Have you ever wondered if you’re a Christian or not? Maybe you’re worried that you’ve been just faking it. Maybe you find yourself thinking that this whole thing is just a sham. We’ve all questioned our own faith before.
Well, it is perfectly okay to examine ourselves from time to time, the Bible actually tells us that we should challenge our faith in
2 Corinthians 13 says “Examine yourselves, to see if you are in the faith.
This means that we should test ourselves to make sure that we are not being fake Christian or just professing to know Christ when HE does not live in the inside of us. In fact, not testing yourself leads straight to being fake. So what would a test for faith look like? How can you know for sure if you’re being fake?
I know the term “fake Christian” is a misnomer. You are a Christian or you are not a Christian; one is either with God or against God.
Matthew 12:30
30 He that is not with me is against me;
and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
A Christian can be defined as a person who by faith has received and fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior from sin (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8–9). The Spirit of Christ resides in the heart of every Christian(Ephesians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:11). Now, “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9), and this person is not a Christian.
Now the question is, "why did I come up with the term FAKE CHRISTIAN?"
This is due to the behavior of many who think they are Christians or profess to be Christians, but who are not. The reasons many believe they are true Christians when they are not are many and varied. The false teaching that is so prevalent these days is certainly one reason. When churches eschew teaching sound doctrine, the end result will be congregants who do not know the truth of God’s Word. How can they keep in step with the Spirit, when the Truth is not in them?
One can easily know if he or she is being fake when there is not witness in your spirit that you are a son/daughter of God as we see in Romans 8:16
Romans 8:16(NKJV)
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
This is a personal check as you cannot deceive yourself and God even if you succeed in living a life of hypocrisy. A lot of so called Christians today put on an outward look of righteousness but have deep seated hatred for some people, keeps malice, backbites others, anger in their heart. They profess "to have a form of Godliness but denies the Power thereof."
Others claim to be Christians yet they hate their neighbors (not just the man next door but everyone you come across with daily) forgetting one of the greatest commandment wherein hangs all other laws.
Matthew 12:30- 31
30...and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
A song writer once wrote;
1)There are many people
Who will say they're Christians
And they live like Christians on the Sabbath day
But come Monday morning, til the coming Sunday
They will fight their neighbor all along the way
{chorus}
Oh you don't love God, if you don't love your neighbor
If you gossip about him, if you never have mercy
If he gets into trouble, and you don't try to help him
Then you don't love your neighbor, and you don't love God
2)In the Holy Bible, in the Book of Matthew
Read the 18th chapter in the 21st verse
Jesus plainly tells us that we must have mercy
There's a special warning in the 35th verse
Oh you don't love God, if you don't love your neighbor
If you gossip about him, if you never have mercy
If he gets into trouble, and you don't try to help him
Then you don't love your neighbor, and you don't love God
There's a God almighty, and you've got to love him
If you want salvation and a home on high
If you say you love him while you hate your neighbor
Then you don't have religion, you just told a lie
Furthermore, a Christian knows Jesus, hears HIM, obey HIM and communicate with HIM. Our communication with Jesus Christ is also a test to our relationship with HIM because communication is the foundation of any relationship. Communicating with Him consists of talking to Him and hearing from Him.
Talking to Jesus is a very crucial part of our relationship with Him as He will always want to hear our request and hear how we feel. This is why He clearly admonishes that "..men aught ALWAYS to pray and not to faint". The word "always" here means there shouldn't be a break from talking to Jesus. If you are having a hard time remembering the last time you talked to Jesus or maybe your own case is that you just repeat the same prayer every day then, switch it up and talk to Jesus like He is a real person, because He is! If it feels like you are talking to a stranger, it’s because he is a stranger to you, and you need to begin a relationship with him rather than faking it.
This is not about Jesus showing up physically in your house or any where and audibly speaking to you (although I’m sure some have had that experience) but talking through the Bible giving directions on how to live, or thoughts putting ideas in our head and give guidance about decisions to make. The truth is that Jesus speaks to all in different ways (even to sinners - our conscience; the still small voice within), but when you have a relationship with him, you will know when he is speaking to you and be able to detest the voice of the tempter.
If you have never heard Jesus speak to you, I would recommend you simply ask Him to speak to you and spending some time in the Bible. Also, you might not be hearing from Jesus because you don’t know him. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Is your CHRISTIANITY FAKE?
