If God truly lived in the hearts of Christians there should be a huge change in their lives.
Two friends got together after being away from each other for about five years. One of the guys was the best man at his friend's wedding. He went to church regularly. He was a youth pastor at his church. He even went to seminary. As they begin to speak to one another. This guy wanted to tell his friend about two things have happened to them in his life recently, One that he was about ready to be married and two he was no longer a Christian. His friend was completely shocked at what he just heard.
The Inevitable question was what happened? Why?
He said if God truly lived in the hearts of Christians there'd be a huge change in their lives. It would be obvious they wouldn't struggle with the same things that the world struggles with. They wouldn't fall prey so easily to the same things that those in the world do. His friend said, “I looked across the landscape of Christianity in America and I see there is no difference. There was no difference between those inside the church and those outside the Church.”
So the question is: Is he right?
A few years ago statistic showed that 62% at professing Christians said that they had a relationship with Jesus Christ that was meaningful to them. Same statistics showed also that 91% of Americans admitted lying regularly. Something is radically wrong!
There's an atheist websites out there that's quoting from the Barna research group a respectable Christian organization. Under the heading: Christianity does not work as advertised. It said one out of every four American adults have experienced at least one divorce. Also born again Christians are more likely to go through a marital split then non-Christians. Are we beginning to see the problem that's forming? Christians say that they had the answer to the world's problems. The answer is Jesus. You invite him into your heart. He'll improve your life. He'll take away your problems and struggles. If these same Christians are still struggling and their problems are not going away does that mean Christianity doesn't have any real power to change? Is it all a big hoax? Or is there another explanation why there is no difference between those sitting inside the church and those outside.
A.W. Tozer said, “It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people, if not millions, had been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.”
Many seem to come to church and have experience some form of religious formality, some experience of excepting Jesus but never really have been being saved. They never truly humbled themselves and desperately repented of their sin and surrendered completely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ without reservation. They've never had a true conversion of the heart.
Kind of like that person in the book of acts, Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:21). This individual responded to the gospel but his responds wasn’t legitimate.
Acts 8:5-24 (NIV)
[5] Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. [6] When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. [7] With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. [8] So there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
[9] Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, [10] and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.” [11] They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. [12] But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. [13] Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
[14] When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. [15] When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, [16] because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. [18] When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money [19] and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
[20] Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! [21] You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. [22] Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. [23] For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
[24] Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Here is a perfect example of a person who accepted the gospel message of Jesus Christ. He had a religious experience. He was part of the church. In Hebrews 6:4-6 [4] It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, [5] who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age [6] and who have fallen* away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. But he was never truly saved. He didn't experience a true conversion of the heart. Why?
Dr. D. James Kennedy said, “The vast majority of people who are members of churches in America today are not Christians. I say that without the slightest fear of contradiction. I base it on empirical evidence of 24 years of examining thousands of people.
He is saying countless within our churches are not Christians. Could that be true? He bases his conclusions on examining people's lives. He saw the choices they made and the way that they lived, these where an indicator of what has or has not occurred in their heart.
Does the Bible address the issue of true and false conversions? It does. Many times.
Let's look at Mark 4. This deals also the subject of true and false conversions.
A familiar parable, it's the parable of the sewer. Versus 3 -- 8 [3] “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. [4] As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. [5] Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.[6] But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. [7] Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. [8] Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
After Jesus told this parable, his disciples didn't understand what he was talking about. There is something pretty interesting Jesus said about this parable. In verse [13] Then Jesus said to them, “Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
If they were to understand the parable of the sewer they would have the key to unlock the mystery of all the parables. When we look at the parable of the sewer we see that when this seed is sown or scattered, when the Word of God is preached, many will respond and in all those responses there will be true and false converts.
Many teach that the meaning of the parable is that when we preach the gospel there will be a 25% success rate. This is somehow biblically acceptable. I don't think Jesus was teaching us that when we preach the gospel as a consolation we should expect a 25% disappointing evangelistic results.
Here is the key to good soil hearers hearing and understanding. He is able to understand:
1. He has sinned against God.
2. That he desperately needs a savior.
3. The gospel begins to make sense to him that Jesus died for his sins.
Does that mean in the vast sea of un-regenerated humanity that there are ones with the gift of understanding when the gospel is preached? They have somehow the ability to comprehend it? No not at all. In Romans 3:11 it says: [11] there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God. Therefore the understanding in the un-regenerated person must come from without not from within. So what is it that brings about this understanding?
It is the law. In Galatians 3:24 (KJV) it says: [24] Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ…. It is the job of the schoolmaster to bring us the knowledge and understanding. The law is such a schoolmaster. Romans 7:7 says: [7] What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For it is the law that reveals to us whether we are guilty or innocent before a holy and a just God.
Have you ever told a lie?
Have you ever stolen anything?
Jesus said if you look at a person with lust than you’ve committed adultery in your heart. Have you ever done this?
Have you ever hated anyone? Jesus said that if you hated someone it's the same as murder.
Have you ever used the Lord's name in vain?
If you have done just one of these things you stand guilty before God. So the question you must ask yourself is this: Will I go to heaven because I’m innocent and have never broken one of God’s laws or hell the place that guilty people go because they have broken God’s law?
Someone might say. John I'm a good person and God is good and won't send me to hell, he'll forgive me. I would say you are right, God is good. You probably are a good person compared to someone else. But when you stand before God you won’t be compared to others, you will be compared to God's perfect standard. When we are measured against that standard we all fall short. The Bible tells us for all have sinned (broken God’s law) and fallen short of the glory of God.
Let's look at civil law. Suppose you're standing before the judge and you have been found guilty of murder and the judge says to you, do you have anything to say for yourself. And you say, “Judge I believe you're a good judge. All the rest of my life I’ve been a good citizen and you will show me mercy and forgive me of this one crime.” The judge will probably look at you and say, You are right. I am a good judge. And because I'm a good judge you will be punished for your crime. If I let you get away with murder I wouldn’t be a good judge. I’d be a bad judge therefore an unjust judge.”
The very thing you’re counting on (God is Good) will condemn you. We would have it no other way in our society. God is a just God and a just God is a Good God. Why would you want to serve an unjust God who overlooked crimes, overlooks evil? God is a forgiving God but only on His terms. It is towards those that have repented, who have in their hearts humbled themselves and chose to turn away from their sins. Forgiveness hinges on repentance. You see God is a just God and we will not escape his justice. We will all have to give an account of ourselves on Judgment Day. However, God is also a loving God and he doesn't want anybody to suffer his wrath (punishment) He doesn’t want to put people in hell for all eternity. That's why he provided away out for our sins by sending Jesus Christ to suffer and die and experience the death (punishment), that we all should experience, on our behalf. He experienced it for us so that we would not have to. Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live and paid the price we couldn’t pay. Now, if you don't accept God's payment you will have to pay yourself and that will be eternity in hell.
False converts have a measure of spirituality. Take Judas for example. He seemed to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus said to his 12 disciples that one of you will betray me. But no one knew at that time it was Judas. They all questioned themselves. Jesus said the one who will put his hand in this dish will betray me. No one knew that it was Judas. When Judas left to go betray Jesus the other disciples thought he was going to run an errand for Jesus and give money to the poor.
That is why we don’t suspected people in the body of Christ to be in the category of Judas, pseudo-Christians.
The tragedy is that we have countless within the church, calling themselves Christians, living in sin, who we call backsliders, when in reality many are just false converts, pseudo-Christian. It's impossible to backslide if you've never slid forward in the first place.
Jesus said you'll know a tree by its fruit. People demonstrate the legitimacy or the illegitimacy of their conversion by the fruit that they produce. What is this fruit?
Jesus said In Matthew 7 : [16] By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? [17] Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit…. [22] 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?’ [23] Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Notice as we read these verses that there is something being produced. But that something doesn't mean it's always the right something. Titus 3:5 (NIV) [5] he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,.
Once we begin to understand the principle that when the gospel is preached, although many respond, there will be within those respondents both true and false converts, true Christians and those who say they are but have never been truly born-again in their hearts, hypocrites and pretenders. The true and false will remain together alongside each other inside the church. They will all be revealed at the end of the age when Jesus returns.
God is to be held in tremendous reverence and awe. He created the universe. Those who have broken His law must face him on the Day of Judgment. Hebrews 10:[31] It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
If you are one who claims the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life are you sharing the good news?
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.
Paul is saying when we know the fear of the Lord we will do our best to persuade others. It is this fear that drives us to share our faith. This is the same kind of fear that would overtake us if we saw someone floating down a river on a raft and they are unaware of the 100ft waterfall they are headed for. We would probably do everything in our power to try to warn the unsuspecting person. Do you know this fear?
If we aren't looking for opportunities to share our faith we need to ask ourselves. Do I really know the fear of the Lord in my life? Do I need to get on my knees and say Lord God Almighty give me a revelation of your greatness, your power so that I may fear you enough to obey you and seek and save that which is lost?
This should cause each and every one of us to examine ourselves. The Bible says 2 Corinthians 13: 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
In Luke 13:23 the disciples asked the question. “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
And if you're not sure you are saved, if you doubt your salvation, if you don't have the things that are common to the truly converted. The good fruit!
2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.
Do this today, confess and for sake your sins, humble yourself and put your trust in Jesus Christ, then bring forth fruit that is worthy of salvation.
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