Paper Christianity
2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
What do I mean by paper Christian?
When I first became a Christian in 1971, in evangelical circles, when one referred to a Christian, you were referring to someone who had been born again of the Spirit of God, someone who had been regenerated by the Holy Ghost and confessed their sins, repented and had trusted in Jesus Christ by grace, through faith.
This was the definition of a true Christian.
Because of bible teaching, when one heard the term Babylon, we all knew who it was referring to.
Babylon was false religion.
Obvious cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Theosophy, Main stream religions like, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Bhuddism, Hinduism, Islam etc.
These were faiths that we were taught, represented Babylon.
As evangelical Christians, we understood that there was the true church and the false church.
The false church was the ones that taught heresies and didn’t always stick to the teachings of scripture.
Even the Anglican, protestant church on paper had the truth but was riddled with cultural Christianity.
It is not difficult for a Christian with some Bible knowledge and understanding to recognise false teaching, when it is checked against the scriptures.
However, when a religion has the fundamentals of Christianity in their statements of faith, it becomes more difficult to determine who the real Christians are.
For example, the Church of England has a statement known as “The 39 Articles”.
If you read this statement, you would probably agree with almost all of it. Yet in reality, adherents to the Church of England probably do not.
On paper, they have the right doctrine but it is denied in the experiences and lives of many people in that denomination.
The Roman Catholic Church holds to the teachings of the bible, in that they believe in the Trinity, the Deity of Jesus Christ, the Virgin birth, they believe in the resurrection of Christ and yet they add to the bible truths, other traditional teachings that are not scriptural.
Things like the worship of Mary the mother of Jesus, who they call the mother of God.
They pray to her and they pray to saints who they believe are mediators between man and God.
Which is denying the truth that there is only one mediator between man and God. 1 Tim 2:5
When you examine the doctrines of the cults, as I said, with bible knowledge, you can identify the false faiths, for they all deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. This is the one thing that almost all false faiths have in common.
However, today, it is more and more difficult to determine who make up the true Body of Christ.
The Bible speaks of a great apostasy (a falling away) in the last days.
Apostasy - the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle.
To be an apostate, one would have to have professed belief in a faith and then reject it.
Take notice that I said professed and not possessed. You can be a professor and not be a possessor.
We are warned about this great apostasy in Pauls letter to the Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
Now, the fundamental question here is, who are the ones that fall away?
We know from scripture that a regenerated, born again believer will never be lost.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Romans 8:37-39 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Here is the proof of a finished work: All in the past tense. Our salvation is a completed work.
Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Therefore if someone knows what the truth is and falls away, then it must be that that person, even though they knew the truth, in fact never acted on that truth and that truth was never appropriated in their life.
In other words, they held the truth in contempt, they were never regenerate, never born again.
The were “Paper Christians”. Or, to put it another way, Christians on paper only.
An example of this:
If a man and a woman marries, they sign a certificate of marriage but they never consummate that marriage but just live together and do not have a true marital relationship. Then they are married but only on paper. In the law, that marriage can be annulled. They have never (in the Biblical sense) known one another physically, (become one flesh).
There is a difference between someone that professes Christ and someone who possesses Christ.
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
A Possessor, is someone who has appropriated the belief in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, in their life.
This is appropriation is. Believing in the heart, not just confessing with the mouth.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
To believe is to put ones trust in, to rely upon, to have faith in.
Salvation is not head knowledge, it is not knowing on paper but trusting in.
Ephesian 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
It will not matter what they claim, they are not amongst the elect.
When the Apostasy comes in the last days, those that will fall away and follow the Antichrist, will be the unbelievers, those that do not belong to Jesus Christ. These are made up of those in Egypt (the world) and those in Babylon (False religions).
In the Old Testament we read about types and figures.
When Moses led the children of Israel out of bondage from Egypt, it was a type of salvation. The Lord brought them out of Egypt.
When Babylon invaded Jerusalem they took captives back to Babylon and they were enslaved
Egypt is a type of the world and Babylon is a type of false religion.
Those that remain in the world and in false religion are not possessors.
There will be many on the day of judgement that will claim they were believers and they will very harsh words from Christ.
Matt 7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23. And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Remember the ten virgins, five were wise and five were foolish.
All were virgins, all had lamps, however only the five wise virgins had oil, (a type of the Holy Spirit).
The five foolish virgins looked very much like the five wise virgins, However, although they were waiting for the bridegroom and had lamps and very likely would have been dressed like the others, there was one great difference, they had no oil.
These five foolish virgins represent the professing church, their lamps are of darkness, they have not seen the light, they are not walking in the light, and their dress looks like the correct attire but is of self righteousness and not the righteousness of Christ. More importantly, they had no oil, the Holy Spirit is not in them.
What does the scriptures say?
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
When the bridegroom came, the five foolish virgins weren’t ready and they did not get to go to the wedding.
When they knocked on the door, the bridegroom said "I never knew you".
So, we see, there is true Christianity and there is Cultural Christianity.
So we see here, two sets of people, one group that appears to be in the faith, maybe doing and saying all the right things and from all appearances, look like Christians, they talk like Christians and act like Christians, but are not true Christians.
Just as our text says:
2 Timothy 3:5 having a form (an appearance) of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
These are the ones that depend on their own efforts. They may have been baptised (christened), they may be church goers, born into a Christian environment or Christian family but have not got a real personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is why when they knocked on the door, the bridegroom said the tragic words, “I never knew you”.
They were professors, not possessors.
https://jeffreyunsworth.wixsite.com/teleiosbibleblogs/copy-of-100-the-ten-virgins
Those that have been truly saved, born again are one with Christ. They are in a relationship with Christ, they are part of His body.
This marriage is not only a marriage on paper but a real marriage.
Jesus said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me”
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
Jesus sheep are those that have heard the truth and not just heard but have come to the knowledge of the truth.
The word is not just on paper but it has been written on our hearts and minds.
Hebrews 10: 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My Laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”
17 Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”…
This is a quote from Jeremiah and it goes on to say: . I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”
This is in contrast to those that read the scripture, know what it says but it is never made real in their lives.
Paul writing to Timothy says:
2 Tim 3:7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We should all take stock and examine ourselves. Do you know that you are a Christian? Do you see the fruit of Christ in your life?
2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
Have you agreed with God concerning your sin and repented and believed on Jesus.
If you have, you can be certain that what you have committed to God, He will preserve till you stand before Him at the judgement seat of Christ.
Paul said:
2 Timothy 1:12 - For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
If you can say this, then you are not a Paper Christian nor just a professor but you are a possessor and you will hear different words from Christ.
Matthew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
