What you are about to read, may change the way you view your life; how you view Christianity and most importantly, how you view God. 

 

This is not something to read and ignore, it is vital that you read carefully what follows. It is vital you do not read this and think it does not apply to you. (It certainly applies to the writer!) 

 

Welcome to real Christianity. 

 

There are many people today who call themselves Christians. There are many people today who, because they go to Church, or because they read their Bible, would think of themselves as Christians. There are many people, who because they have grown up in a Christian home, or go along to a Christian youth group, would call themselves Christians. 

 

Many people who call themselves Christians, are, in reality, not. 

 

Although it is decreasing year by year, the vast majority of people in the UK and certainly in the USA, would identify themselves as ‘Christians’ and yet, come Judgment Day the ‘vast majority’ of this ‘vast majority’ will be found guilty and sentenced to an eternity in Hell. WHY? Because even though they might have identified as being a Christian, there was no real, fundamental, permanent, intense change in their heart as to their position as relating to God. 

 

First and Foremost

The Gospel is not an amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.

 

- Harry A. Ironside

(Look him up, he's very helpful!)

 

 

The Gospel is God's free gift to you. Nothing you can do can ever change that. No amount of good works will ever have an effect on your salvation. It is all of God. You cannot be saved by good works, and you cannot be unsaved by bad works. What will save you, and save you forever, is a genuine and real repentance towards God, and a genuine and real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This reality is what the rest of this page would hope to speak about. 

 

Real Conversion

When you become a Christian, there is no magic formula, just because you say the words, in what we call a sinner’s prayer. You were not saved because you repeated some words, you were not saved because you prayed a special prayer, you were saved because, when you did pray that first prayer to God, you repented in your heart, and you believed that Jesus died in your place. There must be a reality in your heart; there must be a working of the Holy Spirit, to bring a change in how you view yourself and how you view God.

 

Too many people get caught up in a moment, at the end of a festival, at the end of a great preaching or something, they pray the prayer, and continue to go about their lives as if nothing had happened. That may not be geniune! 

 

If I got hit by a lorry doing 70mph, I would show some effects of that event. How much more of an effect should we show, when we get smashed, in a single moment, with the crushing disgust of the realisation we are a wretched, abominable sinner before God, but simultaneously hit with undeserved, almighty power of the love and grace of God in the cross of Christ. At some point, pretty early on in our pathway, we should begin to show some effects of that surely! There should be a permanent, fundamental and recognisable change in our lives! Maybe we are not very good at showing it, and maybe the works that we do don't work very well, but there should be an overall desire to begin to do what is right. A good pointer of real faith, is that you understand what is right and wrong- We should become more aware of when we sin. (We may even find we are sinning more, as we grow in our knowledge of a Holy God and how His standards are so different to ours!) Paul, in Romans 7, knew exactly what was right and wrong, what he struggled with was actually doing the right! If you are really struggling to do what is right, and you are getting really frustrated and disgusted with yourself, it is actually usually a good pointer that God is working in your life! Most people who have no interest in God, would not care whether they did right or wrong in their private lives! 

 

So, snap back to reality...

 

Being brought up going to Church and/or living in a Christian home, is 99% blessing and 1% not. There are so many good things, that I can't go into now, but one of the 'bad' things, is that because you have heard about Jesus all your life, you can get complacent.

 

We all know the theory, we all know the processes involved in being saved, but are they real? We all know a lot about Jesus, but head knowledge will not get us saved! There has to be a real relationship!

 

 

Let me give you an example

If I went to 10 Downing Street and said, “Let me in, I know the Prime Minister!” 

Would they let me in? Of course not, everyone in Britain probably knows the Prime Minister. But what about if he came to the gate and said to me “Let this person in, I know him well” I would be let in in an instant!

 

It is not just about whether you know Jesus.

It is about whether Jesus knows you!

 

Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’

 

There are countless so called Christians, who go through the motions, even addressing Jesus as Lord, and yet never having any reality about their salvation. Many great works will have been done, by so many so called Christians, and yet when it comes down to it, what is the Lord’s response? 

 

I never knew you. Depart from me, workers of lawlessness.

 

 

Oh dear reader, please don’t just assume that you are saved. Make it certain, make it real! Were you geniunly sorry for the sin in your life? Did you genuinly accept Jesus into your heart?

 

 

By their fruits you will know them

Geniune conversion starts with a working of the Holy Spirit, followed by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a definite moment when this happens. There is a definite moment in time when you 'become a Christian' * However, from that point onwards, there should be some practical, and real things that are a proof (or the fruits) of your geniune conversion! James says that works (things you do in your life) are a vital part of being a Christian, and while works cannot save, they can be a proof that you are saved. 

 

John's epistle outlines some of these fruits, that should run alongside genuine conversion. This is not a tick list, and some may still be a work in progress, but could be people use any of these quotes to describe you?

 

1. Do you enjoy having fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people? (1 John 1:3)
2. Would people say you walk in the light, or walk in the darkness? (1 John 1:6-7)
3. Do you admit and confess your sin? (1 John 1:8)
4. Are you obedient to God's Word? (1 John 2:3-5)
5. Does your life indicate you love God rather than the world? (1 John 2:15)
6. Is your life characterized by "doing what is right"? (1 John 2:29)
7. Do you seek to maintain a pure life? (1 John 3:3)
8. Do you see a decreasing pattern of sin in your life? (1 John 3:5-6) [Note: this refers to not continuing in sin as a way of life, not a total absence of sin.]
9. Do you demonstrate love for other Christians? (1 John 3:14)
10. Do you "walk the walk," versus just "talking the talk"? (1 John 3:18-19)
11. Do you maintain a clear conscience? (1 John 3:21)
12. Do you experience victory in your Christian walk? (1 John 5:4)

 

None of these things above will save you, none of them will make you a 'better Christian' but they are good pointers as to whether we are geniune in our faith! Romans 4:5 shows that actually, geniune faith is much more important than works. You can 'tick' off all the questions above, but without having that real conversion, they count for nothing! But as a Christian, we should want to do some of the things above, and more, it should come naturally to us. They may all be a work in progress, and some we may never achieve, but the will to do them should be there at least! 

 

 

As a Christian, we should be wanting to live our lives as more like Jesus lived His!

*****