Many claim to be a Christian, but just because they call themselves one, does not make them one. When 
one truly is a child of God, some things should be different. A Christian will be different and have many areas in his life changed. Here are some areas that are unchanged in a lost person and identify the unsaved:
They have the wrong spiritual father. Their Father is the Devil. They don’t think, act, talk, or worship God like a child of God is told to in the Bible.
John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Psalms 135:15 “The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.”
They have the wrong heart. This heart is not the blood-pumping organ in one’s body. It is the drive and true reason for doing what is done. A true Christian has a great desire in his “heart” to serve, obey, and believe God and His Word! A lost person does not have this “heart.”
Ezekiel 33:31 “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.”
They have the wrong mind, actions, and habits:
I Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” If a person is really saved, he is a different person. Thinking, actions, and beliefs are different because he is a new creature.
They have the wrong worship: Most of the time it is a man-made, tradition-based or ceremonial worship. It is not the worship God commands in His book, the Bible.
Mark 7: 2 “And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written , This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.”
They have the wrong prayer:
Mat. 6:7 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Vain, repetitious prayers are prayers that are said without meaning, recited mechanically, and are repeated again and again.
They have the wrong fruit. Since they worship God their way, the fruit produced is not spiritual.
Matthew 7:20 “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Titus 1:16 “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”
Just calling oneself a Christian, or going through “religious” actions does not make one a child of God. When one is truly saved, there will be many changes in one’s life. Have you had those changes? Are you really saved, or are you a lost heathen?
In this day and hour, we live in a time when most people where I reside believe they are heaven bound for one reason or another…or for no reason at all. One man said “In order to get someone saved, you first have to get them lost”. It is a challenging, but exciting time for the Church as this all wraps up.
Unfortunately, Satan, the father of lies, has been all too successful in planting counterfeits of the Church and counterfeits of worship and counterfeits of any other wholesome and holy thing. Tons of folks are snared by these fakes. They are the most intractable of the lost in my opinion, because they believe they are ok.
Funny this devotion speaks of being clean while you posted a pic on fb the other day regarding a nasty kitchen asking us what we would do and I said offer to help clean it up while others said offer to order in or go out to eat . hmm speaking of washing hands well if one has worked in tobacco and during break have a nab and coke no place to wash ones hands so they pop open the bottle of coke take a drink and carefully open the nabs be it crackers or peanuts or cookies and holding it with paper still on it eat it opps sometimes it slips and they touch it with gummy tobacco hands , Ah we lived .Come to think of it we all came from the dirt and are going back to it when we die .
Now speaking of if one is a Christian or not unless one can truly look in another’s heart one will not know and wow one may think one is not and find them up there in Heaven . As for seeking attention regarding good deeds nah why bother just do the deed in secret if one can and if another says thank you then that is good enough .
I know I’ve said this before, but Matthew 7:21-23 is probably the scariest passage in the Bible to me! Most people think the book of Revelation is scary, but Matthew 7:21-23 tops Revelation!
In Matthew 7:21-23, I see Pastors, Deacons, Sunday School teachers, leaders in the church that thought they were saved, thought they were called by God to proclaim His Word, built mega-churches, worked the works of God – stand before God on Judgment Day only to find out they were lost and going to Hell! What a tragedy!
I pray that I’ll always examine my heart and motives before I do anything for the Lord so I won’t do them in pride or to be seen by men.
I have been at services, and heard of others, that it was preached that there were many that thought they were saved and were not. Many came forward to be saved that were Sunday school teachers, bus workers, song leaders, and even a preacher’s wife! Standing in a garage doesn’t make one a Corvette anymore than one attending a church makes them a Christian.
Amen.
Thanks for printing this. Both lost people that think they are Christians and saved people who doubt themselves need to hear this line of reasoning often.
Is anyone else amazed at how quickly the heathen resort to attempts at spirituality when something bad happens?. It seems the candle light vigil is the most popular. Let there be a mass shooting and they will whip up one of those in a heartbeat. I hope it helps. I guess it makes them feel better, but I am not sure they understand what they are doing.
What is more amazing is to go to a gathering of folks professing to be Christian that behave, speak, entertain themselves, dress, and everything else exactly like worldly, lost people. Pastor said last week….”I am so glad I do not have to decide who goes to heaven and who doesn’t”. I feel the same way. I hope they are ok…but according to what I read, that ain’t gonna cut it.
I like your plain, honest vernacular, it “ain’t gonna cut it”! So many try to fill that hole of emptiness in their unsaved soul with man-made religion and it ain’t gonna cut it!