True and False Conversions

The subject of false conversions is a frightening topic to me, but it also motivates me to examine my own life. It says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

If Jesus Christ lives in us, shouldn’t there be a huge change in our lives. Yet, poll after poll show basically no difference between those who call themselves Christians and the rest of the world. A.W. Tozer says, “It is my opinion that tens of thousands, if not millions, have been brought into some kind of religious experience by accepting Christ, and they have not been saved.” D. James Kennedy said it this way, “The vast majority of people who are members of churches in America today are not Christians. I say that without the slightest fear of contradiction. I base it on empirical evidence of twenty-four years of examining thousands of people.”

When Jesus gave His disciples the Parable of the Sower, it seems that they lacked understanding of its meaning: “He said to them, ‘Do you not know [understand] this parable? and how then will you know [understand] all parables?’” (Mark 4:13). In other words, the Parable of the Sower is the key to unlocking the mysteries of all the other parables. If any message comes from the parable, it is the fact that when the gospel is preached, there are true and false conversions. This parable speaks of the thorny ground, the stony ground, and the good-soil hearers—the false and the genuine converts. Once that premise has been established, the light of perception begins to dawn on Jesus’ other parables about the kingdom of God. If one grasps the principle of the true and false being alongside each other, then the other parabolic teachings make sense: the Wheat and Tares (true and false), the Good Fish and Bad Fish (true and false), the Wise Virgins and the Foolish (true and false), and the Sheep and Goats (true and false). “The School of Biblical Evangelism”

Someday we will have to face God on the Day of Judgment to give account for our lives. Hebrews 10:31 says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Jesus warned that many will say to Him on that day, “Lord, Lord”, but He will reply, “I know not from where you are; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.” Luke 13:27

This is not about works, but about true repentance, humbling ourselves before the Creator of this universe. If Christ’s sacrifice on the cross means so little to us, that we are unwilling to allow God to change our desires, then we must examine ourselves. I once heard it said that a true Christian may fall or stumble into sin, but an unbeliever dives into sin. We are not called to be sinless, but to take up our cross and follow him. Matthew 15:7-8 says, “You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”