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Reminder about the Existence of Wheat and Tares
The topic of true and false conversion
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Reminder about the Existence of Wheat and Tares
09-07-10 03:47 PM
play4fun is Offline
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This is an article that I am writing to my school newspaper's editorial section. It may seem rushed because it has a word limit, but tell me what you think. The topic is concerning True and False Converts.
Reminder about the existence of Wheat and Tares In his book, The Second Coming of the Church, Christian researcher George Barna listed statistics and poll results that compared the behaviors of those within the church with those outside the church. The book was published in 1998, but the statistics from that book are still very similar today. In the end, Barna concluded that “We [Christians] think and behave no differently from anyone else.†There are people who go to church on Sunday, but live a worldly life outside of the church. They say that they are Christians, but they would live as if Jesus never came to die for their sins, with no desire for holiness and some even abandon their faith at some point in their lives. Even an Atheist website used these examples to claim that “Christianity doesn’t work as advertised.†In reality, they were never saved in the first place. They are false converts. A.W. Tozer said “It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people, if not millions have been into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.†I don’t doubt their sincerity in their confession of faith, though there are those who are not sincere. However, conversion is not plainly a change of belief systems, but a life changing experience. Jesus constantly talked about true and false converts. He talked about the “wheat and the tares,†“good fish and the bad fish,†“good tree and the bad tree,†etc. His parables also illustrated that false converts are blended among the community of true converts—the fishes were in the same net, the wheat and the tares were in the same field, etc. Jesus even claimed that there are those who would profess Him to be Lord, but because they have not been truly saved, Jesus would say to them “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.†(Matthew 7:23) True believers not only have a confession of belief that labels them as Christians, but the evidence of conversion is whether one undergoes the process of sanctification, whether one displays good works, and whether one has “godly sorrow that leads to repentance†if we sin (James 2:17; 2 Corinthians 7:10). We would be what 2 Corinthians state as “a new creation,†and we are led by the Holy Spirit that is within us to bear fruit (Matthew 7:18, Galations 5:16-26) We are not saved by works, but the aftereffects of conversion would be good works. There can be many causes that would produce false conversion, but a less evident reason would be the lack of understanding of how to obtain salvation. Many professing Christians were taught to just believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved, which is called “easy-believism.†They think that as long as they have an intellectual understanding of God, they would be fine, but “even the demons believe—and tremble!†(James 2:19). The response to the gospel message should be both to “repent and believe in the gospel†(Mark 1:15). Missionary Paul Washer says “If you don’t have a new relationship with sin, you don’t have a new relationship with God.†Sadly, many churches neglect teaching about false conversions. When a churchgoer has doubts on their salvation due to self-examination of one’s life, many church leaders would ask whether a person “asked Jesus into their heartâ€, “prayed the prayer†or “responded to an alter call†as evidence of conversion, when their actions speak otherwise. They quickly state that they are Carnal Christians when members of their congregation are living in a lifestyle of habitual sin. There is such a thing as a Christian who stumbles into carnality, but there’s no such thing as a “Carnal Christianâ€â€”a true Christian who lives a lifestyle of sin—and they are filling the pews with unsaved people. John Piper said “There are many churchgoing people who believe that they are saved because they once prayed to receive Jesus, not realizing that the proof of the genuineness of that prayer is perseverance in faith and holiness.†Do I think that it’s possible that there are false converts in Wheaton College? Like everywhere else, it’s possible. Some of you may realize that you might be a false convert or that you doubt your salvation because of the life that you seem to be living in. I plead with you “to make your calling and election sure†(2 Peter 1:10). We need to remind ourselves that there is such a thing as true and false conversion and we must “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?†(2 Corinthians 13:5) Reminder about the existence of Wheat and Tares In his book, The Second Coming of the Church, Christian researcher George Barna listed statistics and poll results that compared the behaviors of those within the church with those outside the church. The book was published in 1998, but the statistics from that book are still very similar today. In the end, Barna concluded that “We [Christians] think and behave no differently from anyone else.†There are people who go to church on Sunday, but live a worldly life outside of the church. They say that they are Christians, but they would live as if Jesus never came to die for their sins, with no desire for holiness and some even abandon their faith at some point in their lives. Even an Atheist website used these examples to claim that “Christianity doesn’t work as advertised.†In reality, they were never saved in the first place. They are false converts. A.W. Tozer said “It is my opinion that tens of thousands of people, if not millions have been into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.†I don’t doubt their sincerity in their confession of faith, though there are those who are not sincere. However, conversion is not plainly a change of belief systems, but a life changing experience. Jesus constantly talked about true and false converts. He talked about the “wheat and the tares,†“good fish and the bad fish,†“good tree and the bad tree,†etc. His parables also illustrated that false converts are blended among the community of true converts—the fishes were in the same net, the wheat and the tares were in the same field, etc. Jesus even claimed that there are those who would profess Him to be Lord, but because they have not been truly saved, Jesus would say to them “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.†(Matthew 7:23) True believers not only have a confession of belief that labels them as Christians, but the evidence of conversion is whether one undergoes the process of sanctification, whether one displays good works, and whether one has “godly sorrow that leads to repentance†if we sin (James 2:17; 2 Corinthians 7:10). We would be what 2 Corinthians state as “a new creation,†and we are led by the Holy Spirit that is within us to bear fruit (Matthew 7:18, Galations 5:16-26) We are not saved by works, but the aftereffects of conversion would be good works. There can be many causes that would produce false conversion, but a less evident reason would be the lack of understanding of how to obtain salvation. Many professing Christians were taught to just believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved, which is called “easy-believism.†They think that as long as they have an intellectual understanding of God, they would be fine, but “even the demons believe—and tremble!†(James 2:19). The response to the gospel message should be both to “repent and believe in the gospel†(Mark 1:15). Missionary Paul Washer says “If you don’t have a new relationship with sin, you don’t have a new relationship with God.†Sadly, many churches neglect teaching about false conversions. When a churchgoer has doubts on their salvation due to self-examination of one’s life, many church leaders would ask whether a person “asked Jesus into their heartâ€, “prayed the prayer†or “responded to an alter call†as evidence of conversion, when their actions speak otherwise. They quickly state that they are Carnal Christians when members of their congregation are living in a lifestyle of habitual sin. There is such a thing as a Christian who stumbles into carnality, but there’s no such thing as a “Carnal Christianâ€â€”a true Christian who lives a lifestyle of sin—and they are filling the pews with unsaved people. John Piper said “There are many churchgoing people who believe that they are saved because they once prayed to receive Jesus, not realizing that the proof of the genuineness of that prayer is perseverance in faith and holiness.†Do I think that it’s possible that there are false converts in Wheaton College? Like everywhere else, it’s possible. Some of you may realize that you might be a false convert or that you doubt your salvation because of the life that you seem to be living in. I plead with you “to make your calling and election sure†(2 Peter 1:10). We need to remind ourselves that there is such a thing as true and false conversion and we must “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?†(2 Corinthians 13:5) |
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(edited by play4fun on 09-07-10 03:49 PM)
09-07-10 04:37 PM
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I think this is good bro. Christianity is not simply turning over a new leaf. There are those tares, however, some are simply still new believers. As such they have not yet come to the point of brokenness. I think what is important for a Christian is to be grounded in the Word, if it is available.
The Bible was written that God may show us what He desires from us. If not, the Holy Spirit speaks to our conscience regardless; if you ask for a new heart with His desires, He will give it to you. As it says in the Bible, "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). The Bible was written that God may show us what He desires from us. If not, the Holy Spirit speaks to our conscience regardless; if you ask for a new heart with His desires, He will give it to you. As it says in the Bible, "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). |
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