Who is a real Christian?

There are many out there who proclaim to be a Christian, but is it the case that all those who proclaim Jesus as their Lord and Savior are indeed "saved?" I believe such is not the case. Many self-proclaiming Christians will perish or will suffer eternally in hell. Jesus made this very clear in Matthew 7. There is more to being a real Christian than just the words we speak or proclaim.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB)

It is the case that all who are real Christians do proclaim that Jesus is God come in human flesh. That is a requirement. 

² By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; (1 John 4:2 NASB)

²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:23 NASB)

It is also a requirement that each Christian understand that we are saved by faith and grace, not by works alone. (Catholics and Christian Judaizers fail to understand this concept)

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB)

God's gift of grace is given to those who have faith in Him. And that is the ONLY way any one of us can do ANY "good" at all! But, there is more...

¹⁴ What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
¹⁸ But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:14-26 NASB)

Even some "reformed" Christians ignore this point, but it is what it is. "Faith" without good "works" is dead. As real Christians, we are beholden to God's Commandments and to His Word. We must do good works fully knowing that we are only capable of doing such if we have faith and if God gives us His gift of grace. 

Thus, if we put the above concepts together, a real Christian fits this profile:

1. Expresses in words that Jesus is God come in human flesh, and that He is Lord and Savior.

2. Realizes that we are saved through faith, and fully dependent upon God's gift of grace. Without God's grace, we are incapable of doing any good works.

3. Realizes that faith without works is dead. That is, there must be a congruency between the words we speak (i.e., that Jesus is God come in human flesh) and the actions that we take (i.e. our "works"). 

As a digression, I should also emphasize the importance of not Judaizing. The New Testament is crystal clear on this point. Read "The New Testament is CRYSTAL clear about Judaizing & Judaism!" 25%+ (or 70 Million+) Americans (in the United States) have gone against the New Testament to not adopt the ways of Judaism. And yet, that is exactly what has happened. These self-proclaiming Christians can easily proclaim that "Jesus is God come in human flesh," but then take actions ("works") which blatantly violate God's Word. They caste their support for an apostate nation (Israel) and for the apostate Internationalist Jews who run murderous wars in the Middle East. The incongruency between "words" and "works" is indeed evident. And, the reason there is an incongruency is because these "self-proclaiming" Christians do NOT have God's gift of grace. They are blind and incapable of doing good "works" or anything pleasing to God. Could it be that Jesus will turn His back on such types stating "I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS."? 

What I speak is not popular, but it serves as a wake up call for all self-proclaiming Christians to reexamine their "works." All of us who proclaim Jesus as God come in human flesh, and all of us who then do "works" in blatant violation of His Word, are in a serious bind. We need to pray to God and ask Him for His gift of grace so that we are capable of doing what is pleasing to Him! You might just then notice subsequent changes in the actions that you take on a day to day basis. Only then can you truly awaken and do what is pleasing to Him, and be saved!