Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:07 Hey, their village church, Vicky basing you're here. And I am sitting with pastor Alex and pastor Michael, and we are in another episode of sermon Q and a and today we're talking through some questions that came from the sermon from yesterday, June 27th, 2021, where we talked about practical evangelism for a confused world. So today we're talking about a really important question and it's kind of confusing for a lot of people. Why are there false conversions?
Speaker 2 00:00:32 And I think that question is wonderful because we believe in a gospel that is powerful enough to save people. And when you see somebody who has appeared to trust in Christ and then falls away and actually rejects Jesus, it makes you wonder, is there something wrong with the gospel? Is there something wrong with that person? So after you and I spent a little bit of time working through this, and I think it was very helpful because we talked about a major indicator of false conversions and a major indicator of true conversions. So I'll go and start with the false conversions. Um, we identified that false conversions are primarily, typically, usually always identifiable because they're motivated by either one fear might be fear of a person need for approval, different things, kind of in the fear, spectrum, fear of how goodness. Yes. Um, or they're motivated by the desire to get something. So like the prosperity gospel. I come to Jesus because I want, um, health or wealth or I have a problem. I have debt, God fixed my dad. If I come to you and say, God's come like a genie. So what is, if that's the evidence of false conversions, what did we identify as
Speaker 3 00:01:37 True? The true conversion? Well, uh, so, uh, and the gospel of John, uh, Jesus talks about the holy spirit says the holy spirit will bring conviction of sin. Like that's one of his functions. And, and so w the reality is conviction of sin becomes like we experienced, broken over our own scent. We see the goodness of God and the gospel that he would send Jesus, that he would create everything. And we, we recognize who we are. And so one of the evidences of true conversion is that like, prior to coming to Jesus, you recognize how broken you actually are, because it's in that place that you recognize your need. All of those other motivations have some other kinds of needs that they're emphasizing. Right. Uh, so, so prosperity. It's like, I don't have enough wealth, right? So, so I would be inclined to come to Jesus for that. But the reality is we come to Jesus when we recognize the extent of our brokenness. And so the result is it's always the power of God that is bringing about conversion. So, so we come to God and recognize that we have nothing and that he has the power to save us.
Speaker 2 00:02:48 It's easy to get like a kid to believe in the proposition of facts of the gospel. Absolutely. But how do I know? Like if my 10 year old, 15 year old, 18 year old six year really has actually trusted in Christ, it's not primarily going to be fear. It's not primary going to be bonus motivated. Uh, I want to know, uh, are you broken over your sin? Are you sorry before God for your Senator? And that brokenness is just perfect. That's what it comes down to then. Aren't you not just saying,
Speaker 4 00:03:18 Sorry. Yes, yes. I've got one child who says, they're sorry, even when they're not sorry. They're like, are you okay?
Speaker 2 00:03:26 And that's, that's not a great motivator for salvation, but look for brokenness. I think that's, I think that's really awesome. Okay. All right. So how does this happen? Um, well, you and I came up with four big reasons. Yes. And, uh, the first one that, that we came up with is like, people convert fall asleep because some people are really good talkers. There are some people who can move a room. Oh my goodness. They
Speaker 4 00:03:47 Can make you feel feels, and you're sitting there, like,
Speaker 2 00:03:51 Why do I, I don't even know this person. I don't even agree
Speaker 4 00:03:54 With them what they're saying. And all of a sudden my head, I want to move, I'll come to Christ. If I don't, I mean, I have to, and then they
Speaker 2 00:04:03 Leave and they're like, what did I chase? Do you know? So that'd be, yeah.
Speaker 3 00:04:06 That's like, you know, uh, when I was in high school, I saw this all the time, especially like at youth conferences and stuff like that, you get a band who can play really emotional music. They know how to make things build. And then the speaker gets up and said, who wants to come to Christ? Come up here to the front, like the whole room flocks to the front. And you got to go, like, some of those were false conversions, right? Yeah. That's just the reality. So a, another example of how this happens, motivation was not from God, was not brokenness, but comes from fear. We've talked about this a lot. Fear of hell, fear of what somebody else will think of me if I don't do this. Right. Like, I, I want my teachers to love me. I want my leaders to, uh, approve of me. And so, yeah. Right. My parents. Right. I want them to think I'm doing the right thing. So I'm going to do this. Yeah. So what's another.
Speaker 2 00:04:57 Yep. Uh, motivation was to please a person and not repent. If you, if you haven't like caught, we're saying the same
Speaker 4 00:05:03 Thing and, and it's
Speaker 2 00:05:05 On purpose because motivation is really important. And why you do something pretty much determines for most people, whether their salvation is going to be persistent and true, or whether or not it's going to be contingent. So, I mean, for example, if, if I am coming to Christ, because I want to please you, well, that is just not going to stick. That's not going to get me through pain. That's not going to get me through a broken marriage and a child who passes away mean like that can't persist. But if my salvation is rooted in brokenness over sin, that's actually something that can persist. Um,
Speaker 3 00:05:39 What's that the last one? So the last one is they actually believed a false gospel. Uh, so this, this happens, uh, people attach Jesus's name to other things that the gospel gospel can accomplish for you. We've kind of talked about that a little bit in other podcasts, but, but the reality is you come to Jesus for a different motivation than what he actually has come to provide.
Speaker 2 00:06:03 Absolutely. So like the prosperity gospel, which we just keep beating
Speaker 4 00:06:06 On it. Well, it's so insidious. And
Speaker 2 00:06:11 Most of the other false gospels are kind of believable to a degree like, oh, I get that right. But the prosperity gospel is just so selfish. You know? Like I want more of somebody to come to Jesus for more. And so if you come to Jesus for more, um, you're probably not going to experience a real conversion. Now do some people inevitably meet Christ even after like, after coming through that, right? Yes they do. But if you believe a false gospel, false gospels have no power. It's exactly. And that was one of, one of my major points in the sermon. And
Speaker 3 00:06:38 I don't know where you went to the same thing for me. It
Speaker 2 00:06:41 Was when you break down Romans one 16, the core sentences, the gospel is the power. And if you add to subtract from, or subs, substitute any aspect of it, it ceases to become no longer power. I didn't know what gross power. And so if you believe in a false gospel, it's no gospel. It's exactly right. And so it has no power to save. And so many people fall away because they believe in false
Speaker 5 00:07:02 God. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks you guys. I know, I
Speaker 1 00:07:07 Honestly learned a lot just kind of gleaning from a lot that you did in sermon prep. And I think that's one of the biggest reasons we did sermon Q and a was so that our church families could see. Wow. Like a lot of things didn't actually get into this sermon. Otherwise you guys would be up on the pulpit for two hours. Yeah. I've got a whole section at the bottom of my notes. That's the cut and
Speaker 4 00:07:26 Paste the threshing room floor, the cutting room floor and making that, this is what did
Speaker 2 00:07:29 Not make it. In fact, I go back to those and I could preach sermons off of those.
Speaker 1 00:07:33 I believe it. So, um, pastor Michael, could you tell us what we're going to answer next time? And we'll go from there
Speaker 2 00:07:39 Next time. We're going to answer the question. How do I know if someone has actually trusted in Christ? Um, like what are the evidences that I should really look for to say that is a awesome.
