The supreme importance of authentic faith

Lots of people think they're saved, but they're not following Jesus

DISCLAIMER: This post may sound harsh, or off-putting, or even unloving. But I believe it is the very heart of speaking the truth in love. So, here we go.

A few years ago a book emerged out of Christian publishing that was — like many books in Christian publishing — misguided. It was entitled 10 Qualities that Move You from a Believer to a Disciple, and therein lies the problem. Believers in Christ are disciples — there’s not a second process for them to become disciples. The words “disciple” and “believer” are used interchangeably in the Bible. There is not a separate category for “Christians who believe in Jesus but are not disciples.”

The Bible is clear, however, that there are people who believe in Jesus who are not disciples (they aren’t Christians). The gospels record many of Jesus’ interactions with people in that category — people who proclaimed belief but refused to follow Him. (Of course there’s another group that believes in Jesus but does not follow Him, as James 2:19 notes: “Even the demons believe”).

Into the shallows of theology

Did you ever:

• Ask Jesus into your heart?

• Invite Him into your life?

• Make a decision for Him?

• Accept Him as your personal Savior?

Neither Jesus nor anyone else in the Bible ever told us to do any of those things. Phrases like those represent a misreading of Scripture — a misreading related to the idea that all you must do to be saved is believe (in Jesus, of course). After all, Acts 16:31 says “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”

Many say they “believe in Jesus” — but if their reading of this verse is shallow, they miss the most important truth — which is believing in Jesus as Lord, as it clearly states. Lord of what? Lord of everything, yes. Which includes us. More to the point, it includes me and you, if we claim to believe in Him. And if we believe we are to submit to Him as Lord, that means we want to follow Him, obey Him, please Him. How many who say they “believe” are even trying to follow, obey, etc.?

Others point to Romans 10:9 — “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…” This is not telling you to simply say it out loud, as some have maintained. It is teaching that saving faith involves acknowledging Jesus rose from the dead and that He is, indeed, our Lord.

Throughout Scripture, the message is the same — God graciously saves repentant sinners who come to Him in faith. But Satan has always tried to water down the gospel, from the earliest days of the church (which is why the book of James was written).

Out of the shallows, into the deep and true gospel

The great reformer Martin Luther fought this battle:

“When they hear the gospel, they miss the point; in their hearts, and out of their own resources, they conjure up an idea which they call “belief,” which they treat as genuine faith. All the same, it is but a human fabrication, an idea without a corresponding experience in the depths of the heart. It is therefore ineffective and not followed by a better kind of life.”

In other words, simply believing in God, or even believing Jesus rose again, is not what the Bible says is enough. Like James said, even the demons believe that. About 150 years later, this lie was still being told, as theologian Matthew Henry noted:

“We are too apt to rest in a bare profession of faith, and to think that this will save us; it is a cheap and easy religion to say, ‘We believe the articles of the Christian faith;’ but it is a great delusion to imagine that this is enough to bring us to heaven… You may as soon take pleasure in a dead body, void of soul, or sense, or action, as God take pleasure in a dead faith, where there are no works…”

Henry was in good company — the book of James makes very clear that faith without works is dead, meaning of course not that works are required to save us, but that when we are saved we are empowered by the Holy Spirit with the desire to do those works God prepared for us (Ephesians 2:8-10).

In this century — just a few years back, in fact — Pastor Kyle Idleman wrote a book called Not a Fan, in which he makes the case a true disciple of Christ cannot be just a fan of Jesus, but must be a follower:

“There is no forgiveness without repentance. There is no salvation without surrender. There is no life without death (of yourself). There is no believing without committing (to Him wholeheartedly).” [italics mine]

Due to the proliferation of the shallow gospel, sometimes referred to as “easy-believism” — there exists a profound level of confusion over what salvation is. It’s not walking down a church aisle and reciting some magic prayer. There is no magic prayer. The “magic” is what God does in your heart. And He does all of it.

What salvation is

Salvation is a free gift of God that requires nothing from you — because you can’t add anything to it. You can’t even believe without Him.

• He is the One who opens your eyes to the reality that Christ died for your sins and rose again so you could forever be part of God’s family.

• He is the One who ignites your repentance. And make no mistake, repentance — or a turning away from sin — is part of salvation, as Jesus emphasized again and again, but this too is a gift from Him. A sinner can’t even repent by himself.

• God also is the One who grants you the faith to believe, who saves you, and who tranforms you.

Because in that moment when you see the truth, when you believe the truth, when you want to shake off the old you and embrace the new you He calls you to be — you are transformed.

It may start slowly, but as you learn and grow in this new way, leaning heavily on the truth of the Bible as God’s inspired Word to us, you will be changed. That part is called sanctification, and it means that for the rest of your life, you will grow closer and closer to being like Jesus. (Some of us take a lot longer than others!)

In short, again — repentant sinners who come to God in faith are saved by His grace when they believe in what Jesus has done for them. That’s the gospel, and that is what salvation entails.

Is that your experience? Or are you really living for yourself, doing as you please? In Pastor Idleman’s words, are you really just a fan? Maybe you think about Jesus sometimes, maybe you own a Bible, maybe you even attend church. But if He is not the center of your life, then I regret to inform you that you are likely not really a Christian, you are not saved, and you are in danger of falling into permanent separation from God.

It should be no comfort whatsoever, but you are far from alone. It’s quite possible that many, many people who call themselves Christians are in fact not saved. They’ve believed some lie about what salvation entails. And in some cases they’ve believed the lie that it’s a sin to ever question your salvation. After all, all you had to do was believe!

I’m here to say questioning your salvation is a good thing. There are ways to be sure (I wrote about that here). But make no mistake. A simple statement that you believe in Jesus — which some even think means just acknowledging He even existed — is not a confession of faith.

Authentic salvation recognizes that you are not your own god, and that you have a Lord.

This is deadly serious and extremely sobering, especially when we examine what Jesus said on this topic.

Hard things Jesus said

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. — Matthew 7:13-14 from the Sermon on the Mount

One third of the world’s population — more than 2 billion people — claim to be Christian. So… don’t you think the world would be an immensely improved place if a third of the population was trying to emulate Jesus? Well, clearly they’re not. The gate is narrow; few find it (again, the Lord’s words).

Why do so many claim they are Christians?

Some think they are because their parents were, or they went to church as children.

Others do claim to believe in Jesus – with absolutely no evidence of that belief, no change to their lives, no attempt to learn how to follow or obey.

Still others claim to be following, but their hearts aren’t in it, as Jesus pointed out in that same famous Sermon, in another very hard statement:

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ — Matthew 7:21-23

I think of the many charlatan preachers even now who claim they prophesy in God’s name, claim they cast out demons, claim they perform miracles – while amassing fortunes, jetting around in private planes, flaunting obscenely expensive designer shoes, watches or clothing.

But we all should look hard at ourselves in light of this passage. Who does Jesus say will enter the kingdom of heaven? Again, who will enter that narrow gate? Those who do the Father’s will.

Are we “doing the will” of God – which is to say, sincerely aiming to follow Jesus, listening to the voice of the Spirit, obeying the Bible’s teaching?

Let’s look at a few more of the many scriptures that address what Jesus said about His gospel:

• He tells Nicodemus that we must be born again (John 3:3) – a clear indication that we are starting something completely new – a fresh start.

• When He called Matthew to follow Him as one of His disciples, Jesus said He didn’t come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners (Luke 5:32).

• A rich young ruler approached Jesus with a heart to learn, but not a heart to submit to Him as Lord – and the young man left without the eternal life he was seeking (Matthew 19:16-22).

• Zaccheus, on the other hand, had a life-changing encounter with Jesus (a fresh start) and his radical transformation was visible to his whole community (Luke 19:1-10).

• Jesus invited the crowds to place their burdens at His feet – “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me…” A yoke, of course, is a device used to hitch up animals to do work. Jesus offers us a yoke because He has work for us to do – but His yoke is comfortable, His burden is light, and He offers rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-30).

• In two very brief parables, Jesus characterized faith as a complete exchange of all that we are for all that He is (Matthew 13:44-46). Wholehearted commitment is what He requires.

In a longer parable in Matthew 13:3-9, Jesus described what happens to seed (truth) sown on a hard path, onto rocks, among thorns, and finally in good soil. The seed/truth only flourishes in the good soil. And as author Francis Chan said in his book Crazy Love:

“Do not assume you are good soil. I think most American churchgoers are the soil that chokes the seed because of all the thorns. Thorns are anything that distracts us from God. When we want God and a bunch of other stuff, then that means we have thorns in our soil. A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled on top of it.”

Books to help you think this through

I started this post discussing a book with an entirely faulty premise, so let me offer three good books (two of them I’ve already quoted) that paint a much clearer picture of salvation.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Chan’s book, honestly, is what first opened my eyes to my own shallow understanding of the gospel, so I recommend it heartily despite disagreements with some of his later work.

Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

Brimming with biblical wisdom and fun to read. This would be my first choice of the three if you want a quicker dive into what the Bible really says about salvation.

The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur

Responding to the errors of “easy-believism” that were producing countless Christians-in-name-only, Pastor John MacArthur ignited a firestorm of controversy with the publication of his book The Gospel According to Jesus (about 20 years before the other two books). “Lordship salvation” is what detractors called it, and they tried to make a case that MacArthur was adding works to salvation. But he was arguing nothing of the sort – he recognizes salvation is fully God’s work, but he also delves into exactly what Jesus said about it. The book is a masterwork, absolutely saturated with Scripture and making a powerful argument for authentic faith. This is my top recommendation due to the depth and breadth of his scriptural argument. Here’s a taste:

“It may surprise you to learn that Scripture never once exhorts sinners to ‘accept Christ.’ The familiar twenty-first-century evangelistic appeal in all its variations (make a decision for Christ, ask Jesus into your heart, try Jesus, accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior), violates both the spirit and the terminology of the biblical summons to unbelievers. The gospel invitation is not an entreaty for sinners to allow the Savior into their lives. It is both an appeal and a command for them to repent and follow Him. It demands not just passive acceptance of Christ but active submission to Him as well. Those unwilling to surrender to Christ cannot recruit Him to be part of a crowded life. He will not respond to the beckoning of a heart that cherishes sin. He will not enter into partnership with one who loves to fulfill the passions of the flesh. He will not heed the plea of a rebel who simply wants Him to enter and by His presence sanctify a life of continued disobedience. The great miracle of redemption is not that we accept Christ, but that He accepts us.”

Amen. The question isn’t “will you believe in Jesus?” The question is “will you follow Jesus?” Your answer to that question will determine your eternity – and how rich in meaning your life will be in this world, as well.