"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, not thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." Revelation 21:8
If your life is characterized by the above and you are calling yourself a Christian, please stop deceiving yourself because you are
not a true, biblical, born again Christian. Despite false teachings to the contrary, there is
no such thing as a "carnal Christian" (see the article
Jesus' Bookend Declaration). Lewis Sperry Chafer distorted 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 into this false concept that says you can sin like the devil and yet still be a Christian. While this false notion is very popular among mainstream Christianity today and their watered down "gospels," such as the A-B-C Gospel and the Four Spiritual Laws Gospel, it is important to realize that if this were indeed true, it contradicts a
very clear passage of Scripture that states quite the opposite.
"If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him. ... And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." 1 John 2:29; 3:3-10
If you are known to be a liar, if your lifestyle is characterized by habitual lying, then you are
not a Christian. If you are known to have a short fuse, if your lifestyle is characterized by habitual anger, then you are
not a Christian. If you are known to be a pervert, if your lifestyle is characterized by habitual lusting and/or looking at pornography, then you are
not a Christian. If you are know by any sin that you commit and your lifestyle is characterized by that sin, you can be sure that you are
not a Christian.
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24
If this is not true of you, if you are not
dead to sin as Romans 6 puts forth, if you are not constantly waging war against the lusts of the flesh, the world, and the devil, then you do not belong to Christ. You are
not a Christian. Jesus said it quite clearly: "
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (
Matthew 7:13-14). "
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (
Matthew 7:21). In Hebrew grammar, when a Jew wants to emphasize his point, he repeats it. It is clear that by their use of "Lord, Lord" these people believed themselves to be saved—to be "Christians." What does your "acceptance" of Christ or your "decision" for Christ mean? Absolutely
nothing! "
Then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" (
Matthew 7:23). Remember, sin is lawlessness. Living life as though Jesus never gave you a law to obey. "
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons" (
Hebrews 12:6-8).
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
So Jesus said that he who obeys His Father will enter into heaven (
Matthew 7:21); that he who loves Him will obey His commandments (
John 14:15); and if you abide in Him you are His disciple (
John 8:32 - contrast with Luke 14:25-33 and Matthew 10:34-39 and those who
cannot be His disciples). So how can you tell who is a true, biblical, born again Christian? Re-read 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and then read this beautiful verse: "
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (
1 Corinthians 6:11). Christians
used to be characterized by those exact same lifestyles, until Jesus Christ saved them and set them free. Again, it is imperative to note this difference: a Christian
falls into sin
against their will; a non-Christian or a hypocrite
dives into sin
with/
by their will. For the Christian, he is fighting it and fighting it and fighting it and he falls. For the non-Christian, it is habit. He wakes up, contemplates it, plans it, and does it. For the Christian, there is remorse after having failed. For the non-Christian, it is no big deal. They have oodles (that's the technical term) of excuses up their sleeves, such as "I'm not perfect" or "Everyone makes mistakes" or "It's not that big of a deal." They are not willing to fess up to their sin. They want to brush it off as if it is not the end of the world. If there is no fruit, then there is no root.
