C.I.N.O –  Christian In Name Only

WHEN they haul you into court and charge you with the CRIME of being a Christian, IS there enough EVIDENCE to Easily Convict You??

Matthew 7:20-23 “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Being born into a Christian home, or raised as a Christian, does NOT make you one. Being baptized as a child does NOT make you one. Being Confirmed or going through a Bible study does not make you one. Joining a Church dose NOT make you one!!

Matthew 15:7-9 “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Have you ever heard some of the filthy demonic politicians being called a R.I.N.O.?  One who is a R.I.N.O, is a Republican, who is really a Communist Democrat at heart, Hence Republican In Name Only! 

Well it is the same with someone who says they are a Christian, and as scripture above says, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” 

Ezekiel 33:31-32 “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.”

As I was putting this article together, (H/T to Steve Quayle) I came across an article by Coach Dave Daubenmire September 22, 2022. I do have permission from Brother Dave to post any of his writings!

What Are Christians Supposed to DO?

I was reminded the other day of a statement a friend of mine made a couple of years ago.

“Being a Christian is a lot like being a vitamin.  You simply have to B1.” 

Simple statement, but meaningless, actually.

How do you recognize a Christian?  Does calling oneself a Christian actually make it so?

I brought this up on my daily show (www.CoachDaveLive.com) last week in an attempt to get the folks in my “huddle” to actually think.

An entire book in the Bible is called ACTS.  It is a record of some of the activities that the 1^st Century Christians found themselves involved in.  It is a fascinating recitation of the “acts” of the Apostles.  Their faith cost many of them their lives.

Webster defines ACT as “That which is done; a deed, exploit, or achievement, whether good or ill.”

TO ACT connotes movement…production…exertion of energy…accomplishment.

People are defined by what they DO…not simply what they are.  As I once heard someone ask “if they charged you with the crime of being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?”  Action leaves evidence.  Evidence suggests complicity.  Complicity implies quilt.

Let me ask you again…what is it that Christians DO?

Plumbers fix pipes.  Singers sing songs.  Truckers drive trucks.  Preachers preach, cooks cook, cleaners clean, dancers dance.  Every category of human endeavor is defined by what the doer actually does.

Except for Christians.  Christians simply are…sort of like vitamins.

But even vitamins DO something.  They are imperative for the proper functioning of a body.

Some plumbers are Christian.  The same with butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers.  Being a Christian identifies the values that one possesses…the standard by which they live their lives…but it does not demonstrate exactly what it is that their Christianity causes them to DO.

The Bible teaches us that “they will know that we are Christians by our love?”  But what does that mean?  Love should produce action.  Love should provide evidence of belief.  The Apostle Paul said that what we DO is evidence of what we believe.  Action produces the fruit of belief.

What is it that your Christianity causes you to do?

No one can earn or work their way into Heaven. Salvation is by grace alone…through faith alone…in Christ alone. But works are evidence of belief. The idea of WORKS has gotten a bad rap in the church. Works are the evidence of the living out of the Christian Faith.

James 2:14-26 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Prayer, alone, is not works.  Prayer empowers action.  Action produces works.  Works are evidence of belief.  Belief is the incubator of action.  Church attendance alone is not action.

According to Revelation 20:12 we will all appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  It is there that we will be required to produce evidence of our Christianity.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

Is simply BEING a Christian all that is required of the Lord?  Was my friend, right?  Is the Christian Life really similar to a vitamin?  Just B1?

I am reminded of the Parable of the talents where the man who had only ONE buried it for fear of not stacking up.   Jesus called him a “a wicked and slothful servant.”

When you and I stand before the Lord will we simply be judged by what we BELIEVE or will we be judged by what we did with what we believed?

How is your Christian-exercise program going?  What action is your faith producing? Just what is it that Christians are supposed to DO?

A dictionary definition of a Christian would be something similar to “a person professing belief in Jesus as the Christ or in the religion based on the teachings of Jesus.” While this is a good starting point, like many dictionary definitions, it falls somewhat short of really communicating the biblical truth of what it means to be a Christian. 

It is WRONG that people being in a “religion”, or even a member of a Church, makes them a Christian. That is akin to saying being in a barn makes you a cow!

The word “Christian” is used three times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1st Peter 4:16). Followers of Jesus Christ were first called “Christians” in Antioch (Acts 11:26) because their behavior, activity, and speech were like Christ. The word “Christian” literally means, “belonging to the party of Christ” or a “follower of Christ.”

Unfortunately over time, the word “Christian” has lost a great deal of its significance and is often used of someone who is religious or has high moral values but who may or may not be a true follower of Jesus Christ. 

Many people who do not believe and trust in Jesus Christ consider themselves Christians simply because they go to church or they live in a “Christian” nation. 

But going to church, serving those less fortunate than you, or being a good person does not make you a Christian. Going to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile. Being a member of a church, attending services regularly, and giving to the work of the church does not make you a Christian.

The Bible teaches that the good works we do cannot make us acceptable to God. Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” So, a Christian is someone who has been born again by God (John 3:3; John 3:7; 1st Peter 1:23) and has put faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that it is “…by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

A true Christian is a person who has put faith and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ, including His death on the cross as payment for sins and His resurrection on the third day. John 1:12 tells us, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” The mark of a true Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word (1st John 2:4, 10). A true Christian is indeed a child of God, a part of God’s true family, and one who has been given new life in Jesus Christ. Adapted and edited from this source

1st Corinthians 2:14 “but the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” 

The true Christian life is unintelligible to human wisdom, just as God’s Mind and Ways are beyond natural wisdom.

The Scripture declares that all unsaved individuals are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). And “dead” is “dead”! This means that the unconverted individual is totally depraved, has no true knowledge of God, has no true understanding of God, has no true understanding of the things of God, etc. The unconverted man is dead to God in every respect.

That’s why it is foolishness to appeal to the lost by the means of intellectualism. No matter how much one tries to explain something to a dead person, such explanation obviously is lost. How can a dead person understand anything concerning that to which he or she is dead?

For a person to be saved, the Word of God must be ministered in some way to such a heart and life. It may be in the form of preaching, or the words which are Scriptural in a song brought to the heart of the person, or even a Scripture learned as a child brought to the heart of the individual.

While the unredeemed person doesn’t understand the Word, and cannot understand the Word, still, the Word forms a basis on which the Holy Spirit works, without which He will not work. As the Word in some way goes forth, and as the Holy Spirit quickens it to the heart, the person is brought under conviction, and the one thing they do then know is that they are lost. In other words, they are convicted of their lost condition.

There is a pull generated then by the Holy Spirit to bring that person to an acceptance of Christ, Who Alone can meet and change the condition of the heart. If such a person then believes in their heart on Christ, that person is then Born-Again—instantly Born-Again, we might quickly add.

So, understanding the condition of the lost soul and how the Holy Spirit works, Preachers should realize that if they fail to preach Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, if they fail to make that the foundation of the presented Gospel, there will be no spiritual results.

The Word is clear. The Message is clear. There is no reason that Preachers of the Gospel should take any other tack than that laid down by the Apostle Paul. “Excellency of speech or of wisdom” will serve little purpose. The Message must be “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” 

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”