The Cultural Christian

I started to re-read Romans today, as the last time I read it through was quite a while ago. It really is a fantastic book, laden with different facts, ideas, etc. As I read today, this passage really stuck out to me...

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. Whoever has this kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

-Romans 2:28-29, NLT

Now, I'd be willing to guess, if Paul were alive today, and writing his Epistle to the Americans, it might go something like this

For you are not a true Christian just because you were born of Christian parents or because you have gone through the Christian ceremony of baptism. No, a true Christian is one whose heart is right with God. And true baptism is not an immersion in water, but a change of heart produced by immersion in God's Spirit. Whoever has this kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

-American 2:28-29, speculative

I know I can be guilty of just assuming that if I call myself a Christian, that it works as a cover all for me and my life sometimes. Perhaps I need to check and make sure that my life, as well as my heart, are in line with God. I think this is good advice for a nation that calls itself Christian and goes to church because it is 'what we do.' Let us change our hearts...