You Might Be a False Convert If…

Most people reading this blog will profess Christ as their Lord and Savior. Most may very well be true followers of Jesus Christ. But since most professing Christians in America are not true Christians – given the apostate condition and man-centered theology of American evangelicalism, coupled with the reality the average person on the street cannot communicate the Gospel in a country where nearly 80% of the population professes Christianity (1) (to say nothing of the moral depravity of our nation where 20% of the mothers aborting their children are professing evangelicals (2)) – there is a decent chance that some readers opening up this article will have a false profession of faith and therefore remain condemned under the wrath of God. If so, this article is for them, or perhaps even for you.

I get it. You responded to an altar call when you were 8 years old, or 30. You asked Jesus into your heart and you really meant it. You made a decision to follow Christ, and have ‘recommitted your life to Christ’ five times since. You were not ashamed when you stood up in the crowd to repeat the preacher’s sinners prayer. You were among the sea of people flooding the baseball field, proving your new commitment at the popular evangelistic crusade. You have been baptized, maybe twice for good measure. Your baptism might have even been at one of those nifty spontaneous baptisms, where hundreds of others were baptized with you. So many share a similar experience as you, it must be real.

I get it, because I share a similar experience, but sadly I lived as a false christian for 22 years. Maybe this is you too, but you don’t really know it. Maybe this article will help you see you’re not really saved at all. And maybe, as it is my hope, you will examine yourself as to whether you are truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). If you find that you may not be, let’s talk about that. May the Lord’s grace open your eyes as He did mine over five years ago.

Please consider:

You might be a false convert if…

• You think you are a good person (Romans 3:12).
• You control your own life and are submitted to your own will (Luke 9:23).
• You call Jesus ‘Lord’ but do not do what He says (Luke 6:46; 1 John 2:4-6).
• You think you’re a believer but not a disciple, as if being a disciple is a 2nd step of commitment for the Christian (Luke 14:25-33).
• You do not love the brethren as evidenced by your lack of fellowship with them (John 13:35; 1 John 3:14; 1 John 5:1-2).
• You are not submitted and committed to a local church (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5).
• You have not departed from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19).
• Your habitual reaction when confronted with biblical truth with regards to personal sin is the 11th commandment, “Thou shall not judge” (___________).
• You think you might be a “carnal christian” (Galatians 5:24; 1 John 1:6; 1 John 3:6).
• You are not willing to cut off the things that cause you to sin (Matthew 5:29-30).

• You cohabitate with your boyfriend, girlfriend,  or fiancee, defiling what is supposed to be the “marriage bed” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4).
• You condone or promote in any way the things God hates such as abortion or homosexuality, or endorse politicians who fight for their legalities (Psalm 1:1-2; Psalm 119:104, 163; Proverbs 6:16-19; Romans 1:24-32).
• You cherry pick which parts of the Bible you believe to be true and applicable to your life, thus refusing to submit to passages you deem outdated or irrelevant (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
• Your idea of worship is jamming to the Top 40 or favorite classic rock song by your megachurch’s relevant hipster band on Sunday morning (John 4:23-24; Hebrews 12:28-29)
• You do not hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
• Your character is consistent with the old man instead of the new man (Colossians 1:1-17).

• You love your sin (John 3:19).
• You habitually practice sin (1 John 3:1-10).
• You are a mere hearer of the Word (James 1:22).
• You love your own life more than Christ (Matthew 10:39).
• You believe in any form of sinless perfection (1 John 1:8-2:2).
• You believe Christians are not governed by law to which they are to obey (Romans 6:1-2; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 5:3).
• You are a gossiper and slanderer, and sow discord among brethren (Romans 16:17-18; Proverbs 6:19; 1 Peter 2:1-3).
• You are not teachable (Matthew 5:5; Matthew 11:28-30).

• You are a drunkard, fornicator, adulterer, a liar, a coward, an idolater, a murderer at heart, and a blasphemer (Matthew 5:21-22; 27-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8).
• You habitually harbor anger and resentment, and refuse to forgive those who have sinned against you (Ephesians 4:25-32; Colossians 3:8, 13; Matthew 6:14-15).
• You are a friend of the world and an enemy of God, in fact, you hate Him by evidence of your sin and friendship with the world (James 4:4; Romans 1:30).
• You are a slave to sin and hostile to the Law of God (John 8:34; Romans 8:7)
• The works of the flesh are manifest in you (Galatians 5:19-21)
• You love the world and the things of the world, and the love of the Father is not in you (1 John 2:15).
• The world loves you (John 15:18-19).
• You are a child of wrath and live to gratify the lusts of your flesh (Ephesians 2:3).

• You follow the ways of the world and are controlled by the god of this world (Ephesians 2:2).
• You do not understand the things of God, nor can you (1 Corinthians 2:14).
• You do not seek God (Romans 3:11).
• You walk in darkness (1 John 1:6).
• You live according to your sinful nature and your mind is on what your nature desires (Romans 8:5).
• You live as an enemy of the cross, your mind is set on earthly things, and your end is destruction (Philippians 3:18-19).
• You are ashamed of the name of Jesus and His words (Luke 9:26).

• You are storing your treasures on the earth (Matthew 6:19-21).
• You try to serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
• You live in repentantless worldly sorrow, which brings death (2 Corinthians 7:10).
• You claim to know God but by your actions you deny Him (Titus 1:16).
• You do not love the truth and take pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).
• You are consumed by the cares of this world and with fulfilling your desires for the pleasures of life (Luke 8:14).

This is just a small sampling of Scripture’s testimony of life before Jesus Christ. If you find yourself described above in any measure, you might be a false convert.

Do not be deceived, friend. The longer you have been a professing Christian while remaining in the conditions represented above increasingly speaks to your life’s reality that a bad tree cannot produce good fruit (Luke 6:43-45). It is not that your profession lacks maturity; rather, your profession lacks genuineness. Your persistence in sin gives every indication that you are still dead in your sins and remain on the path of destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

Consider the beauty and worth of Christ for you to truly repent from your sins and truly follow Him. This is a good place to start: Do You Know Him?

The alternative is for you to continue deceiving yourself, having rejected this warning, and wake up in hell one day to get what you deserve in the holy justice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will not be your Savior as you presumed, but your Judge and Executioner. Make haste, and examine yourself today.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:3-11

Footnotes

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#Religion
2) http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/prabort2.html