The Insecurity of the Make-Believer

"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:11-13

On the subject of eternal security, a popular pastor said, "I have a message that I used to preach. And I preached it quite often. There is the security of the believer. But, there is the insecurity of the make-believer. The problem is not whether or not we have an eternal salvation. The problem is have you really, genuinely, trusted the Lord Jesus Christ ... Let me ask you the question, 'Have you sincerely, truly, trusted the Lord Jesus Christ?" From what I gather, based on the question he asks at the end of his comment, that the only way to determine whether or not someone is a believer or a make-believer is if they confess to having "truly" and "genuinely" trusted in Jesus Christ. This begs the question, "What does it mean to truly and genuinely trust in Jesus Christ?" That is such a vague determination that each individual can make up whatever they want to define what those terms mean. Besides, what person is going to admit to being a "make-believer"? There is no scriptural support for calling someone a make-believer. Yes, scripture does say that "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (1 John 2:19)." One could say that those that John says "were not of us" could be make-believers. However, if you keep reading, John goes on to talk about these are people who are liars that deny Jesus is the Christ. I doubt you will find many Christians, aside from cult members, who deny that Jesus is the Christ. In my opinion, the only way in which someone could be labeled a "make-believer" is because they are not living up to the expectations of the individuals making this judgment; i.e. a pastor. I would not call anybody a make-believer. You either believe in Jesus Christ and are saved or you don't believe in Jesus Christ and are lost. It is when we get caught up focusing on a person's behavior that all these judgmental terms start to form. One of my favorite quotes is, "The law is of no use unless you have someone to compare yourself to." It is when one set of Christians are comparing themselves to other Christians that the condemnation towards one's faith begins to rear its ugly head. After all, if someone doesn't just come out and say they don't believe in Jesus Christ, what else is there to go on to judge them for other than their behavior? And, to me, it is the people doing the judging, like this pastor calling people make-believers, who are to blame if someone is insecure about their salvation.

You don't have to look too far before you will hear a Christian teaching that we are to lead lives of "obedience and repentance." Well, in order for one to live such a life you have to have a set of standards to live by in order to judge a person's ability to obey. While most Christians will agree that we are not under the law of God, they will definitely put people under the law of their particular denomination or even their own personal law they have made up. From personal experience, I have been judged negatively in the past over things like my church attendance, whether or not I participated in Bible study, how much I was giving to a church, my participation in church activities, and, of course, my ability to "overcome" the sin in my life. It is this last one that I believe is what leads people to be called "make-believers" or worse, believe that their personal faith is not genuine. From the day you are born until the day you die, sin is your companion. It will never go away entirely. Although, I do believe that as you grow in your faith in Christ you will see a diminishing of sin in your life, but only as a byproduct of resting in and depending on Jesus Christ. However, for those that do believe being a Christian is to live a life of overcoming sin, they will only find things getting worse for them and their faith. The Bible says, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." Therefore, if you believe that the goal of the Christian life is to overcome sin through a life of obedience and repentance to laws designed to modify your behavior, your Christianity will become "make-believe." The more you subject yourself to the law, any law, the more power you give to sin. You won't overcome sin, you will be overwhelmed by it. And those who are judging will say you are a "make-believer." And, unfortunately, you will agree with them because you believe the same thing about what being a Christian is all about. You will be insecure about your salvation because you know you will never overcome sin and that sin is getting worse in your life. Sin will have power over you. You not only will question your eternal security, but you will also question if you were ever a Christian in the first place. Then where will you turn? Do you redouble your efforts in trying to live an impossible life? Do you risk confronting those judgmental Christians who have put you into bondage? Can you approach a God you feel is ashamed of you and disgusted with you? I suggest you say exactly what Paul exclaimed. "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (Romans 7:24)?" The law has done its work in you. It has brought you to the end of yourself, so the only direction to turn is towards Jesus Christ. The God you thought was upset with you, is rejoicing that you have finally stopped trying to live the life only He, in Christ, can live through you. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:25)!" The only thing that is "make-believe" about one's faith in Jesus Christ is believing you are responsible for your eternal security. Now you know the truth and can believe.