 |
2 Tim 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God …
Sometimes when we hear difficult sermons and warnings on what it will be like in the end times, we might start to believe that maybe we’re not true believers. Sometimes we will see a list like we’ve been studying in 2 Timothy 3 and we will think to ourselves, “Maybe I am not a true Christian?”
Pretend Christians are unthankful and unholy. One of the signs of the unsaved is that they're not grateful to the Lord. They’re not just ungrateful to each other, they are not grateful to God. That's why 'unthankful' and 'unholy' go together. Do we realize that as a believer, everything we have comes from God? Some might say, 'No, I work hard for it.' Well, we have jobs because God allowed us to have them and to work hard. We should be thankful to God for it. When we sit down to a meal, we should thank God for that meal. Are you unthankful, could you care less about the blessings God has bestowed on you?
Pretend Christians are also false accusers; they lie about each other. Just look at our political realm today and we see false accusers. Not just Democrats or Republicans. The whole political system. They'll do anything they can to get the other person to look bad. This is what false accusers do: Whatever is necessary to make the other person look worse than they really are. Do you try to deliberately make other people look bad or put them in the worst possible light?
If you said yes to some of these questions, there might be cause for you to pause and ask yourself if you have truly trusted Christ as your personal Savior. But we suspect that most believers will realize that they may have bad qualities, but they are seeking to overcome their bad tendencies with God’s help. Or you may feel guilty or even receive chastisement from God when you fail. These are good signs that you belong to the Lord, even if you’re not perfect and even if you’re struggling with strongholds in your life.
Remember this scripture: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
You may have been an angry person in the past; you may have been hurtful in the past; you may have been unthankful or unholy in the past. But for born-again children of God, that is your past. Jesus Christ has now washed you, justified you, sanctified you, and made you whole. God is now working deeply within you, though painful as it may be, to conform you to be like Jesus. Pretenders don’t care about any of this; you are a real believer who is trusting totally on Christ’s cross to carry you through!
Click here for the complete message.
Complete blog series:
1. Pretenders vs True Believers
2. Pretenders who Blaspheme
3. What if I’m a Pretend Christian?
Sometimes when we hear difficult sermons and warnings on what it will be like in the end times, we might start to believe that maybe we’re not true believers. Sometimes we will see a list like we’ve been studying in 2 Timothy 3 and we will think to ourselves, “Maybe I am not a true Christian?”
Pretend Christians are unthankful and unholy. One of the signs of the unsaved is that they're not grateful to the Lord. They’re not just ungrateful to each other, they are not grateful to God. That's why 'unthankful' and 'unholy' go together. Do we realize that as a believer, everything we have comes from God? Some might say, 'No, I work hard for it.' Well, we have jobs because God allowed us to have them and to work hard. We should be thankful to God for it. When we sit down to a meal, we should thank God for that meal. Are you unthankful, could you care less about the blessings God has bestowed on you?
Pretend Christians are also false accusers; they lie about each other. Just look at our political realm today and we see false accusers. Not just Democrats or Republicans. The whole political system. They'll do anything they can to get the other person to look bad. This is what false accusers do: Whatever is necessary to make the other person look worse than they really are. Do you try to deliberately make other people look bad or put them in the worst possible light?
If you said yes to some of these questions, there might be cause for you to pause and ask yourself if you have truly trusted Christ as your personal Savior. But we suspect that most believers will realize that they may have bad qualities, but they are seeking to overcome their bad tendencies with God’s help. Or you may feel guilty or even receive chastisement from God when you fail. These are good signs that you belong to the Lord, even if you’re not perfect and even if you’re struggling with strongholds in your life.
Remember this scripture: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
You may have been an angry person in the past; you may have been hurtful in the past; you may have been unthankful or unholy in the past. But for born-again children of God, that is your past. Jesus Christ has now washed you, justified you, sanctified you, and made you whole. God is now working deeply within you, though painful as it may be, to conform you to be like Jesus. Pretenders don’t care about any of this; you are a real believer who is trusting totally on Christ’s cross to carry you through!
Click here for the complete message.
Complete blog series:
1. Pretenders vs True Believers
2. Pretenders who Blaspheme
3. What if I’m a Pretend Christian?
RSS Feed
