“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, did we not prophesy in YOUR NAME

And in YOUR NAME cast out demons

And in YOUR NAME perform many miracles

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you

DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Matthew 7:21-23

As a servant of JESUS CHRIST and a teacher of my Beloved LORD GOD’s WORD, I grieve over “professing christians”, how they live, and their reaction to a phenomena (any extremely unusual or extraordinary thing or occurrence). I have personally witnessed three well-known phenomena. When the U.S. entered the Iraqi War in the Middle East, when middle-eastern terrorists attacked America on September 11, 2001, and the 2012 end of the world hysteria. After the first two times, and before the third time, Church attendance increased sharply, but within four to six weeks those numbers returned to pre-phenomena levels.

We will discuss the why later, but let’s first look at who are those “professing christians” per Biblical descriptions:

But as for you, son of man

Your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, ‘Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from The LORD

They come to you as people come, and sit before you as MY people and hear your words

But they do not do them

For they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain

Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument

For they hear your words but they do not practice them.

Ezekiel 33:30-33

This group are those who attend Church services, Bible studies, small group studies, seminars and retreats. They come and listen to the message, make notes, highlight in their Bible, get excited, get convicted, and yet do not put into practice what they learned. They are the disobedient (Rom 2:8, 2 Thess 1:7-8, 1 Pet 4:17).

JESUS replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of GOD?

For instance, GOD says, ‘Honor your father and mother

And ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death

But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you.

For I have vowed to give to GOD what I would have given to you.

In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.

And so you cancel The WORD of GOD for the sake of your own tradition.

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

These people honor me with their lips,

But their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is a farce,

For they teach man-made ideas as commands from GOD.'”

(New Living Translation)

Matthew 15:3-9

This group are those who teach false doctrine and oversee by their own authority (Jer 5:30-31), they tickle ears (2 Tim 4:3-4), and teach not for the love of our Beloved LORD GOD, but for the love of recognition (Matt 23:1-12) and money (Tit 1:10-11, 2 Pet 2:1-3). These are those who do not practice what they teach (Rom 2:17-24).

They profess to know GOD

But by their deeds they deny HIM

Being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed

Titus 1:16

This group talks about knowing and loving GOD, they know christianese (the language spoken by Christians, it makes no sense to anyone unfamiliar with Biblical texts), they periodically go to Church, and yet when observing their speech (1 Sam 24:13, Matt 12:33-37, Eph 4:29, Jam 3:2-12) and behavior (Matt 7:15-20, 1 Jhn 2:3-6) it is no different than the ungodly.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life

It is these that testify about ME

And you are unwilling to come to ME so that you may have life.

John 5:39-40

This group trusts in their works rather than trusting in GOD (Prov 28:26, Prov 16:25, Mica 3:11-12, Philp 3:7-9). They do not understand that what one does for GOD is not the same as knowing GOD (1 Jhn 4:8, 1 Cor 13:1-3, Jhn 16:1-3).

A Christian is one who believes in, relies on and completely trusts JESUS CHRIST and HIS WORD. This is the one who studies HIS WORD, then follows, or practices, or daily lives out the teachings contained in HIS WORD. You will know this true follower of CHRIST by observing their behavior. Their actions and reactions will demonstrate the presence of The HOLY SPIRIT within them. Whether they know you are observing them or not, you will consistently notice the visible expression of HIS invisible presence. In other words, despite the circumstances surrounding them, you will consistently see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control emanating from them (Gal 5:22-25).

A “professing christian” admits they know and follow JESUS CHRIST, if you observe their behavior, you will find that instead of following JESUS they will follow after their own lusts and desires (Jude 1:16-19). More often than not, you will see them driven by self-interest, self-preservation, self-preferences and self-desires (Gal 5:19-21). They reflect the spirit living within them, they lie (Jhn 8:44, 1 Jhn 2:4, 1 Jhn 4:20), they deceive (2 Cor 11:3, 2 Cor 11:13-15, Rev 12:9) and hate or commit murder (1 Jhn 3:15).

Why do Churches temporarily swell when bad times or bad news come? Because those who only come briefly, come out of fear and anxiety, promising change but continue to live the same disobedient lives once the crisis has passed, as demonstrated by Pharaoh (Exd chapters 8-10). These are people who do not intimately know The GOD of Peace (1 Thess 5:23-24) nor do they know The LORD of Peace WHO continually grants us a peace different from the world’s peace in every circumstance (Jhn 14:27, 2 Thess 3:16). Their peace is based on what they see or feel, our peace is based on WHO we trust (2 Kin 6:14-18, Matt 14:28-31, Psa 112:7, Prov 1:33).

Those who come briefly during crisis are those who think they know GOD because they know about HIM. They believe that Lord is merely a title, not understanding it is a relationship built on reverence, obedience, love, trust and readiness.

 “Why do you call ME, ‘LORD, LORD,’ and do not do what I say?

Luke 6:46

Nevertheless, the firm foundation of GOD stands, having this seal, “The LORD knows those who are HIS,” and, “Everyone who names The NAME of The LORD is to abstain from wickedness.”

2 Timothy 2:19