Unfinished Faith: Relearning God.

Week 24:

The bit where I introduce:

This week there was a term that popped into my social media and I thought I’d investigate it. Have you come across the term Cultural Christian (CC)? It’s often used to describe someone who has grown up around Christian traditions, celebrating Christmas, attending church on special occasions, appreciating Christian values and history but whose faith doesn’t necessarily shape their everyday decisions and way of life.

If you’re rediscovering faith or relearning what you believe, as I am, here’s a challenge: don’t settle for a label. Seek a faith that is genuinely lived. Authenticity isn’t simply calling yourself a Christian; it’s allowing your beliefs to shape how you think, choose, and act.

Here comes a pre question before the end questions:

Where in your life do you see outward habit without inward change? What might one small step toward a transformed heart look like for you?

The bit where I refer to the Bible and ask a few questions:

Our passage this week is Matthew 15, particularly verse 8:

“These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Matthew 15:8

In Matthew 15, Jesus challenges the religious culture of His day. He confronts the idea that external traditions and rituals are not enough, teaching instead that true devotion comes from the heart.

A key New Testament word that captures this distinction is metanoia, commonly translated as “repentance.” But metanoia is much more than feeling guilty or apologising after being caught doing something wrong. It means a complete change of mind, a radical reorientation of how we think, what we value, and the direction of our lives.

Cultural Christianity can sometimes ask us to add a little bit of Jesus to our existing lifestyle. Metanoia asks something deeper: to allow Jesus to reshape our entire way of thinking.

Paul describes a similar danger in 2 Timothy 3:5, speaking of people who have:

“a form of godliness but denying its power.”

The “form” is the outward appearance, respectable, religious, and familiar. But the power is the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to do things that don’t come naturally: forgive those who hurt us, pray for our enemies, love sacrificially, and become more like Christ. Not sure about you, but some of those don’t come naturally to me in my authentic faith.

One final thought is this… genuine metanoia often requires unlearning.

As we mature in faith, God may expose beliefs, attitudes, traditions, or cultural assumptions that have shaped our understanding of Christianity more than the bible itself. Sometimes discipleship isn’t simply learning something new it is courageously letting go of what was never truly rooted in Jesus.

As Yoda famously said, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Whether in church, small groups, or our personal faith, there are times when growth requires us to release old assumptions so God can renew our minds.

What aspects of your faith might need unlearning? If someone who had never met you observed your life, would they see authentic transformation or simply religious familiarity?

The bit where you get to think about stuff: Questions for the week.

What beliefs, assumptions, or practices have I inherited from my culture, family, or church tradition that may need to be re-examined in light of the teachings of Jesus?

Where might God be inviting me into metanoia, a change of mind and heart that requires letting go of familiar ways of thinking in order to follow Christ more faithfully?

Am I primarily identifying as a cultural Christian who follows Christian customs, or as a disciple whose values, priorities, and actions are continually being transformed by the Holy Spirit?