Raise Your Hand If You're a Christian
Monday, March 3, 2025
“The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul.” – C.H. Spurgeon
Last week, the guest speaker at our Living H2O Initiative asked for a show of hands of everyone who considered themselves to be a Christian. Of the 30 or so young men who were there, at least 2/3 of them raised their hands high.
Obviously, only God knows what is in a person’s heart, but Jesus also told us that we would be able to judge the sincerity of someone’s faith by the type of spiritual fruit they produced (Matthew 7:15-20; John 15:1-8). Based on those passages – and from watching many of these young men over the past 5 to 10 years – I would have to say that some of them don’t really understand what it means to be a true Christian… despite our explaining the gospel to them each and every week.
Sadly, some of them think that because they are not a Muslim or a Jew that, by process of elimination, they must be a Christian. Others are under the false impression that because their parents or grandparents are believers, they must be a Christian too. Still others think that attending church on special occasions like Christmas and Easter makes them a Christian.
Like I said, I watch these young men closely each week and listen to their conversations, too. Some of them display humility, maturity, and a strong Christian character, while others have hair-trigger tempers that explode at the drop of a hat… or a hard foul or a bad call. I guess you could call me part coach, part minister, part mentor, and yes, part fruit inspector.
The bottom line is that – like Charles Spurgeon pointed out in today’s quote – unless your profession of faith in Jesus Christ has radically transformed your life, you are probably not born again. That goes as much for the drug dealer or the career criminal who gets saved and gives up his illegal behavior as it does for the young person who was raised by Christian parents and grew up in the church, but still harbors anger, lust, jealousy and other negative emotions in their heart.
The bottom line is that Jesus Christ accepts us as we are, but He NEVER leaves us that way.
“So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.” James 2:17 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
