Are We A Fake Believer?

https://odb.org/MY/2021/11/09/the-same-vine

Are we a fake Christian if we do not consistently display Christian like behaviour? Are we a hypocrite if we have still have anger issues to deal with? Are we fake because we still have ego and pride and have not totally given our lives to God? Are we not a genuine believer if we are still holding back some parts of our lives from Christ or we sometimes indulge in the desires of our flesh? We know that we shouldn’t be eating high cholesterol food and yet we still eat siew yoke, for example. Or enjoy mutton curry every now and then. Or we can be provoked and can burst into a rage sometimes. Or we have this dark experience in the past and still have difficulty forgiving those people that did that horrible thing to us. There are many examples but suffice to say, we are far from Christ-like although we have known Christ, some of us even for many years. Or we always wanted to do more for Christ, but always ended up procrastinating and we are still procrastinating although we are getting older and older. Or we always wanted to step up in faith and be a soldier for Christ but still ended up as a spectator at the sidelines, looking at the action and not rolling up our sleeves and getting involved directly.

I think we are not fake if we are work in progress because we will always be work in progress. Salvation is by grace and not by works. Nothing we could have done or could do for us to save ourselves. Only the love and grace of God can save us and bring us to the road to eternity. So long as we abide in Christ, Christ abides in us. He is the vine and we are His branches. His Spirit guides and empowers us even as we remain with Him and in Him.

So long as we have Christ in us, we cannot be a fake believer. This is because as long as Christ is with us, He will mould and transform us to be more like Him. Over time, others will see the change in us even if we sometimes judge ourselves more harshly. As long as we have Jesus in us, we pray and commune with Him, interact with Him, we cannot be fake because He is the vine and we are His branches and if we abide in Him, He will abide in us.

However, as much as we are not fake, it is not good if we have not progressed much since we knew Him, in terms of our behaviour and character. There must be progress even as we are work in progress. If there is no progress, then perhaps we are not work in progress? Perhaps, we are a piece of abandoned work, set aside a while until we come to our senses? Perhaps we are too resistant to change. Perhaps we fight against the moulding and correction of Christ. WIP means we are not there yet, but we are getting there – we are on the way, we are on the journey. We are on the narrow road, the correct and right path. Is there progress in our Christian walk? We are still genuine stuff, not fake, but if we are not progressing we may end up being left behind, being further and further away from God’s plans and purposes for us, further and further away from His calling for us. And before we know it, we will be staring at Jesus with the talent He gave us to start with – what have we done to that talent? Did we multiply it or kept it hidden with us all the time? Salvation may be by grace, but that doesn’t excuse us from not giving a good account of our lives. We are still accountable and responsible. Have we been a good steward of this life that God gave us?