| Concerning the Nominal
Christian (Luke 6.46) . . . ["W]hy do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? |
| Approaching
is a day of dread, the day in which many
will stand horror-struck when they learn all too late that the
relationship they professed to have with the Lord Jesus Christ was
never reciprocal. Do not be one of them. Scripture readings: John 8.39-47; Titus 1.16, 2.12-14; 1 John 2.3-6; Matthew 10.14-15, 11.20-24; Hebrews 10.28-31; Matthew 7.21-23. Length of message is 40:56. |
|
| Listener's Response |
| June 9, 2009, 5:30 p.m. I listened to your Nominal Christian message. . . . What happens to all the people who think they are Christians who want to be good Christians that don't have this knowledge? As I believe you said most don't.. Did God create most people to go to Hell? What about people in other countries as well as the United States who have no access to this info? Are you afraid when you die that you might not have had it right? How sure are you? Many people interpret the Bible in many ways and think they have it right. My husband has a friend of sorts that thinks he knows a lot about the Bible... as in women are below men... he is currently in jail for domestic abuse. Not for the first time. He nearly killed his last girlfriend. Why would a Christian man beat a woman? |
| Author's Answer |
| June 17, 2009, 10:59 a.m. |
| What happens to all the people who think
they are Christians who want to be good Christians that don't have this
knowledge[ that one can be self-deceived about his or her standing with
God]? |
| Unfortunately, I cannot
answer this
question as it stands. I shall explain why. First, if one were to tell me, "I think I'm a Christian," I would ask, "Why do you think you're a Christian?" Depending on the answer, it might be clear the person is not a Christian at all. Second, if one were to tell me, "I want to be a good Christian," I would ask, "What do you mean by that?" and "What is your motive?" Again, depending on the answers, it might be clear the person is not a Christian at all. Answering your question correctly first requires that I have those questions answered. |
| . . . I believe you said most don't[ have this knowledge that one can be self-deceived about his or her standing with God.] |
| Understand that it is not I
but the Lord Jesus Christ who implicitly said that many who claim to
have a saving attachment to Him are in fact self-deceived about the
matter (Matthew 7.21-23; Luke 13.22-30). It is crucial to get to know that no one has the ability to create, make, fashion, or manufacture a saving attachment to the Lord Jesus Christ. No one is able to make himself or herself a Christian. It is as impossible as Lazarus making himself alive in his tomb. Just as it was Jesus who raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11.11-44), so it is God who makes one a Christian (Ephesians 2.1-10; cf. 1 Corinthians 1.30). |
| Did God create most people to go to Hell? |
| Since God is God, He has the
sovereign
right to do as He wishes with His own creation (cf. Matthew 20.15), to
do whatever He wishes to whomever He wishes for whatever reason He
wishes (Romans 9.14-29). And since God is holy, set entirely apart from
sin (Leviticus 11.44; Revelation 4.8; cf. Hebrews 7.26), He is never
wrong, neither in what He has done nor in what He does nor in what He
has determined to do nor in what He refrains from preventing. The LORD is good (Psalm 119.68), so He made the human race good (Genesis 1.31). The LORD, His word, and His ways are upright (Deuteronomy 32.4; Psalm 33.4; Hosea 14.9), so He made humanity upright (Ecclesiastes 7.29). But we have sought out many devices and schemes (Ecclesiastes 7.29), and now there is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 14.3). Should you studiously compare John 5.40 to John 6.44, 65 in the light of the Scriptures referenced in the preceding two paragraphs you will arrive at even more profound truth:
|
| What about people in other
countries as
well as the United States who have no access to this info[ about
self-deception over one's true standing with God]? |
| Let us take your thought
further. Let us
suppose every last soul on the face of the earth had more than just
access to this information, let us suppose all were actually cognizant,
conscious, or aware of what the Lord Jesus Christ said about spiritual
self-deception in Matthew 7.21-23 and Luke 13.22-30. Would this
ubiquitous knowledge result in a world altogether free from self-deceit
on the matter? No. Jesus said "many" would be self-deceived about their "relationship" with Him. Any less would prove the Son of God to be a false prophet. Whether access to these words of Jesus be limited or unlimited, "many" are going to experience this horrifying, gut-wrenching truth. Let me hasten to add that actual Christian, nominal Christian, and unbeliever alike, all deserve the dreaded dismissal of Matthew 7.23 irrespective of how accessible or inaccessible Jesus' words might be to the person. For, having failed to keep the moral law of the holy God, each one of us has earned banishment to the lake of fire for eternity, away from the presence of the Lord. In the end, the one the Son consigns to this punishment will experience fully what he or she deserves: divine fairness (Jeremiah 17.9-10; Matthew 16.21-28; Revelation 20.11-15). But the one to whom the Son has given eternal life (John 10.28, 17.2), this one will experience fully what no one deserves: divine favor. The LORD is both just and merciful (Jeremiah 9.23-24; cf. Deuteronomy 7.9-10). All who reject His Son He will damn; but all who entrust themselves to His Son He will save (John 3.13-21), for the punishment they deserve the Son took upon Himself in their behalf (2 Corinthians 5.14-15; 1 Timothy 2.6; Hebrews 2.9; cf. Isaiah 52.13-53.12). |
| Are you afraid when you die that you might not have had it right? How sure are you? Many people interpret the Bible in many ways and think they have it right. |
| I am sure there are things I
believe
right now which I am wrong about to one degree or another, but I do not
know enough yet to know that I am wrong about these things. Being a
workman in the word of truth (2 Timothy 2.15) is a lifelong
undertaking; hence, growing in grace and in the knowledge of my Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3.18) is a lifelong process. My
assurance of salvation is not based upon my surety of my doctrine but
upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In and upon Him alone
rests my trust that I shall not suffer the divine punishment I deserve
for my sins, for He loved me and voluntarily gave Himself over to
suffer and die in my place (John 10.11-18; Galatians 2.19-20). Having
let go of all else I am clinging to Jesus and clinging to Jesus alone
for dear life, just as if I were clinging to the ledge of a cliff (Acts
4.12). Those areas of doctrine wherein I am wrong I shall be held
fully accountable and suffer loss of rewards—not loss of
salvation—when I appear before the tribunal of God/the Messiah
(Romans 14.10-12; 1 Corinthians 3.10-15; 2 Corinthians 5.6-10; hear
also The Day of
Judgment: When the Christian Faces God). This is no light matter,
and I tremble at the thought. |
| Why would a Christian man beat a woman? |
| An actual Christian would
not practice
domestic abuse—but a nominal Christian surely could. If a man hits a
woman repeatedly so as to inflict pain cruelly or oppressively it is
because he is not only stronger than her and knows it but devoid of all nine characteristics of "the
fruit of the Spirit" listed in Galatians 5.22-23: "love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
Any man who exercises such mercilessness toward any woman is
demonstrating anything but genuine regeneration by God which is
inseparable from regenerated behavior (Romans 13.8-14; Ephesians
4.17-6.9; Colossians 3.1-4.1). |
Home The author implores checking his message and commentary
against Scripture using the tools of biblical interpretation. Please be
diligent to present yourself
approved to God, a worker having no cause or need to be ashamed,
handling the word of truth accurately. Message given May 20, 2009, by Thomas John Dexter. Copyright © 2009-2010 by Thomas John Dexter. All rights reserved. This labor may be downloaded and reproduced for distribution but not sold. Future messages and commentary on this topic by the author are subject to change as he grows in his understanding of the word of God. Scripture taken from the New King James Version® (NKJV), © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. Last updated May 26, 2010. |