Ask Pastor Mark, A Believer Who Doesn't Believe?

The evidence is clear, many people who attend church, even join the church to become official members, do so for many different reasons. Some of these people plan to have nothing to do with the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, or personal desire to become a believer .

I remember when I was a single man many years ago. Due to a mistake made by my employer, I was going to be paid one day late. My landlord was known in the community to be a very religious man, an elder in his church, and attended all his church services each week. This man was also known to be very strict with all his rent tenets. In order not to be thrown out in the street the following morning, I went to an evening service he attended in order to catch him after the Service. The Service and Preacher were on fire! The shouting made me nervous, the gospel presentation made me search my sinful heart, and to be perfectly honest, I was glad when the preacher said; "AMEN!" I went out the front door and waited for my Christian landlord so I could let him know of my pay difficulties. The anger, language, shouting and threatening of my landlord made me more afraid then his shouting pastor! I was told to get the money by morning or: GET OUT!

Obviously, not every church member or an elder of a church happen to be a practicing believer. Many years ago one man told me that he pretended to become a believer, made a confession and was water baptized in order to fool his future father in law who would not give his daughter to an unbeliever . All in all, he never was a true believer in JESUS CHRIST. This man told me it was better to lie, then to loose the girl he wanted to marry. Years latter this same man once again lied about being a true believer in order to become a pastor so he could handle all the church funds for his own purposes. The truth can be brutal at times, just because you say you are a believer, it doesn't necessarily mean you really are.