False Conversion And Its Rotten Harvest

Some things never change, especially towards the conclusion of the average worship service of the churches in which I have either been a member or have attended over the years. Many times the Sprit of God moves mightily in the hearts of members and visitors after the pastor has presented a message from the Scriptures. The pastor has spent in study and prayer for the souls of his people and those who enter the church with little or no idea of what being a Christian is all about, only to see lives genuinely changed by the power of God. Those who were on the road to hell are convicted, repentant, and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They spend the rest of their lives being "good and faithful servants" (Matthew 25:20-23) and it shows. When the end comes, they find themselves in His presence for eternity, and are rewarded for their labor in His name (2 Corinthians 5:10).

There are also times where it is not the Spirit of God that moves so much as the emotions one feels after a service, where someone comes forward to "profess His faith in Jesus" and the pastor will then lead him or her in what is referred to as the "sinner's prayer" that they repeat "word for word". The "prayer' varies from church to church, but it centers on confessing that we are sinners, that we need to repent, and "ask Jesus Christ to come into our hearts and save us", and the deal is done. Usually the new "convert" will be baptized, and then never seen again until they are in their casket, having led a hellacious life, with no evidence of being a Christian, but not to worry says the pastor - they made a "profession of faith" at some point in their life and all is well. Their loved one is with Jesus because of the "prayer they prayed" sometime in the past.

Worse yet is the "Christian" who does great work, is charitable, is the first one to volunteer to teach Sunday School or serve in some capacity, good to their family, and supports their pastor, but cannot tell anyone how Jesus Christ saved them nor take the time for self-examination and see whether the work they have done are based on the faith they claim to possess. They too "prayed a prayer" and repeated the words given by the pastor or evangelist, thinking that what they said had secured them in Christ, but deep down they were not certain, yet went through life as if all were well. Then there are the folks who see Jesus as a "cash cow" and a way to get rich off of His name by claiming to be an "apostle", or "prophet". They come to town with a "call from God to heal the sick", which can be done if a "seed faith gift" is sent to them for the "work of the ministry". They put on their show that is usually televised or recorded where "signs and wonders" are demonstrated, and the "power of God" comes on the "preacher" to knock people down "in the Spirit", or some other ridiculous situation. Nothing of God are in these "services", and in the end the "preacher" turns out to be another "Elmer Gantry" hypocritical fraud who has tarnished the name and glory of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:19, 15:9, Luke 17:13; Acts 15:24; 2 Corinthians 11:4; 2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:11; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 2:2).

At the end of life, when they have taken their final breath, the person who "came forward", the "good worker" and the "fraud" will be both surprised and terrified that what they had either believed or had done to justify themselves before the Lord Jesus Christ was not real and authentic faith. These souls may have made a "confession of faith", but turned out to be nothing more than "lip service" that fooled themselves, their families and friends, but not the Lord Jesus, who knows the hearts of all humanity and their motives. The question is, did these souls "lose their salvation" and find themselves facing not just judgment from the Lord Jesus, but are looking with terror at the Lake of Fire that will soon be their eternal destination, or - were they ever truly saved in the first place? This is why we all have to examine our walk, talk, and service to the LORD and to see if our faith, calling, and election are sure (Galatians 6:4; 2 Peter 1:10).

There are a couple of issues with which I would like to address in this message, and both deal with where you stand right now before God (Hebrews 2:2-4, 10:31). You first need to know whether you are really a follower of Jesus Christ, or are you in danger of heading to hell thinking that your works, or the repeating of a "prayer" somehow secured your salvation. You also need to know that getting right with God is not a complicated process of long drawn out prayer, or some kind of mental and emotional self-punishment that needs to be done before we come before Him. You do not get cleaned up first in order to take a bath. Here are the steps to salvation - "A", "B", "C".