Are you in the business for the show
But the Saviour Jesus you do not know?
In your church are you one its pillars
But being born again does not matter?
Have you claimed to know the Lord Christ
Without acknowledging he paid sin’s price?
Did you fully trust Jesus alone for salvation
Or were you deceived by some clever concoction?
A person may claim he was once a Christian
But now denies the source of that salvation,
An ex-Christian some say but is that true?
He has lost his salvation: is that your view?
O she was among us for quite a while
Check the date in the membership file,
To be involved in church activity was her style
And her list of ministries stretched a mile.
He must have been saved though he isn’t now
He appears to have lost his salvation somehow,
Ex-Christians they have suddenly become
Once saved but no longer of God’s kingdom.
You should have heard him; he could preach
You should have seen her; she could teach,
Bible study sessions were their hallmark
And at prayer meetings were there at the start.
Yet she fell away and she no longer comes
Ask him about Christ and away he runs,
Viewing Christianity an absolute waste of time
He expresses, “It doesn’t even cross my mind.
I am now an ex-Christian and happy it is so
And one day you’ll be too; that I know
And you’ll know when I tell you I used to be
Just wait a little while and you will see.”
Could it be possible that they once were saved
And now this is the way in which they behave?
Having no regard for what was once held as true
They are now ex-Christians even in our view.
Maybe an ex-Christian is like dehydrated water
Doesn’t exist now or even in the here after,
Could it be that such a person was never saved
But was simply enthused by the limelight he craved?
For the thrill they join a church and quickly climb
And become involved as if running out of time,
Surpassing all others to reach their pinnacle
Being large and in charge and influencing people.
But did they have an encounter with the Saviour?
If such was the case why their contrary behavior?
Could it be that they were simply among us
But in all reality they never had come to Jesus.
Activities and membership in a choice of church
Do not any poor unregenerate sinner convert,
Salvation is by God’s grace and faith in Christ alone
Let’s cut through the fat and get to the bone.
A person could be a Christian in the name only
But concerning being genuine he is only a phony,
With his lips he praises but never in his heart
Not long and he’ll hear, “I never knew you, depart!”
How could Christ say he never knew someone?
Maybe that someone was never reborn,
A church member, yes and great at ministry
But he never addressed the issue regarding eternity.
For him that comes to Jesus there’s no doubt
That under no circumstance would he be cast out,
Coming to Christ and becoming a church member
Are quite different; the latter could be a pretender.
Being a devout church member is no guarantee
Even though one serves his church sincerely,
The only safeguard is to be born again
Christ as he spoke to Nicodemus made this plain.
Being born again is the second birth
It’s not of the flesh and it’s not of this earth,
Being born again is for keeps, not again and again
Hence saved to the uttermost is the Christian’s
refrain.
You see the Father is the one who draws to the Son
And the Spirit implants that one in God’s kingdom,
And one who comes to the Father through Jesus Christ
Is once and for all covered; Jesus paid that price.
As a man cannot be born of the flesh a second time
Neither of the Spirit one could reasonably opine,
The comparison that was made appears quite clear
And to come to that conclusion to me is flawlessly fair.
Is an ex-Christian for real? Not according to the Word
For to be born again twice seems rather absurd,
The Spirit bears witness we are children of the King
And every child of God has a right to shout and sing.
An ex-Christian was not a Christian in the first place
And to imply that he was is a spiritual disgrace,
And for him to believe that I will follow in his
stream
Means he never placed faith in the One who redeems.
I rejoice my name is stamped in the book of the Lamb
I praise God for the One who sits at His right hand,
Life eternal is mine thanks to God’s redemptive plan
Upon this assurance all born-again believers stand.
Stewart Russell © 2016
