True and False Christian Test

Authors:   Johnson and Pearl
The Pure Gospel and Revival website,
www.repent-pray-revival.org
(all scriptures are quoted from the KJV Bible, unless otherwise indicated)
2010/10/6
2020/6/19

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”  -2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV Bible)

“True gold fears no test.”   -Chinese proverb

*If you were a true Christian, you will not be afraid to take this test!

This is a test to see if you are a true or false Christian.  Now, if you had made a decision to believe in Jesus, I want to ask you (please do not lie or exaggerate!),

Did you repent before you made a decision to believe in Jesus? Did you repent of your sins before you got baptized in water? Before your decision to believe in Jesus, did you know that you have sinned against God, transgressed God’s moral law, which is the Ten Commandments?” (1 John 3:4, Exodus chapter 2) Before your decision to believe in Jesus, did you know that you are a hell-deserving sinner?

Even if you said that you have repented before your decision to believe in Jesus, did you know that you were a sinner back then? Did you know exactly what sins you have committed against God? And, from what sins have you repented from?  Have you repented from the sins of worshipping idols in your life? (Including Rock and Roll, TV, or sports idols)

Have you repented from the sins of lying?  Have you repented from lusting after women, which Jesus said equals to “adultery in the heart” (Matt. 5:28-29)? Have you repented from the sin of coveting money?

Have you repented from not putting God first in your life? Have you repented from the sin of hating others, which the Bible says is murder in the heart (1 John 3:15)? Have you repented from the sin of stealing? Come on, be honest before God, exactly what sins have you repented from?

If you did not know that you have sinned against God before your decision to believe in Jesus, you naturally would NOT have repented.  So the result is:  You have not been forgiven and saved from your sins because you never truly repented.  This means that you are now a false or fake Christian!

Now, you need to realize that “Admitting that you are a false Christian is not embarrassing.  What’s really embarrassing is:  discovering that you are a false Christian after, after you end up in hell!”

Repentance is absolutely necessary before salvation 

Jesus Himself said, before a person believes in the gospel, he/she has to first repent. (Mark 1:15)

The Bible says, you must repent before you can be justified by faith.  You must repent before you can be baptized in water.  One must first repent and take up his cross daily to follow Jesus before he/she can be a truly saved or born again Christian!

Here are at least 35 New Testament scriptures requiring repentance before salvation.  So repentance is absolutely necessary before salvation.

(Matt 3:2; Matt 3:8; Matt 3:11, Matt 4:17; Matt 9:13; Matt 11:20; Matt 11:21; Matt 12:41; Mark 1:4; Mark 1:15; Mark 2:17; Mark 6:12; Luke 3:3; Luke 3:8; Luke 5:32, Luke 9:23; Luke 9:23;; Luke 10:13; Luke 11:32; Luke 13:3; Luke 13:5; Luke 15:7; Luke 16:30; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31; Acts 11:18; Acts 13:24; Acts 17:30; Acts 19:4; Acts 20:21; Acts 26:20; Rom 2:4; Rom 2:5; 2 Peter 3:9)

35 NT scriptures that require repentance before salvation

Since there are at least 35 New Testament scriptures that require repentance before salvation, that means everyone must first repent, then can a person be justified by faith.  You must truly repent before you can be truly saved! 

The Bible never says that “you don’t need to repent, all you have to do is to just believe in Jesus, then you can be saved. “

The Bible says,  “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils/demons also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19)

So, the devils/demons also believe in God, but they tremble.  Can we count them as Christians as well?  Of course not!  Just believing in God alone cannot make a sinner into a real Christian.  Because, the Bible clearly states that, one must first repent of his or her sins. 

And you have to deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow Jesus!  

Luke 9:23  “And He (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

Today, many churches pull scriptures out of context, and independently emphasize a few scriptures that “look as if repentance is not necessary before salvation", such as John 3:16, Romans 10:9, Mark 16:16, John 1:12, Acts 2:21.  So, if you twist the Bible, you can at most find 5 scriptures that “look as if repentance is not necessary before salvation".  Even so, there are 35 New Testament scriptures that prove:  one must first repent, then can he be justified by faith.  Anyways, 35 is still more than 5!  That is just simple math.

In other words, repentance precedes justification by faith!  You must truly repent before you can be truly saved! 

Sadly, many churches today dilute the gospel.  They would only tell you 5 scriptures that “look as if repentance is not necessary before salvation".  However, they will NOT tell you of the 35 New Testament scriptures that prove:  one must first repent, then can he be justified by faith.  You must truly repent before you can be truly saved!

Today, even if 350 gospel-diluting pastors pronounced you as “saved", but the fact is, you were never saved in the first place.  You are still a false Christian (or, fake Christian) bound by sin.  And God knows the truth.

Jesus said: “except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3,5)  Jesus also said: “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10)  If you have not repented, heaven have not rejoiced for you, because you are NOT saved yet!!!

Everyone has to first repent in order to be saved.  That’s why Jesus said: “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47)  You must realize that repentance precedes the remission of sins!

Understand this:  “Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38)

The Apostle Paul said: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” (Acts 17:30)

Many churches today do not tell you what sins to repent from!

Currently, very few churches in the world emphasize the truth that “repentance is necessary before salvation”.   Few preach the truth that: “you must repent before you can be a truly saved and born again Christian!”

Even though some churches sort-of talks about repentance, they briefly mentioned it without explaining it.  Not only that, many churches today do not explain “what is sin” to the churchgoers, nor do they tell you what sins to repent from!  Also, they fail to mention First John 3:4; Romans 7:7; and Luke 13:3.

Now, you might be a good habitual liar and a pretender, but you will never deceive the eyes of the living God.  You might be a pretender and self-deceiver, but you can never deceive God’s holy and firey eyes.

If you did not truly AND fully repent of your sin before your “decision” to follow Christ, then you are now a false Christian!  It doesn’t matter if you go to church twice on Sundays, been baptized in water ten times or been ordained as a pastor, you’re still a fake Christian!

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith 

Some of today’s churches that dilute sin and leave out repentance might say: “Never doubt your salvation.”

However, the Bible says: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”  (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV Bible)

Today, you need to realize that having a religious background, going to church, playing church, repeating a 30 second sinner’s prayer that’s unbiblical, tithing, and pretending to be spiritual does NOT make you a true Christian!   If that were the case, then all the Pharisees during Jesus’ earthy ministry would count as Christians.  But they were clearly not saved or born again!

The Bible tells us that the Pharisee were very religious.  They would fast twice a week and tithe. (Luke 18:12) But they were self-righteous hypocrites that serve Mammon and covet money. (Luke 16:13-15)  They pretend to be righteous on the outside, but on the inside they were full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (Matt 23:28)

The Pharisees wanted to be baptized in water (Matt 3:5-7), but were unwilling to repent. (Matt 3:7-11, Luke 7:30 , Matt 23:27-33)  In addition, the Pharisees rejected the counsel of God and, because of their impenitence, were unwilling to partake in the baptism of repentance preached by John the Baptist.  (Luke 7:30, John 19:4)

That why both John the Baptist and Jesus called the Pharisees “generation of vipers” (Matt 23:33, Matt 3:7) that cannot escape the damnation of hell (Matt 23:33), unless they produce fruits of repentance. (Matt 3:8 NIV)

Fake Christians have so much in common with the Pharisees

Isn’t that interesting that today’s fake Christians have so much in common with the Pharisees of Jesus’ day?

Get this, the Bible never said that “church membership or going to church on Sundays” will get you saved or born again.  Jesus Himself said, “repent and believe the gospel”. (Mark 1:15)  Jesus never told anyone to believe in a sin-diluting gospel that leaves out the cross of Jesus and the necessity of repentance before salvation!

All sin-diluting gospels are false gospels.  All man-pleasing gospels that leave out self-denial, leave out “taking up your cross to follow Jesus” (Luke 9:23), and leave out the necessity of repentance before salvation are false gospels.

False gospels will only produce false Christians!  Jesus said, “a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matt 7:18)

False gospels cannot produce true Christians, just as a bad tree cannot produce good fruit, and wolves do not give birth to sheep.

You have to take up your cross daily and follow Jesus

Now, notice what Jesus Himself said about the requirements of being one of His disciples, or being a Christian.

“And He (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Unless you love Jesus more than you love your own life, you cannot be a Christian! 

Jesus said, “You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters.  You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.  You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and come with me.” (Luke 14:26, Contemporary English Version)

*These two scriptures are talking about the pre-conditions or requirements of becoming a true Christian. They are not talking about how to live a holy life after you are saved, or sanctification after the new birth.  The unchanging truth is, while salvation is free, but there are pre-conditions or requirements! (Luke 9:23, Luke 14:26 CEV)

These two scriptures prove that becoming a disciple of Christ (aka a Christian), is not as easy as some people think!  You cannot say a 30-second “open sesame” sinner’s prayer, and become a Christian after the snap of a finger.

There are pre-conditions or requirements of becoming a true Christian. There are at least 35 New Testament scriptures that require repentance before salvation.  Also, you must deny yourself, take up your cross to follow Jesus, and you have to love Jesus more than you love your own life!  (Luke 9:23, Luke 14:26 CEV)

If you were to die tonight

Now, think about this.  If you were to die tonight in a car accident or by plane crash, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, a virus, a drunk driver or a burglar, would you have 100% assurance of going up to heaven?  Are you sure Jesus would acknowledge you and say that He knows you and let you into heaven?

The truth is, it doesn’t matter whether or not you know Jesus, what truly matters is whether or not Jesus knows and acknowledges you!

The Bible says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ”  (Matthew 7:21)

The following is the True and False Christian Test:

*Please write your answers on a piece of paper.

Please answer with Yes／No.  Do not lie or exaggerate!

1. Before you got baptized in water or before decision to believe in Jesus, did you know that you were a sinner? Did you know that you have transgressed God’s moral law (mainly the Ten Commandments) and deserve the punishment of hell?   Yes／No

2. Have you turned away from all your sins and stopped sinning against God? Do you now hate sin?  Yes／No

3. Have you turned away from 9 of the 10 sins listed in the Ten Commandments? (Except for the 4^th Commandment) Have you repented from not putting God first in your life? Have you repented from the sins of worshipping idols in your life?  (An idol could be yourself, a Rock star, a movie star, a sports star, a billionaire, or just a general worship of money.)  Also, have you repented from the sin of taking God’s name in vain(like saying OMG or Jesus Christ), which is called blasphemy? Have you repented from the sin of not honoring your parents?  Have you repented from the sin of murder, including abortion, which is the murder of innocent babies with a heartbeat?  Have you repented from lust, premarital sex, cohabitation, fornication or adultery? (Matt. 5:28-29)  Have you repented from the sin of stealing?  Have you repented from the sins of lying?  Have you repented from the sin of covetousness, which includes coveting money, possessions, and women besides your wife?   Yes／No

4. Is Jesus the Lord of your life? (I’m not talking about whether or not Jesus is your Savior only.) Yes／No

5. Have you denied yourself and taken up your cross daily and followed the Lord Jesus? Yes／No

6. Are you dead to sin? Yes／No

7. After you got baptized in water, your old man was crucified with Christ, you no longer serve sin, and you are now freed from sin, right? Yes／No

8. Do you obey God’s word from the heart? Yes／No

9. After you got baptized in water, you have been made free from sin, and you are now a servant of righteousness, right?  Yes／No

10. Do you have any fruit of holiness? (I am not asking whether you are totally holy, I am only asking you have you ever bore any fruits of holiness. After your baptism in water, have you ever lived some days in holiness? ) Yes／No

11. Is God’s moral law in your heart now? After your baptism in water, has God ever written His moral law in your heart and cleansed you from all your idols? Yes／No

12. Since you got baptized in water, do you now keep Jesus’ moral commandments (like “getting rid of covetousness in you heart” and “stop lusting after women in your heart”)? Yes／No

13. Do you love the brothers and sisters in the Lord? Yes／No

14. As of now, you no longer love the world, yes? Yes／No

15. As of now, you will NOT sin deliberately, knowingly or habitually, right? Yes／No

16. Are you now a doer of righteousness? Yes／No

17. As of now, do you love souls? Have you preached the Pure Gospel to anyone recently in the past year? (Pure Gospel means:  leading sinners to repentance from all their sins so that they could be justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.)  Yes／No

18. After you got baptized in water, do you love God’s word? Do you desire the sincere milk of God’s word? Do you read your Bible daily? Do you have a habit of reading your Bible?  Yes／No

19. As of now, do you love Jesus more than your parents, your wife, your children, and your own life?     Yes／No

Please see:

True and False Christians Test (answers)
https://repent-pray-revival.org/2020/07/09/true-and-false-christian-test-answers-and-scriptural-basis/