When I was a little kid, one time I pulled some little red grapes off these little stems and tried to eat them. Problem was, they were plastic.
I was surprised to find that I could chew and suck on these plastic grapes and they wouldn’t chew up. I spit them out and stuck those slobbery globs back on their plastic stems, then went looking for some real food. All that wasted energy just made me hungrier.
You ever do that—try to get life out of something that wasn’t alive?
I bet some of you are thinking, “Yeah, my marriage. There was no life in that sucker. That’s why I left.”
Here’s something else without life: people who think they are Christians, but according to the Bible, they aren’t real Christians. Click To TweetI’m sorry. I’ve met a lot of people like you who’ve tried to suck the life out of a dead marriage. It’s always desperately empty and futile. You can’t get life from something that’s dead.
Here’s something else without life: people who think they are Christians, but according to the Bible, they aren’t real Christians.
They didn’t follow the rules for being called a Christian. If they were to die, and Jesus were to say to them, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” they’d give a response that would have Him “smh.” They’d be thrust out of His presence and eternally banned.
“Not all those who say ‘You are our Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On the last day many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ Then I will tell them clearly, ‘Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you.’“ Matthew 7:21–23 NCV
They may be nice, moral, happy or church-going people. Yet, if they called themselves Christians but were not, they would all be impostors.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Philippians 3:20 NASB
You see, if you’re going to call yourself a citizen of another country, you have to go by their rules. You can’t get to heaven on your terms.
For instance, I can visit the United Kingdom as a tourist if I follow these rules:
- I have a valid passport.
- I only stay up to six months.
- Don’t cause problems and get in trouble while I’m there.
I could call myself a citizen of the UK, but those statements would be false. Anybody who knew me would be laughing or wondering if I’d gone loony.
The UK wouldn’t claim me after they check the records. As long as I stay over here and don’t cause them any trouble, they’ll leave me to rave about my phony citizenship.
What are “the rules” for being a Christian? And before you lambast me for being legalistic, I’m not talking about how to live the Christian life by the flesh and by tradition. I’m talking about the basic entrance requirements just to make sure you’re actually in the kingdom of heaven.
You must be born again. John 3:1–8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+3%3A1-8&version=NASB
Being born again wasn’t a hip term for Christians that arose in the 60’s; Jesus invented it. You once had a physical birth to live on this physical planet. You must have a spiritual re-birth, or be born again, to enter into a spiritual relationship with God.
There must be a spiritual transaction where you give up your will, your sin, and the rest of you to Jesus and you let Him take over. Regeneration—the resurrection of something that was totally dead to the things of God—must occur in your heart and life. And it’s not just verbal; it’s visible.
You must leave behind the darkness of your former lifestyle and way of thinking. Ephesians 5:6–13 NASB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A6%E2%80%9313&version=NASB
Sometimes the initial surrender of one’s heart and life to Jesus produces instant freedom from addictions, emotional distress, guilt, and shame. However, sometimes it doesn’t happen that way. The true believer will demonstrate his/her faith through persistence and a growing desire to know God and obey Him.
Real followers of Jesus will never be perfect in this life, but they will want to live for Him. They may not understand at first that they have to live the Christian life by the power of God, or how spiritual warfare operates. At least they’ll desire to please Him.
That desire to love and honor the Lord and live according to His Word is evidence of the life of Christ living inside them. Click To TweetThat desire to love and honor the Lord and live according to His Word is evidence of the life of Christ living inside them. John 14:15 NASB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A15&version=NASB
Translation?
For example: Let’s say that we were having sex outside of marriage (aka fornication) before we became a Christian. Perhaps we were even living with our boyfriend/girlfriend. Now as single followers of God, we realize that God’s Word tells us that fornication is sin because our bodies are His temple and we are to honor Him with how we live.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 AMPC https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+6%3A19-20&version=AMPC
Ephesians 5:3 CJB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A3&version=CJB
Colossians 3:5 CJB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3%3A5&version=CJB
Hebrews 13:5 CJB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13%3A4&version=CJB
We stop having sex to honor God over our hormones. We learn to stop lingering in places that tempt us. We might even move out or break up with our lover to stay right with God. We learn what it means to live celibate and wait till after the wedding to have sex again because we’re trusting and honoring God.
The natural consequence of our connection with and growing obedience to Christ is called fruit. Such fruit from a real believer’s life—steadfast, resolute, and demonstrable, though imperfect, progress toward honoring God—is refreshing, life-giving, and draws others to Christ. Like real fruit does to the body.
If you want to make a positive impact for eternity, you must first make sure that you are a real believer and not just another religious person. To pass the life and light of Christ to someone else, you must first possess it. You don’t want to pass along plastic grapes that look good on the outside but are spiritually inedible.
