Are You Fake or the Real Deal?
We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:12.
I must understand that what it means to be a counterfeit Christian. The bible reveals many-Judas, Demas, Diotrephes- and so does the human experience. I have known a number of people who said they were Christian but their lives did not reflect this and no longer walk with God. I know we all sin, but there is a difference of sinning, repenting, and changing our lifestyle than those who habitually live a sinful lifestyle. I know many who talk the talk, but do not walk the walk! My question to myself is am I doing the same? This is enough to drive me to my knees and examine my life.
What is counterfeit? I see one outstanding characteristic: accepting unconcern. No where do I find Judas examining his relationship to Jesus. I only see him living out his life with a numbing indifference to everything spiritual. Like a chameleon, the counterfeit takes on the color of his surroundings without asking, “Am I still a chameleon?
A counterfeit Christian really does not ask any probing questions regarding their relationship to God because there is no relationship. It is a mixture of shadows that only produce darkness. Paul stated, “Take heed least you fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). If I “take heed” and “examine myself” then I am doing what the counterfeit does not do nor are they willing to do because there is no remorse over their lack of relationship to God.
My continual concern about my relationship to Christ is positive proof that I belong to Him; to be unconcerned is to be fatally wrong. When Christ offered us, forgiveness does not mean we are to take Him for granted. A soldier on inspection does not need to ask themselves if they are in the army, only, am I pleasing my Command and Chief? A counterfeit never asks that! Are you fake or the real deal?