy to assume an identity that has never been personally appropriated. The following points break down the core differences between these two expressions of faith.

• 1. Source of Identity: Cultural Christianity roots its identity in family tradition or national heritage: “I was raised in a Christian family, therefore I am a Christian.” In contrast, genuine Christianity is rooted in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a transformation by the Holy Spirit, born of a conscious response to the grace of God.
• 2. Nature of Faith: In cultural Christianity, faith is often inherited, assumed, or nominal. It is a belief system that is never personally examined. Genuine Christianity, however, involves a faith that is personally appropriated. It is what John Wesley called an “inward principle”—a living, active trust in Christ, not merely an intellectual agreement with a set of facts.
• 3. Evidence of Transformation: A cultural faith often produces little to no life change. A person’s behavior is largely indistinguishable from the surrounding culture, aside from some religious vocabulary and occasional church attendance. Genuine Christianity is marked by what Wesley called “sanctification”—an ongoing transformation of heart and life where the fruit of the Spirit becomes increasingly evident to all.
• 4. Relationship with Scripture: For the cultural Christian, the Bible is often treated as a cultural artifact—a good book to be revered but used selectively to support pre-existing views. For the genuine Christian, Scripture is living and active. It is to be read, learned, marked, and inwardly digested, actively shaping one’s worldview and behavior.
• 5. Motivation for Morality: Morality in a cultural faith is based on social acceptability or self-interest—the desire to be seen as a “good person.” In genuine Christianity, morality flows from a deep love for God and neighbor, motivated by gratitude for grace, not by a desire to earn favor. This is expressed in what Wesley called “works of piety” (worship, prayer, study) that grow our love for God, and “works of mercy” (serving the poor, seeking justice) that demonstrate our love for neighbor.
• 6. Understanding of Salvation: Cultural Christianity holds vague assumptions about getting into heaven based on being “good enough.” You hear it all the time at funerals. People will justify a person’s entry into heaven by saying, “Well, he was a good person.” And the Bible wants you to be a good person, but being a good person isn’t what saves us. Genuine Christianity holds a clear understanding that salvation comes by grace through faith. It is a gift of God, not our own effort, leading to a personal assurance of forgiveness and an ongoing relationship with Jesus.
• 7. Response to Sin: In a cultural faith, sin is minimized, redefined, or ignored. In genuine Christianity, sin is acknowledged honestly. That’s why we have a prayer of confession every week. I trust and pray that every day you have your own prayer of confession, because we recognize that we continue to fall short. We come before God in genuine repentance, relying on his grace for forgiveness and for the power to change.
• 8. Sanctifying Grace Process: Cultural Christianity is often static, with no expectation of growth or change. Genuine Christianity embraces the active pursuit of “going on to perfection”—not a perfection of knowledge or status, but a perfection of love for God and neighbor, empowered by God’s sanctifying grace.
• 9. Social Holiness: A cultural faith tends to be individualistic, with few social implications. A genuine faith is expressed in both personal piety and social action, showing a deep concern for justice, mercy, and the marginalized in our society.

These profound differences reveal that a casual, cultural faith is insufficient. The only adequate response is a true and total conversion.

Conversion: A Change of Mind, Heart, and Life

From a Wesleyan perspective, conversion is not a mere religious decision. It is a holistic transformation of mind, heart, and life, brought about by God’s grace and our response to it.

The process begins with what the New Testament calls metanoia. This is the Greek word often translated as “repentance,” and it literally means “a change of mind.” This change of mind is the first stage of conversion. We recognize the truth about God, about ourselves, and about our deep need for salvation. Our values and purpose are reoriented from our self to God.

This change of mind inevitably leads to a change of heart. As God’s love awakens new affections within us, our desires and motivations become aligned with Christ’s. We begin to love what he loves and despise what he despises. Ultimately, this inner transformation is evidenced by a change of life. When we have a true change of mind and heart, people should be able to look at us and see that something is different. Our actions, words, and priorities begin to reflect the new reality within us.

And don’t think of conversion as a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It’s not. Just as we pray a prayer of confession daily, we need to recommit ourselves again and again to the gospel of Jesus. We need to be converted and repent again and again.

This reality moves us beyond mere discussion and into the realm of personal decision.

A Call to Commitment and Conversion

Therefore, we are all called today to respond to the grace of God at work in our lives. We are called not to think more of ourselves than we are. We are but clay vessels, fractured and broken, constantly in need of being refilled by the grace that God pours into us. We are called to take up our cross each day and follow Jesus as his disciples.

I urge you to pray every day that God would renew you. Ask him to show you how to be a faithful disciple of Jesus, that you, by the power of his grace, may demonstrate his love at work in your life and in the lives of the people around you, so that you may be able to honestly extend an invitation to others into this same relationship. Make this your daily prayer:

Lord, change my mind, my heart, and my life. Show me how to be a faithful disciple of Jesus.

+ In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.