They’re not going to change, you can talk to them until you’re blue in the face, as they say, and they will not budge one bit. They have always been that way, and their pride will not allow them to be any different than what they are. Now, am I talking about the wicked who will die in their sins, or about those who hold onto religious tenets that they call faith? “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
A changed life is the outward expression of the Holy Spirit inside of a person, it is not shown in the fact that they no longer cuss and swear, not that they no longer do drugs or drink alcohol, you might as well expect those who dress modestly and have the proper haircut to be Christians. Their conversations might be altered a little, you may hear an occasional “praise God” come out of their mouths, even a Scripture verse or two, but their lives inside, their hearts are far from Him still. (Matt. 15:8) It is a show, and it rarely takes more than a question or two to find out the truth, they are still of the world, their lives revolve around themselves, their wants and desires, are not the things of God.
Again, you may see them in church on a regular basis, you may hear or even witness a good deed that they have done, but many, if not most times, they will be the one to tell you about it, they want people to see them putting money in the plate. (Matt. 6:1-4) These are more deceived than the Charismatics, even more than those who attend religious organizations, the cults of the world. The Charismatics are deceived by their emotions, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) Those in the cults are deceived by the traditions and imposed works that are mandated upon them, but these individuals that we speak of here are a different breed, as they say, they know what they are doing inside, but they will not admit it to themselves, “no one could be that deceived.”
There is a combination of all of the others within them, so to speak, they attend church and follow all the prescribed mandates, they feel bad when they have committed some sin, but not that bad, for “its only normal to sin,” they smile at the right time, they engage in conversations with others, but you will not hear the name of Christ professed as Lord of their lives even to their closest friends, you will not see them praying with others out on the street, or for that matter in the general public. He is a personal God to them, so personal that they will not share Him with others. “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:33)
Here is the catch-all, if you will, here is how you can tell that in public they are the same as they are in private, devoted to self, only in a church setting, or when around those who attend the church they do, will you see the “Christian” part come out of them. They will not change, for they believe inside deeply that there is no reason to, they are already saved and completely acceptable to the Almighty.
Don’t’ stop trying to reach them, even after they have deserted you, for once you bring these truths about them to their knowledge, you will be the last person on earth that they will want to speak to, but don’t stop trying. They may be the lost, they are the wicked, our enemies, and this is just one of the ways that we fulfill Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
