Saying they are a Christian
Going to church
Doing good deeds
Dressing conservatively
Wearing their hair a particular prescribed way
Wearing prescribed clothing acceptable to their denomination
Quoting the Bible
Knowing the Bible intimately
Looking good on the outside, while paying little attention
to the inner man
Making extra Biblical rules to prevent others from sinning is lack of faith, a need to control others, rather than trusting Christ to work in them.
These things can be good if they are done in Christ, but when they are done in the flesh to impress others or to be accepted by others, they are of no use and have no saving power whatever. A good test of someone who claims to be a believer, might be to ask them why they do what they do and listen carefully to their answer. Anyone who places rules on others that are not specific to the Word, are often those who are proud of their own choices, measuring the salvation of others by their own idea of righteousness.
We become born again by believing Christ, trusting in Him for our salvation, then He begins all the work in us.
John 3:4-8 "4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:16-21 "16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Believing in Christ is the only way to become born again! After that Christ begins His work in us.
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Many people have developed pride, displaying much arrogance over how wonderful they think they are when God condemned this thinking. They really believe their righteousness is in their own acts even when they will tell you they are saved by grace alone, they remain deeply connected to their own version of righteousness, even negating much of the Bible themselves, they proclaim loud and clear that they obey it, when in fact they obey very little. Outward appearances are far more important to them than spiritual holiness.
Luke 18:9-14
"9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be [f]merciful to me, the sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Those who dwell on the island of continual superiority to others, cannot be saved until they are humbled by God.
1 Peter 3:3-4
"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
2 Corinthians 4:18
"As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
What to look for that demonstrates holiness?
There is a deep and enduring love for the Word of God, so much so that it is almost all we think about continually. Everything we do is evaluated on the basis of what God thinks about it. When we sin we are deeply sorrowful over it, hating what we did, while trusting Christ to help us to do better.
When we have messed up, forgetting to consult God, we recognize it, confess it and begin again searching His Word for His answers.
Anyone who rages at us because we have challenged them to greater holiness or if we rage at someone because they have challenged us, then we need to go to our knees confessing pride and ask the Lord to cleanse our hearts of the pride that keeps us from growing in holiness.
One way to tell if we have a desire for the Lord, might be to evaluate how often we think about the Lord and how often we seek Him in prayer and Scripture study to learn His ways.
Many people spend far more time defending their sinfulness than they do seeking Him, that's the reason they remain stagnant and unteachable and possibly unsaved. These people remain spiritual babies all of their lives or have never been changed into a new creation. Resistance to training and teaching prevents learning. God will not force anyone, He will present His case and we will choose to obey or disobey.
Proverbs 16:5 "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished."
All pride will prevent growth, but also prevents those who are not saved from realizing their own lostness, they continually justify their sinful habits and attitudes. There is no hope for someone who will not confess their sin to be cleansed. They can look forward to a life of continual conflict, mostly of their own making.
Following Christ, confessing when we need to and obeying will lead to Spiritual growth and freedom from all spiritual bondage as a believer. As a non-believer trusting Christ is the only option.
Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling."
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