John 14:15
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Acts 5:29
"But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men."
1 Peter 1:14
"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,"
1 John 5:3
"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
The evidence that we are born again is that we love God's commandments. When we fail we hate it and quickly confess to return to obedience.
Exodus 23:22
“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries."
Those who are an enemy of God are our enemies too. Those who are our enemies because of Christ will be God's enemies too.
1 John 3:24
"Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us."
We do not become born again because we keep God's commandments. We keep God's commandments because we are born again.
Luke 11:28
"But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Time is now to evaluate whether or not you were ever authentically born again. Many in the church are pretending without salvation but convinced they are going to heaven.
2 Corinthians 13:5 " 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you— unless you actually fail the test?"
When someone is hostile at the mention of the gospel or the name of Jesus Christ they have never been born again.
Those who have been changed into a new creation by Christ will not be embarrassed about their new faith, they will love to hear it.
It is possible for new believers to be a little sheepish at first, but as they begin to grow they become more enthusiastic about His Word and discussion about it.
Let everyone test themselves, but not in comparing themselves to others. When we compare ourselves to Christ we have no sense of pride. When we compare ourselves to others we can always find others we feel superior to, but we can never feel superior to Christ.
Drop all the feelings and all the comparisons, seek Christ alone and all the arrogance will be chased away.
2 Corinthians 10:12 "12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they show their ignorance."
Believers are ashamed when they sin, but the unsaved defend theirs.
When someone who claims to be a "Christian" but is not ashamed of their haughty attitude or mean actions, then we can be sure there was no born again experience.
Most people today who think they are saved have no fruit of the Spirit, no commitment to righteousness and no sense of shame over bad attitudes.
When these people are told they are sinning in their actions and attitudes they fight to defend themselves rather than shamed to confess it and forsake it.
James 5:16
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
Psalm 32:5
"I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah"
God only forgives and cleanses those who are ashamed and want cleansing!
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."
God gives us our desires when they line up with His will and His principles.
Sometimes the Lord gives us what we want that is bad for us because we are so stubborn we refuse to ask Him or obey when He speaks.
I know of a wicked man who mocks women who are heavy. He has a monstrous disrespect for women and demonstrates it in this mocking and demeaning.
This man claims to be a Christian and yet he has no fruit of the Spirit and lacks any form of empathy and concern for anyone but himself.
Every time this man mocks a woman who is over weight he shows the evil in his own heart.
What are the things that must happen for this man to feel justified in mocking those who are heavy?
First this very foolish man has to think that a person's size is more important than someone's spiritual condition. When we see outer appearances but do not discern the spirit, then superficial appearances are the most important. He must also perceive himself to be superior to those who do not look just like him.
Secondly this foolish man has to assume that a heavier woman is overeating, gluttonous without knowing her medical condition. He has not spoken to her doctor, he has not been around to see how she eats nor has he known her personally. This wicked man judges on appearances alone without any evidence, merely based on his own preference for women to be thin.
Thirdly this foolish man is demonstrating that demeaning and mocking women because of their size elevates himself in some way. He must demean, mock and destroy anyone who does not fit his narrow view of humanity.
Proverbs 18:2
"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."
Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 29:9
"If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet."
Proverbs 26:19
"A fool is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”
Those that judge others based on appearances alone are wicked, used of the devil to ruin those who love the Lord.
Proverbs 10:23
"Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding."
We know that the fool takes pleasure in demeaning others, its like candy to them.
Proverbs 14:16
"One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless."
Proverbs 13:20
"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."
The only solution for the fool is repentance. This person must confess their wicked heart to be cleansed by God. IF he will not repent, then the Lord will bring upon him discipline that could destroy him. God does not tolerate the evil perpetrated on others by the narcissist, at some point God will punish those who refuse to admit their sin.
The solution for those who are mocked by these wicked ones is to remove ourselves, stay completely away from them, they are nothing but trouble all the time and will never bring anything of godly value to our lives.
Ecclesiastes 7:9
"Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools."
Do not be angry with the fool, feel sorry for them and pray for them. However the only way to keep ourselves from frustration and anger in our own soul, is to avoid these mean types who have refused to repent.
Proverbs 13:20
"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."
2 Timothy 3, 2 Timothy 4
When Christ changes us into a new creation we are completely changed, never to go back to what we used to be. It was His work in us, not us deciding what we wanted to be and doing it. There are far more pretenders in the churches today than authentic believers. We know this by their life that seems to have not changed and their resistance to hearing the Word of God.
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."
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:…"
Ephesians 2:8-10 "…8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.…"
Have you ever been in a family function in which there are Christians who attend church every week but seem embarrassed to hear about the things of the Lord?
This is a common experience in our day. When we speak the truths of God's word, loving His principles we are treated as if we had done something strange and off base.
Sadly I hear about this all the time. Those who are on fire for the Lord are avoided, mocked and lied against for simply living what they profess.
Pretenders are those who have a form of religion based mostly on rules and appearances. They are dedicated to being seen as a good person but are not interested in Christ or His principles.
To the pretender the Bible is used as a book of suggestions in which they choose what they like and follow that while ignoring everything they do not like.
Adding to this mentality of cherry picking is the "reading between the lines" thinking, in which one is allowed to interpret the principles the way they choose to believe them rather than what God said or meant.
When we correct a pretender they do not think the way an authentic born again believer thinks. Rather than saying, "wow that person is really dedicated to Christ", they interpret our correction as a personal attack on them.
A truly born again believer understands correction from another believer as a help, a stance of love to bring them into a closer relationship with Christ.
Matthew 10:21-23 "…21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.…"
Revelation 22:18-19
"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."
Those who are pretenders, those who live according to their own idea of "Christianity" are not looking to Christ, they are not dedicated to His principles nor are the open to be able to receive the things of the Lord as God has presented them in the Word.
I have had far less opposition to sharing the word of God with unbelievers than I have had with those who are in the church gatherings. The apostate church is everywhere, most people in those gatherings care only about living semi-clean lives without honor and respect for others. The self focus on living a good live and appearing to do well far outweighs any dedication to Christ.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"
2 Timothy 3:4-6 "…4 traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these! 6 They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,"
The passions of the pretender are dedicated to looking, feeling and feigning goodness in the presence of others. What they do not understand is that God sees their pretense, their denial of Him and the denial of His principles.
The angst that we encounter in the world is the same angst that we encounter in the apostate church. In short then, we see that many churches are full of "Christians" but the born again believers in them are few.
2 Thessalonians 3:6
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.
2 Thessalonians 3:6
"Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us."
If we remain companions with those who are pretenders, superficial and full of anger, we will become infected by their rebellion. We may not become rebellious as they are, but we will learn to stop speaking about the Lord to keep the peace.
Never stop speaking of the Lord because someone might become angry. When we learn that someone is hostile to the truth then we are to walk away and leave them to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 " 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.…
Satan's biggest tool on his tool belt is to silence believers through intimidation, manipulation and mocking. When we become strong, more concerned about truth we will be less interested in or affected by responses of rage toward us. This is because nothing is about us, its all about Christ. When they rage against us for speaking truth they are seeing us but raging against Christ Who lives in us.
One of the tactics we will see is the one who is full of anger toward us will attempt to turn our own spouses and friends against us by accusing us of things they are doing but we are not. Its common in our day to experience false accusations when we are dedicated to Christ.
Has anyone noticed the lies of the liberal left against the conservative right? Its the same principle, if they lie against their opponent often enough they can influence others to look at their opponent side ways, avoiding them, even gossiping things about them that are not true but believed by everyone who hears it.
When the devil has managed to convince people he is a good guy, through continual acting out a false persona, he can get people to elevate him and believe everything he says.
Word of caution, when someone comes to you with generalities about someone, "she is rebellious", "he is mean", without specific actions, then we know they are attempting to influence someone's attitude toward their target but probably have no substance, no authentic accusation.
Those who hate God will choose to believe things about others that are not true. They build an idea in their head they choose to believe and pass it around as fact. Don't be too alarmed when they do this to you, they did it to Christ and they do it to His Word the Bible.
Christ and the apostles were accused falsely regularly, and we also will be treated the same way.
We have Christ as our strength, we never have to take these accusations personally, they are not against us, they are against Christ. When the pretender accuses us falsely we know they are looking at us thinking they are seeing us, but in reality they are sensing Christ in us, an irritation that is unbearable for the unbeliever who wants to pretend they have Him but are actually against Him.
Pretenders have no defenses against the devil, they are tools in his hands. But we are tools in God's hands, we know that the devil has no power over Christ in us.
1 John 4:4
"You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."
