Paul, speaking to the Jews, told them, "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God" (Romans 2:28-29). Matthew Henry in his commentary made an excellent like statement:
Very few pay any attention to anything the Scriptures have to say any more. They are either ignorant of it or ignore it. Jesus gave many hard sayings in regard to what it means to be a Christian. Rather than accept and believe what Jesus said, we tend to try and sift His words so that they are more palatable. This is where the false nonsense of a "carnal Christian" came from. It is also where the nonsense of losing one's salvation came from. We see people in the ministry for years and then all of a sudden they leave and turn their back on it and we want to say that either they are "carnal Christians" at the moment or have lost their salvation and might be able to get it back again later.
There is a Chinese proverbs that says, "The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names." Let us call a spade a spade. We tend to forget, or are ignorant of, the fact that Judas served full-time in the ministry for three years at the side of Jesus. He was sent out with the other disciples to witness. He was a partaker of the miracles that were done. He was not carnal nor did he lose his salvation. Jesus Himself testifies, "those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled" (John 17:12). All through His ministry Jesus said one of them was a devil, one of them was unclean, and one of them would betray Him. None of them suspected Judas. They all looked to themselves and asked, "It is I?" The same with Demas. Demas was one of Paul's companions, but in time Demas forsook Paul, being in love with this present world, and left him. Judas and Demas were apostates.
We need to realize that just because someone calls themselves a Christian and serves in ministry does not make them a Christian. There are many false teachers serving as shepherds and many false converts serving in ministry. Many are only serving because of the money. They have no real love for Christ or Christ's people. As soon as the money is gone, so are they. So many people come to Christ for the wrong reasons. Coming to Christ does not mean that you belong to Him. Jesus made this clear when He said, "Not everyone that saith unto Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7:21). These people came to Him. They call Him Lord. But they are not His: "will I profess unto them, 'I never knew you: depart from Me" (Matthew 7:23).
We need to read our Bibles a little more often and pay greater attention to those things which are written there. We need to stop paying homage to man's ideas and accept the reality of Scripture. If Jesus repeatedly tells us "you will know them by their fruits," then we can indeed know them by their fruits. If he tells us repeatedly that "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved," then those who fall away have proven themselves not to be Christians and that they never had salvation in the first place. When Scripture repeatedly paints the Christian life as one of victory and overcoming, we need to accept it, believe it, and pursue it instead of believing the lie and living in defeat. A Christian is one who continually puts on Christ-likeness, becoming more like Him every day.
He is not a Christian that is one outwardly, nor is that baptism which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Christian that is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. Amen.
He is not a Christian that is one outwardly, nor is that baptism which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Christian that is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God.We seem to miss this crucial point in Christianity today. Everyone wants to call themselves a Christian but nobody wants to act the part. One of Satan's greatest victories was the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" campaign. Many of the cults call themselves Christians, but they are not. Jehovah's Witnesses are not Christians. Mormons are not Christians. Roman Catholics are not Christians. Oneness Pentecostals are not Christians. Seventh-Day Adventists are not Christians. There are also many false converts that call themselves Christians, which are no Christians at all. As long as all these liars call themselves "Christians," how is the world to know any different? How is the world to know what true Christianity looks like? It is no wonder they think very little of Christianity with all these hypocrites and liars claiming to be what they are not.
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary, p. 307.
Very few pay any attention to anything the Scriptures have to say any more. They are either ignorant of it or ignore it. Jesus gave many hard sayings in regard to what it means to be a Christian. Rather than accept and believe what Jesus said, we tend to try and sift His words so that they are more palatable. This is where the false nonsense of a "carnal Christian" came from. It is also where the nonsense of losing one's salvation came from. We see people in the ministry for years and then all of a sudden they leave and turn their back on it and we want to say that either they are "carnal Christians" at the moment or have lost their salvation and might be able to get it back again later.
There is a Chinese proverbs that says, "The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names." Let us call a spade a spade. We tend to forget, or are ignorant of, the fact that Judas served full-time in the ministry for three years at the side of Jesus. He was sent out with the other disciples to witness. He was a partaker of the miracles that were done. He was not carnal nor did he lose his salvation. Jesus Himself testifies, "those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled" (John 17:12). All through His ministry Jesus said one of them was a devil, one of them was unclean, and one of them would betray Him. None of them suspected Judas. They all looked to themselves and asked, "It is I?" The same with Demas. Demas was one of Paul's companions, but in time Demas forsook Paul, being in love with this present world, and left him. Judas and Demas were apostates.
We need to realize that just because someone calls themselves a Christian and serves in ministry does not make them a Christian. There are many false teachers serving as shepherds and many false converts serving in ministry. Many are only serving because of the money. They have no real love for Christ or Christ's people. As soon as the money is gone, so are they. So many people come to Christ for the wrong reasons. Coming to Christ does not mean that you belong to Him. Jesus made this clear when He said, "Not everyone that saith unto Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7:21). These people came to Him. They call Him Lord. But they are not His: "will I profess unto them, 'I never knew you: depart from Me" (Matthew 7:23).
We need to read our Bibles a little more often and pay greater attention to those things which are written there. We need to stop paying homage to man's ideas and accept the reality of Scripture. If Jesus repeatedly tells us "you will know them by their fruits," then we can indeed know them by their fruits. If he tells us repeatedly that "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved," then those who fall away have proven themselves not to be Christians and that they never had salvation in the first place. When Scripture repeatedly paints the Christian life as one of victory and overcoming, we need to accept it, believe it, and pursue it instead of believing the lie and living in defeat. A Christian is one who continually puts on Christ-likeness, becoming more like Him every day.
He is not a Christian that is one outwardly, nor is that baptism which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Christian that is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. Amen.