They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:16 ESV)
Works, actions and fruits reflect and show what is inside us. Humans can profess and confess to know God but not really know God. The human heart is naturally wicked and deceitful even to the owner of that heart. It is not what we say that matters but what we do.
It is very easy to say anything. Some people can lie so much that they can tell any kind of lie without batting their eyelids. Some people are self aware and know that they are pretenders and do not care. However, some people are unaware and self deceived. They keep professing to know God but do not care about their actions because they believe that faith alone will save them. We are saved by faith alone but that faith is a faith that expresses itself in actions, fruits and works. It is not a dead, lifeless, cruel faith. The type that talks and talks but causes harm and destruction everywhere it goes. No – it is not.
Those who have real faith in God, naturally respond to God with thanksgiving, worship, praise and obedience. Their faith might not be perfect or complete but they care to please God and are trying, while depending on God to provide more grace. Many things in life have counterfeit and faith also has fake, false, counterfeit faith. It imitates and mimics the original but it is not. When you study it and look closely, you will discover that is is counterfeit just like counterfeit money.
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17
Women and men lie all the time especially to obtain favors and get what they want. A lot of hearts have been broken by the actions of partners and spouses who claimed to love them. These partners can go to any length to profess their love but display very bad actions towards the people they claim to love. For such people, words and love are just ways of control and winning the game. They trap you with words of love and lies but hurt you without remorse. They are very happy as long as they are getting what they want from you.
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Mathew 7 : 17 -20
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Mathew 7:21
Humans also play such games with spiritual matters, but fortunately, God can not be deceived, controlled and trapped by falsely expressed words. He sees directly into our hearts and knows our motives and intentions. However, a lot of humans judge by outward appearance and believe that everyone that professes Christ and Christianity is a believer. Wrong – there are many unbelieving believers. Outwardly they pretend to be believers but inwardly they are not believers. They are just pretenders and hypocrites. They are false believers just like false prophets, apostles, teachers, ministers, preachers, and pastors.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6 New Living Translation
Many profess to know God but their fruits, works and actions deny God and oppose Him. These people can end up causing great harm to the undiscerning and unsuspecting. May God help us to detect false Christians, and protect ourselves from them. May God also help those who are self deceived, and open their eyes to make them match their words with their actions, before it is too late.
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