Has anyone ever told you, “I’m spiritual,” after you asked them if they had any religious beliefs?
This is increasingly a common answer. Many people in our post-modern era have rejected the total emphasis on materialism that modernism brought throughout much of the 20th century. Though people are materialistic and narcissistic in their natural sinful state, many people in our current American culture have embraced and adopted a spirituality of their own making.
The big problem is that this spirituality is totally without any foundation of morality. Sure, there is what appear to be almost traces of morality within the spirituality that many in our culture have decided to embrace, but true morality is entirely absent. The towers of modern spirituality are built on the following things
- Self
- Pride
- Gratification
- Convenience
- Feelings
This is completely dangerous. These are no firm foundations; no solid rock for anyone to build spirituality upon.
The spiritualism adopted by those outside of Christ is devoid of true morality. There are hints of morality, but the hints of morality are only there to make the appearance of the bad foundation upon which it is built not look so bad.
Spirituality without morality is three things
- Deceptive
- Destructive
- Demonic.
How is it deceptive?
Because we are spiritual beings, something in us longs for the spiritual. When people embrace a spirituality without morality, people convince themselves that they have found what they are looking for. It enables them to shrug off true spirituality (the message of the gospel) because they see their spirituality as having substance. This faux spirituality often will enable people to present a veneer image of themselves as a person without judgment. This is at least until they themselves are confronted with a moral issue or their own personal lack of morality. Proverbs 30:20 says, “There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, and yet is not washed from its filthiness.”
One of the most deceptive aspects of spirituality without morality is its ability to blind people from their great need for a Savior. It covers their guilt and shame with pride and self-assurance.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all things and desperately wicked; who can understand it?”
Spirituality without morality is tied together with the deceitfulness of the sinful heart. In the heart, it creates a confidence that makes it seem like it must be true. However, it is not; it’s a total deception.
How is it destructive?
Spirituality without morality is really just another means by which a person can exhibit self-love and pride, pursuing their own gratification and nullifying their guilt. When a person is their own standard-bearer for truth and justice, others’ feelings, possessions and lives are of little to no relevance. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
Spirituality without morality will always lead to death. This is because it results in the root problem that is killing each person being allowed to fester. That root problem is sin and rebellion against God. Spirituality without morality can best be described in this analogy. This type of spirituality is the equivalent of painkillers that treat the pain of a bullet lodged near an artery. However, they never remove the bullet. The truth is, if something is not done to remove the bullet, a person will die, regardless of how many painkillers they have taken. Likewise, if a person does not gain true spirituality, a byproduct of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ, a person will remain dead in their sins and eventually spend eternity separated from God.
How is spirituality without morality demonic?
2 Corinthians 11:14 says, “For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
Any spirituality without morality is demonic because it originated from Satan and the kingdom of darkness. God is a moral being. He is the author of morality.
Spirituality without morality is an attempt by Satan to woo men and women’s hearts. Lucifer means angel of light, or “light bearer.” This spirituality has a form of light, but it is not the light of God. Satan and his demons will offer illumination and may even use and manipulate parts of the truth so the individual they are attempting to deceive is more willing to accept the lie. This is demonic. This illumination is not of God
Spirituality without morality is no good thing. It is deceptive, destructive and demonic. Jesus Christ is the truth. God is moral and will judge all things by His Word and by His perfect standard.
Spirituality without morality is spirituality without Jesus. This is the danger of it. It looks “good” but it is evil and meant to ensnare a person’s soul in a prison of their own choosing. Our sins must be forgiven in order for us to have right relationship with God and experience any kind of true spirituality.
Without morality, there is no accountability. Without morality, there is no truth. Without morality, there is no love.
I would now like to challenge you: Re-read this article and replace “morality” with “Jesus.” It will be even clearer. {eoa}
David Hoffman is an evangelist and the director of Kingdom Enterprises, an outreach and evangelism ministry in Tucson, Arizona. His passions are to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ, ignite a passion for evangelism within the lives of believers and help equip them to live Spirit-filled and Spirit-empowered lives. For more information or to contact him, please go to HisKingdomEnterprises.
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