Fake Christians
A supposedly “Christian” woman wrote this on Twitter recently:
“Since conservative Christians keep coming at me. Here:
“I am a Christian and I believe proselytizing is violence against another.
I am a Christian and I believe LGBTQ+ ppl are divine and should lead us.
I am a Christian and I learn a lot from ppl who do not share my faith.
“I am a Christian and I don’t go to church.
I am a Christian and I don’t believe the Bible is the word of God.
I am a Christian and I embrace sex-positivity, which includes but isn’t limited to, sex outside of marriage.
“I am a Christian and I believe everyone has access to God. EVERY ONE.
“I am a Christian and I do as I please (which is not to say I can harm anyone, that’s never ok).
“I am a Christian and I know Christianity has been used as a weapon of white supremacy for so long that any Christian who isn’t actively dismantling white supremacy, is harming ppl with their theology.
“I am a Christian and I believe people know what’s best for them, sometimes that means running away from Christianity. I applaud them.”
I will give you some Bible verses that describe her perfectly. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
The social justice path is a dangerous path to be on, women. I see many popular female Bible preachers (which is unbiblical and sinful to begin with since God makes it clear that women are NOT to be preachers) falling away from Christ on their pursuit of social justice. The health, wealth, name it and claim it gospel is another dark path to be on. Watch the “American Gospel Christ Alone” on Netflix if you can and learn about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ plus nothing. Find out what Christ accomplished on the cross for you, a sinner in need of a Savior. Once you repent and believe, you become a new creature in Christ. It’s all about Him! It’s all about living for Him and glorifying Him in all that we do.
This woman who I shared her tweets with you is lost and floundering. She is nothing like a true believer in Jesus Christ. Many will say that they know Christ, but they do not. Here is an example of fake Christians. Make sure you are not one!
False converts avoid conversations about the Lord Jesus Christ. They will change the subject or make some judgment about another that diverts attention.
They enjoy faulting others and feel a sense of relief when others prove to be hypocrites. Gossip gives them peace.
They will usually go to church at the prescribed hour but avoid going to intense spiritual gatherings if they can do so without being singled out as disinterested.
False converts do not have a burning desire to win others to Christ. They can spend time with a lost friend or relative without feeling a compelling need to pray, share Christ, and lead them to saving faith.
In their secret thought life they do not dream of going to heaven and meeting the Savior face to face. If they are somehow forced to think about it, they do so with discomfort and lack of assurance.
They do not have a desire to read the Word of God and learn more about their God and Savior.
Their prayer life tends to be formal and regulated, not spontaneous and believing.
They do not have a life of private worship, praise, and thanksgiving. They just do not love the very thought of God.
In some cases, though not all, the false convert is known to live on the edge of worldliness. They secretly yearn for a more liberal, worldly lifestyle, but the Christian culture constrains them to walk a narrower path for reasons of self-interest.
Others go to the opposite extreme: rather than flirt with worldliness, they are prominently pious, known to flaunt their personal convictions. They are known for exalting single issues like head coverings, women wearing pants, birth control, and affiliation with a particular denomination. Their zeal is a substitute for worship and love.
When worldly minded false converts find themselves removed from the Christian culture and influence, as in the case of divorce, moving to a different location, suddenly coming into wealth with new friends, opportunities, and means, they find it easy to enjoy worldliness, feeling liberated for the first time.
This list of thirteen signs of being a false convert leaves them feeling uncomfortable or critical of this article. Their tendency is not to share it with people they feel might be false converts, but to put it away and forget about it. “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
Their pride will not allow them to admit that they are lost sinners. Their reputation means more to them than actually being saved..
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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:21-23
***Do you want to know the true Gospel of Jesus Christ? Read this!
23 thoughts on “Fake Christians”
Hi Lori.
Excellent post. Fake Christians is what Paul was wrote about in 2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” This is the time of end time apostasy Paul wrote about in 2 Thessalonians 2:3
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,
and the man of [a]sin is revealed, the son of perdition,”
It is sad to see this in others but we must all the more cling to Christ and shine for Him. To be lights in a dark world.
What is the point of being a Christian if you are exactly like the world? ?
She makes as much sense as saying: “I am a vegan but I still eat meat.”
Whenever someone claims Christianity but then glorifies sin rather than Christ Jesus, it is sadly obvious where their heart lies. I pray one day the Holy Spirit will awaken her soul.
I live in West Michigan where there is a church on every corner. Mostly Reformed but there are many other denominations. Most churches and people are very worldly and have dropped their doctrine and renamed their churches. For example Third Reformed Church is now Third Church, or Calvary Baptist is now Calvary Church. They have also dropped their christian lifestyle. Divorce and remarriage is exceptable as long as you are the” abused one”. Fornication, no gender roles , female leaders, effeminate young men, career oriented mothers, and public educated kids are the norm. Conservative christians are looked upon as “legalistic”, trying to earn their salvation, and not understanding grace. This has all come about in the last 30 or so years. When I was girl no-one worked on Sunday and business was all closed in our area. Christian Reformers went to church twice on Sunday, and attended family night every Wednesday. Most kids attended Christian school, and the public schools were decent. There has truly been a falling away in the last years. I have seen it with my own eyes. My parents that are in their 80’s now embrace everything but gay lifestyle. They used to be very different. Fake Christians are the norm now but Jesus said, “Few there be that find it.”
Truth. You will know them by their fruit, good producing good fruit, bad producing bad fruit (Matthew 7:16-20, NASB).
Dear Diane, spousal abuse (which happens to husbands too) is very vexing, and goes on , more than any of us care to ponder. So sad, that people choose to be so cruel. Yeah, I know, the falling away…and in the last days people becoming lovers of themselves.
One very simple and generally accurate sign of a true Christian is one who never proclaims “I am a Christian!”, but whose words and deeds prompt a sneering, contemptuous “You’re one of those Bible Thumpers, aren’t you?”, or some similar epithet, from non-believers (a “Bible Thumper” in their mind being anyone who takes God’s word seriously and does their human best to live it).
I don’t think anyone, Christian or non-believer, truly believes that the woman first referenced in the OP is a Christian. Those who do are deceived non-believers themselves. Those who don’t ate determined to convince other non-believers that she really is a Christian in order to discredit and subvert the Faith.
This is an excellent post! It’s absolutely impossible to be a Christian without believing, and following, the Bible.
I have a question for you. You may or may not be able to answer. You said above about thinking of eternity with a lack of assurance. My father has been a faithful Christian for 40+ years. But a year ago, he went into cardiac arrest, died, and was revived. He had an incredible experience. He felt a sort of snap as he died, and he was looking down on his body briefly before entering a tunnel with bright lights, and a kind of whirling pressure. He was really frightened. He believed he was about to stand before God and he believed, in that moment, that he wasn’t saved.
This is a man who truly loves God. He has been very faithful. He is not perfect, of course. Nor is he free of sin. But he knows God, he trusts Him, he serves Him. And still, he was terrified.
Recently, I rushed him to hospital and his defibrillator (he has an ICD) went off 4 times in 2 minutes as I drove. He was really scared of dying.
Death is imminent for my father, and he is still very frightened by it. As I care for him, it is possible I will be with him when he dies. After his experiences, how do I help him find peace?
You’re right, but then why wouldn’t anyone in the Twitter discussion lovingly point her in the direction of the authentic Gospel? No, instead she’s mocked and used as an example of a fake Christian, when she’s painfully misguided. Her faith and understanding is obviously nowhere near anyone guilty of being a fake Christian from the list of attributes that we should ALL investigate as they are sinful paradigms that we can all fall into. I know I was convicted when I studied that list and I’ve observed some of these attitudes in comments on this very blog. I would challenge all of us: “are we really interested in pointing unbelievers to Christ?”. Where is the humility, thankfulness to Christ, and love in finger pointing and judgment? Blaming feminism, as if sin hasn’t existed since the fall? Why would we expect non-believers to make Christian choices?
We are ALL in need of a Savior and when we respond to the Holy Spirit, our lives should exude gratitude-we should desire to be Christ-like in response to the transformational power of the Gospel. If we are truly grateful, we should share Christ’s love with zeal, not finger point and judge those who haven’t responded to the Gospel-have some compassion!
The only thing that I believed in her statement was that every one has access to God.
I believe He’s available to all of us, at anytime. But that’s not a free pass.
Spousal abuse is very real, but it’s still not a licence to divorce and remarry. For safety, separation may be necessary, but reconciliation should still be the ultimate goal. Even if that can’t happen, we need to remain single, and continue to pray for our spouse. We can’t just divorce them, find a new one, and carry on going to church like we’re doing nothing wrong.
My church teaches this, but I haven’t seen too many others that do. I know a woman that goes to a church with a twice-divorced and remarried, female pastor. How can a church like that teach the gospel?
But she wouldn’t agree that the access to God is through Jesus Christ.
I am sure she has heard the Gospel. Many conservative Christians have confronted her on what she believes. Do you know that almost every NT book in the Bible warns about false teachers and false doctrine? God is serious about us not being taught things contrary to His Word. We have a responsibility to warn others about false teachers. It protects His remnant.
Make sure you share the Gospel with him, KAK. Assure him that if he believes in Jesus Christ, he is saved. The moment he believed, all of his sins were laid on the cross and forgiven. He is a new creature in Christ and can have confidence that he will spend eternity with Jesus. Once we believe, we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness!
KAK, my heart goes out to you. I have had the privilege and heartbreak of being with several of my family members as they have passed on to Jesus. Some thoughts: 1) Two of my family members had cardiac issues as they passed on and cardiac issues create anxiety in the most calm and self assured people. I have cardiac issues and am naturally calm but when it acts up it can bring on anxiety and scramble the mind a little. Ask the doctor for something to calm their heart. 2) Reading comforting scripture in a calm quiet tone really helped my family members. I prepared some helpful chapters to read before sitting with them. Also, sometimes it’s helpful to ask them what they might like to hear. I read Job over and over to one family member. This surprised me as I would not have thought to provide these scriptures. The Holy Spirit will guide you two. No one knows when God will call them home, but for my family members they found it helpful when I thanked them for all they had done for our family and told them they could let go. Something about telling them that we would be okay and that it was ok to let go seemed to help them. Again, we don’t know the hour Jesus will take us but several of my family members went very quickly after that. God Bless You during this difficult time.
Thank you PK.
I think the word “Christian” has become very commonplace. They say the United States is a “Christian” nation. Sadly, that is not so. I now prefer the phrase “Jesus Follower”. That term is much more meaningful to me today than the “generalization” of the word Christian has become.
Transformation is a process that continues until I die. I was 19 when I married. I made a huge mistake. I am married to a wonderful man now; both of us are followers of Jesus Christ as are our children.
This poor woman is extremely lost. She needs our prayers and continued gentle support.
Hi Lori great post! I am happy to be a submissive quiet woman and currently I am 16 and looking for a husband. I am a proud follower of jesus christ! I have one question and i would like to hear your point of view since you are so wise! I have heard things like jesus was a middle eastern jew who followed jewish customs. Is this true? Let me know your thoughts! Much love from- Barbra
Yes, He was born a Jew and lived under the Law. His main ministry was to Jews to show them that they were incapable of keeping the Law and they were sinners in need of a Savior. He kept the Law perfectly in our place and was the sacrificial Lamb who took away the sins of the world. Now, we are no longer under the Law and being born again is available to Jews and Gentiles everywhere!
I love this blog and Lori’s teaching and she has helped me so much to point out Gods plan for wives and mothers. One thing I think we should be cautious of, however, is accusing those truly seeking holiness (even if we don’t personally agree with them) of being a fake Christian. For example, a woman feeling convicted to head cover as this article points out. I just don’t believe it’s an issue that we need to tear down sisters who read scripture and are feeling led and convicted by the Holy Spirit to cover their heads while praying, reading scripture etc. If a sister is feeling convicted to cover her head while praying and sees evidence for that in scripture and isn’t doing so in pride to look “self righteous” and is doing so in humility (possibly not even bringing it to anyone’s attention as she feels other Christians will condemn her for it), but feels the conviction to do so to bring honor to her Heavenly Father by obeying Him in this way, then who are we to accuse her of being an overly pious fake Christian? I think this is unfair and that we should focus on the bad fruit to identify a false believer rather than whether a sister feels led to head cover. If there is a heart issue (as in people trying to look righteous but truly are dead in their hearts and have no good fruit in their works) than this is a different issue entirely. But some of us feeling convicted to head cover are doing so for the right reasons, to honor and obey God. What if their “zeal” is for humility and submission and their way of showing love and worship to the Father. Please don’t take this offensively, just suggesting a different way to view the groups of sisters choosing to head cover.
Grace and peace. <3
As someone who has only recently found God, some things on this page confuse me. I see all this talk about fake Christians, false teachers, separating oneself from the modern secular world, etc. I also see you say that anyone can go to heaven as long as they believe that Christ died for our sins. I understand that its possible to point out fake Christians while acknowledging that they can still be saved, but I wonder how you can reconcile this exclusionary version of christianity with “all you have to do is believe in Christ.” Can a gay preacher go to heaven? Something a little more extreme: let’s say I murdered multiple people on different occasions. If I believe that Christ is the saviour, can I still go to heaven? I know nothing of theology and I’m not trying to start a debate here, just curious as to what you think of this.
The only way into heaven, Tom, is to repent of your sin (admit you’re a sinner in need of a Savior) and believe in Jesus Christ. From there, you will want to obey the Lord since His ways are perfect. If someone says they are a believer, yet continues to walk in sin (practice it on a continually basis), they are showing the world that they are indeed not saved since we are known by our fruit. True believers will walk in the Spirit and continue to grow in the wisdom and the knowledge of the Lord.
Lori, I was raised by a fake Christian. my father refused to take me to church, discouraged me from reading the Bible, and yet he would quote scripture to me and my mom and would pray with me. he was a covert narcissist and I was an unwilling member of his family cult.
later he began attending a church that had lukewarm sermons, the sacrament was left off to the side, etc. he discovered real quick if he pretended to be repentant he would make friends fast. he tricked me into thinking he had changed his ways but never apologized for the abuse, adultery, sabatoging of family funds, mind games etc.
nowadays he has gone full social justice and publicly twists scripture on social media. he has a Unitarian belief that even if one doesn’t hear the gospel and hear of Jesus they still have access to salvation, and just praying to the deity “creator” will suffice.
moral of the story…watch out for these “scoffers” as the Bible refers to them. they are evil cloaked in supposed goodness, but you will know them by their fruit.
I don’t know his heart like God but I often wonder if he will be saved. my mom says he was baptized as a child which is my only hope, since those with type B personality disorders lack empathy and compassion and often will “double down” on their ways and will never repent even on their deathbeds.
witnessing his sin against me and my mother has tainted me for years and has affected my mental health, my marriage, my children, but by the grace of the holy spirit i have not rejected Christ and I strive to be a more Godly woman. your blogs helps me tremendously so thank you.