The Christian faith has been under attack through misrepresentation, especially an attack on the authority of Scripture and Christianity itself. Since Christianity began in the city of Antioch, where disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26), it has been under attack. Although many attacks against Christianity primarily seem to stem from the Western and Eastern parts of the world, the main areas of attack, especially for us here in Africa where Indigenous Traditional Religions thrive, are on the authority of the Scriptures and the person and work of Jesus Christ. This opposition to Christianity in Africa necessitates a proper Christian defence of the faith. Many issues may be pointed out in the African Traditional/indigenous Religions and on other issues, such as syncretism, witchcraft, and sorcery. Still, one of the most fundamental issues that need a biblical response is the African perception of Christianity itself. It is unfortunate because the zealousness for religion is evident, but without proper guidance, many have been misled into a perverted form of Christianity. The issue of the prosperity gospel has been a great contributor to this form of distorted Christianity, instigated by the deplorable plight of many Africans. Christianity is bundled and sold as a religion offering freedom from poverty and illnesses and has wooed victims in the guise of true Christianity. However, a closer check into the history of Christianity in Africa does not suggest that the prosperity gospel has native roots in the continent. Instead, it is a recent import from the Western world's skewed view of Christianity.
The Great Danger of Nominalism
There seems to be a greater issue that underlies the attractiveness of the prosperity gospel to a majority of the African minds, even to those who refer to themselves as Christians. It seems that such a skewed view of Christianity makes easy prey of what we would call nominal Christianity. Thus, there is a need to offer a proper biblical approach against nominal Christianity and why it is not Christianity as presented in God's counsel through the Holy Scriptures.
Nominalism Defined
It is common to find many people in our culture who identify themselves as Christians, but upon closer scrutiny, they are but Christians in name only. Interestingly, even by a simple sample of one's neighbourhood, you will find thieves and robbers, drunkards, and even prostitutes as a representation of the morally depraved in society, who claim to know God and always say their prayers. It is then easy to see how the term Christianity has been abused and deprived of its rightful glory in a nominalist Christian culture. The nominal Christian, by all definitions, is that person that identifies as a Christian, but for them, it is a label. Most people who fall under the category of nominal Christians believe that since one came from and was raised by Christian parents, they automatically qualify as Christian. In other words, Christianity is an issue of heritage parents' bequeaths to their children, which is transferable from one generation to another. However, besides the majority, some think that Christianity is about being a moral person, that is, submitting to a moral code and living by it. They reduce the Bible to a book of ethical principles. Some believe that a Christian is a person who attends Church regularly and does what other churchgoers do: tithe, sing, and participate in fellowship or groups within the Church. There are many more such false definitions of Christianity, to name a few, and they veil the Gospel truth. What we have then is nominal Christianity pitted against biblical Christianity. The prosperity gospel finds a place to thrive and take root when the foundations are wrong. The peddlers of the prosperity gospel have easy prey to propagate their lies. The people can be justly accused, as the Galatians, that they are turning to another Gospel (Galatians 1:6), but only because they think they are what they are not. Nominal Christianity that gives safe passage to the prosperity gospel disfigures the doctrine of God and distorts the Biblical faith as taught by the Apostles, which is the anchor of the Christian faith. Therefore, a proper biblical approach offers a clear definition of what is true and biblical Christianity presented in the Holy Scriptures.
A Biblical Response to Nominalism
The Holy Scriptures, particularly the Epistle of Paul to the Romans in Chapter 10, is a great starting point for the definition of the word "Christian". Paul points out in verse 9, "…If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Further, Paul says, "…If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). True Christianity, by the measure of Scripture, has everything to do with our Lord Jesus Christ and the actions of God. We do not define a Christian for ourselves; the Scripture tells us who a Christian is. Christianity has no roots in family heritage, but it is about belonging to God's family, which God makes one a part of through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). Christianity is not primarily about morality, although morality is a result or fruit of our faith. As Paul puts it, it has to do with having a new heart and mind and not about adding to a character or abandoning some traits, for it is only possible to have a virtuous character built upon true faith in Christ Jesus (2 Peter 1:3-11). Thus true Christianity is a total change whereby one is made a new creation by abandoning the old treacherous ways of sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, who regenerates the heart. Paul in Ephesians (Ephesians 2:1) declares that in the natural state of sinfulness, a person is dead in their trespasses. Thus, the sinful heart does not need modification, but an overhaul, to give it new desires for God. The person and work of Jesus Christ are at the heart of true Christianity. God is the author of salvation; it is not a human or cultural construct as many have always thought.
The knowledge of God is lacking because the Scriptures are not appropriately taught. Instead, they are distorted to soot the itching ears. Paul warns Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Nominal Christianity falls into this category, for it is replete with people who are attracted to false teachers. The words of Christ define His true disciples in the Gospel according to Luke 14:26-27, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Using hyperbolic language, Christianity which is being a true disciple of Christ, calls for unreserved love for Christ and utter renunciation of self for the sake of God's kingdom. Lastly, true Christianity is not about works; that is to say, it is not works that lead to salvation, but the works are a true sign of a Christian. Therefore, church attendance, tithing, singing, participation in church activities, being good-mannered, and praying are not the means through which people become Christians. God initiates true Christianity because He is the one who justifies (being made right with Him) apart from any of our good works (Romans 3:28).
The Cure to Nominalism
Nominal Christianity is a false definition of true Christianity. Nominalism is among the many false notions and attacks of the Christian faith. At the very heart, it distorts the doctrine of God and denies the doctrine of salvation at the very core. It is sad that many who flock to the true Church of Christ, or any Church for that matter, think they are Christians but are the opposite and can only be termed as unbelievers. Nominal Christianity veils the truth about Christianity and requires a biblical approach to dismantle it, especially in the current culture, which seems to be swayed by every form of doctrine. The best approach against such a false doctrine of self is the presentation of the truth of the Gospel that calls all who are in ministry to preach the whole counsel of God, not to please any man, but to uphold the truth of God. To avoid the allure of false teachings and gospels which give rise to nominalism, we must study the Scriptures as the Bereans in Acts 17 and rightly handle the word of truth when we interpret it. And as those who have the burden of proclaiming the true Gospel, the zeal to share it with those who are lost should be unsettling (Romans 10:14-17) because many have distorted the Scriptures.
