A NEW BEGINNING
FAKE CHRISTIANS
Exclusive: Greg Laurie explains 2 sides of faith-works relationship
I read an interesting article from CNN awhile back in which author Kenda Creasy Dean, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, warned that American teenagers are embracing what she called a moralistic, therapeutic deism. As she interviewed teenagers about their faith, she discovered that “many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good.” In other words, they were fake Christians.
Now, let me explain. A fake Christian is not a struggling Christian, because every Christian struggles. Every Christian has times of falling short and sinning and slipping up. But that is not a fake Christian. A fake Christian is a poser, a pretender, an actor and an imitator. A fake Christian is one person sitting in the church pew but is another person altogether in day-to-day living.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21 NKJV). Jesus wasn’t speaking of your garden-variety nonbeliever here. This is a deeply religious person with more than a passing confession of faith. The word Lord used here comes from the Greek word kurios, which implies divinity. It is a proper title for Christ. So this isn’t someone who is going through the motions. However, just because someone says, “Lord, Lord” doesn’t make him or her a believer in and of itself.
In addition, Jesus said, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (verses 22–23)
Just because people see miracles in their lives, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are believers. But how could the people Jesus spoke of perform miracles if they were false believers? When a miracle is done through someone, doesn’t it prove that he or she is a Christian? Not necessarily. We know from the Old Testament that King Saul prophesied, yet he was a wicked man who ultimately consulted with a witch and died in rebellion against God. So it could have been God’s power working despite him. Sometimes God works regardless of who we are or what we are.
But here is something else to consider. The devil can do so-called miracles. They are not the same kind of miracles as the ones God does. But they can resemble them. When Moses went into the court of Pharaoh and was putting out certain signs to confirm he was sent by God, including turning the Nile River to blood and a staff into a snake, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to duplicate a number of them – but certainly not all of them.
We can’t simply let “miracles” convince us that someone is sent by God. The Bible even tells us that when the Antichrist comes on the scene in the end times, he will deceive people through lying wonders – devilish miracles. So if some preacher comes along and says, “You have to hear what I have to say because I am doing miracles by the hand of God,” maybe those are devilish miracles. I will measure what they have to say by comparing it to the Scriptures.
These people who said, “Lord, Lord” did not belong to Jesus, even though they professed to. So what do you have to do to become a Christian? If we were to randomly interview people and ask them this question, we probably would receive answers like “Go to church,” “Read the Bible,” “Pray,” “Believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God,” “Try to keep the Ten Commandments,” and “Be baptized.”
You can do all things and not necessarily be a Christian. (But if you are a Christian, you ought to do those things.) Doing those things in and of themselves will not make you a Christian.
For instance, you can pray and not necessarily be a Christian. Most people pray when the chips are down. For the most part, when a crisis hits people call out to God. It may not even be the true God; they just cry out for help. But just because you pray doesn’t mean that you really believe and are following Christ.
You can go to church and not necessarily be a Christian. There are people who will say, “Let’s go to church. It’s good to get a little religion. I like the way that guy preaches.” But they don’t need a little religion; they need a lot of Jesus. That is the only thing they need.
The thing with the people Jesus was speaking of in Matthew, chapter 7, was that true conversion didn’t precede their activity. While it is true that faith without works is dead, it also could be said that works without faith are also dead. Despite how impressive they looked outwardly, these people did not know God.
Jesus’ response to them will be, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” In the original language, lawlessness speaks of a continuous, regular action. They continually and habitually practice lawlessness and sin. Beneath a veneer of spirituality beats a heart that is dark in rebellion toward God. The word knew in the original language is a word that speaks of intimacy, a word often used to describe marital intimacy. In other words, Jesus never had a relationship with them. He never knew them.
If you are a genuine Christian, it will show in the way that you live. Real Christians build their lives on the right foundation, a foundation that will stand the test of time. The Bible tells us, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).
If you build your spiritual life on anyone or anything else, then you are not a real Christian.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/fake-christians/#BxjwmFyE4iGixPFb.99My comments: Amen.
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