John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Jesus reminds us that before the world was, He was. Jesus was God and yet in His earthly ministry, He was veiled so that to the world He looked like just another man. His deity was not apparent to people, and though the Words of the Father, as well as His own words and deeds bore witness to Who He was, when men looked upon Him, they saw the carpenter’s son rather than the Son of God. There are those who bear the identity of Christian yet live as if Jesus was nobody more than a carpenter’s son.

I sometimes encounter people in regular life situations who’s talk and behavior indicate a lack of morals, but when they find out I’m a pastor, suddenly they pretend they are the most devout Christian ever. I’m not fooled by that, and Jesus is not fooled either; a saved Christian is going to live as a submitted Christian. Certainly, we recognize that there are levels of maturity in the faith, I recognize that, but if meeting and conversing with a Pastor yields a momentary lifting of morals, then certainly we should expect that having a saving relationship with the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Jesus the Lord, will have a whole life altering effect. So, I have a deep concern for those who say they know the Son of God but live as if they simply know the carpenter’s son.

I have the feeling that there are fewer “backslidden” Christians than there are unsaved Christians. And if we allow ourselves to be comfortable with them in that condition by reasoning such as, “Well, they’re just backslidden … They’ll come around some day” … are we likely to plead with them to repent and submit their lives to Christ or are we likely to excuse them and let them live their best life now, only to hear those terrible words from Jesus later … “I never knew you.” If we love them, then we will plead with them to repent and submit their lives to Christ.