Am I really a Christian?

I’ve come to realize that being a light set upon a hill, you will attract a few bugs. Living by Kingdom principles in a fallen, sinful world, you’re going to lose some friends.

Let me tell you this, if you’re a Christian and you show no interest in keeping His commands, if you’re indifferent to obedience or justify your sin because of grace, you do not love God. The reason we don’t obey Him, the reason we were indifferent is because we do not love God! True love is a love that obeys, even though the obedience is imperfect.

As a pastor, I see a lot of Christians who aren’t living as they ought to be, they may be in the church but they’re not in the kingdom and that is a great concern to me. It’s overwhelming for me to think about them going to hell, because they don’t truly know Christ. Hebrews 10 says far worse eternal punishment falls to the one who has heard the truth and rejected it.

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you surely have really heard the Gospel. The more you have heard, the more responsible you become. The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves whether you be in the faith. Examine yourselves.” Surely, self-examination begins with “Am I really a Christian? Have I understood the truth but not truly embraced Christ?”

Because of easy believism and cheap grace, many people think that a profession of faith means that they are saved, when, in fact, they have never truly embraced the Savior, while holding tightly to their sin. True salvation is much broader than that. It begins at forgiveness through repentance, which leads to a life of obedience and is consummated in the glory with Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” I believe there is no greater danger than having been close to salvation and being unsaved. To realize that you have become dull of hearing the Truth because it was uncomfortable. Scripture calls us to discern good and evil. I believe that’s a major problem facing people in the church today, they lack discernment. It’s extremely important that you really know and understand what the Word of God teaches.

Romans 12:2 says “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

You cannot claim that Christ changes lives, while acting no differently from sinners. We cannot be a purifying influence on others unless our own heart is pure.

Ultimately we all must face our final choice: the narrow gate, the narrow way, or the wide gate, the wide way, that’s it. Two different roads each marked “This way to Heaven,” but leading to two very different destinations, Satan doesn’t mark the wrong road “This way to Hell.”

Matthew 7:14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Two roads, two different types of travelers; the few and the many. Which will you choose?

 Brian Monzón grew up attending church with his grandmother. Through her actions, she impressed upon him the power of the prayers of the righteous, as she herself spent many hours kneeling before God, praying for her family and the needs of others. Besides being a pastor, Brian has been studying and teaching the Word of God for many years. He has devoted his life to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, praying with and for others, especially the unsaved. Brian is also a proud father of four children. He challenges them to be their best and has strived to raise his family up in church and on the Word of God. To discover more about Brian and his ministry please visit Brian Monzón Ministries.

Image by DEEPAI