Faith: Real or Counterfeit

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 (Matthew 7:21).

In one of his sermons, Warren Wiersbe talked about dead or counterfeit faith. He said, "Even in the early church, there were those who claimed they had saving faith, yet did not possess salvation" (Warren Wiersbe, Be Mature, kindle loc. 934). These people may say the right things, pray beautiful prayers, give great testimonies, and quote appropriate Bible verses, but their heart isn't in it. They can talk the talk but they don't walk the walk. Many of them don't intentionally deceive. They just don't understand what the Christian life is all about. As Paul said, "They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him" (Titus 1:16). And, Satan, the great deceiver, loves to convince us that a counterfeit faith is the real thing.

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (James 2:17).

A good illustration of this is the parable Jesus told of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37). The priest and the Levite were supposed to be men of God. They'd had religious training and could teach and defend their faith. Yet, when they had the opportunity to put that faith into action, they walked away from the man in need. They didn't understand that faith is built on love and demands evidence.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:40).

       The person with dead faith has only an intellectual experience. In his mind,
       he knows the doctrine of salvation, but he has never submitted himself to
       God and trusted Christ for salvation. He knows the right words, but he does
       not back up his words with his works (Warren Wiersbe, Be Mature, kindle
       loc. 959-981).
 

An intellectual faith alone is of little consequence; it matters little. No one can really come close to Christ and not be changed. Salvation is accepting His sacrifice on the cross on our behalf, allowing Him to become the Lord of our lives, and wanting Him to change us. A Christian life is one of service, not to gain anything, but because we have and want to share the love of Christ. Such a life should be satisfying and bring joy.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24).

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