Sleeping Christianity - The Bubble of False Salvation. Time to Wake Up!
Why do churches speak only of mercy while silencing judgment? An analysis of what you won't hear from the pulpit.
Bonhoeffer wrote these words in 1937, watching the German Church capitulate to Nazism. Today, these words ring just as true - perhaps even more so.
Look around at modern churches. What do you hear from the pulpit? “God loves you.” “You are accepted just as you are.” “God wants you to be happy.” “Don’t judge.” All pleasant, warm, comfortable.
But where’s the rest? Where’s judgment? Where’s hell? Where are Jesus’s difficult words? Where are the warnings against deception? Where’s Revelation?
Gone. Silenced. Deemed “outdated” or “too literal.” Replaced with sweet pablum that offends no one and changes no one.
I call this the bubble of false salvation - an illusion in which millions live convinced they’re saved while having never encountered the true God of the Bible.
Think of the Titanic. Passengers danced on deck, unaware the ship was sinking. The orchestra played, waiters served champagne. Everything looked normal. But below - icy water and certain death.
This is what many “Christians” look like today. They dance in their churches, listen to pleasant sermons, feel secure. They don’t know they’re heading for a collision with reality. No one warned them. No one told them the truth.
One-Dimensional God - Only Mercy, No Justice
From most modern pulpits emerges an image of God who is exclusively love. A God who accepts everything. A God who never gets angry. A God who refuses no one entry to heaven.
This image is false.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
— Heb 10:31 (BT)
Have you ever heard this verse from the pulpit? Has your pastor ever quoted these words? A “fearful thing” - not “pleasant,” not “comfortable,” but fearful.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
— Rom 11:22 (BT)
Paul speaks of two aspects of God: kindness and sternness. Not one - two. A God who is only kind is half a God. He’s an idol made in our image.
And what about Christ? Here’s how Revelation describes Him:
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns (…) Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
— Rev 19:11-15 (BT)
Why is this image hidden? Because it’s uncomfortable. Because people don’t like it. Because it won’t fill pews or coffers. It’s easier to sell God-the-buddy than God-the-Judge.
The Great Silence - What You Won’t Hear from the Pulpit
There’s an entire list of topics that systematically disappear from modern theology. Not because they’re absent from the Bible - they’re there, in many places. They disappear because they’re uncomfortable.
The Great Tribulation and End Times
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
— Matt 24:21-22 (BT)
Jesus speaks plainly: a time of unprecedented tribulation in human history will come. So terrible that if it lasted longer, no one would survive. This isn’t allegory. This isn’t “spiritual warfare.” This is a concrete prophecy of the future.
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power.
— 2 Tim 3:1-5 (BT)
Doesn’t this description sound familiar? Don’t you see this around you - every day, in the news, on social media, in the streets?
And what do you hear at church? “Everything will be fine.” “God has a plan.” “Pray and don’t worry.”
Where is the preparation for difficult times? Where is the warning?
False Prophets and Deception
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
— Matt 24:24 (BT)
Jesus warns: deceivers will come so convincing they could fool even the elect. They will perform signs and wonders. They will appear godly.
For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.
— 2 Cor 11:13-15 (BT)
Satan masquerades as an angel of light. His servants look like “servants of righteousness.” You won’t recognize them by horns and tails - you’ll recognize them by their fruit, but that requires discernment.
And here’s the crucial truth we must understand: evil most often comes in beautiful form. Evil disguises itself. If it came with horns and hooves, everyone would recognize it. But it comes with a smile, a warm voice, beautiful words about love and acceptance.
Can we then rule out that people who systematically hide difficult biblical truths, who feed people nonsense about unconditional love and “everything will be fine” - might these be the very false prophets Jesus warned about? Not necessarily consciously. Perhaps they themselves were deceived. But the result is the same: people walk toward destruction with smiles on their faces, convinced they’re saved.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
— 1 John 4:1 (BT)
“Test the spirits.” By their fruit you will know them - not by words, not by impressions, not by how they make you feel. By their fruit. Does your church teach you how to do this? Do you have tools to recognize false teaching? Do you even know this danger exists?
The Beast and the Mark - Taboo Topics
It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark.
— Rev 13:16-17 (BT)
A system of total economic control. Without the mark, you can’t buy food, pay bills, survive. This will be real pressure - a choice between material comfort and faithfulness to Christ.
When did you last hear about this from the pulpit? When did someone prepare you for such a possibility?
In most churches, Revelation is taboo. “Too complicated,” “too controversial,” “better to focus on love.” And if it’s discussed at all, it’s treated as allegory - a timeless story about the battle between good and evil, with no concrete reference to the future. Yet Revelation calls itself prophecy - four times. And people walk into the future blind, unprepared for what may come.
Jesus’s Uncomfortable Words
Jesus said many things that are systematically ignored or “softened” by modern preachers. Let’s look at a few.
Forgiveness as a Condition
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
— Matt 6:14-15 (BT)
Did you notice? This isn’t a request or suggestion. It’s a condition. If you don’t forgive - you won’t be forgiven.
This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.
— Matt 18:35 (BT)
These are Jesus’s words at the end of the parable of the unmerciful servant. The servant who received forgiveness for an enormous debt but wouldn’t forgive a small one. And was handed over to the torturers.
Acknowledging Christ Publicly
Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
— Matt 10:32-33 (BT)
Private faith isn’t enough. You must acknowledge Christ before people. Publicly. Openly. Even when it’s uncomfortable, unpopular, risky.
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.
— Mark 8:38 (BT)
“Being ashamed” - this also applies to staying silent when you should speak. Avoiding the topic of faith in company. Not acknowledging God when someone asks directly. Denying Him when persecution or death threatens. Being a “closet Christian.”
Not Peace, but a Sword
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.
— Matt 10:34-36 (BT)
These are Jesus’s words. Not Satan’s. Not some radical’s. Jesus’s.
Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.
— Luke 12:51-53 (BT)
Practices the Bible Condemns
There’s something worse than silence. It’s practicing things the Bible explicitly forbids. Many Christians do this unknowingly - because no one taught them it’s wrong.
The Cult of Saints and Prayer to the Dead
In many Christian traditions, praying to Mary and the saints is normal. Invoking their help. Asking for their intercession.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.
— 1 Tim 2:5 (BT)
One mediator. Not many. Not Mary plus saints plus Jesus. Just Jesus.
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.
— Deut 18:10-12 (BT)
“Who consults the dead” - this also applies to praying to deceased saints. The Bible forbids all contact with the dead. There are no exceptions for “saints.”
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
— Heb 4:16 (BT)
We are to approach the throne of grace directly - to God. Not through intermediaries, not through the dead. Directly.
Images and Icons
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.
— Exod 20:4-5 (BT)
This is the second commandment. Clear and unambiguous. Don’t make images for religious purposes. Don’t venerate them.
Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone - an image made by human design and skill.
— Acts 17:29 (BT)
God is not like any image we can create. Every attempt to depict Him is a distortion.
Buying Salvation
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
— Eph 2:8-9 (BT)
Salvation is a gift. Free. It cannot be bought, earned, or worked off.
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
— Isa 55:1 (BT)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Rom 6:23 (BT)
Yet for centuries, indulgences were sold. And in some form, this continues today - paid masses, candles, offerings “for the salvation of souls.”
Has anything changed? Perhaps the form, but the principle remains. Salvation for sale.
Prayer for the Dead as a Path to Salvation
In some traditions, people believe that prayers of the living can help the dead achieve salvation. That you can “pray” someone out of purgatory into heaven.
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…
— Heb 9:27 (BT)
Die once - then judgment. Nothing in between. No “second chance” after death. No purgatory from which one can be prayed out.
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.
— Luke 16:26 (BT)
These are Jesus’s words from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. A great chasm - impassable. After death, there’s no changing places.
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
— 2 Cor 6:2 (BT)
Now - not after death. Now is the time for decision. Later will be too late.
Symbols Instead of Faith
Does wearing a cross make you a Christian? Will a medal of Mary protect against evil? Does a rosary recited automatically bring grace?
Many people live believing that religion is rituals and objects. That having the right symbols, going to the right building, making the right gestures is enough.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
— Matt 23:27-28 (BT)
Jesus didn’t mince words. “Whitewashed tombs” - beautiful outside, dead inside. This is religion without relationship with God. Form without substance. Symbol without faith.
And notice how close this criticism is to our times. Too much tradition. Too much automatism. Too many rituals performed without understanding. Too little true, living relationship with God. I would even venture to say: if Jesus were to return and live among us as He did then - He would criticize many modern churches just as He criticized the Pharisees. The same sins: religious pride, attachment to form, neglect of justice and mercy, burdening people with loads they themselves don’t carry.
A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.
— Rom 2:28-29 (BT)
God looks at the heart, not outward signs. You can have a cross tattooed across your entire back - and be further from God than an atheist honestly seeking truth.
The Bubble of False Salvation
Let’s summarize. What makes up this bubble?
Layer one: God reduced to love. Without justice, without wrath, without judgment. A God who accepts everything and forgives everyone - regardless of repentance.
Layer two: Silenced topics. Revelation, tribulation, false prophets, the beast - all “not for now,” “not for us,” “not literal.”
Layer three: Softened words of Jesus. Hard requirements turned into “suggestions.” Conditions of salvation into “one of many paths.”
Layer four: Practices contrary to the Bible. Veneration of saints, images, buying grace - all “tradition,” so it must be okay.
The result? Millions of people who think they’re saved - but have never met the true God. Never heard the full Gospel. Living in a bubble that will burst on judgment day.
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
— Matt 7:21-23 (BT)
“Lord, Lord!” - these are religious people. They prophesied, drove out demons, performed miracles. And Jesus says: “I never knew you.” Religion without relationship. Miracles without obedience. Faith without fruit.
And think about this for a moment: the people who brought Jesus to the cross believed in the same God. The Pharisees, chief priests, scribes - these weren’t atheists or pagans. These were deeply religious people who knew Scripture by heart, devoted to the tradition of their fathers. They theoretically believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And they were the ones shouting “Crucify Him!”
But did they really know the God of the Bible? Or did they believe in the God of their tradition - a God filtered through centuries of human interpretations, added rules, religious accretions? If they truly knew the God revealed in Scripture, they would have recognized the Messiah standing before them. The prophecies were clear. But tradition had blinded their eyes.
This is a sobering truth: simply believing in God - even the true God - doesn’t automatically mean you’re right. Doesn’t mean you’ll be saved. You can be sincerely convinced of your piety while simultaneously fighting against the very God you claim to worship.
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
— 2 Tim 4:3-4 (BT)
Has this time not come? Don’t you see this around you? Don’t modern churches want to please the world? Don’t they speak sweet talk so as not to offend anyone? Don’t they accept everything and everyone, just so people keep coming and paying their dues?
Wake Up While There’s Time
I’m not writing this to scare you. I’m writing to wake you up.
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
— Rom 13:11-12 (BT)
“Wake up from slumber” - this isn’t a metaphor. It’s a call. The Church is sleeping. Christians are sleeping. And time is running out.
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
— Rev 3:2-3 (BT)
These are Jesus’s words to the church in Sardis - a church that had “a reputation of being alive, but was dead.” A church with reputation but no life. Doesn’t this describe many modern churches?
So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
— 1 Thess 5:6-8 (BT)
Be awake and sober. Don’t sleep like others. Belong to the day, not the night.
Return to the Source
What can you do?
Read the Bible yourself. Not just fragments chosen by a preacher. All of it. Including difficult passages. Including Revelation.
Compare teaching with Scripture. Like the Bereans: “They examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Don’t accept anything uncritically.
Seek truth, not comfort. Better to hear hard truth than comfortable lies. Truth sets free. Lies enslave - even pleasant ones.
Abandon practices contrary to the Bible. If something you do has no basis in Scripture or contradicts it - stop doing it. Tradition doesn’t justify error.
Find a community that teaches the whole Bible. Not just nice passages. Not just “positive messages.” All of it - with tribulation, judgment, demands, and promises.
Remember the Titanic? The orchestra played to the end. Passengers danced until water flooded the deck.
Don’t be one of them.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
— Matt 24:42-44 (BT)
He will come. The question is: will you be ready?
Wake up. Check what you truly believe. Compare it with the Bible. And if you find discrepancies - have the courage to fix them.
The bubble bursts. Better now - when you can still change - than on the day you stand before the Judge.
And finally - words you won’t hear from most pulpits:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
— 1 Cor 6:9-10 (BT)
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
— Rev 21:8 (BT)
These are not words of hate. These are words of love - a warning from a God who doesn’t want you to perish. But you must repent. You must abandon sin. It’s not enough to go to church, wear a medal, say “Lord, Lord.” You must change your life.
Because not everyone who cries “Lord, Lord!” will be saved. Only the one who does the will of the Father.
It’s time to wake up.