Are You a Counterfeit Christian?

I ask this question based on a sermon I preached earlier this year called Counterfeit Christianity. In it, I acknowledge that I don’t believe that it is possible for a person who is saved to lose their salvation. However, I do believe the Bible teaches that it is possible for a saved person to renounce it or to desert it.

Using Jesus’ Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13, we discover how it is possible for some people to think they are saved but are not. They think their faith is genuine but it is not. They think their salvation is real but it is not. In fact, it is counterfeit. Let’s look at why.

In Jesus’ parable, He speaks of a sower who sows seed, literally, throws out seed. This seed lands on four types of ground. The first type is the hard soil. Jesus said this soil represents the person who hears the Word and immediately rejects it. This is the person who feels he or she doesn’t need Christ to be saved. They believe that they can be saved by their own works or their own righteousness regardless of what God, Himself, says about what it takes to be saved. They hear the Word but they ignore it because they don’t see how a person who died 2000 years ago can have any effect on their life today.

The second soil that received seed is the rocky ground. The rocky ground is the ground that receives the seed but the plant dies out because of the assault of the heat and lack of roots. This ground represents the person who hears the Word and receives the Word but falls away because of persecution or tribulation. They are saved but when they face ridicule from their family or friends or their lives or safety is threatened, they deny the faith and renounce Christ. Of them, Jesus said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it (Mark 8:35).”

Some seed fell among the thorns. Thorny plants are predator plants and they steal the nutrients from the other plants Jesus said that this type of heart is one that hears the Word, believes the Word, receives the Word, but because of worldly cares and the deceitfulness of riches, turns his/her back on the Word, thus becoming unfruitful. Worldly passion chokes out passion for the Lord. They are saved because they received the Word, but choose this present world over the promises of God. Of them, Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).” Paul said one such person was Demas, who “has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica... (2 Timothy 4:10, emphasis added).” Let's remember Lot's wife. After Lot and his family were commanded to leave Sodom, they were told not to look back. But Lot's wife looked back. Why did she look back? She looked back because her heart was in that land. As a result of her turning back, she was not able to enjoy the blessings that God had for her.

I believe it may be into the beginning of the Great Apostasy spoken of in the Bible. People do not go to church like they used to. They don’t call on the Lord like they used to, until something bad happens. People, Christians, in particular, have left the church in pursuit of worldly riches. They can’t come because they have to work. They can’t come because they are too tired from working. They can’t come because they have to wash the car. They can’t come because they have to wash clothes. They can’t come because they have to clean the house, mow the lawn, go to the lake, or go to the casino. Question is, why don’t they do these things during the week? It is because they value their jobs above God. They have forsaken Him for worldly passions. Remember the rich young ruler.

Jesus also tells us about the good soil. This soil receives the seed and produces crops that yield fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold. Of His people, Jesus said you will know them by their fruit. People who belong to Him regularly study the Word, attend church, go to Bible study on time and prepared, witness for Him, and love one another. We should ask ourselves, are these characteristics present in my life?

Counterfeit Christians. They don’t want to come to church. They don’t want to serve. They don’t want to give. They don’t want to pray. They don’t want to praise. They don’t want to witness. They don’t want to read the Word. They don’t want to spend time with God but when they die they are expecting to get to Heaven. Somebody is fooling themselves.

The Bible tells us that we are to examine ourselves. We should ask ourselves: Is my ticket genuine? Have I truly been bought by the blood? Is Jesus the Lord of my life? Do I confess Him before men? Do I live for Him? If you are one of the soils listed—hard, rocky, thorny—you need to give your life to Christ today. Otherwise, you are playing Russian Roulette with your soul with eternity in the balance. With your soul on the line and eternity at stake, the stakes have never been higher, the odds have never been worse, and the gamble has never been greater.

Too Many Hypocrites?

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “I don’t go to church because there are just too many hypocrites down there.” I’ve always said that that was a copout. People don’t keep people from going to other places they want go to. After all, what is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a person who is a pretender. It is derived from the Greek term that means an actor, actually a person behind a mask. Jesus used the term to describe the Pharisees because they used a mask of piety to hide their sinfulness.
 

The Pharisees hid behind religion. Jesus called them hypocrites because they knew the Law but did not follow it. Ron Carpenter, pastor of Redemption World Outreach Center, once said about religious people, “Religious people are full of rules but don’t follow any of the rules they’re full of.” We’ve all heard the motto of the hypocrite: “Do as I say and not as I do.”

 

This is why hypocrites should not come between us and our God. My question is this: what does that hypocrite have to do with our relationship with the Lord? We already know they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, so because the hypocrite isn’t doing what he or she should be doing, what has that to do with us? When we worship God, it should be between us and God. Our focus should be on Him and not on anyone else. Our worship of God has nothing to do with anyone else. We can use another person’s spiritual progress to encourage our own, but we should not allow another’s failure to discourage us.

 

Second, shouldn’t we know that the devil put hypocrites in the church for just that reason? In Matthew 13: 24-30, Jesus told us that the devil would sow tares among the wheat. What are tares other than pretenders—hypocrites? Tares pretend to be wheat when they are not. Hypocrites pretend to be Christians when they are not. Why does he sow tares among the wheat? He does so to dissuade and divide the believers and lead them into heresy. So when people refuse to go to church because of hypocrites, they are playing into the devil’s hands and just doing what he wants them to do, which is really what they want to do anyway—not go—and they use hypocrites as an excuse. The question could be asked, “Who is really the hypocrite?”

This is why I say it is a copout for people to use hypocrites as a reason for them to not go to church.

We’re Just Fooling Ourselves (part four)

³³ Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. ³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

People argue that you cannot tell who is saved and who is not and, for the most part, that is true. God alone really knows. But Jesus said there ways to detect if a person is saved or not. By our love one for another we proclaim to the world that we belong to Him. Why did He use love as the marker of our salvation. For two reasons—first, God is love and therefore those who are born of Him would love, too. Second, love is the one thing the devil cannot counterfeit.

            In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus explains how we can tell a genuine Christian from a pretender (and trust me, there are pretenders). He said we will know them by their fruit. To tell if a person is saved, we can look at their lifestyle. Does it reflect Christ? Is it marked by holy and righteous living? Do they love their neighbor (fellow man)? Do they love God? Is their love for God evident?

            If we pull a piece of fruit from a tree, bite it, and discover that it is an apple, we’ll know that the tree is an apple tree. Likewise, if a person regularly studies the Word, attends church, fellowship with other believers, lives according to the Word, prays, gives, and love other Christians, then he or she is likely a Christian. If those fruit are absent from the life of a so-called Christian, it is likely that he or she is a not a Christian and does not belong to God (1 John 4:7).

            But that was not the only sign Jesus gave of how we can tell who belongs to Him. On the night He was betrayed, He set aside His garment, filled a basin with water and washed the disciples’ feet. Later He told them, “A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

            Why did Jesus give this as a sign? There are several reasons. First, it cannot be counterfeited by Satan. An unsaved person can perform a selfless deed. It could be home training. It could be their nature—some people are natural givers. It could be motivated by the flesh [i.e. pride, hero complex, desire for recognition] or God. Second, God is love and this characteristic would be exemplified by those who are born again. If God is love and He lives in us, then His love cannot help but radiate from us.

Third, it is a characteristic that would separate the church from the world since the world cannot love like Christians. Christians are called to love unconditionally and sacrificially because this is how Jesus loved. We are not to love people based on how they look and what they can do for us. Nor are we to love only those we chose or when it is convenient for us. God loved us even when we did not love Him. Loving people is costly. Just ask God. It cost Him a Son.

We’re Just Fooling Ourselves (part three)

Just as being good won’t save us, neither will just going to church. We don’t go to church to be saved but we go to church because we are saved. When we don’t like church it is either because we haven’t found a church that is right for us or because we are not saved. A saved person will want to go to church because it is there that we are built up and strengthened in our faith. It is there that we find support among other believers. It is there that we are equipped for the work of the ministry.

            Good trees cannot bear bad fruit. When we live in sin, we are bearing bad fruit. If we are bearing bad fruit, consequently, we are bad trees. God has no bad trees in His garden. When we live in sin, we are likely to stay away from church because we will be convicted of our sinfulness. We feel uncomfortable. Jesus said it like this, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed (John 3:19-20).” This exposure is not so much to the church but to the one committing the sin. They don’t want to see themselves for what they are.

            What are they? They are insurrectionists, rebels, those who practice lawlessness. They don’t see themselves as such but they are. They are because they are disobedient to the commands of the Lawgiver. Yet, they are expecting this Lawgiver to allow them, these insurrectionists, into Heaven. There was already one insurrection in Heaven and it was dealt with. Why would God bring in more insurrectionists to allow another uprising? When a person lives in sin, they are living in rebellion because sin is rebellion. Sin is doing what God either told us not to do or not doing what God has told us to do. If that is not the definition of rebellion, what is?

            So, hopefully, you can see why those of us who live in sin and who do not do the will of God are just fooling themselves. Being baptized and a church member who lives is sin is no different than a sinner who has never entered a church. I don’t know if it is because we just haven’t taken stock of our lives or if it is because we are really just fooling ourselves, but one day we will stand before Jesus Christ. He will either be our Lord and Master, or our God and Judge. If we haven’t lived right, on that day, He is going to tell us that since we wanted to live their lives apart from a relationship with Him, we can just keep doing so and He is going to banish us to the only place in the universe where His presence will not be—the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15).

            Why did Jesus say that He never knew these rebels if He knows everything? It was not that He did not know who they were but that He had no relationship with them. It is like people know about God but they don’t know God. God created man for a relationship. He created man so man could worship Him. He gave man a spirit so man could relate to Him. His desire was to walk with man and man with Him (Genesis 1: 28-30).

            That is what Heaven is for. It is a place for people who have been made perfect by Jesus Christ. It is a place where we will worship and commune with God for all eternity. God is not mocked, whatever a person sows, that will he or she also reap If we do not have time for Him now, do not expect to spend eternity with Him later. If we do not do His will now, do not expect to be rewarded for it later. If this is our expectation, we are just fooling ourselves. We simply cannot live anyway we want to now and expect to live with God later. It is foolishness.

            What is the solution? Turn to Christ and live. We are to repent of our sins and submit our lives to God. Repent means to turn our backs on. Turn away from our sins (and we know what they are) and live in obedience to God. We can do this because Christ came to die in order to pay our sin debt to God. God placed upon Him our sin and He died in our place. When we put our trust in Him, God will give to us Christ’s perfection (righteousness). He will also send His Spirit to live in us to empower us to live right and to understand God’s love letter to us—the Bible. Let’s make today the day we secure our reservation for Heaven.

We’re Just Fooling Ourselves (part two)

So what are the qualifications of those going to Heaven? Will church membership suffice? What about singing in the choir? Teaching Sunday school? Preaching before large congregations? Pastoring a church? Feeding the sick? Casting out demons? Just what do those who go to Heaven have to do to ensure they get there? If you are wondering, wonder no more because Jesus gives us the answer.

 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21, emphasis added).” The Commentary of Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible says, the “reduplication of the title “Lord” [is] denoting zeal in according it to Christ^[1].” It would seem that those who say this want Christ to see that they were zealous for Him. They see now that He is Lord and they want Him to know that they are on His side. However, their zeal is likely an effort to make up for the fact that they weren’t so zealous for Him in life. It is likely they either served Him for selfish gain or failed to serve Him at all. But now that they see Him exalted, they try to get on His good side by stressing the fact that He is Lord and He is their Lord.

However, Jesus is not about platitudes. He said that those of us who enter Heaven will not be those who can talk a good game but those who do the will of God. Going to church is not enough if all we’re going to do is sit in the pew. Yet, neither is singing in the choir or preaching from the pulpit if we’re not called to and we’re not doing it in service to the Lord. There are many people who can sing like angels, but if they are not doing it unto the Lord, then their singing is in vain. If our teaching or our preaching is not done in obedience to and in service of the Lord, then our work is in vain. Why? It is because it is not in the will of God that it was done but in the will of the performer.

Jesus had just finished telling the people that bad trees cannot bear good fruit and good trees cannot bear bad fruit. Therefore, we will know a true believer because his or her lifestyle will reflect it. He goes on to connect that to who will enter Heaven. It will not be just anyone off the street but those of us who are submissive to and obedient to the will of God.

What is the will of God? It is not the will of God that we live in sin. It is not the will of God that we sleep around. It is not the will of God that we only love those who love us and hate those who hate us. It is not the will of God that we take from those that which doesn’t belong to us. It is not the will of God that we disrespect our parents. It is not the will of God that we break the law. It is the will of God that we read our Bible because in it we will learn about Who God is. It is the will of God that we pray—for He created us for a relationship with Himself. It is the will of God that we go to church. What born again person would not want to assemble with others of like faith for fellowship, support, and accountability?

I don’t understand how people expect to go to Heaven when we die but live in rebellion while we are alive. Yet, you ask a many people do they expect to go to Heaven when they die and they say yes. Then you ask them if they go to church or read their Bibles regularly and you get excuses. You then ask them why do they think they are going to heaven and they will say something like ‘because I’m a good person.’ As this text shows, being good is not good enough.

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^[1] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Mt 7:21). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

We’re Just Fooling Ourselves (part one)

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Our name, cast out demons in Our name, and done many wonders in Our name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’—Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV)

          Why do we, especially those of us who call ourselves Christians, feel we can live anyway we want without consequences? Why do we think that we can live a sin-filled life and still go to Heaven when we die? Is it because we believe that since we’ve been baptized, we are excused from righteous living? Or perhaps, it is because we feel that since Christ paid it all, we can live however we please since we are under grace?

            Jesus tells us that people who live like that are just fooling themselves.  He warns that there will be many people who will be disappointed on the Day of Judgment because they think that they are in when, in reality, they are not.  They will be standing before Him expecting Him to say, “Well done,” but instead He is going to say “Depart from Me. I do not know you.”

            It amazes me how we believe that we can cuss, steal, fornicate, get drunk, abuse drugs, and even indulge in homosexuality and expect to be welcomed into Heaven when we die. It will not be those who names are on the church rolls that will be saved but those whose names are on the Honor Roll of Heaven. Their names are written in the Lambs Book of Life (Revelation 20:12). If our names are written there, we truly have been born again. If not, we are just fooling ourselves.

            People who have been born again live like it. They want to live a life that is pleasing to God because they know what salvation cost Him. Those who don’t live godly do so because they don’t care. It is not enough to join a church to be saved. The devil has people on the church rolls. What is important is that we repent of our sins and submit our life to Christ. When we submit our life to Christ, then we live as He would want us to live not as we would want to live.  In addition, the Spirit will convict us of unrighteous living. In other words, we won’t be happy doing the things that do not please God.

            Jesus said it will not be those who try to appease me by calling me ‘Lord’ that will get into Heaven. We cannot sweet talk Jesus. We cannot call Him Lord and not do what He commands (Luke 6:46). If He is really our Lord, then we would do the things that He commands. What does He command? He commands that we pray (Matthew 6: 6), read our Bibles (Psalms 1:2, 2 Timothy 3:16-17), bear witness of Him (Matthew 28:18-20), go to church (Hebrews 10:24-25), love one another (1 John 4:7), and give to support the ministry (Malachi 3:10, Matthew 6:3).

Jesus goes on to say in verse 26, “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Those of us who do not do what He commands is likened unto a fool, one who is fooling themselves because they are heading for a big fall.