Five Marks of a False Convert

Being a Christian is by far the greatest blessing one could receive. Who can reject the glory of God, and the awesome love and forgiveness that Jesus has to offer? Yet, sadly, there are many out there who have convinced themselves that they are Christians, when, unfortunately, they are not. I have put together a short list of signs that you can use to examine yourself, or someone else, to test whether or not you are truly in the faith. This is by far not an exhaustive list, nor is it meant to discourage true believers. Every Christian struggles with certain things, and some moreso than others. If you are a relatively new convert, expect to struggle more than the seasoned Christian who has been saved and serving God for 40 years. The fact is, you should be improving constantly in all of these areas. There may be ups and downs, but if you take a look at the last year of your life, and you see no improvement in any of these signs, I would suggest you start praying, and ask God to open your eyes, and reveal himself to you. I pray that this list be glorifying to God first and foremost, but also that it be edifying to those who take the time to read it.

Sign #1, Avoiding Persecution - There are many who claim to be believers and claim to know Christ as their Savior, and will even put on a good show of morality most of the time, but when proclaiming the name of Christ gets tough, they back down. This is not to say that a Christian will never have moments of weakness. We know from the Bible that even the great Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times (Matthew 26:34). But if you repeatedly find yourself retreating when when you are being persecuted, or purposely deny or hide your Christianity in order to avoid persecution altogether, you probably have no reason to believe you are saved.

³ ...A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.

- Matthew 13:3-9

In the above passage, the Parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of those seeds that did not fall on good ground—they have no roots, or foundation. Since they don't have this good soil where they have been able to establish healthy roots, the intense heat of the sun just drys them up, and they wither away. This is what happens to professing Christians when they have no foundation to stand on. When they aren't grounded in true saving faith, they tend to wither away when they face opposition. They won't stand up for what they believe in, because they don't really believe it. Matthew 10:32-33 says "32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." If you don't see yourself facing persecution, and standing your ground, or at least trying to stand your ground, you very well may be a false convert. If you find yourself resorting to acting like a carnal man when around other non-Christians in order to "fit in," you may want to examine your heart to see if you are truly saved.

Sign #2, Constant Worry - This one seems to be one of the biggest problems among professing Christians. There are some who have a preoccupation with worry, especially about worldly things like food, clothing and money.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

- Matthew 6:24-34

God promises us he will provide us with everything we need. If you find yourself constantly worrying about making ends meet, or you are incontent with what you have been provided with, this is evidence that you are not putting your trust in God's promises. Faith is the key requirement for salvation, for without faith, one cannot be saved (Eph 2:8-9). Luke 8:13 says the false convert will receive the Word with joy, but the joy will be short lived. You will eventually fall back to your state of worry and unfaithfulness. If you are perpetually worried about these things, then you are relying on your self, rather than God, and you might be a false convert.


Sign #3, Unfruitful Relationships - Another sign that you or someone else may be a false convert is having little or no desire to develop friendships with other believers. When you are truly converted, and your desires are aligned with the will of God, you will long for friends that will lift you up in your walk with Christ, as well as hold you accountable (Ecc 4:9-12, Proverbs 27:9). Moreover, James 4:4 says "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." A true Christian wants to develop relationships that honor God. This does not necessarily mean that we can't know and befriend any non-Christians at all, in fact we are required to do so for the sake of sharing the Gospel. But that's the key, our priority with non-Christian friends should be sharing the Gospel with them. The Bible also says "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14) Taking any friendship with non-Christians to the level of partnership, or fellowship, is forbidden in Scripture. Yes, it's understood that you have obligations with family members, and you are required to be close to them, but again, your priority with them as a Christian should be showing them the love of Christ. So if you find yourself putting off invitations to hang out with people in your Sunday School class because they make you feel uncomfortable, or if you find yourself more content with hanging out with non-Christian buddies from work, yet no desire to develop deep relationships with Christians, you might be a false convert.

Sign #4, Self Indulgence - Many Christians struggle with sin after they are saved. Bad habits are hard to break, even for the most faithful of believers. Some people may have smoking addictions, some people might curse. Some people may have a certain affinity towards self gratification, indulging in things like unhealthy amounts of television, sports, entertainment, etc. Whatever the sin is, the true Christian will struggle with this. This is one of the tougher areas for the Christian to attack, because it takes an ongoing, conscious effort to break habits. However, one sign that you are at true convert is if you are actually struggling with this activity. If you are a true Christian, your desire is to be obedient to Christ, and to become more Christ-like (1 John 2:6). As a Christian, you now represent Christ, and it is no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in you (Galatians 2:20). You now live by faith, fending off your sins and worldly desires. This is not to say that you won't sin, or fall, but if you find yourself never struggling with your sin, never feeling any Godly sorrow for your sin, perhaps you need to rethink your standing in Christ. Christ gives you a new heart when you are saved, and removes your heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26). If you're always too busy to spend time in the Word of God, you might not be saved. If you're putting off your relationship with Christ, skipping church, not reading your Bible, and not ministering to your family, yet you are watching football, you curse at work around your buddies, you find yourself angry and unforgiving often, and you feel no Godly remorse, you very well may be a false convert.

Sign #5, Pride - Probably the biggest tell-tale sign of a false convert is pride. Pride is the root of all of the other signs of a false convert. Proverbs 16:5 says "Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished." Arrogance is Satan's number one tool to stop you from believing the Gospel, it stands in direct opposition to any form of repentance, and anyone who is proud cannot be saved.

However, there are many proud who profess to be Christians. They run around naming the name of Christ, might have Christian bumper stickers on their cars, and they may even try to share the Gospel with others, but if you try to rebuke this person, or call this person out regarding their sin, they will reject you. They absolutely cannot stand to be told that they are wrong about something. They will mock you, and argue with you, and never accept responsibility for their wrongdoings. Proverbs 9:8 says "Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you." The scoffer, or mocker, will not be corrected, but one of the marks of being saved is someone who is humble and open to reproof. James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Those who are humble in spirit are repentant, and receive God's grace. If you always have an argumentative heart towards correction and reproof, and you are unable to hear when someone is confronting you about sin in your life, you very well may be a false convert. I'll end with the following two passages addressing pride:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

- Luke 18:10-14

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

- Luke 14:8-11

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The Progressive Christian Fallacy - Sin Rationalizing

So I entered into conversation today with someone who refers to himself as a "gay Christian." I asked him to explain what he thought Christianity was, and I got the typical response, "That's very simple. Following the teachings of Christ, not other Christians." Further into the conversation, he references himself as a "Progressive Christian," and refers me to a meme from the Christian Left website (which is basically a cut and paste from Wikipedia) that states:

Progressive Christianity is a form of Christianity which is characterized by a willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity, a strong emphasis on social justice and care for the poor and the oppressed, and environmental stewardship of the Earth. Progressive Christians have a deep belief in the centrality of the instruction to "love one another" (John 15:17) within the teaching of Jesus Christ. This leads to a focus on promoting values such as compassion, justice, mercy, tolerance, and working towards solving the societal problems of poverty, discrimination, and environmental issues.

In a nutshell, his version of "Christianity" is a focus on rationalizing sin, and being intolerant of those who he perceives to be intolerant of his sinful lifestyle. You see, the progressive Christian wants people to accept them for who they are, make them feel better about themselves. They hate it when people point out their sin to them, because they need to be propped up by others in the world, to feel loved, and since they don't get that love and support from God or Christ himself, they depend on it from the world, and become very defensive or angry when someone breaks through that shield they have around them.

This false acceptance from the world, however, is a lie of the devil. Although some of the things that the progressives stand for appear to be good on the surface, underneath, they are just cleverly hidden deceptions, put out by lying spirits to lead you away from the truth. Satan knows that if he can seduce you away from the truth by appealing to your man-centered desires like loving and tolerating one another, living in harmony, and solving societal issues, then he can also lead you into believing bigger lies. Lies, for example, that you can continue to live your sinful lifestyle, since Jesus paid the price, and still go to heaven.

The argument tends to revolve around a misunderstanding of the Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40,

Jesus replied: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

They take this commandment, and misapply to their own lives by leading themselves to believe that tolerance of sin, and loving God and each other, makes them safe in the eyes of God. They believe that "loving people" means not showing people their sin, or not making them "feel bad" about their lifestyle. And they believe that by doing this, they are following the teachings of Christ. But the fallacy is this; this is not the teaching of Christ. Christ never came to teach tolerance of sin, he came to preach repentance (Luke 3:13-5). He didn't come to tell people that as long as they live in harmony, and accept one another for who they are, then everything will be fine. No, he came to bring a sword, not peace (Matthew 10:34). Progressives view Christians who stand on the Word of God as their authority as bigots, and as unloving people. But the truly unloving person is the one who doesn't call for repentance. For without repentance, a turning from sin, moving from a state of loving and rationalizing sin to hating your sin, there is no forgiveness of sins, salvation (Luke 24:47). And if you don't know you are a sinner, or you have rationalized your lifestyle to the extent of believing that it's not sinful, you are deceiving yourself right into Hell. Without condemnation, there is no salvation (Luke 5:32). In other words, you must realize that you are a sinner, and if someone is trying to lead you to that realization, that understanding, you should thank them for being so loving and kind to you, enough to care about your eternity. But if you still just don't get it, if you don't hate your sin, then I'm sorry to tell you this, but you are not a Christian, you are not born again, and you are not in good standing with God.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! - 2 Corinthians 7:10-11

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The Art of Social Media Escape: Jefferson Bethke Endorses God-Hating Macklemore

The following was originally posted by Landon Chapman at Entreating Favor, and has been reposted here with permission. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Landon

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Founder of EntreatingFavor.com, writer, and host of the Fire Away! podcast. He is a Reformed Baptist that professes the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant, and thoroughly sufficient Word of God.

Titus 2:11–14 [ESV] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Leaders and celebrity Christians in American Evangelicalism have found themselves in quite a quandary. While they realize the need to actively participate in the social media world to reach their followers, in doing so they open themselves up to widespread commentary from those that may not agree with them. So what is an overseer to do?

Enter the “block” button (aka the “banhammer“).

Yesterday, a faithful sister in Christ responded to the following tweet posted by celebrity Christian Jefferson Bethke:

Ran into @macklemore & his fiancé last night at Maui airport. Got to tell him he's inspired me artistically for awhile. Super nice folks.
— Jefferson Bethke (@JeffersonBethke) February 23, 2015

by asking a simple question:

@JeffersonBethke He mocks Christians. Did you share the Gospel?
— Jessica Lam (@jessicamarie419) March 1, 2015

She went on later that afternoon to respond to another Tweet from Mr. Bethke that mentioned he and his wife’s upcoming podcast:

@JeffersonBethke @alyssajoybethke Yes, did you share the Gospel with Macklemore who mocks Christ?
— Jessica Lam (@jessicamarie419) March 1, 2015

If you were thinking Mrs. Lam would receive an answer to this very simple question for a Christian leader, you would be wrong. Instead, she experienced first-hand how many celebrity pastors and Christians respond to sincere, Bible-based questions regarding things they have posted on social media:

Blocked by Jefferson Bethke ✔ No longer can you ask someone a question without being blocked. pic.twitter.com/tdWhoKqMUH
— Jessica Lam (@jessicamarie419) March 2, 2015

That’s right, Mrs. Lam was immediately blocked by Jefferson Bethke upon her asking him if he shared the Gospel with someone who openly mocks Christians and is hostile to the Word of God. So much for being above reproach.

Some of you might be saying, “But Landon, it’s not like Mr. Bethke is a pastor or something. The qualifications for an overseer (1 Timothy 3) don’t apply to him!” My dear friends, if this is what you’re thinking, you are dead wrong. Ever since rising to Christian fame through his spoken word YouTube video, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, and subsequent book, Jesus > Religion, Mr. Bethke has been an influential teacher in modern-day Christianity; specifically influential amongst Millennials. The simple truth is that Mr. Bethke has positioned himself as a teacher of Christianity, someone who has authority and ability to teach the Word of God. As someone in that position, one would do well to be conscious of the Biblical requirements thereby added to their account.

Further, as Paul made clear to Titus (Titus 2:11-12), the Grace of God has appeared, in part, to train “us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions”. As someone who on his “About” page claims he is “…quite the avid grace lover,” should he not then make it a point to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions? And with that truth firmly established, should not Mr. Bethke then make it a point to renounce and warn about Macklemore and his promotion of ungodliness, worldly passions, and hostility toward the Word of God?

The obvious answer to those questions are yes, Jefferson Bethke should not only end his endorsement of Macklemore, he should make it a point to publicly renounce those previous endorsements and warn Christians to stay away from his music.

If you are unfamiliar with Macklemore, I will briefly explain why this man is not someone with whom Christians should associate. Macklemore is an American rapper whose real name is Ben Haggerty. Without diving into his complete discography, suffice to say that Mr. Haggerty has been a popular and influential musician in America since roughly the year 2012.

On his October 2012 album, The Heist, Macklemore voiced his support of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage in the song “Same Love”, which also condemns homophobia in mainstream hip-hop, society, and mass media.¹ On January 26, 2014, Macklemore performed Same Love at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, where Queen Latifah read marriage vows for 33 couples (both gay and straight) who lined the aisles. “This is a love song, not for some of us but for all of us,” she said, followed by an appearance from Madonna singing “Open Your Heart”.² Further, Macklemore was criticized for a performance he gave at Seattle’s Experience Music Project in May 2014 where he was dressed as a stereotypical Jew.³

Despite claims to the contrary, even from the man himself, Macklemore is a religious person and, as illustrated in the previous paragraph, does seek to convey his version of religion through his music. Have a look at some of his lyrics:

Playing God, aw nah here we go:
America the brave still fears what we don’t know.
And “God loves all his children” is somehow forgotten,
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago.

Further, in this track released in 2009, Macklemore trades verses with fellow rapper Geological about the church and its lack of spiritual connection:

The word of our God is manipulated and twisted by the same system
That has infiltrated and falsely interpreted Jesus.
One life, one love, one God, it’s us, treated your neighbor how you would want to be treated.
The universal laws of God, don’t look too far, it’s right here, us human beings.
The spirit’s right here and I don’t have to see it.
Now every time I want to connect with God I put my headphones on. . . .
All right see, I be going to Sunday school every week
In the back trying to read, but see that something was off.
Maybe it was cause I was trying to huddle in the yard.
Preacher didn’t connect when he would mumble the Psalms.

Tyler Day of ChristianCentury.org summed this up well when he asked how we could categorize Macklemore’s theology. Ethical humanism with a tinge of anthropomorphic universalism?

Maybe it’s best we don’t. At one point he calls rap “an accurate representation of who people are as individuals and the environment that they grew up in.” The same may be true of Macklemore’s theology: it’s an accurate representation of a culture of seekers, the spiritual but not religious, the label repellent. They use traditional language to speak of new forms and subjective reality. They prefer a bar to a church. Because as Macklemore says in “Neon Cathedral,” “Round here they sing broken hymns. /Their prayers flow better when they’re soaked in gin.”⁴ In other words, this man is a postmodern to the core.

Should any Christian be endorsing this guy? Absolutely not! Why, then, is Jefferson Bethke not only endorsing Macklemore and his assault on the Christ Mr. Bethke claims to profess, but subsequently blocking anyone who dare ask that very question? The problem lies within the theology of what made Mr. Bethke a Christian celebrity in the first place and what Andy Stanley has recently decided to adopt; this idea that church is bad and Jesus is good. It’s the theology that the church is preventing people from “making decisions for Jesus” and thus inherently denies the sovereignty of God.

In a Twitter post back in February of 2013, Mr. Bethke was asked what he thought of Macklemore:

@dartise @macklemore love him. Look up to him a ton as an artist & someone who's honed his craft. Also helps we both from/live in Seattle!
— Jefferson Bethke (@JeffersonBethke) February 5, 2013

He looks up to a man who hates God and mocks Christians all in the name of “tolerance”? Really? When then confronted about how Macklemore’s music in any way glorifies God he responded:

@jason_huntrods how did the pagan quotes that the apostle paul quoted in Acts 17 answer all those questions u just asked?
— Jefferson Bethke (@JeffersonBethke) February 5, 2013

As Mr. Huntrods correctly went on to point out, Paul is addressing non-believers, not Christians. He’s also presenting the Gospel, not making general statements – context is important. Why should Christians buy the next Macklemore album to hear about their hypocrisy and failure when God gave us His inerrant, infallible, and thoroughly sufficient Word?

Please understand I am in no way making a judgment regarding Mr. Bethke’s eternal salvation and whether or not he is a brother in Christ, that is not my place. But as a high-profile professing believer, it distresses me greatly that he would not answer a simple Biblical question and instead opt to run away from the concern.

Unfortunately, this is the new norm when it comes to high-profile Christian leaders; they publicly post and/or present something anti-Biblical, ecumenical, or theologically incorrect and when their public teaching is challenged publicly, they either run away (block the person) or turn and launch an aggressive reputation-smearing campaign and incorrectly label the challenger a hypocrite and a Pharisee. Sure doesn’t seem very “loving”, does it?

Thus, it is reasonable to ask why, as a Christian leader, Mr. Bethke continues to endorse an unregenerate man and his anti-biblical, God-hating music to Christians.

With the evidence presented, Christians would do well to personally ask Jefferson Bethke why he gets his inspiration from someone who hates God and beg of him to repent and turn from such filth.

Just don’t be surprised when you you are ignored and bear the brunt of the banhammer.

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Andy Stanley: Even if you don't believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you will have a better life by following his teachings

Remember the old days, where churches had steeples and stained glass windows. Remember when there were pews, and a choir that sang edifying hymns to our Lord? Remember those days when people wore suits and ties, and ladies wore dresses and heels, trying to present their best to our God? Remember those days when children used to go to Sunday school classes, and learn the Bible, and families went to service, and the pastor preached a sermon? "Well," says Andy Stanley, "the greatest thing about all of this, is we don't have to do that anymore," he proclaims in his latest sermon, "Brand New." Stanley is making it abundantly clear that he has no qualms about changes that are being made in today's churches, and he's proud of it.

"The things that are holding people back from coming to church are actually the things the church should be letting go of," Stanley says. But what kind of things is he referring to? Could it be things like clear Biblical doctrine about salvation, sin, grace, etc? Could it be a pastoral teaching from the pulpit? Could it be edifying worship to our Lord and Savior? Just exactly what things is the church holding on to that's "hindering growth," according to Stanley?

He goes on to say that in his lifetime, he has never heard anyone say that the reason they don't go to church is because they follow Jesus.


Seriously? Where has his head been? "The Church should be irresistible except for the fact that we love Jesus," he says. But according to Stanley, the Catholic church loves Jesus too. Does this also include Mormons? Jehova's Witnesses? Unrepentant sinners, like Matthew Vines, and others who think living in sin is fine with God?

He goes on to say, "even if you never come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God...or that Jesus is your savior...if you follow his teachings, you will have a better life."




Stanley goes on to proclaim that Church has become resistible to people because of all of the baggage that comes along with it. Baggage like clear doctrine, and traditional, edifying worship. By removing these things that are "holding the Church back," we can now make church attractive to people, and give people a "better life." Much like Joel Osteen, he isn't concerned with the eternal salvation of people's souls, but he wants to give people "their best life now." So lets do away with doctrine that teaches people about sin and repentance, and the merciful loving grace of God. Let's not teach people about the consequences of sin, Hell, but let's just teach people to come in and sing Rock and Roll music, and follow some of the red-letter teachings of Jesus about loving one-another, and people can walk out of here on Sunday mornings fulfilled, have a better life, and perhaps, the pockets of wolves like Andy Stanley will be lined with the dollar bills of these goats.

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You can view the entire "sermon" here.

** UPDATE **

I just wanted to say, that while the majority of people are discerning, and they can easily see the bigger problem here, I have been getting a few nasty (personal) attacks, on Twitter and Facebook, and in comments on other's blog sites, stating that I am taking his words out of context, and misrepresenting him. I've been likened to a "bitter old man" who wants followers more than the truth. I can assure you, that is far from the truth. I want to be abundantly clear that I do not believe these words are taken out of context. I have posted the link to the entire sermon for anyone to watch. I understand that there are those who actually agree with this seeker-friendly theology, and chances are, you will not be convinced. I pray for you folks. But for those who are on the fence, I invite you to study up on the seeker-friendly, seeker sensitive model of the church, and it's grave dangers.

If you believe that church is for outsiders, you have a mistaken view on what the New Testament Church is. The Church, by definition, is the body of BELIEVERS. It is the local church's job to equip the saints to go out into the world to make new disciples. If you are a follower of Christ, you are a member of the Church, and should be a member of a local NT church. However, the seeker-sensitive model of attracting a bunch of goats with Rock and Roll music, light shows, short sermons, and comfortable seats, into a "church" building and teaching them to follow Christ's commandments so they could have a better life is not a church... it's a social club, and a spiritually dangerous one at that.

Here are some links to more information on the seeker-sensitive movement.

GotQuestions? Should a Church Be Seeker Sensitive?

LetUsReason, The Seeker Friendly Church Model

John MacArthur: Seeker Friendly is the New Liberalism

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The Devil's Old Manifesto: Enter the New Age

"I don't think I'm evil," she says, irritated that she is being pressed on her beliefs. "The heart of man is not wicked, and being taught that will definitely keep you from seeking it." She goes on to say that God has given us an "inner compass," and that we are not encouraged to follow it, because of religious beliefs. This was a conversation I had with my beloved mother not too long ago. She has come to the conclusion that human beings are not inherently evil, and therefore, do not need a savior. What Christians would view as evil is generally rationalized as illusory, or ignorance, and not the fault of humankind.According to her belief system, all we have to do is get in touch with our inner "God," and we can move on to the next level of consciousness—Christ-consciousness. God is in us, God is us. We can become one with God, a God who is an unconscious, impersonal, creative force, in which manifests itself in nature and material, and various gods throughout history. 

This is the typical thought process of those who have been seduced and indoctrinated by the New Age. But is this really a "new" concept? Satan has been using this line of deception since the beginning of creation. When God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden, he told them that they could eat from any tree, except for one. God told them that their disobedience to him, the fulfillment of their selfish desires, would cause them to die. But the serpent beguiled them into trying to find satisfaction apart from God, and they disobeyed and ate. Satan told them that God wasn't being truthful with them, and that by eating the fruit, they would become like God himself, that eating of the fruit wasn't evil, but good, and that God was trying to hide this "truth" from them. This lie in the Garden forms the basis of all false religious systems today, including the New Age.

This seduction into this esoteric (hidden) knowledge is central to most cults, Eastern mystic religions, and the New Age.  This idea that man is becoming God, is God, or God is in man is taught in Hinduism, Taoism, and even Roman Catholicism, a false religious system masquerading as Christianity. Even Buddhism and Atheist religions to a certain extent teach a type of humanistic self-worship. This concept is known as pantheism. As part of this teaching, evil is usually said not to exist or is rationalized as ignorance, caused by evil spirits rather than man, and should be warded off using mystical means. It's also taught to be part of a dualistic oneness composed of good and evil, a Yin and Yang, so that in reality there is no good or evil, just opposing equal forces. But the Bible teaches that evil is sin, a rebellion against God the creator, a pursuit of satisfaction apart from him (Matthew 5:19, Proverbs 8:13, John 3:19-20, John 8:44, 1 John 3:8).

Sadly, even prominent Evangelicals are dabbling in this divination. Rick Warren is probably one of the most well known Evangelical pastors of today, yet his ministry tends to lead people into the practice of forbidden things. He encourages the use of Breath Prayers in his book, The Purpose Driven Life (pp. 89, 299) and on his web site, Pastors.com, contemplatives Richard Foster, Philip Yancey, Charles Stanley and many more are recommended. He has had well known New Age sympathizer Leonard Sweet train pastors at his church, and another in Atlanta in 2008. Other prominent Evangelicals that practice divination, and claim to channel direct revelations from God are Matt Chandler, Beth Moore, Mark Driscoll and Steven Furtick (2 Peter 2:1). Yoga is now regularly practiced in many Evangelical churches and accepted as normal (2 Timothy 3:5).

The creative force, or principle, the God of the New Age who has deceived so many is generally believed to be unrelational, that is, it doesn't deal directly with it's creation, or "manifestation," and that the various gods, or ascended masters are responsible for the relations with creation. God is not a conscious being, and cannot be known. As part of this philosophy, man can achieve his own "god-hood" by following the paths of these god-manifestations and by simply becoming aware of your inner-god. When one becomes aware of his own inner-self, he becomes one with God. This is also a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church:

460 The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81

Image of the False 'New Age Jesus'

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ became man so that man can become God. This brings us back to the original lie of the serpent, that we can be God. This is the same concept that the New Age religion teaches. It teaches that Jesus Christ, among others like Buddah, Krishna, Muhammed, etc., were all teachers who had achieved their god-hood by becoming aware of their inner-self, and becoming one with the divine, impersonal creative force.

However, the practical methods of achieving this self-awareness is subjective, and is accomplished in a multitude of ways. Among the easiest of these ways is through the use of hallucinogenic drugs. This is typically an introductory way of achieving an altered state of consciousness that leaves the user curious, and longing for more. Some of the more advanced techniques, however, require much practice and self control, and involve the use of meditative techniques, such as Yoga. When entering into these altered states of consciousness, the person will usually have an euphoric spiritual experience, which leads them to believe that they have uncovered some kind of spiritual truth. But this "truth" is a deception. What New Agers fail to realize is that even the human desire for hidden knowledge is a result of our fallen state.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." This isn't because God is trying to hide good things from us, he is simply protecting us. He knows that the spiritual realm is filled with demons who want our souls. This is why he tells us to stay away from practicing divination or other spiritual paths that he has allowed (Deuteronomy 18:9-12, Leviticus 19:31, 2 Kings 21:6). It is our natural desire as sinful human beings to try to find fulfillment outside of God, and guess who's there to exploit our sin? Satan.

Satan knows that our fallen hearts are deceitful, and wicked, and he will never miss an opportunity to pounce on that. Satan desires the worship of humans and will do anything to get that. The Bible says that Satan masquerades around as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). Satan has created an entire world full of religious systems that are devoted to worshiping him. One of the common beliefs between all of the world's religious systems, including Buddhism and the New Age is that there will come another "Christ," known as the Maitreya, who will lead the world into the Age of Aquarius. The general consensus among the followers of this religion is that we are on the verge of this right now, and this Maitreya is actually already living in the world right now, waiting to be called out by his people. He is allegedly making private appearances to people, and performing miracles. But the Bible teaches that this Maitreya is the Antichrist. The bible says about the antichrist:

He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. - Revelation 13:13-14

After the rapture, those left on the earth will be conditioned to believe in the lying signs and wonders he performs. He will perform a fake resurrection, which will bring awe to the world, and since the world has rejected the true Savior, Jesus Christ, they will readily accept Satan's substitute, the Antichrist, and the world will worship him.

5And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,a that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.b And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. - Revelation 13:5-8

So many people have been deceived into believing the lie, and unfortunately many will take this lie to their grave. This is exactly where the Devil wants you; he wants you to believe that you are a good person, and that you don't need a savior. He wants you to believe that Christianity is a dark force that tries to keep you from following your "good" heart. He wants you to trust in your self, rather than in Christ Jesus, because he knows that Christ Jesus is the only true path to eternal life.

7Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 or the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

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Hey, don't judge me with that log in your eye!!!

One of the longest lived accusations against us Christians is that we are judgmental. It's true, however, we are, and often we are hypocritical in our censure, and we are condescending and degrading towards others that disagree with us. We are intolerant, bigoted and unwavering, and often come off as hateful towards them. So many times we are met with the parroted reverberations of Scripture taken out of context to try to disincline us from continuing in our beliefs and behaviors. Verses like Matthew 7:1,

Judge not, that you be not judged.

or,  Matthew 7:5,

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

These verses are favorites among the anti-Bible crowd, they like to try to use our own Scriptures, you know, the ones they don't believe, against us. But is this really what these verses are trying to tell us? How can we reconcile verses that appear to be telling us to be tolerant against the entire theme of the Biblical Gospel, which is to call people to repentance and faith? Calling people to repentance is absolutely foundational to the Christian faith (Hebrews 6:1). The unbeliever thinks that Christians should just concern themselves with helping others, loving others, feeding the hungry, clothing and sheltering the poor, and these are certainly things we should be doing, but a man can go to Hell on a full stomach. If we aren't calling people to repentance, we are being disobedient to Jesus' command.

But these passages are obviously in Scripture for a reason; so what are they telling us? Well, if you view this passage in it's proper context, which is Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount, we can make more sense of it. Up to this point, he's talked about the beatitudes, being salt and light, the relationship of the law of Moses to the New Covenant in himself. He gave examples of unrighteousness, and talked about inward righteousness, alms giving, prayer and fasting. He talked about social ethics, materialism and anxiety and trust. Which then brings us to this final part, social relationships, of which not judging others is a major theme.

Now, the Scribes and the Pharisees were the religious influence at the time. They stood, in opposition to Jesus as fulfillment of the law, as purveyors of the law. Their social and religious influence was widespread among the Jews, and Jesus was preaching to them a different idea, a different way of thinking about the law, in contrast to the norm, which was full and total submission to the law. See, the Pharisees and the Scribes in many ways had been twisting Scripture in their own times, to promote a false religious system back then too. They taught, much like the Roman Catholic church of today teaches, that we achieve salvation through good works, and obedience to the law.

What Jesus was in effect saying to them was to stop criticizing every aspect of everyone in accordance to the law. That is not why the law was given. The law was never given as a means of salvation, but as a light to shine on our unrighteousness, so that we could see ourselves as sinners in need of a savior. Jesus didn't come to save the righteous, but the condemned (Luke 5:32). Without condemnation, there can be no salvation. So he wasn't telling us not to call people to repentance, or not to tell other people that their sins are killing them, and sending them to Hell (Romans 6:23). This is the essence of the Gospel for us to do this.

People must know that they are sinners in order to see themselves in need of a savior. Those who believe themselves to be righteous, or believe that obedience to the law, as did the Scribes and Pharisees, are lying to themselves, and sending themselves to Hell (Romans 3:10). Those who believe that Jesus was here to show us the way, or that going to church just means "hanging out with your buddy, Jesus" are believing a lie. Jesus wasn't telling Bible-believing Christians not to make people aware of their sins, he was telling the unbelievers that their judgement against others was misplaced, misappropriated, and blatantly hypocritical. They were hypocritical not because the law they were preaching was necessarily wrong, but because they were not believers themselves, or didn't understand the proper purpose of the law, and calling people to repentance. Moreover, as condemned sinners themselves, in God's eyes, they were just as guilty as anyone else, even though they lived their lives trying their hardest to be obedient to the law. They just weren't good enough. Their good deeds were like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), because they did not surrender to Christ.

Only once you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ alone, do you have any kind of standing to "judge" others. But it's not your own judgement that you are to judge others by, it's the judgement of God. God is the ultimate judge, and we are only proclaiming his judgment. It's only by the word of God that we can proclaim this judgment, and doing so on our own terms, and by standing on our own righteousness to proclaim it is absurdly hypocritical. However, we must continue to proclaim the truth that all are sinners and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23), and that the only way to be saved is to repent of our sin (Luke 13:3-5), meaning, to change our mind, our attitudes, and our perspective on sin, and to see it for what it is, an evil abomination in God's eyes, and to turn our faith in Christ alone for the fulfillment of God's law, and our salvation (Gal 2:21). But the essential to this truth is that one must see himself as unrighteous, and condemned, before the throne of God before he can be saved. If one doesn't see himself this way, they cannot be saved.

So next time an unbeliever throws one of these verses at you in response to you trying to share the Gospel with them, kindly respond back to them that you are not the one judging them, but God has already judged them:

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. - John 3:18

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Rejecting God?

Imagine you and your family on vacation in Aruba. The warm ocean breeze blowing gently in your hair, while the glittering pristine waters sparkle as far as the eye can see. You're all relaxing under a shady tree when you son decides he wants to cool off. He grabs his inflatable raft, kicks off his sandals, and darts towards the waters. "Ahhhhhh," that's refreshing. Stretched out on the raft, dead to the world, lost in only his blissful state of personal paradise, he begins drifting outward. Worriedly, you jump up to yell for him to come back to shore, but he's lost in his own world, and isn't listening. Though he can faintly hear your pleading for him to listen, he's overwhelmed with the sounds of the waves and the wind in his ears, and just doesn't want to bother with your hysteria. Then the inevitable, you see sharks. You begin frantically shouting at the top of your lungs for him to come back, but he's too far for you to swim. You grab a life raft with a rope, and toss it too him, but he's hopelessly lost, cast away in his own being.

Why won't he respond? Because he's so caught up loving what he's doing, loving himself, that he's blinded himself to the reality around him. Sadly, this is the state of many who reject the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the reality is, people that reject Jesus, reject him because they love sin. They love their lusts and immorality so much so, that they've rejected all notion of consequences for their choices, and continue in their ways to their destruction, and the last thing they want is a holy and righteous God impeding on what they believe is a "good time." But what they fail to realize is that they are already under God's judgement, and just because they have rejected him, doesn't mean they won't have to face him on judgement day. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 says "⁹The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved."Natural man does not seek God, or seek salvation from God. Psalm 53:2-3 says:

¹The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good.
²God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.

and Paul affirms this in his letter to the Romans;  "no one understands; no one seeks for God" (Romans 3:11). Man seeks to indulge himself in his own desires, and refuses to acknowledge that the desires of their heart are not only deceitful, but disastrous (Jeremiah 17:9). And any call to them to turn from their lustful and worldly desires are met with deaf ears, as this is total foolishness to them who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18).
People are turned off to the saving grace of the cross for a number of reasons. Another reason may be simply that they don't understand the true Gospel. In man's natural, unregenerate state, one cannot understand the things of the Lord (1 Cor. 2:14). It takes an act of the Holy Spirit to open one's heart and mind to the spiritual knowledge of God. Perhaps someone has heard a false gospel at some point, for example, the "prosperity gospel." This false gospel teaches that by accepting Jesus, you now have Jesus at your disposal to meet the material needs, and shower material blessings upon you at your discretion. Your faith in him is reciprocated with "prosperity." Yet, when these things fail to happen, the unconverted person becomes discouraged, and loses interest. However, he continues to believe that this is what Christianity is, and has no interest in entertaining any concept of God, since his experience was typified. But when drilling this back down, it all boils down to the same root cause—the love of sin. These people were only looking to get something for themselves out of Jesus.
Another common reason people reject the word of God is pride. Their pride can be intellectual pride, or moral pride, but both are the transpired transgressions of a wicked and deceitful heart, and God hates it (Proverbs 8:13). The morally proud man stands in contrast to God's word, and refuses to believe that he is wicked (Romans 5:12, 2 Cor. 4:4). This is a typical standpoint from the New Age movement. The new age worldview teaches that there is no such thing as sin, evil or Satan, and stands on the pantheistic belief that God can be found in everyone and everything—all is one, all is God. This morally relative worldview is really not new at all, and stems from old Pagan and Eastern mystic religions, and is really no different from any other false Gospel. It's a belief that teaches than man is inherently good, and does not need a savior, but unfortunately for the lost, not believing in the law, or the transgression thereof, does not exempt you from accountability to that law. If a convicted murderer tells the judge that he doesn't believe that killing is wrong, nor does he believe that jail exists, he's going to have a huge surprise for waiting for him. Believing that we are not sinful is a lie of Satan (John 1:8). The truth is, because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, man is now inherently evil, and nobody can stand blameless in front of God in his own right (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:1, etc.)
Perhaps a more common form of pride is intellect. There is a major war being waged against Christianity, and has been since it's inception. The Word of God is attacked on every front, yet never defeated. But this doesn't stop the prideful intellect from believing that is has. The cohorts of the Vatican, Jesuitical influences and collegiate level criticism of the Bible have led many to believe that the text is corrupt, and is not the Word of God, but a false amalgamation of man-made stories. Many attempts have also been made to discredit the truth of the Bible, such as the false theory of evolution and the Big Bang theory. The proud intellect is too arrogant to believe that he may be wrong, and pretentiously buys into the attacks on God. These individuals are what Paul describes as "always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7) They read and study constantly, making an idol out of knowledge, yet without the Holy Spirit, you can never know the truth.

Pride is a subtle, but serious sin—perhaps the most serious. Pride is inherently the cause of all wickedness, and causes us to rebel against God, and disobey him. Pride defiles man (Mark 7:20-23), but the world rewards it (1 John 2:16). Pride prevents people from receiving the truth (Psalm 10:4), and from receiving God's grace (James 4:6). But pride ultimately brings shame and destruction to people (Proverbs 11:2, 16:18-19, 29:23). Yet people cannot accept God, because they are deluded, and caught up in their desires of their heart. Jesus Christ is light, and he shines his light and exposes the wicked heart of man, which proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. Man will flee from this light for fear of having their deeds exposed (John 3:19-21). People want to continue in their sinful ways, and will attempt to rationalize their sin through their pride and arrogance.

¹⁹And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” - John 3:19-21

The Greek word for translated as judgement here is "krisis," prounounced "kree'-sis," according to Thayer primarily means a trial, or tribunal, the act or process of judging rather than the sentence or punishment itself. As we can see, with Jesus being the light that shines on man's wickedness and exposes it, Jesus didn't come to bring judgement, but it is his very nature that is judging of our sin. His very nature is pure and holy, and when man's deeds are measured against his infinite righteousness, his deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). In order to be declared righteous by God, we must put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself, because only he is without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Philippians 3:9). It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross, by the only sinless man who ever walked the earth (1 Peter 2:22), who is fully God himself (John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 2:9), who took the punishment for our transgressions (1 Peter 2:24, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:5), so that whoever believes in him, shall be rescued from his deluded world, saved from his sin (Romans 6:6, 2 Cor. 5:17) and saved from eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). We must turn from our idols of pride, intellect and delusion, and turn to Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.

¹⁷ Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹ They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to put off your old self,[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. - Ephesians 4:17-24

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The "Carnal Christian" and Reality

I often hear "Christians" say "God just wants us to enjoy life," or "Christians don't have to be so up tight all the time."  Not incidentally, this often comes from those who regularly indulge themselves in worldly things.  But sometimes, even the most well meaning, well behaving Christians will express this.  But is this really what God wants? Some Christians, or people who claim to be Christians, may regularly attend church, study God's word, and even participate in outreach programs or mission activities.  They may be able to quote Bible verses, and often pray with other Christians, or ask for prayer.  However, they only display these traits around other Christians.


Enter, the two faces of "Carnal Christianity."

These "Christians," though very knowledgeable, and very good actors, really haven't submitted their lives to Christ. When they aren't around other Christians who may be holding them accountable, they become a completely different person. (Or, should I say, return to being themselves?) Take for example, the Christian that loves NFL football.  Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying sports, or other interests for that matter, but when it causes a believer to not act like a believer, are you really a believer?  Are you sidelining your beliefs, putting them on hold, so you can fit in with the crowd you are watching the game with? Are you regularly skipping church service on Sunday mornings, because the football game is just too important?  I know a Christian who does this; He has no problem getting drunk, cussing, partying with a bunch of unbelievers, while never once extending the love or witness of Jesus Christ while, for example, watching the Superbowl. You would never know this person was a Christian if he didn't tell you, as there are no fruits.  I've heard from this person on many occasions that I'm just too up tight, boring, and that I "need to get a life," because I "spend too much time" studying God's word, and things that pertain to Christ.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"  In other words, Christians aren't supposed to integrate with the world, we're supposed to stand apart from the world. Am I saying that we should not associate with non-Christians, or not have friends who aren't believers?  No, but I am saying that we aren't supposed to act like them.  We are supposed to be salt and light in a dark world of unrighteousness.  There are only two types of people in the world, consistently described throughout Scripture: people who belong to God, who have eternal life, and people who belong to the world and their god, Satan, who will have eternal death (Acts 26:18). The Greek word translated as fellowship throughout the Bible is Koinonia, and it primarily means "association, communion, joint participation." The Bible tells us repeatedly that we are supposed to have this fellowship only with like-minded believers, and that having it with unbelievers corrupts the mind and the soul of the believer. (Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 14:7, Proverbs 24:21, 1 Cor. 15:33)

So, are you really a Christian, if you are only a Christian around other Christians? Charles Spurgeon once said, "Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite." If we aren't witnessing for Christ in our relationships with unbelievers, then we are being disobedient to God. Take a moment to think about your actions, and what they portray when you are around unbelievers. You cannot be devoted to both God, and things of the world (Mt 4:10, Mt. 6:24). As Christians, our delight is not in the world, but in God. (1st John 2:15-17)

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Our modern daily lives require us to be in constant contact with unbelievers.  We have coworkers, family members, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, who are totally lost, and on their way to Hell.  Jesus never tells us not to associate with these people, on the contrary, we are to love them, so much so, that we want them to know Christ as their savior too (Mark 16:15).  God does not want us to sit idly by, relax and have a good time, act like unbelievers and never take the Gospel to those who need it.  Sharing the Gospel is more than just talking it--it's living it!  When your boss sends you on that business trip to Las Vegas, and you're the only Christian in the group going, how does it serve the Kingdom to drink and gamble, and indulge in the sinful activities with others who don't believe? What motivation does an unbeliever have to know Christ if he sees no difference, no fruits from the supposed believer?  Doesn't this give the unbeliever a sense that joy in Christ isn't enough, that we still need to "let go and let loose" sometimes in order to be fulfilled?  It seems to me that this would tell the unbeliever that being a Christian is too much work, and requires breaks to be satisfied, but in reality, the true believer desires the things of God, and is repentant of their sins.  The true believer is fulfilled in Christ (John 4:14), and desires to do the will of God (Luke 6:45).  It is the natural desire of man to work evil, to do things that are displeasing to God (Matthew 15:19). But God has sent the Holy Spirit to live in those who are saved, and we no longer have the heart of man, but have a regenerated heart of Christ (John 7:38-39).

Now, we are still human, and all human beings will stumble, but if you find yourself regularly indulging in worldly activities, and you feel no guilt, no remorse, no need for repentance, or you don't believe there is anything wrong with it, my plea for you is to examine your heart.  Examine your faith to see if you are really in it. Desire to know the truth, and truth can be found in His word. If you can't look back over the time since you were "saved," and see a noticeable difference in your worldview, life and desires, and a definite growth in your relationship with Christ, you might not be saved.

The world is full of false teachers, preachers, and wolves in sheep's clothing who claim that God isn't concerned with our obedience to his laws, or otherwise try to rationalize a sinful lifestyle.  But these people are liars and deceivers.  They have even crept into the Church unnoticed, and are slowly taking over (Colossians 2:23; Jude 4). Be not deceived by this, as Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Jesus says to these people, who act like Christians, but still serve the world, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Mt. 7:23)  If you're not sure if you're desires are in God, please see my post on how to be saved, The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'll end this post with the following clip of a sermon by Pastor Clint Pressley, of Hickory Grove Baptist Church.

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