Pretenders in the Church

Why are there pretenders in the church?

Rebellious people fake good character because they know their sinful heart is not acceptable. So...instead of asking Christ to change their heart, they simply pretend in front of people to feel validated by others and even deceive themselves into thinking they can fool God.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 "…25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."

God wants us to desire for Him to change our heart. When we confess sin, it is strong evidence that we really hate what we are and want Christ to change us into the new creation.

Pretenders and fakers are people who are so stubborn they would rather put on a false mask than submit to Christ so that He can change them. Submitting to anyone is abhorrent to them, even though they will shout hard and long how they obey God and follow all the rules. When in company with those who are submitted to God, they work to make these people believe they are submitted when they are not in the least matter.

Stubborn and rebellious people become enraged when they are challenged to look at their own lives, because they need desperately to maintain the false self. Why? The false self is the one they like, the selfish 2 Timothy 3 self is the one they prefer, but it doesn't get along too well with others, so they must put up the mask to pretend in front of others.

Sadly, these pretenders don't have faith to believe in God Who sees all that they do. The fact that they refuse to be evaluated and convicted by the Word of God, demonstrates that they are willful and stubborn.

When we know Who God is and what He is capable of, we are very concerned about what He sees in us.

Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

I have heard rebellious people quote the Proverbs verse about the fear of God while they live in rebellion to Him. Here again we have a situation where words are enough in the mind of rebellious people because the "appearance" is all that matters to them.

Psalm 33:8
"Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!"

Those that fear the Lord are easily convicted by the smallest sin, hating it, admitting it and turning from it, they hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

So what is wrong with a rebellious person who seems to have no conscience over the things they do? I believe the answer is clear, those who cannot hear God or be convicted by their sin, were never born again. They never exhibited any form of remorse for their bad behavior and they never apologize for anything. These people are deathly afraid that their inner heart will be discovered. They refuse to discuss anything out of fear the real self will slip out for all to see.

Proverbs 3:7
"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil."

There is only one hope for these lost and empty souls, that is to turn to Christ, confess their sin of pride, ask the Lord to change their wicked hearts and begin to grow in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ Props Us Up

When someone depends on others to "prop" them up in order to feel emotionally secure and full of joy, then perhaps it's their trust in others instead of Christ that motivates them. Being accepted by people can be the greatest trap and bondage someone places on themselves.

When we are completely secure in Christ, we need no one else to validate or praise us. Obeying Christ really is it's own spiritual reward.

I believe this is why deeply godly people who trust Christ need no adventures in their life. Everything in normal life is adventure enough, because their joy and excitement in Christ is far better than a worldly or temporary high from fabricated events has to offer. Every deed we have to do, every person we meet and every challenge, is an adventure to be solved and we turn to Christ for the answers.

Psalm 37:4-6
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday."

When we delight ourselves in the Lord, His desires will become ours. We are no longer looking for something better or more to keep the emotional high going. I have met many people like this, they seem to have no sense of happiness unless they are engaged in an unusual adventure, it often has to be something no one else they know is doing.

We enjoy new experiences like anyone, but when we walk with Christ our joy is not dependent on those experiences. Even when nothing big or unusual is going on we remain joyful, through difficulties, that joy does not leave us.

We may cry over the loss of a loved one or pain we are experiencing, but that joy is there in the middle of it all, because it is no based on our experiences but Christ Who lives in us, helping us through everything as well as walking through our happy experiences with us.

The Christian life is one of great joy, no matter what our situation and hope never leaves us.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Psalm 28:7
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."

Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."