Honestly, there’s a fascinating tension there: the more closely someone reads Scripture, the more they can find themselves at odds with things that are simply assumed to be “Christian” today.

There’s a difference between becoming less like modern Christianity and becoming less like Christ. Those aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Jesus Himself repeatedly confronted religious culture that had become comfortable with traditions, conventions, and outward appearances while drifting away from what God actually said. And Paul warned that believers could be carried away by “philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men” (Colossians 2:8).

That doesn’t mean everything modern Christianity does is wrong. Far from it. But it does mean that “that’s what Christians do” isn’t the same authority as “that’s what Scripture teaches.”

This is one reason our emphasis on Sola Scriptura makes sense. If Scripture is actually God’s authoritative revelation, then our job isn’t to make Scripture conform to Christianity as we currently practice it. Christianity has to conform to Scripture.

Sometimes that produces uncomfortable discoveries:

Scripture doesn’t always look like contemporary church culture.

Biblical discipleship can be considerably more demanding than modern “accept Jesus and everything is fine” Christianity.

Biblical holiness is deeper than merely avoiding a list of obvious sins.

Biblical grace doesn’t eliminate repentance; it makes repentance possible without despair.

Biblical love isn’t synonymous with affirming everything someone wants.

Biblical faith isn’t merely intellectual agreement.

Biblical worship isn’t necessarily identical to the modern Sunday service.

Biblical Christianity is profoundly centered on Christ rather than on a particular denomination, political movement, cultural identity, or personality.

And perhaps most importantly, Jesus wasn’t particularly impressed by religious people who knew the right vocabulary but weren’t actually following God.

There’s an irony here, too. You can eventually reach a point where you realize: “I don’t recognize much of what I see around me as Biblical Christianity.”

But then you keep reading Scripture and discover that the answer isn’t necessarily to find a different brand of Christianity.

It’s to keep stripping away everything that isn’t Christ.

That can be both unsettling and extraordinarily liberating.

There’s something beautiful about being willing to let Scripture correct even your own assumptions. That’s a much harder posture than simply finding verses to prove what you already believe.

The goal isn’t to become unlike modern Christianity for its own sake. The goal is to become so thoroughly acquainted with Christ and His Word that whatever agrees with Scripture is retained—and whatever doesn’t is surrendered, regardless of how old, popular, respectable, or “Christian” it happens to be.

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