True and False Converts
Introduction
This morning we come to the second half of Jesus’ fourth discourse and this is a pretty long passage so let’s jump right in and read it.
Read John 8:30-59
There are so many truths in this text that we will not have time to cover completely. For
example, we see in verses 32-36 that we are all slaves of sin until Jesus sets us free from sin. We see the third I am statement in verse 58 as Jesus says before Abraham was, I am. This statement alludes to Jesus identity, His deity and when Jesus made this statement, the people responded by trying to kill Him again. But Jesus gets away.
But I want to spend our time this morning focusing on what I feel is the most prominent part of this text taken all together – the dilemma of false belief, insincere faith in Jesus Christ. Our outline will simply compare true and false converts from the truths found in our text.
Notice verses 30 and 31 which set the stage for our discussion. While Jesus was talking, many people believed in Him. Many Bible verses on the surface seem to point to faith being the only necessary requirement for salvation. Most of these are in John, Romans, Galatians, and Acts, but this truth is spread out over the entire NT. Look at a verse we don’t usually read about salvation.
Read 1 Timothy 1:16
Notice at the end of this verse the allusion to people believing in Jesus and receiving eternal life. But we must remember that there are different kinds of faith. There is temporal faith which is not sincere (Carson calls this fickle faith) and there is saving faith which is sincere. Only real saving faith in Jesus results in salvation, and real faith results in a changed life and obedience to Jesus.
Jesus is going to explain this to us in our text. Remember according to verse 30-31, Jesus speaks this entire discourse to people who allegedly believed in Him. But they are believing in Jesus on their terms, not Jesus’ terms. So let’s start our outline from the text. First we will talk about the characteristics of false converts. I have put the verses from our text next to each idea.
I. False Converts
A. Do not listen to God’s Word – 43, 47
In verse 43, Jesus asks these people who believe in Him why don’t you understand what I say? Then He answers His own question and says because you cannot listen to God’s Word. Then Jesus continues this thought in verse 47 by saying, this is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.
Jesus clearly states that false converts do not listen to the Bible. They either do not accept the Bible as truth or they just don’t care. What does this say about people who do not want to listen to sermons or come to church? I don’t know. We’ll talk more in a minute about a big picture of this, but look at the next characteristic of false converts.
B. Turn away from God’s Word and do not obey it – 37
At the end of verse 37, Jesus tells these people who believed in Him, they are trying to kill Him because my word has no place among you. Jesus is telling them that they are turning away from the Word of God and not obeying it. Many young people make professions of faith early in their lives, and these do not pan out later in life. They end up turning away from God. And obedience is such a powerful indicator of true salvation. I could give you multiple other Bible verses that show the connection to faith and obedience but let’s just look at a few.
Read Romans 1: 3-5
Notice the phrase in the last verse, the obedience of faith. The NIV says the obedience that comes from faith. Real faith produces obedience.
Read Matthew 3:8-10
This is John The Baptist talking and he challenges the Pharisees to show they are saved by what they do, by their obedience. Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Then he goes on and says that every tree that doesn’t produce fruit, that doesn’t result in obedience, will be cut down and thrown into the fire of hell.
False converts do not obey God. But they also …
C. Do not know God – 55
Jesus is still talking to these people who allegedly believe in Him and He tells them plainly, You do not know God. In order to have eternal life, a person must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He or she must know God. Look at what Jesus says about his later on in John.
Read John 17:3
Notice the connection between knowing God and knowing who Jesus is. Remember there is no salvation without Jesus, no forgiveness, no life. There is no way to have a relationship with God the Father unless you come though Jesus. Knowing God is knowing Jesus, and knowing Jesus is knowing God.
The people in this text do not know God because they are false converts.
D. Have the devil as their father – 44
Back in verse 39, the people argue that Abraham is their father but Jesus tells them that if Abraham were their father, they would accept Jesus for who He is or do what Abraham did. The people then say that God is their father in verse 41, but then Jesus says no, if God were your father you would love Me because I came from God and He sent Me.
Then Jesus says your father is the devil, who is a murderer and a liar, the father of all lies actually. You know what the devil hates more than anything? He hates it when people really believe in Jesus, surrendering their lives to Him resulting in Jesus forgiving their sins, giving them eternal life, and changing their lives. Think about the parable of the sower and the different types of soil. The first seed fell along the path. It was trampled on then birds came and ate it up. Look at what Luke tells us this represents.
Read Luke 8:12
The devil hates it when people really believe in Jesus. Look at another text about this.
Read 2 Corinthians 4:4
The devil will do anything he can to keep you from believing the gospel. One of the primary tactics he uses is to make Christians fearful about witnessing. If you are scared to share the gospel, the devil doesn’t have to worry about keeping people from believing, because they can’t believe what they haven’t heard.
The devil is doing the same thing in our text, keeping these people from truly repenting of their sins and believing in Jesus. look at the last characteristic of false converts. They…
E. Hate Jesus – 37
Back in verse 37, notice their reaction to Jesus. They are trying to kill Him. They hate Jesus. Anyone who wants to kill someone hates them. These people fight against Jesus and do not submit to His authority. Now let’s contrast false converts with true believers. I’ll go through the characteristics of true believers a little quicker since they are the inverse of false converts.
II. True Believers
A. Accept God’s Word as true and listen to it – 47
Jesus simply states in verse 47, the one who is from God listens to God’s Words. I asked before what does this imply to people who claim to be Christians but don’t listen to sermons or have any desire to go to church?
I don’t know, but it is scary. Christians should accept the Bible as God’s Word for their lives and should have some desire to hear what it says.
B. Embrace God’s Word and persevere in it – 31
Verse 31 is powerful and convicting. Jesus gives a test for true disciples in this verse. Notice the word if, which shows this is a conditional statement. And remember Jesus is talking to people who allegedly have already believed in Him. Jesus says IF you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. The NIV says if you hold to my teaching you really are my disciples.
This text is really problematic for people who say they had a salvation experience when they were young, but did not persevere in their faith, people who exhibit no fruit, no desire for God, no evidence of a changed life. Let’s talk about this again at the end.
C. Obey God’s Word – 51
Remember real believers obey the Lord. That seems to be what Jesus is talking about in verse 51.
If anyone keeps my word, he will not see death. Notice again the offer of salvation to all. This verse on the surface might seem to promote salvation by works instead of faith. But like we talked about earlier, real faith in Jesus results in obedience. It’s that simple. Look how John expounds on this idea in his first letter.
Read 1 John 2:3-6
Notice from this passage how one way we can know we are saved is if we obey the Lord. We know that Jesus lives inside us because we have a desire to obey Him. again, what does this say about the millions of people who profess to be Christians but live for the devil? I think it means that there are many false converts out there, people who are kidding themselves if they think they are saved, people who have never really repented of their sin and believed in Jesus. Look at one more and we’ll return to this idea.
D. Have God as their Father and love Jesus - 42
Looking back at verse 42, true believers have God as their Father and they love Jesus. If we are born again, God has given us new birth and He is our Father. And all true believers have a sincere love in their hearts for Jesus Christ.
You ought to google true and false conversion. If you do, you will see multiple videos and articles by a guy named Ray Comfort. How many of you have ever heard of Ray Comfort? Comfort is a powerful evangelist who has started several ministries, Living Waters, Way of the Master, and has written several books. Maybe you have seen his TV show The Way of the Master before. Comfort teams up with an actor, Kirk Cameron, who used to be on the TV show “Growing Pains” in the late 80s. Comfort is convinced that most people who claim to be Christians in America are lost, even people within churches. I have read his book “the Way of the Master” which is excellent, and I watched a Youtube video when I was preparing for this sermon entitled, “True and False Converts.” This video is worth watching. In this video, Comfort and Cameron quote another pastor named D. James Kennedy that some of you may have heard of. Kennedy is the man who wrote the evangelism training course I initially took, Evangelism Explosion. Listen to what D. James Kennedy said and I quote: ”The vast majority of people who are members of churches in America today are not Christians. I say that without the slightest fear of contradiction. I base it on empirical evidence of 24 years of examining thousands of people.” Kennedy, Comfort, and Cameron believe that our country and even our churches are full of false converts. I tend to agree with them. Our text today gives us this same impression, that there are many people who claim to believe in Jesus but who have no evidence in their life of true conversion. Look at one more verse with me.
Conclusion
Read 2 Corinthians 5:17
Any person who knows Jesus should have the evidence of a changed life. We’ve seen the details of this in this sermon. Jesus has given us a litmus test in His Word to see whether or not we are saved. We must examine ourselves to make sure that we really know Jesus. Do you know Him?
Invitation