Nicole you are putting your finger on the great need of the church of our day. As I share in the Do Hard Things Conference, the Evangelical churches today are shot through with “nominal Christians” or CINOs “Christians in name only.” It was the same in the 1740s back in the days of George Whitefield and Jonathon Edwards. Whenever people are willing to go along with their Christian family members in order to get along with them there will be an abundance of CINOs in the church. Such people have an appearance of godliness but they deny the power from which all true godliness springs— an authentic from the heart faith in Jesus Christ. When people don’t believe in God enough to actually obey Him they are going through the motions of Christianity, but their hearts are not in it. For example, they never pray when they are alone because God is not real enough to them to want to talk to Him. They do not read their Bibles when they are alone just because they want to know what God says about something. They only read their Bibles to satisfy some requirement in school or church. They only read and pray when others are around who expect them to do these thing. They go along to get along. A nominal Christian may give God a tip in church, but iIt would never occur to them to invest in eternal treasure. They don’t really believe in eternal treasure. God is not real enough. Heaven is not real enough. None of this is real enough because in their hearts they don’t really believe the Gospel. They do not trust God enough to actually obey Him.

James wrote, “Faith without works is dead.” But we must always be careful not to bring works in as a requirement for salvation. As born again Christians we do good works, not in order to be saved, but because we are saved — by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

My counsel to you is to be an example of an authentic believer who walks in the obedience of faith in God. As you do so, gently confront others with the possibility that their lack of concern for pleasing God may be due to their having never really believed the Gospel in the way that one who is truly born again does believe. Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. It should come as no surprise that those who have not yet been born again do not have a desire to please God. Apart from God’s gracious help, they can’t. So, if there is no evidence of a desire to please God in their heart, they need to repent, believe the Gospel and be born again. God will not reject anyone who comes to Him asking for the New Birth that He promises to all who trust in Jesus.

Some reading this may live in a Christian family with Christian siblings and friends and yet have not been born again. You may be bearing the fruit of supportive circumstances instead of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. You may be a leader in your church’s youth group and yet, you have never been born again. You are going through the motions but it is always for some other reason than to please God. If you see little or no evidence of any real desire in your heart to know and please God, don’t panic! God is drawing you to the real thing. Admit the truth to God. Pray for His mercy. Ask Him to give you all that He has promised to those who come to Him by faith in Jesus. Then, identify something that you know would be pleasing to Him and go do it boldly, just because you believe God is there and that He will be pleased. Not to earn anything or to pay God back. Just do it because it is God’s will. Tell someone what God has done for you. Be baptized as a new believer as soon as possible. (Explain that God has rescued you from being a CINO. That may shake things up in your circle of friends. Some may be angry. But others may follow your good example and be saved as well.) Study your Bible like the handbook that it really is. Give something valuable away to someone else who needs it more than you do. Make God smile as He sees you trying to be like Him. This “obedience of faith” is actually the only sane way to live. This is where the joy is found.

It is the desire to please God that leads us to the actual obedience itself. This is because God “works in us” first to will and then to do what pleases Him. We have been created in Christ for good works that God has prepared for us to do for His glory and the good of others. If our “wanter” (i.e. our heart) does not even want to please God, we just don’t know Him yet. There is only one solution. We need a new heart. We need a new spirit. We must be born again. Then we will begin to at least practice righteousness, even if we are not very good at it. We will be able to tell what we are practicing. Over time we will grow to maturity as a true Christian. I hope this helps. God bless you and all of the other Rebelutionaries out there who are pursuing God.

Gregg, if there is anyway I can get a transcript to write notes off of I would greatly appreciate it. There was so much good expostiting that to listen to it even 3 times I know I would miss something.

Thanks for putting this up!

I look forward to listening to the message you have provided in this post.

Press on in HIS truth and HIS love for HIS glory

I wanted to say that I was extremely inspired, encouraged and strengthened by your last conference, and that I believe many, many others were also. Thank you so much for your effort and your devotion.

God be with you - always!