Fake Christians

1. " Fake Christians?" – 7th August 2015
“I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew7:23).
A Christiancanbe definedasa personwhohas,by faith,receivedandfully trustedinJesusChristasthe
onlySaviorfromsin.We have learnedthismanytimesin John3:16; “ForGodso loved the worldthat he
gave hisone and onlySon, that whoever believesin himshall not perish but haveeternal life”. Again
we can learnalsofrom Ephesians2:8–9, “For it isby grace youhave been saved, throughfaith—and
this isnot from yourselves,it is the giftof God— 9
notby works, so that no one canboast”. These two
passagestells usthatthose whohave “belief (faith) inJesusChristwill be savedandbecause of itwill be
able to receive eternallife. We are saved throughfaith,asa giftof God and therefore notbyour own
works!
As Christianswe mustclearlyknowthat inthe heartof devoutChristiansresidesthe Spiritof Christ,on
whomwe believeasourLord and saviour.We get a goodreasonfrom Ephesians3:17, “…sothat Christ
may dwell in your hearts throughfaith.And I pray that you,being rooted andestablishedinlove…”
Whenwe commitout livestoJesusChristasone’ssaviourandreceive salvation, we belongtoHim.
Therefore we canlearn whenwe are toldin 1 Corinthians6:19; “Do younot know that your bodiesare
temples ofthe Holy Spirit,whois in you,whom you havereceived fromGod?You are not your own”.
Whenwe belongtoJesus,we will alsoreceive the presence of the HolySpiritthatcomestodelve within
us. We can also learnthatthroughthe powerof the Holy Spiritindwellingwithinus,God“will alsogive
life toyourmortal bodies aswe learnfrom Romans8:11). “Andif the Spirit ofhim who raisedJesus
from the dead islivingin you,he who raised Christfrom the dead will alsogive lifeto your mortal
bodiesbecause of hisSpiritwho livesin you”.
But we can alsolearnthat if the HolySpiritis NOTindwellingwithinthe person,he orshe will NOT
belongtoChristand thisperson,then,isnota Christian!We can learnthis fromRomans 8:9,“ You,
however, are not in the realm of the fleshbut are inthe realm ofthe Spirit,ifindeed the Spirit ofGod
livesin you. Andif anyonedoes not have the Spirit ofChrist, they donot belongto Christ”.Thus,the
term“fake Christian” is a misnomer.Youare a Christianor youare not a Christian;one iseitherwith
God or againstGod as statedin Matthew 12:30, “Whoeverisnot with me is againstme, andwhoever
does not gather withme scatters…”
Thisquestion of beinga“True” or “False “ Christianis certainlyalegitimateone inthe mindsof many
people. Itislikelybecause of the behaviorof anywhothinktheyare Christiansorprofesstobe
Christians,butunfortunately whoare not.The reasonsmanybelieve theyare true Christianswhenthey
are notare many andvaried.The false teachingthatisso prevalentthese daysiscertainlyone reason.
Whenchurcheseschewteachingsounddoctrine,the endresultwillbe congregantswhodonotknow
the truth of God’s Word. Simplystatedhow cantheykeepinstepwiththe Spirit of God,whenthe Truth
isnot inthem?
Also,some believetheirrecitationof aprayeror respondingtoan “altar call”alone mayhave turned
themintoa Christian.Manybelieve theirreligioustraditions,suchasbeingbaptizedasaninfant,
secureda spotin heavenforthem,orthat their plentiful goodworksalone have putthemingood
standingwithGod. Some others believe churchattendance aloneguaranteessalvation.The most
importantpointthe we needtounderstandisthat many whoprofesstobe Christiansare not Christians
at all.Yet theycomplacentlyremainconvincedthatall iswell withtheirsoul.Sadly,manywilllivetheir

2. entire livesbelievingtheywere Christiansonlytoone dayhearthese wordsfromJesusChrist: “Inever
knew you. Away fromme, you evildoers!” (Matthew7:23).
The clear teachingof the Bible isthatwhensomeone issavedhislife will mostdefinitelychange ashe is
a “newcreation,the oldhas gone and the new hascome” as we learnfrom 2 Corinthians5:17,
“Therefore,if anyone isinChrist,the new creationhascome:The oldhas gone,the new ishere!The
apostle Paul clearlytellsusthat“if and whenone itsavedand receivestrue salvation”,he orshe will
change…the oldwaysare GONE and a new “God loving”personcanbe clearlyobserved.Therefore
whenone profess asbeinga“true Christian,”the truthfulnessof the statementcanbe clearlyobserved
throughtheirbehaviorandactions. Because a true,born-againChristianwill strive tobringgloryand
honorto Christby livingalife thatispleasingtoGod.We can learnfrom1 Peter 1:15–16, “Butjust as he
who calledyou isholy,so be holyin all youdo; 16 forit is written: “Be holy, becauseI amholy.”
Now,eventhoughthe lifestyle of true Christiansdoesreflectthe presenceof Christintheirhearts,we
know that we are notperfect.Christiansdosin,andthe apostle Johnmakesitclearthat we deceive
ourselvesif we thinkotherwise:“Weclaimtobe withoutsin,we deceive ourselvesand the truth is not
in us.(1 John1:8). AndwhenChristiansdosin,restassuredthere are multitudesjustlyinginwaittouse
their“slip-up”tofurtherdenigrate the true bodyof believers.ThatiswhyPaul admonishedthe church
inThessalonicatoabstainfromeventhe appearance of evil asstatedin 1 Thessalonians5:22, “Reject
every kindof evil” and to live insucha wayas to “winthe respectof outsiders” aswe learnfrom
1Thessalonians4:12, “…sothatyour dailylifemay win the respect ofoutsiders…”
As Christian wemust clearly bear in mind that we should NOT engage in repeated or habitual sin because:“No one
who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him (1 John 3:6).
One who engages in deliberateand habitual sin is simply provingthathe does not know Christand therefore
cannot be abidingin Himeven though he or she may livetheir lifeunder the vastumbrella of religion and is
thought, therefore, by many to be a “good” Christian.
As believersmature intheirfaith,theywillexhibitmore andmore evidence of theirtrue Christian
nature,suchas theirlove forGod, lobe forothers, repentance fromsin,separationfromthe sinfulness
of the world,spiritual growth,andobedientliving.AsPaul toldthe Romans,the genuinechildof God
has beensetfree fromsinandhas become a slave toGod, andthe resultiseternal life!“Butnowthat
you have been set free fromsin andhave become slaves ofGod,the benefityou reap leadsto holiness,
and the result is eternal life”(Romans6:22).