Are you Fake Christians?
In our churches—in very nearly every church—there are folks who, plain and simple, are not Christians.
They look like good people and act like good people. They carry and quote bibles. But they have no relationship with Jesus, despite how much the Holy Spirit
is trying to draw them to him. There’s reality to be had, but they’re comfortable
with their misrepresentation of Christ. And they’re not producing fruit of the spirit at all.
I don’t say this to put fear into you. Most of the time they’re really not a problem. I’m just saying this because you need to be aware: Fake Christians exist. Not because they have an evil plan and are attempting to undermine the
church and make it either dysfunctional or non-functional.
(Although the Devil will certainly try to use them to do that.)
For some, it’s because they honestly think they are Christians; and for the rest,
there are all sorts of reasons why they’re faking it.
In any case, we need to identify who the fake Christians are. The reason is obvious: Their lack of relationship with Jesus will inevitably get in the way of your relationship with Jesus. While you’re pursuing God, they’re trying to keep up appearances, and you’ll butt heads because your motives are different—and sometimes even opposed. So how do we identify fake Christians?
The same way we identify Christians: Fruits
Ah, you were wondering why I used the “fruit” graphic. Yes, fruit—the good works, good behaviors, and good attitudes that we Christians should be able to point to as evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in our lives, and that we truly have a relationship with Jesus.
The fruitless Christian, however, doesn’t exist. So-called “Christians” who lack love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Ga 5.22-23) are not allowing the Holy Spirit to put these
things in their lives. Anybody fighting the Spirit to the degree that you see nothing
—and hell, most pagans appear to show something!—simply isn’t a Christian.
Not that good deeds have anything to do with saving us, but faith without works is dead,
and that sort of “Christian” is as dead as they come. How fake are you?
You know where I got these descriptions? Myself. I used to be an awful . I still have work to do.You’re going to find that you can diagnose
a lot of people in your church from these descriptions. You might even find
yourself in there somewhere. Don’t freak out; just do some soul-searching,
turn to God, and repent.
You’re also going to find that you can diagnose a lot of people in your church from these descriptions. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that your conspiracy-nut neighbor who lacks peace is automatically no Christian. Like you and me, he may suck at one fruit, but excel in another. He lacks peace, but he overflows with love, kindness, goodness, and self-control…
My point is to help us recognize some of the symptoms of a person who’s resisting the Spirit, so that we know who’s actually working on a closer relationship with Jesus, and who’s just going through the motions in order to hide their lack of relationship. If someone exhibits more of these symptoms than fruit of the Spirit, tread cautiously. Remember, fake Christians don’t always know they’re fake, and will really resent your correction unless it’s handled with a very soft touch. Be gracious.
But like I said, don’t let them get into any position of spiritual authority or partnership.
And again, if these descriptions fit you, you now know what you’ll need to work on. I’m working on it too.
