You May Not Be A True Christian

What do you think really separates someone who simply professes to be a Christian from someone who is actually following Jesus with their whole life?

John Mark Comer raised this question in his book “Practicing The Way.” He talked about the old Catholic distinction: “Catholic vs Practicing Catholic.” It made me ask myself, “Am I a practicing Christian?”

Jesus defined it with clarity. “Everyone who hears my words and practices them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NCV) And He defined the opposite. “Everyone who hears my words and does not practice them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” (Matthew 7:26 NCV)

Then came His invitation. “Whoever wants to follow me must give up the things they want, take up their cross every day, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23 NCV)

Follow Him doing what?

Not just walking behind Him. Not simply believing in Him for a better afterlife. It was living the way He lived and loving the people He loved. If you read His sermons, they were never about believing alone. They were about doing.

Reading the Bible and saying Christian words does not make me a Christian. The early disciples give us the model. They were with Him. They wanted to become like Him. They did what He did.

Christianity was learned through apprenticeship and practice. Daily life with Him. Which means I have to ask myself what I am actually doing that shows I am following Jesus.

Comer said it well. “Christianity is more like learning jujitsu than learning chemistry.” You learn by doing. You grow by practicing. You are transformed little by little.

This is what rattles me a bit - actually, quite a bit. Many of us live with two tiers. Tier one is accepting Jesus. Tier two is actually living like Him. And somewhere along the line we treated tier two as optional.

Jesus never offered that option. Many settle into “accepting and agreeing” while the reshaped life - the re-architected life never takes root. Church attendance replaces discipleship. Familiarity replaces formation and true growth. And the life stays mostly unchanged.

Most of us were given a very small version of the gospel. “You are going to hell. God loves you. Jesus died for your sins. Believe and go to heaven.” Salvation became minimum entrance requirements. Pray the prayer. Get the ticket. Resume life as usual.

But Jesus spoke differently. “Not all those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; only the ones who do what my Father in heaven wants.” (Matthew 7:21 NCV)

There it is. “Only the ones who do.”

Many get stuck in the cycle I lived in. Sin. Shame. Confession. Try again. Repeat. But what if healing is found in participation? Participating in Jesus’ life. Practicing His way. Aligning with His rhythm. Becoming an active disciple instead of a passive believer.

This is where the gospel becomes more powerful than the version we often hear.

The gospel is not only what Jesus did for me. The gospel is what Jesus did to make me able to live a new life in Him.

Yes, He died for my sins. “Christ died for sins once and for all, the good for the bad, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18 NCV) Yes, He paid my debt and suffered so I don’t bear the punishment I deserved. Yes, He rose so I could be made alive.

But the problem with this gospel is that we talk so much about what Jesus did for us that we can become programmed to only receive from Him. That is not Christianity. That is only half the gospel.

Salvation is free. Discipleship costs everything. Discipleship is living like Jesus in all areas of life.

We have fallen for a gospel that says, “It’s not about what you do, it’s about what Jesus has done for you.” There is truth in that, but Jesus never used that language. His words were, “Come follow me.” His invitation required movement, action, practice, obedience, and participation.

So now that I am saved, the question is no longer, “What can Jesus do for me?” The question becomes, “What can I do because He saved me? What kind of life can I live because His Spirit is in me? What habits can I practice that make me look more like Him? What can I do with the salvation He gave me?”

Paul wrote, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12 NCV) Not work for salvation. Work out what Jesus already put in you.

This is transformation, not transaction. Apprenticeship, not passive belief. Grace saves me, and grace also empowers me to move, change, forgive, grow, serve, and obey.

So when Jesus finished His sermon saying, “Everyone who hears my words and does not practice them is like the foolish man who built on sand” (Matthew 7:26 NCV) I hear that deeply. I need to consider my participation and then actually do something about it today.

Otherwise, I may not truly be a Christian.

Are you a Christian?

LORD, this participation is the invitation. Not just agreeing with You but living what You taught. Help me be a true disciple. Not passive. Not casual. Not a bare-bones believer. Help me practice Your way. And help me obey Your final words. “Go and make disciples.” What kind of world would this be if we all followed You like that? IJNIP amen ♥️