Many Christians I have known were so proud of how good they think they are I avoided them before I was born again. Then God got hold of my heart and I avoided these same people because they thought they never did anything to be ashamed of, so they looked down on those of us who lived a wild life before Christ changed them into a new creation. Sadly I cannot have fellowship with those who elevate themselves to the level of God pridefully thinking they never deserved condemnation.
John 3:18: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God"
Romans 3:23
"23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
Even those who think they have never done "the big sins" were on their way to hell until they repented of the same pride the devil had when he was thrown out of heaven.
Those who know they deserved hell and trusted Christ because they had no ability to earn heaven will never see others as beneath them nor will they have contempt for those who have not yet trusted in Christ. No one is better than anyone else, those who have been changed by Christ into a new creation are not better than the unsaved, it is only Christ Who is better.
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. . ”
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
The hardest people to reach for Christ are those who have a high opinion of themselves, even those who are pretenders in the church. Anyone raised to believe they were above others will be the hardest to convince they need to be saved from hell through confessing their sinfulness and trusting in Christ.
All born-again believers ought to be saying;
"Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Within every person who has a high opinion of themselves is raging anger that is ready to emerge as soon as someone challenges them to ask God if they were ever born again. Those who have been born again will be humbled and desire to know why someone might think they are not born gain.
Only the unsaved pretenders would become angry at a challenge to ask God if they were ever born again.
May we all challenge ourselves to walk more diligently in the principles of God never seeing a challenge as hate but as love.
