Even though 2.6 billion people claim to be Christian, the New Testament predicts false Christians will be many, true Christians will be few, and the world will increase in wickedness.
- Matthew 7:13-14 True Christians are few, and sinners are many.
- Matthew 7:21-23 False Christians say Jesus is their Lord, lead churches, and are “many.”
- Matthew 10:22 True Christians are few when compared to all the world which will hate them.
- Matthew 13:3-23 Three soils represent sinners and false believers; one soil represents true believers.
- Matthew 13:24-30 False Christians are a tool of Satan.
- Matthew 15:8 False Christians speak Christian words, but they do not love Him.
- Matthew 18:15-17 False Christians are exposed by church discipline.
- Matthew 21:30-31 False Christians are revealed by their disobedience.
- Matthew 22:14 Few are chosen to be saved in comparison to the many that we evangelize.
- Matthew 23 Jesus exposes false Christians at length with very harsh words just before He died.
- Matthew 24:5, 10, 11, and 12 False Christians are called “many” 6 times.
- Matthew 24:24 False teachers will be very persuasive with the masses.
- Matthew 25:1-12 False Christians are a large number, not just 1 in 10.
- Matthew 25:14-30 False Christians are so common that Jesus warned about this in 5 parables (Soils, Tares, Sons, 10 Virgins, Talents) even during the last week of His life.
- Luke 12:32 True Christians might be afraid because their group is a little flock in an evil world.
- Luke 13:23-24 The disciples think that only a few will be saved, and Jesus confirms that only a few will be able to enter the gate.
- Luke 17:17-19 Only 1 of 10 lepers believed.
- Luke 17:26-30 True Christians will be few when Jesus comes again, just as the majority were lost in the days of Noah and Lot.
- Luke 18:8 True Christians will be rare when Jesus comes back
- John 2:23 Many people believed in Jesus, but He did not quickly accept them.
- John 6:66 Thousands of His followers left Jesus after one sermon.
- John 6:70 There was a fake Christian even in the 12 disciples.
- John 15:2-6 The night before He dies, after Judas left, Jesus stills warns the believers about being false Christians.
- John 15:18 True Christians are a small proportion of the world.
- Acts 15:24 False Christians were in the new churches from the first missionary journey.
- Acts 20:30 False Christians were in the new churches from the second missionary journey.
- Romans 16:17-18 False Christians were in the new church in Rome that Paul did not plant.
- 2 Corinthians 11:13 False apostles are in the church.
- 2 Corinthians 11:26 False Christians hinder the missionary.
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 Church members should be testing themselves to see if they are false Christians.
- Galatians 2:4 False Christians hide their motives, sneak into churches, and spy on believers.
- Philippians 3:18-19 Many start out as Christians, but after time they prove to be enemies of the Cross.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:4-7; 1:8-9; 2:3-12 Persecution, injustice, deception, and false religion will increase until Christ returns.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:2 False Christians will even write or speak false words from God.
- 1 Timothy 4:1 New pastors like Timothy need to be warned about false Christians.
- 2 Timothy 3:5 In the last days, men will pretend to be Christian without real conversion.
- Titus 1:16 False Christians talk about God, but they do not live for God.
- Hebrews 2:3; 3:6; 6:4-6; 10:39; 12:15 Five times, the danger of false Christians is raised in this letter.
- James 1:22-26 Every Christian needs to see if he is deceiving himself and holding to a worthless religion.
- James 2:14 False Christians have words, but no works.
- 2 Peter 2:2 The churches of false teachers will attract many false Christians.
- 2 Peter 2:20 Some will make a good start and then fall back again.
- 1 John 2:4 False Christians give a testimony, but they do not give obedience.
- 1 John 2:18 Many false Christians will appear in the last days.
- 1 John 2:19 False Christians leave the church because they are not true Christians.
- 1 John 4:1 The world has many false prophets.
- 1 John 5:19 Satan controls the majority of the world, and he is not bound from working with those who are his children. Also, 1 Pet. 5:8; 2 Cor. 4:4
- 2 John 7 Many false Christians take the name but are not converted.
- Jude 4ff This whole letter is a warning to men who claim to be Christian without being regenerated.
- Revelation 2:2, 9, 14, 20; 3:9 Within 5 of the 7 churches there were false Christians.
- The NT has 9 examples of false Christians mentioned by name: Judas, Simon, Hymenaeus, Alexander, Phygelus, Hermogenes, Philetus, Demas, and Diotrephes.
- 23 of 27 NT books warn about the danger of false teaching which could produce false Christians.
How should a Christian use this information?
- Recognize that false Christianity is a tool of Satan. Matt. 13:25
- Look into your own heart to see if you are a false Christian. 2 Cor. 13:5
- Devote your life to spiritual fruit. Matt. 13:23; John 15:5-6
- Confess your sin every day. This is the most effective path to true Christianity. Matt. 5:4; James 4:6
- Look to Christ. Count His works. Think of what He does. Imagine seeing Him on the cross, on the White Horse and on the Throne.
- Pray the prayers of the Bible.
- Prepare to live for Christ as if you would stand alone or with only a few other believers. Matt. 22:14; 18:20; 1 Cor. 2:5
- Wake up the sleepers who are false Christians. Jesus did this in the Sermon on the Mount especially in Matthew 7.
In the present day, Christianity is called the largest religion in the world. But that cannot possibly be true seeing that Catholicism is counted Christian as are theologically liberal denominations, and cults such as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. When our Lord spoke, however, he warned men about false conversion. What could be more terrifying than going to Hell? A pastor who took me evangelizing many years ago told me, “More terrifying than going to Hell, is to hear Him say, ‘Depart from me,’ after you had lived a life thinking all the while that you were going to Heaven.”
