“I Never Knew You.” The Shocking Reality of False Converts

• Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you something that may sound shocking, offensive, and even uncomfortable. But truth is never meant to make us comfortable. It is meant to make us holy. We live in a world where people call themselves Christians with their lips yet deny Christ with their lives.
• Churches are filled with people who believe they are on the narrow path. But the reality is many are marching down the broad road that leads to destruction. Today I want to lay before you six sobering reasons why most who call themselves Christians will not inherit the kingdom of God. One of the greatest deceptions within the modern church is the idea that a person can be saved by simply repeating a prayer, signing a card, or walking down an aisle at the end of a sermon.
• This kind of shallow decisionism has created countless false converts. People who believe they are Christians because of an external act yet have never truly experienced the transforming power of the gospel. The scriptures make it abundantly clear that salvation is not a matter of words spoken in a moment of emotion, but a miracle of God’s grace that radically changes the heart.
• Jesus himself said in John 3 that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. To be born again is not something we accomplish. It is something God does in us. When a person is truly converted, there is evidence of new life, repentance from sin, love for Christ, hunger for his word, and a desire to walk in holiness.
• Without these fruits, the claim of conversion is empty. The tragedy is that many churches have equated the gospel with a formula. The preacher asks for raised hands. The music plays softly. People are told to repeat after him. And then with no understanding of repentance, faith or surrender, they are declared saved.