If someone decides to become a Christian by the pressure of others and nothing changes dramatically in their thinking, then they were never born again. When someone has become a Christian but have nothing to offer in conversation about things of the Lord, these are clues.
I have known many people who go to church but act embarrassed at the mention of things of the Lord. These same people still believe in evolution, they have no desire to be holy nor is there any excitement about the new them.
There are many pretenders in the church who think they are saved because they joined the club and are now a member of the organization."
These people enjoy their status as a member of the club but have no desire to please God or speak of Him to others.
When they are in company with others they never have a testimony to share or a passage they love to talk about.
It is not possible to be changed into a new creation by Christ and remain "dead pan", as though nothing has changed except our attendance at church.
We are seeing a dramatic rise in "Christians" who attend gatherings but are hostile when corrected with Scripture. When we become born again we love the Word of God. We are ravenous for as much of it as we can get.
When we witness someone who has no interest in reading the word unless it is with others, they have no spirituality of their own, but depend on others to drag them along, then there is a concern they have not been born again.
Yes there are those in the baby stages of their walk with Christ, but these people do not act hostile when corrected or chastised. Those who are hostile at a challenge are often pretenders.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"
John 3:1-8 "3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter 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 marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
A pretender cannot keep up the false persona forever, eventually they will revert back to their real selves when challenged or when they tire of having to pretend.
James 1:22 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
Titus 1:16 "They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work."
The cold heart of the hypocrite:
Matthew 15: 7-9 "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
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