Evangelist Mark Driscoll, former pastor of Mars Hill Church, says people should beware of false prophets and Christians because these people show their religiosity only so they can justify themselves in one of three ways.
Driscoll writes on his blog that the first justification religious people make is assuming that they are living a good and godly life already so there is no more need for them to be extra spiritual.
The second justification is made by secular religious people who work very hard on some social cause, because it makes them "think that they're good people and need to overcome the evil of bad people who are ruining the world."
Lastly, Driscoll says devoutly religious people maintain the strict rules of a particular religion so they can justify themselves as good and obedient people in the sight of God.
"Religious people have lived among the people of God since the beginning of salvation history. Because human beings are very good at deluding themselves and each other, this is something we can expect to continue until Jesus returns," says Driscoll.
He adds that these false Christians might be good at keeping up pretences, but true Christians need to be reminded that they are saved by God and not by their good works. "It's not about what we do for Jesus but what Jesus has done for us," says Driscoll.
The pastor also says people who have sincerely turned over their lives to God are "justified and regenerated." When they meet Jesus, they are forever changed for the better. "You get to do good works because Jesus already saved you," he explains.
"My point in this is not to give you a gavel by which to go around pronouncing judgment on others. But rather, for each of us to examine our own life to see if we have truly met Jesus and, if so, how He has changed us," Driscoll says.
