What kind of Christianity is it that desires the fruit but not the root? Is it really Christian for someone to say, “I’ll take Jesus’ gifts—life, social order, morality, beauty, law, the western tradition and western culture—I’ll take all of these gifts from Jesus, but I don’t want Jesus.” What kind of Christianity is that? It’s the kind of “Christianity” that allows you to hate Jesus while insisting that you benefit from his gifts.
Some people may call that Christianity by slapping the label “cultural” on the front of it, but might I suggest that such a thing is no Christianity at all. At best, it is a form of godliness while denying its power—a kind of religion that makes people “corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith” (2 Tim. 3:5, 8).
We all know what happens when fruit is severed from the vine. It withers and dies. You can benefit from the fruit for a while, but eventually the fruit runs out. Is it reasonable to expect fruit from an apple tree that you have just cut down? No. The fruit will last for a while, but ultimately it will die and wither.
Is it reasonable to think that you will gain any ultimate benefit from a Christ that you hate and despise? Even if one doesn’t have an active loathing for the Savior but is merely indifferent about him, is it reasonable for a people or even an individual to expect any ultimate benefit from a Christ they are indifferent about?
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