Ask Pastor Mike Fabarez

Speaker 1

Hey, are you really a Christian? How can you tell? Who needs to know? Well, sit tight because today on Focal Point, we'll have our chance to sit down one on one with Pastor Mike Fabarez to get some clear answers.

Welcome to Focal Point with our Bible teacher, Mike Fabarez. I'm Dave Drouehe. Glad you could join us today. Every week at this time we have a standing appointment with Pastor Mike.

The Bible tells us to examine ourselves to see whether we're in the faith. But why? Let's join executive director Jay Wurton inside the Pastor's study for this edition of Ask Pastor Mike.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Dave. I am here with Pastor Mike and Pastor Mike. We have a really important question a listener asks. Do I have to keep examining myself to see if I'm a Christian?

Speaker 3

Wow, that's a big question. And I probably, if I had that person in front of me, would want to ask some follow-up questions. But I don't have that person here. So I would just say you've got to clearly take the call to examine ourselves or just to use the words of Jesus, that you'll be able to know them by their fruits. I mean, that has to be a concern of every Christian. You can't just say, well, yeah, I'm following Christ and then not follow Christ and say, well, I'm okay.

You know, First John, chapter three is a great chapter and every Christian should read it. I think you should read it periodically throughout your Christian life. I mean, I think you should be reading it once every six months probably just to read through the necessary connection between a claim to follow Christ and the reality of bearing fruit and following Christ.

So yeah, in one sense, we should be checking to make sure that we're not just big fat hypocrites. I mean, we don't want to think I've got some ticket to the spiritual Disneyland in the sky in my back pocket because I walked an aisle or prayed a prayer, but my life is no different. One of the marks of Christianity, according to James, is that we are going to bear fruit. I can't say I have faith in Christ and have a living faith, a real faith, a faith that saves if my life doesn't reflect any change.

Speaker 2

So what if I examine myself and I see a pattern of sinful actions over a long period of time? Is it possible I'm not a Christian?

Speaker 3

Well, yeah, I mean, it depends on even how you respond to that. I mean, the reality of sin is going to be a part of who we are. I think of James, chapter three, that great discussion about the tongue being such an unruly part of our body. But James starts that with, "we all stumble in many ways." Even in 1 John, the book that's so strong on making us check our lives to see if our walk matches our profession, it speaks of the fact that if we claim we have no sin, we're liars. So we're going to sin. You're going to sin, and you're even going to have recurring patterns of sin.

But you've got to see how people respond to that. Are they responding with repentance and confession? We're seeing levels of accountability and even remorse and concern over that. It'd be like being a part of some kind of stop smoking group. I got these guys that we get together with on Wednesday nights, and we're all former smokers. This is just an illustration, Jay, but let's just say we're sitting around trying to stop smoking, and we come in smoking and leave smoking. We even take a break in the middle of our meeting to smoke. I mean, you'd say, well, these people aren't serious about stopping smoking, right?

And Christians, they're repenting of their sins and putting their trust in Christ. You can't have a bunch of repentant people who say they've turned from sin if they really give no thought to it. It's a casual kind of adherence to a group that says, "Yeah, we're against smoking. Let me take a break now. Can we take a break and smoke?" I mean, you can't have a cavalier attitude towards sin. Sin is going to be something that grieves us. Sin is going to be something we're fighting. Sin is going to be something that we're going to take seriously because the Spirit of God dwells in us, and there's going to be an internal conflict every time we sin. That's unlike anything a non-Christian will experience.

So, yeah, a chronic pattern of sin that has no interest in correction and no interest in repentance, I would say that's a really bad sign.

Speaker 2

So do I have to be perfect? I mean, can I even be perfect? I mean, what if I struggle with sin?

Speaker 3

Yeah, and that's why I quoted one John, chapter one, that says we can't claim we have no sin. And James, chapter three, verse number two, that says we all stumble in many ways. Of course, we're not going to be perfect. But by the time we look at James 2 or First John 3, to quote the context of both of those statements I just made, there's going to be a difference in how we live. We cannot continue in sin the way we did before. So, no, we're not going to be perfect. Of course not. We're going to stumble. We're going to fail.

But when you fail in this group that you're part of, that's against, you know, smoking, and now you do light one up on a Friday night behind the house, I mean, yeah. How are you going to respond to that? We're going to stumble. The question is, how do we respond to that and do we see a pattern? It's not about, as I often say, it's not about perfection. Right. It's about direction. Is there a direction of moving toward increasing righteousness in my life?

And I think people that really struggle in their conscience about this really are showing that they're increasingly sensitive to sin. In other words, they're really struggling with this because they now have a high bar of sensitivity to any time that they do sin. And I think, well, that's a great sign. That's what Christians do. They feel conviction.

And I guarantee you someone who's a real Christian is going to have a higher sensitivity to sin today than they had as a Christian 10 years ago. There's just a constant refining that the Spirit of God is going to do in our conscience, in our lives that's going to make sin an increasingly deplorable and detestable thing in our own minds and our own hearts.

Speaker 2

Maybe you could speak to somebody that is struggling with a pattern of sin, just like you talked about, has that sensitivity to give them some encouragement in their battle against sin.

Speaker 3

Yeah, well, Second Corinthians, chapter seven is a great passage that speaks to real repentance, a kind of repentance that has an indignation about their sin, an alarm. I mean, there's a kind of concern that comes to the real Christian who is repentant, that's going to keep on sounding the alarm over sin in their lives that is going to do what it takes to try and corral their flesh because of the gracious work of the Spirit, I trust. Obviously, this is not something we just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to do, but there's clearly a lot of struggle and effort that's involved in this. As Peter wrote, we make every effort to add to our faith all the virtues, the Christian life.

And so we want to be careful that we are not discouraged at the process of growing up in Christ. See the progress, celebrate the progress, celebrate the small steps of any progress in our sanctification. Read the passages that deal with sin. I think of First Thessalonians, chapter four, that talk about the things that ought to motivate us, to remind us that because there's so much at stake regarding our walk with Christ, that it ought to be something that motivates us and moves us on and encourages us.

Or as the writer of Hebrews says, we ought to get together and stir one another up to love and good deeds. I mean, there is a kind of a communal, corporate aspect to us sharpening one another and helping one another and encouraging one another. Obviously, accountability is a part of this. If there is sin in your life, a recurring pattern of sin, get a brother in Christ involved. If you are a gal, get a sister in Christ who loves God and isn't struggling with that same thing to be an accountability partner for you, to help you and encourage you in the progress that you should be making in your sanctification.

This can be a great encouragement to you because every victory is celebrated not just by yourself, but by another brother or sister in Christ. So don't be discouraged. The fight with sin is a good thing in that we recognize that God has given us a passion to follow the Spirit and to put to death the deeds of the flesh. And that's going to be something that's going to be a lifelong battle till we meet Christ face to face.

Speaker 2

Well, thank you, Pastor Mike. That is a really important discussion, and we're going to continue this topic with a message you gave called Watching out for the Pacifying Benefits of Dating Christ.

Speaker 4

Dating and marriage are two different things. They require two totally different considerations. When I was 16, I met Carlyn. She was 15, and boy, I was taken by her. I was enamored, still am. By the time I was 17 and she had finally turned 16, we went on our first date, and after three years of dating, I popped the question. And 12 months after that, we walked down an aisle, stood in front of our pastor, exchanged covenantal marriage vows, and became husband and wife.

If I asked you, when did I meet my wife? If you paid attention, you'd say, well, when you were 16. If I asked you, when did I get married? If you did the math real quick, you'd say, well, you must have been 21.

We have a problem in the Christian community with the use of a popular phrase that's often posited in a question, and it goes something like, when did you meet Christ? When were you introduced to the Lord? Nothing wrong with the question. The problem is what people mean when they ask the question and what people mean when they answer the question. Because when people say that, often what they mean is, when did you become a Christian? And people often answer that question with, well, I became a Christian here, and that's when I met Christ.

Speaker 3

Hmm.

Speaker 4

Now, if you're reading and studying through the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—you encounter many characters and figures. If you asked the question, "When did Nicodemus meet Christ?" you would have a different answer because you would be in a context that would force you to specify where Nicodemus met Christ, or where Peter met Christ, or where Nathanael met Christ, or where Philip met Christ. However, if I then ask you, "When did they become a Christian?" you would have a different answer. Sometimes you might say, "Ah, the Gospels say they met Christ," but over here, it never states that they actually became followers of Christ.

If you fall into the pattern of blurring that line, you will, without knowing it, begin to shape your theology in a very unbiblical way. This will leave out a very important period that necessarily precedes your becoming a child of God. The Scripture is clear: there is a period between being exposed to the teachings of Christ and becoming a follower. That gap varies for people; for some, it is short, for others, it is long, and some have met Him but have never come to the place of true conversion. If you're unclear about this, you will inevitably overlook a natural and biblical concern about possibly getting stuck in that dating relationship and never moving to the altar.

You can't miss that turn to Hebrews chapter six, which is a passage concerned with the danger of being in this period of knowing something about Christ and even experiencing the benefits of Christ, but never reaching the place of biblical repentance and faith. Verse 4 states, "For those who have once been enlightened," and it lists five things: they have "tasted the heavenly gift," "shared in the Holy Spirit," "tasted the goodness of the word of God," and "the powers of the coming age." It is impossible for those, as stated in verse 6, "if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance," because to their loss, they are "crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace."

Then, the passage gives an analogy. Verse 7 describes "land that drinks in the rain, often falling on it, that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed; it receives the blessing of God." However, "the land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed." The analogy concludes with this important distinction.

Speaker 3

It will be burned.

Speaker 4

And he says, even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case. We learn in chapter three and elsewhere in Scripture that the proof of real conversion is longevity in the faith. We've just given a few examples, but you and I can probably think of people in our own life who we've watched come associate with Christianity. They've had a Bible. They've got their name on the front of a Bible. They've been to Sunday school, they've learned verses, but no genuine conversion.

Beware of that, because the possibility is that you and I could experience a lot in the community of the redeemed and never truly be redeemed. Luke, chapter 8, verse 13. The sower and the soils. Remember that. He describes the rocky soil. This way the seed goes out and it falls on the soil in the rocky places. And here's how Jesus in verse 13 of Luke 8 describes it. He says, on the rocks are the ones who believe the word of God, and they receive it with joy when they hear it. But they have no root.

Here's a big word: believe. But only for a while. Jesus said, because in a time of testing, they fall away. This leads me to a second passage I want you to jot down: First Peter, chapter one, verses six and seven. Jesus said, now remember, Peter was there listening to the parable of the soils. So Jesus taught this, and Peter heard it, and he knew what he said. And he's going to pick up on this phrase in a time of testing.

Peter elaborates on it. He says, you know what? Here's what the time of testing is all about. It's a time of difficulty, a time of trial. It's a time of struggle. It's a time of pain. First Peter, chapter one, verse six says, in this you greatly rejoice. In what? In this great inheritance that's coming for us, reserved in heaven for us. Though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Speaker 3

What's the word?

Speaker 4

**Trials.** What's a trial? It's a test. These have come so that. Now note this carefully. Your faith may be proved what genuine. You have a faith that when put under pressure, is tested. And Jesus said, if it's tested and it fails, it's not real. If it's tested and it doesn't fail and it endures beyond the testing, then guess what? It's real. And it will produce all kinds of praise and glory when Christ returns.

The third passage I want you to jot down is Second Corinthians 13, which should be something we periodically revisit in our personal lives. That is, we subject ourselves to some evaluation. Paul put it this way in verse number five: Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith. Are you in it? Is it real? He says, now, do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test. You'd better be analyzing yourself to see whether you're really in, not in the doors of the church, but in the faith. How's the test?

Back to the words of Jesus in Luke, chapter 8. They believe for a while. Now, what happens if they believe for a while and then they bail out? What does the scripture say? First John, chapter 2, verse 19 states, "They went out from us, but they really didn't belong to us. Had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their going out showed that none of them belong to us."

What's the point? The bailout, the temporary faith, the apostates, to put it in theological terms, proved they never had the genuine article to start with. Therefore, we say we better test ourselves. Are these the genuine article or the plastic fruit?

Verses 4 and 5 in Hebrews, chapter 6, we're going to consider the difference. How could this be a temporary article, phony, less than biblical Christianity experience? And then what's the real article look like? Verse number four says, "who have once been enlightened." They're enlightened. Their minds are enlightened.

I put it this way: here's what one person could say who's dating Christ, and it would be true. Let's put it down this way. I have some new insights. I'm going to church now. And you know what? I'm starting to understand some things. I know some things now that are really changing the way I relate to my wife and how I'm parenting my kids and the business ethics at work. And you know what? Wow, it's really, really changing things.

You come to church, you're gonna see the world through a lens and a perspective of biblical truth, and you're gonna see the light bulbs pop on in your head. You can do all of that, though, and never be converted, because if you're really converted, that enlightenment's not gonna be, "I have some new insights." You can either say that or you can say this: "I'm a new person." It's not that I have some new insights; I got a new brain now. As Paul said, "I am a new man now. I am a new creature." To go back to our Sunday school memory, verses 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "If any person's in Christ, he is a new creation. Brand new."

Speaker 3

Not.

Speaker 4

I got some new thoughts. I got some new perspectives. I got some new ideas and insights.

Speaker 3

No, I got a new mind.

Speaker 4

Now, he is going to change who we are, the fabric of our being. Paul called it a new man, a new person. I am a new man in Christ. The old man's dead. That's different. Now, non-Christians can come to church and have lots of new insights, but a real Christian is a new person. They have a new mind in Christ. Ezekiel 11, verse 19. Look at this. I will give them. This is very insightful. An undivided heart.

Now, here's the thing. You got an undivided heart before you come to church, right? You're out there in the world, just a normal person. You're not undivided. You're living for yourself and everything's cool. The problem is, you come to church and you know what happens now? All of a sudden, you're feeling guilty about things you didn't before. You're being pressed to do things you weren't before. And now all of a sudden, oh, I'm divided.

God looks at the community of the redeemed. He's talking about Israel here after the captivity, bringing them back. And he says, I'm going to give them an undivided heart, and I'm going to put a new spirit in them. Paul said, a new man, a new creation. Galatians, chapter 6, verse 15. A new creation. That's what matters. Am I a new creation? And he says, you'll put a new spirit in you. And I'm going to guess what? Remove the old hardware. Remove the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. And they will follow my decrees and they'll be careful to keep my laws, and they will be my people, and I will be their God. Different heart.

Secondly, he says back in Hebrews 6, not only are people once enlightened and then bail out, but there are also people who have, look at this, tasted the heavenly gift. Tasted the heavenly gift. And the syntax and grammar of this makes it the focus on the generosity of heaven. Heaven-sent generosity coming down from God. Nothing specified here, nothing specific, but God's gift, His generosity coming toward you.

Let's put it this way. People can come to church and they're in the community of the redeemed, and they start getting what I say, what I call here, blessings. And they start to say, I have some new blessings now in my life. I have some new blessings now. Notice this. In the world, there's something we call in theology common grace. Because were it not for common grace, there'd be nothing happening on this planet but bad. But God sends what's called common grace. He allows people to enjoy sunsets and full stomachs and carne asada burritos and all kinds of things that they can enjoy even though they're sinners and bound for God's wrath one day. They get to enjoy that because of common grace.

Here's the thing. People join the party every weekend. They get to experience church with Christians, and God's common grace is poured out on steroids to us. But one has an inheritance in the...

Speaker 3

Eternal kingdom and the other does.

Speaker 4

And it's hard to tell the difference when they're sitting next to each other in church because they experience a lot of emotions in the worship. They experience a lot of edification and preaching.

Yeah, they get a lot of common grace, but they don't have salvation.

One more jot it down and then this one would be good to turn to Ephesians 1:5-8. Look at the focal point here.

Speaker 3

Look at the interest.

Speaker 4

Look at what the spotlight is on. It's not on the temporal goodies. It's not even on the spiritual goosebumps. It's on something far greater and bigger. And this is where real Christians are stuck on this. Ephesians 1. Got to pick up the last two words of verse 4 to catch the sentence: "in love, he predestined us to be adopted as sons." Even that phrase—you don't hear people that just attend church and get some of the blessings talking about that. He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with the pleasure of his will.

To the praise, verse six, of his glorious grace. There's the key word: grace. You know what you're going to be focused on in eternity as you get your inheritance? Man, this is incredible. I don't deserve this. Incredible. And here, the earthbound, real converted hearts are always focused on and captivated by the grace of God, which He has freely given to us in the One He loves.

Real converted Christians don't say, "Well, I get a lot of blessings being a part of this thing." Man, they are on their knees; they're overwhelmed with grace. And if that hadn't happened to your heart, maybe you're just dating Christ. Because once you get on the other side of this thing called real Christianity, something happens to your heart as it relates to grace. You get it, and you celebrate it. And that will be your focus and theme throughout eternity.

Speaker 1

You're listening to Focal Point and a message from Pastor Mike Fabarez called "Watching out for the Pacifying Benefits of Dating Christ." You can hear the complete, unedited version at focalpointradio.org.

It's one thing to have met the Lord, but a whole other thing to be in a growing, committed relationship with Him.

Another part of a relationship is the natural give and take that happens between loved ones. That means sharing both spiritual and material needs. Right, Pastor Mike?

Speaker 3

Well, that's right, Dave. I know if you're a focal point listener, I understand that you get this. As we get near the end of the year, we think about our need to support and underwrite this ministry and pay the bills to put us on the air. It's something that I know many of you believe in.

I would just ask you, as we kind of gear up for the next year, that you will make a commitment if you're with us on this, if you share our value for this truth of God's word that we so desperately and eagerly want to get out to more and more people. We'd love for you to join with us and partner with us to stand for the truth in a world that really needs it. A truth that transforms, that penetrates, that saves people, that gives people hope.

The kind of hope that goes beyond a bigger house or nicer car or even good health, but the kind of hope that knows that 100 years from now, a thousand years from now, we will be together in eternity because Christ came to save us from the power of death. That's a fantastic truth.

I know that you will want to join with me to keep this kind of broadcast moving forward and advancing. I'm so grateful for our partners, and I'd love for you to call us or go online. Let us know you're standing with us as we move into the next season of the ministry here at Focal Point.

Speaker 1

And today, you can be among the first to receive a special insider's glimpse of Focal Point by becoming a Focal Point partner. Every month, you'll receive a video message straight from Pastor Mike that outlines some special opportunities just for you. It's our way of connecting with our staunchest supporters.

Become a Focal Point Partner today by calling 888-320-5885 or by going to focalpointradio.org. For a financial gift, large or small, we'll send you the book "All the Prayers of the Bible." If you're feeling a lull, stuck in a rut, or just ready to try something different, you're in the right place to hear God as you use this prayer book to invigorate your quiet time with these proven and effective examples taken straight from Scripture.

But hurry! Today's the last day to call 888-320-5885. You can meet up and keep the conversation going at facebook.com/pastormike or twitter.com/pastormike.

Dave Drury here, wishing you a great weekend and inviting you back again Monday for more.

Focal Point Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries.