Skip to main content

If you live like a pagan, don't think you're a Christian.


Tomorrow night I have the privilege of preaching the second to last sermon in our 13-part Fundamentals of the Faith course at Church. It's been a tremendous study for me and for everyone, I trust! Tomorrow, however, is our study on obedience and just how important this issue is in the life of the "Christian."

We are wrestling with the issue of Lordship Salvation. Can a person be saved and have Jesus as Savior but not have Him as Lord? To that question, I will answer a hearty and authoritative NO because that's how Jesus answered that question. We will be looking at Matthew 7:15-20 and a number of insights from the passage showing who false prophets are and what they are like. Here are my points:

Matthew 7:15-20:

Insights Gleaned from this passage:

  1. NonChristians look good on the outside but inside they are destructive (15a) (keyword: Hypocrites)

  1. You will discern a true Christian by the way he lives his life (16, 20) (keyword: Obedience)

  1. True Believers cannot live patterns of sinful lives (16b, 18) (keyword: Repentance)

  1. The fruit a person bears is outward evidence of the spiritual condition (17, 19) (keyword: Fruitbearing)

  1. Every person not bearing spiritual fruit will be cut off and thrown into hell (19b) (keyword: Seriousness)

  1. Many people think they’re going to heaven but, in fact, are headed for hell (21a) (keyword: Deceived Ones)

  1. The one who enters heaven proves his spiritual condition by his good works (21b) (keyword: Transformation)

  1. Many do spiritual things for God and are involved in spiritual things but end up in hell (22-23) (keyword: Works-Salvation)


Therefore, if you call yourself a Christian and yet you live like a pagan, stop calling yourself a Christian because Jesus said you will be known by your fruits. Furthermore, many--many--people will think they are Christians and on the road to eternal bliss in heaven till they stand at the threshhold of heaven calling Jesus 'LORD, LORD' (note 2x for emphasis!) yet he wags his head in shame and utter contempt because He has never had an intimite and saving relationship with that person who is "religious" on the outside yet corrupt on the inside. This is a characteristic of false prophets and there were plenty of them in Jesus' day, in Paul's day, in Luther's day, in our day, and in our pews. Don't be deceived. If you are NOT living a life bearing good fruit--then you cannot be a good tree. If you die in that state, Jesus said you will be cut down and cast utterly and finally into the blazing furnace of fire where you will be tortured forever by the personal and furious hand of God Almighty. Yet if you repent and believe in Christ and acknowlede Him as LORD and submit, surrender, and devote your entire life to Him as LORD, he will never cast you out.

Repent and be saved today!

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 58:10 - Rejoice at the Destruction of the Wicked?

Does the Bible really say that the righteous will rejoice at God's vengeance upon the wicked? Yes, it does. First of all, the Bible no where advocates or condones people rejoicing over the downfall of the enemy because of personal vengeance . All vengeance must be left to the LORD (Deut 32 and Rom 12). Nevertheless, when the Christian has a God-centered perspective, it is absolutely reasonable—yes, required—that believers rejoice at the destruction of the wicked. (Again, this is not personal vengeance or gloating that the wicked are finally cast into hell.) But in my sermon last night I provided seven reasons why the righteous will rejoice at the judgment of the wicked: 1. God commands it (Rev 19:1-10) In a mysterious way, God commands believers to rejoice because His judgments are poured out upon the wicked. Just read Revelation 19:1 (which immediately follows Rev 17-18 and the cataclysmic destruction of Babylon, the false religious system and the false political system durin
Read more

Quotes on God's Sovereignty from AW Pink

Yesterday I read Pink's classic work again in preparation for my sermon on Psalm 47 this week at Church. God is good and He truly is the Sovereign King. Quotes from A. W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God . Revised edition. Reprint, 1928. Carlisle , PA : Banner of Truth Trust, 1998. “From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns.” (p.15). “Learn then this basic truth, that the Creator is absolute Sovereign, executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering naught but His own glory. “The Lord hath made all things FOR HIMSELF. (Prov 16:4). And had He not a perfect right to do so? Since God is God, who dare challenge His prerogative? To murmur against Him is rank rebellion. To question His ways is to impugn His wisdom. To criticize Him is sin of the deepest dye. Have we forgotten who He is?” (p.30). “Because God governs inanimate matter… when we complain about
Read more

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity.

The Upright of Heart as a Metaphor for Integrity Psalm 11.2 says that the wicked seek to destroy those who are “upright in heart” ( לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב). The LXX renders the Hebrew phrase as: τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ (“the straight ones [=upright] of heart”). The Aramaic Targum renders the phrase in its oft-expanded way:  תקיני  לתריצי לבא (“the firm stability of the upright ones in heart”). Why is this language used to speak about integrity? Why does this describe the godly? I want to offer a few observations concerning this phrase. 1. This phrase refers to the godly person being one who is unbending and standing straight up for the Lord and for His Word. The Hebrew root for “upright” (יָשָׁר) speaks of that which is straight and right. So then, the person who is upright in heart is one who is straight in his life, straight in his course, unbending in his convictions, unswerving in his conduct. Joshua was told not to turn away from the Law of God either to the right or the left (Josh 1.7;
Read more