Opinion: Will The Real Christian Please Stand Up?

By Les Leno

Walla Walla University Adventist Church Member



The classic game show “To Tell The Truth” was a favorite of mine. It featured a person of notoriety and two impostors who matched wits with a panel of four celebrities as they tried to determine which of the three guests was the actual person associated with a given story. The aim of the game was to trick the celebrities into casting their votes for one of the two impostors. 

As I recall, the episode’s host told a short, often dramatic story or fact about one of the guests, but he did not reveal his or her identity. The guests were then asked to introduce themselves. They did, but they all gave the same name, the name of the actual person in the story or fact. To help discover the identity of the person in question, the celebrities were then allowed to interview each guest. In their answers each imposter did their best to convince the panel of celebrities that they were the real person. After the interviews each panelist voted on which guest they believed was telling the truth. The climax of the show was when the host asked the real person to stand up.

If you or I were on the show and the panelists were looking for the real Christian, would we qualify to stand up? According to a 2023 Gallup Survey nearly 67% of Americans Claim to be Christian. Just because they identify themselves as such, does that make them a real Christian? Is it possible to be a church member in good standing, be involved in church activities and not be a genuine Christian?

Apparently, it is possible, because Christ Himself said, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord! Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we drive out demons in your name? Didn't we do many miracles in your name? … But Jesus responds, ‘Then I will tell them clearly, I never knew you. Get away from me, you who do evil!’” (Matthew 7:21-25 NIRV). Because of what they did in the name of God these people thought they were real Christians. The apostle Paul warned Timothy about people like this. He said that in the last days they “will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.” (2Timothy 3:1-5 NLT). 

Ellen White also warned about this condition. “Let church members bear in mind,” she wrote, “that the fact that their names are registered on the church books will not save them.” (Counsels for the Church p. 67, 68). “He who feels whole, who thinks that he is reasonably good, and is contented with his condition, does not seek to become a partaker of the grace and righteousness of Christ. Pride feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ and the infinite blessings He came to give. There is no room for Jesus in the heart of such a person. Those who are rich and honorable in their own eyes do not ask in faith and receive the blessing of God. They feel that they are full, therefore they go away empty.” (Mount of Blessing p. 7). So, if we think we are Christians, but do not admit our condition, feel our need, and seek Christ’s healing power in our lives, we are Christians in name only. 

What does a real Christian look like? “Those who know that they cannot possibly save themselves, or of themselves do any righteous action, are the ones who appreciate the healing that only Christ can bestow. They are the poor in spirit, whom He declares to be blessed.” (Mount of Blessing p.7). They realize and accept God’s diagnosis of their sin sick condition and their utter inability to make themselves well. Their highest desire is to know God and become like Him. They trust in the promises and the power of the One who is faithful to save. “Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25 NIV). God will save them from the guilt that sin has produced in them. He will save them from the power that sin has over them, and He will save them physically from this old world of sin and He will cause them “to stand in the presence of His glory free from blemish and full of exultant joy.” (Jude 1:24 Weymouth NT). 

Are we genuine Christians or just going through the motions? Are we actively, daily, seeking “the help that Christ can bestow” or relying on our own power? Peter states that “God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.” (2 Peter 1:4, CEV). Notice that this happens in a literal sense— “his nature would become part of us.” What an incredible gift and promise! We can become like God in our thinking and doing! This is genuine transformation. How does this happen? According to Jesus it happens through knowing Him. Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 NIV).

As we see from the above passage the sincere Christian actively seeks to know Him better. They really want His nature to be theirs, and act accordingly. The apostle Paul explains that it is by focusing on Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life—by studying Him, the Word—His death and His life; by getting to know Him personally that we are transformed into His likeness. He said, “…we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV). It is a natural fixed law of the mind that we become like that upon which we focus. That’s what happened to Israel of old. “When they came to Mount Peor, they began to worship Baal and soon became as disgusting as the gods they loved” (Hosea 9:10, GNB). 

This is the way it works for the genuine Christian. “When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.” (Desire of Ages 668). Just prior to this statement Mrs. White gives us this incredible assurance and promise “… if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses.” (Desire of Ages 668, Italics supplied). Notice it’s all God’s doing, and it comes through knowing Him. 

So "This is what the LORD says: "Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know Me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!" (Jerimiah 9:23, 24 NLT). 

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20 NLT).

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