“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” (1st John 2:19)
The bare minimum Christian is most generally the one who will say “I don’t feel led to …” and here you can fill in the blank.
It can be one of the most difficult things to discern in this world, the perpetually weaker brother or sister in Christ, what I have termed in this short letter to you as the “bare minimum” believer, and those who only profess our Lord with their lips, and to add even more difficulty to that discernment would be those spoken of in Matthew 7:22.
“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?”
Our opening verses places the verdict of being born-again or not on remaining, but we must consider the difference here between Mark leaving Paul’s company, and Demas returning to the world. I personally believe that contention arose between Paul and Mark when Paul blinded a person, though I could be wrong, but why Demas left, beyond what we are told, we may never know.
You cannot lose, give up, have taken away or in any form become unsaved, the verse stands as truth.
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)
And so while perhaps for quite some time Demas was deceiving himself, he also deceived all those around him.
Think of Judas Iscariot here.
Such as these are almost impossible to recognize, for they have sat in the pew for many years, stood behind the pulpit for decades, been on mission trips and played the part so well that they themselves have even been deceived. Did not Korah walk out of Egypt with the nation of Israel?
Even though we may not be able to see it, even if their own heart is deceiving them, those we speak of here are known by the Almighty as ones who will not enter into His Kingdom, and so, even in their own deception, the truth is known to them, that one that so many today seem to give, a pass, of one who seems to love the Lord, but does not speak of Him. Who is willing to sit and listen, willing to be a part of the church in presence only, whose life seems morally correct, but are as those who continually sit in the back row, hoping to never be called upon, and when the occasion arises that they are, they seem to always have an excuse.
These the church seems to acquiesce to even more than the one who will hear, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” (Matt. 25:41)
Because in our minds we cannot see that loving, caring nice person than anything less than a weaker brother or sister in Christ.
My friends, we are living in a time where the sign outside of nearly every church reads, “All are welcome, come inside, we will never question your faith.”
“And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;” (2nd Peter 2:13)
The one who does much will call you judgmental if you question their motives, and the one who does little is so easily emotionally damaged that even kind questions may drive them away.
They are not of us, yet we fear to offend, we fear to test the Spirits, but we do not fear enough that they may be on the same wide road to hell as the most wicked person ever born.
And here is another truth for you, a very sad one indeed, those that still sit in the pews of those churches that will never ask those questions will call you not one of the faithful if you recognize these truths and leave their assembly.
Perhaps more than ever 2nd Timothy 3:13 is a truth.
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
