God brought me to two words this week that are worthy of our consideration in relation to a true believer in Christ. We will examine some scriptures to give insight into the word “pretender” and “contender” to help us determine our spiritual state. A pretender is one who holds out the appearance of being something we are not. Contender on the other hand is one who strives in opposition to complete.
We must first examine what it means to be a real Christian. (1) We must recognize that we are a sinner (Romans 3: 23) and in need of a Savior (Romans 6: 23). Repentance—turning away from our sin. (Acts 3: 19) (2) Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and receive God’s gift of forgiveness from sin. (John 3: 16; John 14:6; Romans 6: 9-10; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2: 8-9) (3) Confess our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. (Romans 10: 9-10; 13) These scriptures reveal that salvation is a gift from God through belief in and trusting in Jesus as Savior and His death and resurrection. (4) We are sealed by the Holy Spirit as a child of God until the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30; Galatians 3:26) Salvation is a spiritual conversion that leads to changes in the sinner’s life. However, many professing Christians today trust in baptism or a sinner’s prayer or a charismatic experience or good works. Some believe that church attendance or partaking of the sacraments or performing certain rituals assures them of salvation. Recently, my friend and I spoke to a couple 70 years old who had been in church all their lives—first Baptist and then Methodist. When asked what percent they were that when they die they will go to heaven and they said 95%! Over my lifetime I have heard people say in response to this question: “I hope so.” We read in Ephesians 2:9 that salvation is from God and not anything man can do. Jesus said we must be born again, and a birth is not a process. Ephesians 2: 1-2 says there is a time before salvation when we are dead in trespasses and sins and controlled by the devil and a time after salvation when we have new life in Christ and belong to God.
Paul in his letter to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3: 5 warns us of “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power, therefore, from such turn away.” By God’s Spirit, the born-again believer has power to put off the old man and put on the new man. It is a daily process whereby we cooperate with the Holy Spirit within us to overcome the power and dominion of sin in our lives. The vast majority of professing Christians have little to no evidence of this power. They live much like the world; they are conformed to the world; they are comfortable in the world and with the world; they are friends with the world; they are more influenced by the world than they influence the world.
The power of godliness is the infallible, living Word of God (“quick and powerful,” Heb. 4: 12) The power of God in the Christian life and ministry is the product of the life-changing Scripture. It is “able to build you up.” (Acts 20: 32) It is the source of faith—faith comes by hearing the Word of God. (Rom. 10:17). Even among those Christians who hold to the infallibility of the Bible in profession are so ignorant of the Bible in practice that it has little influence in how they think and live and wields little power in their daily lives.
A true and real relationship with God through Jesus Christ begins in the unseen life which no one sees—in the private times spent with Him in prayer, in the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to conform us into His likeness. In the reward of His sacrifice and labor of love Jesus will present the body of Christ—His Church in flawless perfection—a pearl of great price. (Eph. 5: 25-27, Mt. 13: 46)
Are you the real thing before God and others? Are you a mere pretender in the faith or a true contender in the faith? The time must come when it is out in the open whether we have a real relationship with God or if we are hiding in our pretend world. Man looks upon the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart. (I Samuel 16:7) It is between you and God—“Do you have religion or a relationship?” God brought me back to a song the Platters sung in 1955 that puts this all into perspective:
Oh oh, yes I’m the great pretender; Pretending that I’m doing well; My need is such I pretend too much; I’m lonely but no one can tell; Oh oh, yes I’m the great pretender; Adrift in a world of my own; I’ve played the game but to my real shame; You’ve left me to grieve all along; Too real is this feeling of make believe; Too real when I feel what my heart can’t conceal; Yes, I’m the great pretender; Just laughin’ and gay like a clown; I seem to be what I’m not, You see; I’m wearing my heart like a crown; Pretending that you’re still around.
The faith entrusted to God’s holy people for which they must contend is grounded in Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Mt. 16: 16), He is God with us (Mt. 1: 23), He is the Word, and He is God made flesh (Jn. 1: 18). This faith is expressed through holy living to which all believers are called (1 Peter 1: 16; Romans 6: 1-14; 12:1). To contend for the faith, we must keep the fire of hope alive in our hearts. When Jude says in 1:21 to wait “expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life,” he is referring to living every moment of life with the confident expectation that Jesus Christ may return at any moment. (Titus 2: 13) The best is yet to come!