Sloppy Christian living is where the majority of those calling themselves Christians in the United States live. The definition of sloppy is careless and unsystematic; excessively casual. To be careless is not to give sufficient attention or thought to a matter. You become a careless driver when you text and drive. Not enough attention is given to the most important thing: driving! When we are unsystematic, we are not acting according to a fixed plan or system. The plan for the Christian is very simply laid out in I Corinthians 10:31. We are to do all that we do to the glory of God. You may have a different way of presenting the gospel, but the message is still the same. To be excessively casual is the last phrase used to define sloppy. This is where we allow our Christian living to be more about our comfort than our God. When worship becomes more about our comfort and how we feel, we lose the reverence and awe of God. Then we begin to negate the authority He should have in our lives, and the spiral continues.
Where does this sloppy Christian lead us, and what are some ways that this manifests itself? The first character trait of sloppy Christian living is found in your commitment to church. When you were first saved, you could not get enough of the preaching of the word and being with God’s people. Then, you begin to miss here and there. You stop going to Sunday School or small group meetings where you study with other Christians. Then, you do not go back for Sunday evening service or Wednesday night Bible study. Now, you are like the salt that’s lost its savor. You are still salt, but you do not affect those around you for Christ. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus talks about this kind of person. “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” They have lost their effectiveness, but they are still considered salt.
This lack of effectiveness did not happen overnight. It was a slow, gradual process. It is a tactic the devil has used since he was cast out of Heaven. You stop studying your Bible, and the only time you pray is when you are in desperate need of something. This type of life leads you away from God, not to Him. It destroys your testimony with others because they see their lives as no different than yours. If you are truly saved, you are placing your soul in a dangerous position. You keep walking away, and finally, it does not matter to you anymore. You are fitting into the situation that Paul was teaching about in I Timothy 1:19, he tells them to hold their faith, to persevere to the truths they have been taught because if they don’t they can become like others who have made shipwreck of their faith. He even goes on in verse 20 to name two men who had lost their salvation.
I Timothy 1:19-20 “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
How can we avoid becoming a sloppy Christian? First, make sure of your salvation. Just because you prayed a prayer does not mean you are saved. Salvation comes when we truly repent, turn away from our sins, and turn to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Second, we seek to obey Him. We attend a church that teaches the fundamentals of the Bible, where being faithful to all services is the norm, not the exception. We want to study our Bibles and pray. We love being around other Christians. Third, we have a desire and concern for the souls of others. When we feel ourselves drifting, we need to stop and evaluate our lives and get back on track before it is too late.
We should never be satisfied with being a casual Christian. God gave His best to us when He sent His Son to die for our sins. He is so worthy of our best. Get to know Him more every day through His word, and your love will grow, and you will want to please Him in all you do. Below are some key verses to help you.
Be diligent in studying.
II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Cultivate the virtues a Christian should have so that you may be a fruitful Christian.
II Peter 1:5-8 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Be diligent in all things so that when He comes back, you are ready to stand before Him.
II Peter 3:14 “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
