What does it mean to be a Christian in name only? If you follow politics, I am sure that you are familiar with the term “RINO” which stands for Republican in name only. The term RINO was coined to label liberal or moderate Republicans. The more conservative wing of the party wanted to separate themselves from those who broke party ranks to support Democrats.
Are you a Christian in name only? What does that term mean to you? To me, it means getting to the starting line, but never competing in the race. Some might even see the starting line, but never walk up to start the race. They may even think that just because they are at the event, that is good enough to earn a participation medal. I hate to break this to you but in God's eyes, you are saved, or you are not. There is no almost there, and there is no participation medal for being at the event.
How do we get to become an active Christian instead of a Christian in name only?
One of the things that I found out along the way is that it is much more rewarding to become an active Christian. When all you do is go through the motions and pretend as you care about what you are doing, you are just fooling yourself. You tell yourself that you did just enough to get yourself into the doors of heaven. You use your time at Church on Sundays or maybe just holidays to create an insurance policy so to say. Instead of being a believer, you find yourself as a Christian in name only.
To become an active Christian, you cannot view Christianity as a necessary evil. There is no point in pretending like your good deeds are good enough to get you into heaven. God does not care about your good deeds. He only cares about where you will spend eternity.
Matthew 6:1 NASB Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
God knows your heart.
If you only call yourself a Christian so that others will accept you, then you are doing it for the wrong reasons. Proclaiming something that you do not believe in will not get into heaven. God knows your heart and your heart will be judged more than the words out of your mouth.
It is so simple to become a follower of Christ. If you would like to find out how to become saved, check out this link. Once you put your faith in Jesus, you have made it to the starting line in your relationship. Get ready to run the race! This journey never ends, and it only gets better the more you invest yourself into the relationship. Trust me, break away from being a Christian in name only. Become a Christ follower; you will be glad that you did.