If someone is a committed vegan, they do not eat meat or animal products. If someone is a committed pacifist, they do not take up arms. Convictions shape conduct.
Likewise, a devout Muslim observes Ramadan and prays five times a day. An Orthodox Jew observes the seventh-day Sabbath and keeps kosher.
So what about a devoted Christian—especially someone who identifies as “born again”? How does that shape the way they live?
For years I have watched celebrities and athletes publicly profess Christian faith, calling Jesus their Lord and Savior, while showing little evidence of a changed life.
Some have even been baptized as adults, signaling a serious commitment, and have called themselves born again. Yet many still showed no evidence of transformation. How can that be?
Recently, I saw a mixed martial artist praise his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ after a thrilling victory—then invite the audience to party with him at his strip club. I kid you not.
Another mixed martial artist boldly proclaimed that there was only one Savior and that everyone needed to follow Him—referring to Him as “Jesus mother-[expletive] Christ.” Many in the audience cheered. They approved of that Jesus too.
But their lives are not the focus of this article.
Instead, I want to focus on how the world at large views these “testimonies.”
And it was only after reading a recent article that the light finally went on for me. I began to understand what the world thinks it means to be a devout—or born-again—Christian.
The article profiled a famous porn star who had left adult entertainment, been baptized as a Christian, and was now returning to the industry—not to porn, but to host a male strip revue.
The article also explained that she was in a same-sex relationship with another woman who was described as a “devoted Christian.”
So the “born-again” former porn star, now hosting a male strip revue and keeping things “sexy and fun,” was in a lesbian relationship with another woman, also described as a committed Christian.
It was enough to make your head spin.
Yet the article offered not the slightest hint of concern, criticism, or even moral tension, as if nothing about this was hypocritical or inconsistent with Christian faith.
And that is when the light went on for me.
To the writer, being a devoted Christian or a born-again Christian had to do with what you believed, not how you lived.
In other words, faith and morals, belief and lifestyle, creed and conduct were treated as separate categories.
A devout Christian, in this view, is simply someone who believes in Jesus rather than another deity, superpower, or self-help guru. But that belief need not translate into morality, holiness, or purity.
Put another way, the committed vegan can eat steak five days a week, the serious pacifist can serve as a Green Beret, the devout Muslim can feast on pork during Ramadan, and the Orthodox Jew can enjoy shrimp and lobster after working on the Sabbath. No problem at all.
To be clear, when I see celebrities or athletes professing Jesus in the midst of profanity-filled speeches or after ugly, hateful rants, I do not judge them personally. I simply pray they will have a truly life-changing, lasting encounter with the Lord.
The same is true of the former porn star and her lesbian partner. My prayer is that they be transformed by truly knowing God and His Word.
And I understand that all of us who profess Jesus as Lord fall short in many ways, often needing to repent and ask for His forgiveness. Thank God for His mercy and compassion.
My point is this: for many people in the larger society—including many raised in traditional Christian backgrounds but lacking a living faith—“Christian” is simply a label for belief, detached from behavior.
That helps explain why many Muslims have a distorted view of Christianity. In their eyes, America—with all its immorality, substance abuse, abortions, and violence—is a “Christian nation.”
As for the “Jesus” some celebrities, athletes, and former porn stars claim to have found, it seems they discovered someone—or something—that helped them where they were hurting: addiction, depression, low self-esteem, anger, violence. But that is where it stopped.
They got help. They feel better. They are living happier lives.
But Jesus as Lord of their entire lives? That seems foreign to them.
Is it any wonder the world is confused about what it means to be a committed Christian?
The solution to this problem, of course, comes down to all of us who claim to be devout in our faith or born again.
It is up to us to show the world what it means to follow Jesus. This is a great, lifelong challenge, but by His grace, it can be done.
We can also serve as models of His redemptive love, demonstrating the transforming power of His forgiveness when we fall short, as He calls us back in repentance and has mercy on us rather than casting us away.
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