How To Spot A Fake Christian

Newsflash!
There are fake Christians. Yep. This is no surprise I’m sure. There are lots of
people who call themselves Christians but within that group there is a
subset that I refer to as the true disciples of Christ. So how do we
tell the sheep from the goats or the wheat from the tares? Let me introduce you
to the Acme Christian Test.

But before I
do that, sniffing out fake Christians doesn’t in itself seem very…well..Christian
so let’s change the question… How can I tell if I’m a real Christian? I’m so glad
you asked. Here’s how:

I’m going to
bring together a few concepts from the bible that hinges on this passage:

John 15:1-8

¹ “I
am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch
in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ Already you are
clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine;
you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears
much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does
not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches
are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for
you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and
so prove to be my disciples.

Voila! I’m
sure you see verse 8 jumping right out at you. Jesus’ disciples bear much fruit
which is proof (evidence) that they are:

1. Connected to the vine (Jesus), and;
2. Being pruned

Let’s focus
on the fruit first. What is this fruit? For that we will turn to another
passage:

Galatians 2:22-23

²²
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there
is no law.

So, the first
part of the test of a real Christian is to ask yourself if you are exhibiting
the following qualities:

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-control

Spend some
time on each word. Do some introspection. I find that some of them make me
wince a bit (or a lot) while others I feel I’m ok with. That last one, self-control,
always makes me cringe. Ouch. But we need to be bearing all the fruit
not just a few.

However,
bearing fruit is not enough, we also need to be pruned. The second part of the
test is to ask yourself if you have been increasing in these qualities. We
may all start at different places so a snapshot of a point in time is not
really the acid test. Let me illustrate. If I came from a really bad home
situation where all the examples around me contained very little of these qualities,
I might be quite impatient. Maybe it’s so bad that a single badly chosen word triggers
a violent response from me. On the other hand, if Jane was raised in a
wonderfully loving home it might take quite a lot to even get her to become
angry. Now, Jane and I both convert to Christianity at the same time and after
a year through the work of the Holy Spirit I’ve stopped beating up people, but
I still get angry pretty easily compared to Jane. But the comparison with each
other is irrelevant. The true comparison is with our former selves.

The true
disciple is in a constant process of transformation that leads to more and more
fruit. Jesus calls it pruning so that we bear more fruit. All true disciples (branches
that bear fruit) are pruned. So, you want to know if you are a true Christian? Look
back and examine yourself. Do you have more joy, more peace? Have you become
gentler, kinder? The moment you stop growing is the moment you were a
Christian. You see, a person living in constant contact with Christ cannot help
but be transformed. Relationship with Christ changes you at the most
fundamental level.

I have found
that these are not the questions that trouble most Christians and that
troubles me. We are caught in a quagmire of doctrine and religion. The fake
tests for fake Christians are for the fake fruits:

1. Church/mass attendance
2. Bible verses memorized
3. Doctrinal accuracy
4. Spiritual gifts
5. What church/denomination you belong to
6. Not going to parties
7. Political affiliation

None of these
are fruit. They are not evidence that you are being transformed by Christ. They
are not even evidence that you have any relationship with Christ. Measuring
yourself by such external attributes leads to destruction:

Matthew
7:15-23

¹⁵
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are
grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So,
every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸
A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰
Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. ²¹ “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. ²² On that day many
will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out
demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And
then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of
lawlessness.’

Every day I
have to ask myself, am I a real Christian?

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