Please Don’t Call Yourself A Christian If…

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Some of the worst “advertising” for Christ are the people who say they’re Christians but aren’t. The truth is, anyone can call themselves a Christian, whether they are or not. There is no restriction that can keep false believers at bay. In fact, Scripture said there would be false believers and even false prophets. (I wrote about one of Jesus’ most famous teachings on “Beware of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing.”) So perhaps the only defense against this potential major turn-off is to ask: “Please don’t call yourself a Christian if…”

I’d like to examine three categories of false Christians. My hope is that if you fall into one of these three categories, that you please don’t call yourself a Christian. In my next blog, I’ll discuss the flip side of this equation: Please DO call yourself a Christian if…

The Bible says; “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.” (2 Corinthians 13:5a NLT) Here are three ways to examine yourself.

Please don’t call yourself a Christian if:

1. You live a non-Christian lifestyle.

Please don’t call yourself a Christian if you live a non-Christ-honoring lifestyle. You turn people away from Jesus.

People do this in many ways when they…

• Are dishonest in business or personal finances.

• Are rude and unloving to others.

• Support behaviors that are contrary to Scripture.

• And so on.

This is not to say that to become a Christian you just live a moral life, or that if you ever make a mistake, you can’t be a Christian.

Scripture is clear that Christians make mistakes. The difference between real and false Christians is habitual lifestyle. If we continue in sins without repentance and a change in behavior, it shows we’re not true Christians.

“And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.” (1 John 2:3-4 NLT)

So please don’t call yourself a Christian if you live a non-Christian lifestyle.

2. You don’t fully believe in and obey the Bible.

Please don’t call yourself a Christian if you think the Bible is not the infallible Word of God and our final guide for living.

The Bible says it is the final Word: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT)

Jesus believed and taught, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” (Matthew 5:18 NLT)

While Scripture is meant to be authoritative and final, some think they can call themselves Christians, yet pick and choose what they want to believe and obey.

The problem is that if we think we can just pick and choose what to obey:

We make ourselves the final judge of right and wrong, truth and untruth. In other words, we make ourselves “gods.”We effectively create a system where “anything goes” because there are no absolutes. You believe and follow what you want and I follow what I want. The standard is effectively destroyed.

I’m aware that at this point some want to say, “It’s a matter of interpretation.” But most biblical issues are not just a matter of interpretation. The Bible is clear. People simply don’t like what it says, thus they try to argue around it. For example, see my article “What Scripture Says About Homosexuality: Uncut, Uncensored and Unedited.”

Please consider carefully the warning of 2 Peter 2:1-3:

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.” (NLT)

So please don’t call yourself a Christian if you don’t believe in and obey the Bible.

3. You think you’ll get to heaven by being good.

Please don’t call yourself a Christian if you think you’ll get to heaven just by being “a good person.”

As a church planter, I visited hundreds of homes asking the question (with permission) “If you were to die today (God forbid) and to stand before God and He said, ‘Why should I allow you into heaven,’ how would you respond?

The clear majority of people, even if they said they were Christians, responded that they would tell God they had been “good enough.” They thought that their goodness was a lot better than their badness, thus, they should go to heaven instead of hell.

People are totally unaware that our “goodness” has nothing to do with our eternal destiny. In fact, the Bible says “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT)

So, what does God say can save us and send us to heaven when we die? It is what Jesus called being “born again.” In fact, He said, “you must be born again.” (John 3:3, 7)

The reason so many think they are Christians but don’t act like it, is that they have never actually gone through the process of becoming a Christian. They’ve never been “born again.”

We are “born again” when there is a spiritual transformation from the inside out.

The way to receive this spiritual transformation is described in Romans 10:9-10 “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” (NLT)

But, you might ask, where does Christian living come in, which you said earlier is so important. The answer is that we live a Christian lifestyle in obedience to the Bible, not to be saved, but because we are saved. “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 KJV)

Recently Carolyn and I celebrated our 37th anniversary. We did a few special things, not so that we could love each other and become married, but because we already love each other and are married. Likewise, we love and serve Jesus because we are saved and love Him, not to become saved.

So please don’t call yourself a Christian if you think your goodness will get you into heaven.

In my next article, I’ll look at the opposite question: Please do call yourself a Christian if…

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Have You Written Your Own Bible?

• Beware of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

• Is Donald Trump a Christian?

• Jesus Wasn’t Always “Seeker Sensitive”

• Video vlog: Twisting Scripture

• Podcast: Does salvation come only through faith in Christ? (exclusivism)

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

4 Characteristics In The Attitude Of A Winner, Part 2

The second two characteristics.

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Glenn Cunningham was a remarkable winner. His legs were severely burned in a schoolhouse explosion in which his brother was killed. Semi-conscious, Glenn heard the doctor tell his mother that he would surely die. But he made up his mind that he would survive.

Glenn Cunningham

Later, doctors recommended amputating Glenn’s legs. But he was so distressed by the thought that his parents refused the amputation. The doctors said he’d never walk normally. He had lost all the flesh on his knees and shins, and the toes on his left foot.

But with tremendous determination and countless hours of therapy, he gradually began to walk and later to run.

Cunningham competed in the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. He was voted “Most Popular Athlete” by his fellow Olympians, finishing just ahead of Jesse Owens. He and Owens roomed together in the Olympics and developed a lifelong friendship.

In 1936, he set the world record in the 800 meter run. In 1938, he set the world record in the indoor mile run. Many consider Glenn Cunningham the greatest miler of all time.

Glenn drew strength and inspiration through his faith in Jesus Christ. He is a wonderful illustration of a Christian with the biblical attitude of a winner.

Philippians 4:13 says “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (NLT)

From that verse, I see four characteristics of the attitude of a winner.

In my first article on this topic, I covered the first two. Now let’s consider number three and four:

#3. An “I Can Do Everything Through Christ” Attitude

If anyone should have a winning attitude, it is followers of Jesus Christ.

We have so many reasons to be optimistic:

• We have the promise that no matter what happens, “all things work together for good.”(Romans 8:28)

• We have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us! “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV)

• We have the knowledge that we have a fantastic future home in heaven forever! Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3 ESV)

All of this and so much more should bring believers a lightened load, a happy heart and a winning attitude.

We can have a sense of certainty, confidence and hope like King David who wrote: “Yes, though a mighty army marches against me, my heart shall know no fear! I am confident that God will save me.” (Psalm 27:3 TLB)

We can approach each day as the psalmist who wrote: “But, O my soul, don’t be discouraged. Don’t be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise him for all that he will do. He is my help! He is my God!” (Psalm 42:11 TLB)

Like Glenn Cunningham, true believers throughout Scripture could endure terrible difficulties and overcome incredible odds with remarkable…

• Confidence

• Faith

• Boldness

• Peace

• Courage

• Expectation

How? These come when we have an “I can do all things through Christ” winner attitude.

If you have Jesus, you can have a “God-sized attitude.” Do you have a “God-sized attitude?”

In fact, not only can we have an optimistic attitude, we can have a “God-sized dream.”

If you have Jesus, you can dream “God-sized dreams.” Do you have a “God-sized dream?”

The ministry I founded in the fall of 2016, Discipleship Journeys with Jesus, has a vision to “take ½ million people on discipleship journeys” in the Bible.

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That might sound outlandish. However, God can do it! God is a Winner!

I want a “God-sized dream,” not a “Mark-sized dream.”

My prior ministry, Dynamic Church Planting International, has the vision to equip leaders to impact the planting of 5 million churches. Over 18 years we grew from training just a handful each year, to 25,000 in 2015, my final year there. God worked in big ways as we acted in faith!

Was it always easy? Absolutely not! It was sometimes incredibly challenging:

• A coworker’s wife died from cancer soon after we started.

• Things were very slow at first.

• We had financial struggles from time to time.

• Staff member gave up and left for various reasons.

Yet we kept on going and believed that, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:13 NLT)

What is your “God-sized vision?” I challenge you to trust God for something that could only happen through Him.

James 4:2 says, “You have not because you ask not.” If you don’t have a “God-sized vision,” pray and ask God to give you one today!

#4 An “I Can Do Everything Through Christ, Who Gives Me Strength” Attitude

Where did Glenn Cunningham find strength to overcome immense obstacles? He found it in Christ, the One who gives strength.

His favorite Bible verse was Isaiah 40:31 which says, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (TLB)

Where do we find strength when…

• We’re severely injured

• We experience a financial setback

• We have a difficult relational challenge

We must “wait upon the Lord” so He can renew our strength, as Isaiah 40:31 says.

How do we “wait upon the Lord?” We linger patiently in the presence of the Lord in prayer, study of His Word, listening and trusting.

That is what Jesus did, when he faced the cross. The night before he was crucified, He knew exactly what was ahead. So, what did He do? He prayed all night in the Garden of Gethsemane. In fact, He prayed so emotionally that He sweat great drops of blood.

He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke 22:42 NLT)

The next day He bore our sins on the cross.

You might be facing huge trials. Do what Jesus did. “Wait on the Lord”

There are many times when I feel weak, overwhelmed, incapable, confused. When that happens, I “wait on the Lord” and practice “biblical thought replacement.”

What is “biblical thought replacement?” It is simply replacing my thoughts with God’s thoughts from the Bible.

I meditate on Scriptures such as this: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NIV)

And Ephesians 3:20 which says that God “…is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (NIV)

My all-time favorite “biblical thought replacement” is from the experience of the Apostle Paul who wrote:

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV)

I love to remember that “when I am weak, then I am strong” through the power of Christ who strengthens me. 

When I remember that, I always feel like a winner.

Biblical thought replacement can gradually change…

• Our fears into reassurance

• Our lack of confidence into confidence

• Our sorrow into peace

• Our shame into approval

How does this happen? It happens when you’re “…strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” (Ephesians 3:16b ESV)

Why does it happen? Because “God has power to shower all kinds of blessings upon you, so that, having, under all circumstances and on all occasions, all that you can need, you may be able to shower all kinds of benefits upon others.” (2 Corinthians 9:8 TCNT)

You CAN have the attitude of a winner! Practice these four characteristics and you’ll be amazed at the changes.

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• How Reluctant Leaders Become Confident Achievers for God

• 5 Simple Techniques to Become an Extraordinary Achiever

• How to Medal in Every Event in Life

• How to Know if You’re a Powerful, Fruitful Christian

• Opposition often means you’re right on track

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

4 Characteristics In The Attitude Of A Winner, Part 1

The first two characteristics

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When Victor Serebriakoff was fifteen, his teachers told him he would never finish school. They said that he should drop out and learn a trade. Victor took the advice and for the next 17 years he was an itinerant doing a variety of odd jobs. He had been told he was a ‘dunce’ and for 17 years he acted like one. He was far from having the attitude of a winner.

When he was 32 years old, an amazing transformation took place. An evaluation revealed that he was a genius with an I.Q. of 161. Guess what? That’s right; he started acting like a genius.

Since that time, Victor has written books, secured a number of patents and has become a successful businessman. Perhaps the most significant event for the former dropout was his election as chairman of the International Mensa Society. The Mensa Society has only one membership qualification: an I.Q. of at least 140.[1]

What turned a dunce into a successful businessman, author and inventor? The difference for Victor was not in his abilities; it was in his attitude! He was no smarter than before, but his attitude changed, and when it did, his whole life changed.

Philippians 4:13 says “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (NLT)

From that verse, let’s consider 4 aspects of the attitude of a winner:

1. An “I Can Do” It Attitude

Philippians 4:13 begins “I can do.” God wants us to have an “I can do” attitude.

Do you have a “can do” attitude or a “can’t do” attitude?

I hope you don’t have an “elephant attitude.” Christian management consultant Bobb Biehl tells of being invited by a friend to go work in a circus for a day. He did what many dream of and “joined the circus” for that day.

They flew to Tucson, Arizona. For a day, they moved props from one of the three rings to the next, and helped in any other way they could.

During one of the breaks Bobb chatted with a man who trains animals for Hollywood movies. He asked him, “How is it that you can stake down a ten-ton elephant with the same size stake that you use for this little fellow?”

In fact, they could easily pull up those stakes. Grown elephants can easily lift a ton with their trunk. But they don’t pull up the stakes. Bobb asked why?

The animal trainer explained that the reason they don’t do so is because when they are small they are tied with a heavy iron chain to a stake that they can’t possibly move. The baby elephant pulls and tugs and heaves and struggles, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t get loose. Finally, after reaching a point of physical and mental exhaustion, he stops trying. And he never tries again.

Thus, even when fully-grown and fully capable of getting away, an elephant will stay tied to a small stake, because having an elephant memory, he has stopped trying. His “I can do it” attitude has changed to an “I can’t do it” attitude. Because he believes he can’t do it, he doesn’t even try.[1]

Too often we fill our minds with thoughts of our limitations and what we cannot do. We review our:

• failures

• hampered background

• handicaps

• mistakes

• blunders

• faults

• poor grades

• losses

We feel that we can’t do what needs to be done to succeed. We allow our failings to drive a mental stake in our mind that keeps us from achieving all God meant for us to be.

While we might have an “elephant attitude,” God wants us to have an “I can do it” attitude, a victory attitude.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV)

There is a Biblical word for the right attitude: FAITH.

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen.”(Hebrews 11:1a TLB)

Faith means:

Trusting that great things are possible through the power of God in youBelieving in a dream even when it is hard to believeTugging at the stake without ever giving up

Some might say, “But I’m just not a faith-filled person.” If so, you’d better adjust your attitude, because Hebrews 11:6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God…”

Without an attitude of faith—an “I can do it” attitude, we simply cannot please God. To please Him, you and I MUST cultivate a positive attitude.

The attitude of a winner is “I can do it.”

2. An “I Can Do Everything” Attitude

The Apostle Paul was led to write “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

The word “everything” needs clarification. Does everything mean absolutely “anything?”

A.  “Everything” means everything that is right.

Our efforts must be ethical and moral.

Scripture says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b NIV)

The question is not just “Who can be against us” but, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

If the Lord is for you, then you can do it! If He is not, because what you are trying to do is wrong, then you are in trouble. It must be right.

Make sure God is for you!

But how do you know if the Lord is for you? The way to know if the Lord is for you, is to do things that you know from the Word of God are the will of God. If you have a hard time knowing where to look in the Bible, ask Christian leaders and mentors. Or just do a Google search for Bible verses about _____________.

Here are some questionable or “wrong” goals and the verses I found via Google search:

• Earn a lot of money just to hoard it or spend it on myself. (See Matthew 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:6-10)

• Make a name to puff myself up. (See Philippians 2:3; Proverbs 11:2; 16:5)

• Get revenge. (See 1 Peter 3:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Leviticus 19:18)

B. “Everything” also means everything that is reasonable.

“Everything” doesn’t mean you can do the unreasonable. For example, I don’t believe “everything” means that:

At over 60 years old I could become a professional NBA basketball player and win the MVP award next year. Although I do love to play basketball and I can almost touch the rim (within 6 inches or so, hah).I could be elected president of the US in the next election. (A nice thought, but I don’t quite have the finances and celebrity of Donald Trump!)

Scripture warns, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.” (Romans 12:3b NIV) This too is the attitude of a winner.

However, while the truth is that we can only do reasonable things, the problem usually is not that people think they can do too much. The problem is that they think they can’t do very much compared to what they really can accomplish.

Most people have their ankle tied to a little stake. They refuse to reach for the stars and try to accomplish great dreams.

Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll describes well the attitude of a winner:

This may shock you, but I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude is [what] keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.[1]

In my next article, I’ll cover the other two characteristics in the attitude of a winner.

Of course the way to make sure you never miss any post is to subscribe to my updates so they arrive each time by email. You can do so HERE.

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Faith Means Acting When You Feel Inadequate

• You Can Do It!How to Tackle a Mountain-Sized Goal in Faith

• Are You Cocky or Confident?

• How to Find Confidence in a Critical World and Stay Humble

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

[1] Zig Ziglar, See You at the Top, p. 47.

[2]Bobb Biehl, Masterplanning (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1997), p. 2. See also John Maxwell, Your Attitude, Key to Success (San Bernardino: Here’s Life Pub., 1984), p. 166.

[3] Charles Swindoll, Strengthening Your Grip, (Word Books: Waco, 1982), p. 207.

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