2 Cor. 13:5 has aptly been so paraphrased in “The Living Bible”:  “Check up on yourselves.  Are you really Christians?  Do you pass the test?  Do you feel Christ´s presence and power more and more within you?  Or are you just pretending to be Christians, when actually you aren´t?” 

 The churches are swarming with “Christians” who have a name  that you are alive, but you are dead!”  (Rev. 3:1).  At a service in “The People`s Church” in Toronto,  two of us were asked by one of the godly ushers, “Are you a Christian?”  Oh yes.  Then came the next question, “Are you a born again Christian?”  We loved him for saying that. We rarely hear it said over here.

When as a young man I joined a missionary training center in PA I knew just little about American Christians  outside our “confinement”, but we did go out witnessing to the people.  The many Christian churches I saw in huge numbers impressed me.

I didn´t like the director of our “boot camp”, and he didn´t like me either. I thought he was rather tense and about Christians as such he said, “Many who profess to be Christians are not Christians at all!”  Eventually I found he was so right.  There are many “Christians” without being born again.

It´s not an American phenomenon however.  My so called “Christian” country where more than 70% of the population are members of our national evangelical Lutheran church  is really a lost, godless nation.  But the church is still used by its members at Christmas, funerals, weddings, etc. 

I do go along with their creed recited every Sunday, in fact I promised our local editor that my writings will  never  collide with that Christ centered creed.  This has given me much freedom to frequently bring a gospel testimony on its columns.

Indeed, Satan is now storming at God´s own people   His anger is increasing the closer  he gets to his doom, - “His wrath is great, because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12:12).

Despite Satan´s offensive there is still “an eternal gospel to proclaim” (Rev. 14:6) and fight back with, , and this is our calling and passion as long as we, God´s people, can still breathe.  -  6/1/22 - jn