4 Reasons Why We Can’t Fake Our Spiritual State or Salvation
- Chad Napier Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
- Updated Jul 13, 2022
My wife and I have been blessed to visit some of the most beautiful areas of our country. An escape to the magnificent coasts of California or to the beaches and adorning lighthouses in the northeast is always a reminder of the perfect creation and handiwork of our Heavenly Father. No matter whether we are in Los Angeles, California or Portland, Maine, the question is always the same after ordering in a restaurant or engaging in conversation with a local - “You aren’t from around here, are you?” Our deep southern accent is a characteristic that cannot be hidden or faked. No matter how proper I attempt to verbalize, there is no faking an accent when talking with someone who is a native to a particular region of our country. Only answering with “yes” or “no” can only go so far.
In conversation, a southern accent sounds off a “he’s a foreigner" alarm. Similarly, our spirituality is something that cannot be effectively imitated. Just as with short answers, we can attempt to evade detection by attending church and saying all of the right “religious words.” However, when trials come into life and the presence of faith is put to the test, our ruse begins to fall apart at the seams. Our spirituality, whether it be deceptively led by worldly confidence or validated by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, cannot be faked.
1. There Are Differing/Contrasting Births
The believer is birthed when a sinner places full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This change is not founded upon fake tears or contrived emotion. This is an actual metamorphosis of supernatural change in the overhauling of the soul performed by the Holy Spirit.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The dominion of sin and bondage of corruption is released. The judgment of sin is forgiven. Just as our Savior defeated death, hell, and the grave when He arose and ascended to the throne beside our Heavenly Father, we are joined with Him and released from sin's bondage. The sinner, on the other hand, only has had one birth. Jesus in John 3:6 declared, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
From our entrance into the world, the sinful nature of Adam is passed on. The world cultivates and molds the sinner’s belief systems. These births cannot be simulated or artificially recreated as the lost man has been born of the world, evidenced by his order of speaking and walking blindly through the course of life. He is blinded in matters of the spirit (John 9:39-41). In 1 John 5:4, the apostle wrote that we who were “born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
The believer has forever changed and lives according to the righteousness passed on by Jesus Christ. This new birth detaches us from the world. Consequently, the saved Saint desires holiness in obedience to the commands and directives of the Heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit. The seed of the believer wherefrom the birth was “conceived” was incorruptible “by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” There is no mistaking the corruptible nature and worldviews of the lost man.
2. There Are Differing/Contrasting Fruits
The fruits of the sinner are easily identified as they are regularly celebrated by the world. The lost man is dominated and unable to overcome the power and influence of the flesh. Instead of fruits, Paul describes the result of the flesh as being “works” as they are from the labors of the flesh. He identified these as “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, [and] revellings” in Galatians 5:19-21. The believer, on the other hand, is indwelled with the impactful and cleansing presence of the Holy Ghost. This cleansing includes tilling the heart’s soil, allowing the entrenchment of the seed to take a healthy root. As such, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance” (Galatians 5:22, 23).
These manifestations cannot be replicated or falsified as they will be uncovered during life's circumstances and the world's trials. The lost have no sustaining comfort or understanding in times of death, sickness, or personal tribulation. The inevitable obstacles of this life can only be overcome through the comforts of the office work of the Holy Spirit. Further, there is no faking the fruits of our servitude or relationship. In Romans 6:16, Paul wrote, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” A person of the world is lost and unmistakably a servant of the prince of it.
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3. Contrasting Fears and Concerns
Our fears cannot be faked without their inevitable manifestation when confronted with certain circumstances of life, such as financial hardships or failing health. The faithful claim and stand upon the promises and provision by our Heavenly Father (2 Peter 1:4). The lost, however, have no such refuge and depend upon worldly sustenance. The burdens of the believer are cast upon the throne of God through access provided by a relationship with Jesus Christ. In contrast, the burdens of the lost are cast upon the government and society in general. The fears of the faithful contrast deeply with those of the lost man or woman. The believer's worries are internal and external, but the subject is the same – the spiritual condition of family, friends, neighbors, and our world in general. Accordingly, these are the burdens the Christian must bear (Galatians 6:2).
The lost man or woman has no visible external fears. The charade of worldly happiness prevents any visible manifestation of discontent. Internally, however, the lost man fully realizes a void or something missing as sustainable joy has never been attained in life. He or she has obtained degrees, promotions, nice cars, and a comfortable external living. Spiritually, he or she is either burdened by the conviction of the Holy Spirit or hardened to such a degree and no longer has what once was a comfortable tugging. Comfortable in that there was at least the presence and a yearning from the Holy Spirit. There was at least the possibility that one day a spiritual submission would take place.
4. There Are Differing/Contrasting Judgments
Spiritual judgment does not follow the script in our judicial courtrooms or its portrayal on reality television shows such as “The People’s Court” or “Judge Judy.” Many of the aspects, including facts and impartiality, can be manipulated or fabricated. The final judgment, however, will be rendered by an all-righteous, all-holy, sovereign, just God. No excuses or justifications will be accepted on this day of reckoning. The ruses of a three-piece suit, freshly shaven face, and high-price legal advocate will be of no consequence for the guilty. The only rule of evidence will be supplied by the Lamb’s Book of Life.
In the legal world, a party can file a motion for a declaratory judgment. The party requests that the court make a judgment to declare the rights of the parties before any rights are infringed upon. In the spiritual realm, those who are being deceived by worldly righteousness, religious salvation, and church membership holiness would be well-served to have a declaration made to awaken their present spiritual state if judgment were to take place. Thankfully, through the Word of God and the power of the Holy Ghost, we are privy to a “know so” salvation. We have certainty of our sealing and filling of the Holy Spirit. We have clarity of our righteousness through Jesus Christ. We are promised the forgiveness of our sins because of the substitutionary sacrifice being paid for the cost of our sins. Most importantly, we know we have salvation by placing faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
In contrast, the sinner cannot fake his or her way out of the wrath of the judgment to come without an attachment and new birth by Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father is not only just in His righteousness but is also righteous in His judgment. The hypothetical conflict contemplated by a declaratory judgment will one day come to actual fruition for the lost sinner. The conflict is between righteousness and evil and cannot be masked.
In Revelation 20:11-15, we can see the vivid images of two judgments: the great white throne judgment and from the book of life. John wrote of the torment in the lake of fire for “anyone’s name not found written in the book of life.” In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul wrote about the judgment seat of Christ, which we must all appear before. This judgment is for “each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” There will not be justifiable rebuttals to these judgments or giving excuses that were acceptable here on earth. As such, Matthew 7:22 forewarned, “many will say to me on that day ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and in your name have cast out demons, and have done mighty works.” These manipulations in the disguise of religiosity are met with the declaration, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” There is no mistake or appeal of the judgment rendered by our all-righteous God. Accordingly, the eternal damnation will not be able to be faked or suspended. For the believer, the great riches will not be able to be underestimated or exaggerated.
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