Christianity is thrown around with no concept of understanding. Businesses use “Christian Owned” to gain more customers. Businesses also play Christian music in their stores. People hear others quote phrases that sound as if they are believers. There are other people that claim they are Christian by attending a certain church. There are “spiritual” people that think that they are Christian as well.
We can figure out pretty quickly if someone is a true born-again believer if we use the Word of God. We can’t really know their heart for sure, but we can get a pretty good idea where they are in their walk and what they believe. If you engage someone long enough you will find out their status. A lot of times their “Christianity” is a patch on their arm and in all reality they are really lost and heading to a Christless eternity. A very real place called hell. It is a dangerous place to be in. Some of my family have this false sense of security that just because they were dunked in a container of water they are “washed”. If this “baptism” saved you then why did Jesus tell the thief on the cross that he was going to heaven and he never was baptized?
I am going to list a few questions to ask someone if they say they are “born-again” or a “Christian” that can reveal to you the truth about their relationship with Christ. Whether this is someone that you may be pursuing as a mate or someone that is a friend. Either way you will have a pretty good idea.
- How did you come to a relationship with Christ or what is your testimony?
- If you that are reading this or if the person that you ask this question to does not understand this question then you can assume they are not saved and are as lost as a goose. How they come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the most important things that can ever happen to an individual. If they cannot give you a general story of how they came to Christ. They are lost and are not a Christian. If they say I do a lot of works and good deeds to get to heaven? They are not a Christian. There is a fine line between a lost person and a saved person. That is why Jesus said it is better for a camel to go through an eye of a needle. I always teach my Jr. High kids that the distance between heaven and hell is 18 inches. The same distance between your head and your heart. We can know Jesus in our minds but do we really KNOW Jesus in our hearts?
- What is their stand on God’s Word?
- If you hang out with someone long enough you will eventually know who they really are. There have been many times I have engaged so called “Christians” with God’s Word only to hear the words. That book is written by men. In other words, that Bible is not true, it has mistakes. You would not know Christ unless you read the Bible! If it is not true and has mistakes in it, then Christ is not real. Once you find out that, you might as well move on from that relationship if it is someone you are courting. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” If they don’t believe that God’s word is perfect and is without error. They may be saved, but you will run into issues in the long run. Stay away from them!
- What kind of fruit do they produce?
- Jesus talks a lot about fruit in the Gospels. He says in Matthew 12:33, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” Jesus commands us to bring forth fruit in John 15:16 as it says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.“ If it is bad fruit, it is time to move on. Don’t think for an instant that you can change that individual by, evangelizing them. You are a fool to marry that woman thinking you can evangelize and convert them along the way. Get that out of your head now while it is fresh!
These are just a few things to look for and ask to reveal to you their stand on their so called claim to “Christianity”. Just because someone looks like a Christian from the outside does not mean that they are a Christian on the inside. Please take this to heart on your endeavors for new friendships, that special someone for your life. Do not tie the knot until you clearly know that this individual you are seeking is without a shadow of a double a blood bought, born-again believer of the Lord Jesus Christ!