Valuable answers for valid questions about world religions, cults, worldviews and the Christian church
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Every once in a while I will get an email from someone who has visited my site with a legitimate question that I think deserves an answer. In the past I’ve had people ask “Is Pentecostalism a denomination?” or “How can a loving God ‘send’ someone to hell?“. But this week I received a question from a visitor which was:
Who are you and what are your qualifications beyond anyone else for determining who is and isn't Christian, as well as what is and is not demonic?
I broke Jake’s email down into 2 separate questions which are both important to ask. Here is how I answered him:
In answer to the first question, to avoid typing out a long drawn out email, I’ll direct you to the “about us” page which will tell you who I am.
Although I didn’t include it in my email response to Jake, I’d like to say here that I do know that the concept of a “false” Christian does exist both in the Bible and in my own experience personally. I spent probably several years as a “false Christian” that is, I called myself a Christian but had never responded to the genuine Gospel preached by the Apostles: I am a sinner who was justly condemned to eternal separation from God upon death (Hell) and because I wanted to live, I needed to repent and put my faith in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of my sins. Only after these gospel truths (good news AND bad news) sunk in, did I come to a place where I could rest in Jesus’ finished work. Please note I did not say anything about joining a church, saying a magic prayer, trusting in a pastor, teacher, prophet leader etc. It was simply recognizing my need of a Savior and going to Jesus and trusting in Him alone as that Savior. I continue with my response to Jake below:
Here is what scripture has to say about true and false Christians:
A person becomes a believer in Christ when they repent of their sinful heart (we all have one) and put their faith in the REAL God the Father and the REAL Jesus the Son, the second person of the Trinity. When we do that, Jesus tells us that He gives us the Holy Spirit (the third member of the Trinity) to come live inside us to “guide us into all truth” and to be a “companion, helper” to live for Jesus.
Because it is the word of God which gives us the genuine Gospel and by believing and acting on that Gospel, we are saved – it is only logical that a genuine Christian continue in it, applying it to everyday life so that we can gain discernment between those who have responded to the Gospel and those who have rejected it and have instead created their own god, jesus and gospel so to live and trust in that one. This is the difference between a real and a false Christian. My desire is to preach the real Gospel preached by the Apostles so that people can be genuinely saved and not have to hear those awful words from Jesus, “Away from Me for I never knew you”.
This desire comes from the Holy Spirit and not from myself as apart from Christ I am evil and wicked and don’t really care what happens to anyone else but only what happens to me. I need the righteousness of the Lord Jesus to cover me and to give me His word to share with others. This is no different a calling than any other Bible-believing Christian would have.
Thanks again for your question, I hope I have answered it sufficiently.
Sincerely,
Andrew
truthforsaints.com
Ultimately, I am nobody so my words aren’t the ones that should carry weight. But the Bible is clear about who God is and is not. Who are His and those who are not and those things which are not only evil but where they derive their source. All those who are saved by God are thereafter called “sons and daughters” of God who then tells us to “Mark and avoid” those men who teach contrary and divisive doctrines (Rom 16:17-18) and we are not ignorant of demonic devices (2 Cor 2:10-11). So we can know the difference between true and false Christianity and what is and is not demonic based on what God’s word the Bible has to say about it.
No one receives eternal life and eternal presence with God (from Whom all good things come – James 1:17), by belonging to the right church, denomination, world religion, or by having a particular world view. Rather only those who trust in the Lord Jesus (preached by the Apostles in the Bible) for their own sin. We will not trust in a Savior for sins that we either don’t believe we have or that we think aren’t deserving of hell. But the Bible says that ALL have sin and the wages of that sin is eternal separation from God (death). The good news is that the Bible says that you can know that YOU have eternal life. Click the button below to see if you are genuinely saved from your sins according to the Bible: