08/31/2026
Start of the day blessings and confessions
Cultural artifacts
Cultural religious faith is not faith, but a religious tradition being transposed as faith. This means we are transferring some cultural tradition as real faith. Paul writes that some have a form of religion, but are strangers to power of real beliefs. Their conduct reveals their lack of true faith. Paul is describing people in the “last days” who keep the outward appearance of religion or piety—church attendance, religious language, rituals, moral talk—while rejecting or never experiencing the actual transforming power of genuine faith. They have the form but are strangers to the inner reality and power that true godliness brings through the Holy Spirit. When this occurs, people become disillusioned by church as attacks come and there seem to be no answers. People then question is God real. Why. why, why. This is why the seeker friendly model of church that has failed, it provides no true foundation to grow, it was only an experience without fruit. This why we have gone through the deconstructing of faith along with untrue beliefs by many church leaders, musicians and religious influencers. Their faith appears to never been real but only a cultural religious experience of faith. Having cultural points of remembrance of things are fine, but only to remind you of what you need to be, not to live in that cultural moment. But live in the faith that is true and genuine, a faith that is grounded in Christ and His word. In these last days many will have appropriate a cultural religious faith that is completely void of substance in life. The letters to the churches in Revelation, reveal many forms of religion along with many places of compromise that kept people in a dark death spiral. We need to be able to discern form from power. Form from faith. Form from love and fruitfulness. Cultural religion will not confront injustices, will not contend for the faith and will not contend for righteousness in government. But will simply yield to the push of darkness and even join in the process of darkness as an act of being a church.
“For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].”
2 Timothy 3:5