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Are you really a
Christian? By Wm. Troy Sheppard Jesus
said, “ Not every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven… Many will say to me
in that
day, Lord, Lord… And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU…”
(Matthew
7:21-23) Are
you a Christian? Are you really a Christian? Are you sure you’re a
Christian? In our day there are MANY
people who PROFESS to be Christians. The real question is: Are
they
REALLY Christians? Are they Christians according to the Bible?
The FACT
is there are MANY who claim to be Christians who really are not
Christians. Does
that sound judgmental to you? Well, it is judgmental! And, by the
way, according to the Bible it is okay to judge as long as it is a
“righteous
judgment” (John 7:24) and the one judging is willing to be judged but
the same
measure of judgment (Matthew 7:1-5). So
again I ask, are you a Christian? Are you really a Christian? The
right answer to this question is vital. Eternally vital! As
I
said, the FACT is there are MANY who claim to be Christians who
really are not Christians. Part of the problem is that the Biblical
Gospel
isn't preached very often anymore. Usually what you will hear
from a
"preacher" or read in a “gospel tract” is something like this: “God
love you and has a wonderful plan for your life”, or “Just ask Jesus
into your
heart” or “Jesus will give you happiness, purpose, and fulfillment in
life”, or
“Just pray this little prayer after me and you are saved.” Then,
you will
be told that if you just prayed that prayer, you are on your way to
Heaven no
matter what. No reason to doubt and no reason to examine
yourself. BUT,
THAT'S NOT BIBLICAL AND IT'S NOT TRUE! God,
in His word, admonishes people to examine and prove to see
whether they are really Christians or not. II Corinthians 13:5
says, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own
selves.
Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you,
except ye be reprobates?” Sadly much of “American Christianity” teaches
contrary
to this clear Biblical doctrine of self-examination. The
scary thing is that Jesus made it clear in Matthew
7:21-23 that MANY would be self-deceived. Not a
FEW, but
MANY! And these "many" that would be self-deceived would not
just call Jesus Savior, they would call Him "Lord." In fact,
they would go beyond just calling Jesus, "Lord." They would
call Jesus, "Lord, Lord." Not only that, these "many"
self-deceived ones would do many things, "in Jesus name." They
would
prophesy, cast out demons, and perform many wonderful works. Yet
in spite
of all they would “say” and “do” they would still be LOST on Judgment
Day! The
bottom line is that the Scriptures are VERY
CLEAR on this issue. There
will be professing Christians who are not really Christians at all, and
will
end up in Hell. Are
you a genuine Christian or a Counterfeit one? Would
you like to know? Our desire is to help
you KNOW. It is God’s desire for His people to KNOW that they have
eternal
life. Listen to what God’s word says, “These things have I written unto
you
that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye
have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (I
John 5:13). You see, by the grace of God you can KNOW. Our
prayer is that you will make your calling and election sure (2
Peter If
you
would like to know if you’re really a Christian click on the
following links:
1.
Take the “I am a good person” test!
2.
Take the “I prayed the prayer” test!
3.
How can I be saved and sure?
5.
Evidences of the New Birth! |