Are you a Christian?

by Tyler Zach



A church member was talking to his pastor one day about his struggles. He was continually committing adultery and his wife didn’t know about it. The pastor replied by saying, “You do know that there are no adulterers in heaven, right?” The guy became very uncomfortable and said, “But I thought that you teach that you can’t lose your salvation once you believe in Jesus.”

And the pastor’s reply is beautiful. He said, “A faith that justifies is also a faith that sanctifies.” This statement means that if you do in fact have a faith that has justified you, a faith that has brought you from death to life, and is the same faith that resurrected Jesus from the dead, then there is no questions that this faith will sanctify (cleanse, purify, perfect) you.

This means that if you aren’t experiencing continual transformation in the sinful patterns in your life – then chances are you are not a Christian. Because if you have been justified by God to be with Him forever, then that same power should be working to perfect you.

No one will ever be perfect in their lifetime as Christ was, but you should experience transformation. Everyone is called to meditate on their life every day to see if they are being transformed by God.

Perhaps this is part of the reason for the following verse in the bible:

“…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
- Philippians 2:12-13

We like to teach assurance of salvation now days with great confidence – but I’m afraid that too many people are “falsely assured”.

They think that having a knowledge of God will win them to heaven. This is certainly not the case. If we see sanctification happening in our life, then it is a good sign that we have been justified – that our belief of God is not just in our head, but in our heart.

Do you enjoy and delight in God more today than you did yesterday?

You may struggle with many sinful habits like I do. But do you see God slowly transforming those areas of your life? Are you letting Him?

The Humble Pride

by Tyler Zach





We all know what PRIDE is. It is the kind of attitude that really mean people have. It is also the kind of attitude that really arrogant people have. It is also the kind of attitude that judgmental people have. It is also the kind of attitude that really humble people have. What? Humble people are prideful?

It seems like an oxymoron doesn’t it? Let me explain my case. First of all, when I say “humble” people I mean people who always self-pity themselves and seem to have low self-esteem. These people are often thought of as humble because they are usually really nice and sensitive – just weak in personality.

Thus, there are two types of prideful people:

1) People who like to boast and think highly of themselves
2) People who produce self-pity and think low of themselves.

You might not think that the latter group would seem like “prideful” people. John Piper has come up with some interesting thoughts on pride in his book Future Grace. He declares the following:

Boasting: Response of pride to success
Self-pity: Response of pride to suffering

Boasting: I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much
Self-pity: I deserve admiration because I have sacrificed so much

Boasting: Sounds self-sufficient
Self-pity: Sounds self-sacrificing

“Self-pity does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride.” – John Piper

Do you usually complain about and distort “unfair” events that occurred during the day in order to show how great you were to endure them?

Do you often feel that you are undervalued as a person and have unrecognized accomplishments?

Are you a person who “gives to get”? Do you give and serve and listen to others constantly (which may seem humble and self-sacrificial) but in the end only leaves you empty because you realize that all you were doing was looking for someone to praise you?

Well, just to let you know, my answer is yes yes yes to all the above questions. It really crushed me the first time I realized that I was not the humble kind of guy everyone said I was. I always try to show humility – and usually it is not authentic – but it is a way to get others to praise me for being humble. It is a good trick that many “humble” people have mastered without even realizing it.

Which side of the spectrum of pride are you on?