Hi everyone and hope all is well,
This will be a longer post, but I believe what I’m going to say is of real importance, and so I hope you’ll stick with me.
It’s been a while since my last post (almost a year), so I think that deserves an explanation. About nine months ago, I was drafting an article on Matthew 7:15–20 (ESV), where I planned to speak on the importance of closely watching the words we use as Christians—and that we ought to recognise whether we are producing good fruit or bad fruit. And if bad, through the Holy Spirit’s aid, encourage you to strive to produce good fruit. I ran my draft past a trusted Brother in Christ and he lovingly pointed out my incorrect interpretation. That, in Matt. 7:15–20, Jesus was not saying Christians ought to change from bad trees to good trees. Instead, if a person is consistently producing bad fruit—ie. gossip, slander, lying—it is evidence that a person may be a bad tree and a false believer. My interpretation was completely wrong and potentially, had that Brother not corrected me, may have led other believers into error. I was slightly discouraged as I had already completed the draft—which had taken days of study and writing to assemble—and I was only wanting him to give surface–level feedback, like “change this sentence” and definitely not “scrap this.”
Around that time, maybe a few weeks later, I came across James 3:1 and that verse stayed with me: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with a greater strictness (ESV).” Coming off my error and as the Holy Spirit showed me my lack of maturity, I thought it best to take a break from “teaching” through Substack. But since then I’ve been mentored greatly by that same Christian brother, blessed by great books and sermons, and believe I am in a much better position now to hopefully do some good, by God’s grace.
With school starting soon, I’m unsure how consistent I’ll be, but I will try to (hopefully) write something once a month(ish). Depending on my busyness, I may write more or less often. I’ve already written “The Gospel–In Short,” which I hope to post soon (and will probably rename), but I feel especially burdened to address one of the major issues I see in modern Christianity in these next few posts: False Assurance.
In brief, “false assurance” is when a person believes he is saved, when in fact they are not. When speaking on the Cretans in Titus 1:16, I think Paul also gives a wonderful description of those who have false assurance: “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works (ESV).”
To use a Puritan metaphor, many preachers are creating such false converts by“plucking unripe fruit.” That is, they smooth the rougher edges of the Gospel—the wickedness of sin, the holiness of God, the righteous wrath we all deserve and the need to turn from sin—or eliminate them entirely, producing ‘converts’ who have little understanding what they have been saved from and therefore no true love for, and obedience to, Christ. These preachers call for unbelievers to pray the ‘sinners’ prayer,’ and just like that, these people are supposedly saved. In an instant, they are born again, pass from death unto life, put off the old man, are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and are made a new creation!
“[many preachers] smooth the rougher edges of the Gospel … producing ‘converts’ who have little understanding what they have been saved from and therefore no true love for, and obedience to, Christ.”
By contrast, look at Acts 2:14–41 (ESV). Notice how the people cried out to Peter and because “they were cut to the heart” (v37). He made no altar call—they called to him. Notice also how he said they should “repent and be baptised” (v38) and not “say this prayer.”
Now, don’t get me wrong: I firmly believe people can and have been saved through altar calls and saying the sinner’s prayer, though I also believe in many cases this produces false conversions and creates false assurance. Why? Because, on the preacher’s part, there is little emphasis on communicating to unbelievers the sinfulness of their sin and the punishment they deserve, therefore they often have little knowledge of the terribleness of their condition and their need to cling to Christ. Hence, Jesus can be viewed as an add–on, a means to get–ahead—ie. ‘accepting Him’ is just something you do.
But isn’t faith in Jesus all that’s needed? Yes! Does faith without works save? No! I agree with Martin Luther’s quote: “Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone.” So, yes, faith alone saves like, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary” (Jonathan Edwards). Yes, like I cannot earn my salvation. Yes, like Ephesians 2:8–9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (ESV).”
“Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone” (Martin Luther).
But, trusting in Jesus is always accompanied by godly behaviour. Look at the next verse, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10, ESV).” Notice, for “good works”; we are saved for the purpose of living in a new way, not to continue leading an unchanged, sinful life.
Look at 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 (ESV).” I’ll say this: It is impossible for a person to become a Christian and nothing significant in their life changes Let me clarify, I do not speak necessarily of the next day, everything changes, but for a true Christian of a longer time (ie. 2–3 years), their lives should have changed quite significantly: what they love and hate should increasingly resemble what God loves and hates, the use of their time, their language and how they act should be becoming more like Christ. This necessary contrast between a person’s life before and after Christ is shown throughout the Bible (1 Cor. 6:9–11, 2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 5:16–25, Eph. 4:22–24, etc. all ESV).
“It is impossible for a person to become a Christian and nothing in their life changes.”
Note also this should not plateau near the middle of one’s life, but should a Christian should be steadily growing—and (ideally, always) be, “[Striving] … for the holiness that without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, ESV). By “steadily growing,” I don’t mean a constant upward trend. I’ll borrow Paul Washer’s analogy to explain this “steady growth.” He speaks of Christians doing something like: three steps forward, two steps back, one step forward, three steps back, five steps forward, one step back so that over time a person is trending forward and growing toward Christ–likeness. They will stumble, but “the righteous falls seven times and rises again” (Proverbs 24:16, ESV).
We see the damning end of those who have faith without works (James 2:14–26, ESV)—ie. those who say they accept Jesus as their Saviour but do not submit to Him as their Lord in Matt. 7:21–23, ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (ESV).’” These people surely had faith! They expected— “‘Lord, Lord’”!—to enter heaven. But their faith was not a saving faith because they lived as though Jesus had “never [given them] a law to obey” (Paul Washer). I cannot stress this enough: your good actions contribute nothing to your salvation, but they certainly serve as evidence that Christ truly lives in you—if you truly have been born again. Again: a person’s good work by no means earns his salvation, but without them, it shows that he was never truly born again.
“But their faith was not a saving faith because they lived as though Jesus had “never [given them] a law to obey”” (Paul Washer).
A true believer’s life will not be perfect, but they will be growing in Christ–likeness. My question, which I’ll expand on in future, is: Are you? I don’t just mean: Since you claimed to become a Christian, have you become a better person? I mean this: Since you became a Christian, have you grown in Christ–likeness? It’s possible to be an outwardly ‘good person’ and still be unsaved—look at the Pharisees (Matt. 23:25–28). The difference between a true believer and a false convert is that the Christian will be becoming more like Christ with the objective of glorifying God.
“A true believer’s life will not be perfect, but they will be growing in Christ-likeness. My question … is: Are you? … The difference between a true believer and a false convert is that the Christian will be becoming more like Christ with the objective of glorifying God.
I plan to use Matt. 7:21–23 as a launching point to do a study through the book of 1 John. My hope is that, having examined yourself by the Bible’s standards, I can either (1) encourage you that you are a true Christian or (2) show that you have not yet been born again and urge you to repent to know the fullness and joy of being a true follower of Christ. All I can pray for is that we would all be honest with ourselves.
One last thing: I know I’ve been blunt, but please, please know that I say this all in love. Until maybe one or two years ago, I was a false believer. Sure, I went to Church, sure I knew Bible passages, sure I talked to others about Christ, but inwardly I was not submitted to Him. I was wicked, impure; I had no love for Him, I had no care for the things of God, I was still trying to earn my salvation. Now, having been saved, I’ve been changed through the work of the Holy Spirit. Am I perfect? Absolutely not—those who know me closest will agree! But do I believe I’m progressing in Christ-likeness? Yes, though there is still much, much more to go. All that to say, I don’t want to come across as one who has ‘reached the peak’ or a ‘holier-than-thou’ and instead just someone who cares deeply about your soul.
If God could use is to benefit just one person, to show them the depth of His love toward them, then that would make this all worth it. Prayers for God’s grace in communicating this in love, interpreting these Bible passages correctly and greater wisdom and time management to get this all done would be much appreciated :)
Grace to you and see you soon by God’s grace,
Daniel Fabunmi
Love this message! Keep up the good work!!