by Dan Lirette
Before I begin, let me state herein that I believe this to be a very "touchy" issue, as discerning betwen those who are true to God and those who are NOT is very very very dangerous ground to trad on....however, let us tread these waters with
Biblical Convition, that we are CALLED to do such as shall be done herein today.
Also, before I begin, let me state that the following traits are not an exhaustive list...howver, these basic traits are the building blocks of knowing whether or not YOU or someone you KNOW is false or not.
I can hear some protests coming from some; "You don't have the Biblical RIGHT to state who is false or not!".
To these, let me admonish you to fall to your knees in humble worship before God....let me exhort you to seek the LORD in prayr and in fasting....let me lastly ask you to read the following:
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Traits of a false believer:
1- A false believer is one who manifests outward acts of wickedness, though he himself believes he is of God:
John 8:
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him , We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye

cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil , and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Note thatin verse 41 these ndividuals claim to be OF GOD.
Note in verse 44 Jesus says they are of their father the DEVIL.
Thus, we see that SELF DELUSION (vs 41) mixed with a lifestyle of sin 9vs 44) is trait number 1 of a false believer.
2- A false believer teaches CONTRARY to the Word of God, and when I say CONTRARY, I speak of the FUNDAMNETALS of our Faith (Trinity, Salvation through the Blood ALONE, etc etc):
2 John 1:
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ , hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ
, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
Thus, from vs 9 we see that those who do not hold to the essentials of the faith plain and simply do NOT have God; vs
10 commands that we receive NO MAN into our homes who bring any other doctrine; vs 11 tells us that if we DO allow ourslves to compromise with those who hold NOT to the essentials of the Faith we've PARTAKEN of their sins.
We see from the above that a false belieer believes FALSELY; that they may CLAIM to know and have Jesus yet in reality, because of their theology, they are lost.
We see this in the Mormon Church ; these people APPEAR outwardly righteous and yet INWARDLY they are full of dead men's bons....why? Because they bring not the doctrine of

Christ as revealed exclusively in the Word of God through
Apostolic Teaching.
LOOKING the part doesn't neccessarily mean you've been invited to the play! Only those whose names are written down in the Lamb's Book of Life have a right to the TREE of Life!
3- A false believer exudes consistent LOVE OF FIRST PLACE, a refusal to acknowledge and to receive those in athority/leadership and is one who goes about speaking evil of those whom God has made righteous and forbids the
Children of God to RECEIVE those whom God has set in authority/leadership in the Body of Christ with threats of excommunication or other such manipulative methods:
3 John 1:
9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words : and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
Thus, we see that a false believer if filled with arrogant pride and feels tat he alone is the "first place man" that God has set in the Church to "straighten it out"...we see that this type of individual is one who speaks evil of those wo are of God and threatens the Saints who dare receive the Brethren....
4- A false believer is one who claims great things for God and yet has nothing more than an empty testimony that only
APPEARS sensational:
Jude:
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water , carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit , twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea , foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

A false believer carries a great many "testimonies" of how
"God uses me"....he or sh will oftn have great stories of the miraculous and how they have "seen angls" and "had visions" etc etc.....when it comes time to "produce the goods" they have nothing but an empty shell-story.
Why?
Because all that these false believers have is a story....nothing in their lives is a REALITY.
EMPTY clouds...WITHOUT water.
These people do not HAVE the Holy Spirit.....what they DO
HAVE is an UNholy spirit.
5- A false believer is one who claims comittment to Jesus
Christ and His Word and yet secretly holds on to personal sins which he/she has NO intention of mortifying:
1 John 3:
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer : and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Note the words love and hate.....
Love and hate are UNseen.....
Yes, I believe that both love and hate are manifested in our
DEEDS, yet the two in and of themselves are UNseen.
I cannot SEE whether or not you have a secret hatred towards me or any other individual.
I cannot SEE whether or not you have secret desire to harm anther, yet because of your fear of retribution you refrain....however, your hatred is still there...it's simply not
ACTED upon for reasons unknown.

A false believer, then, is one who holds to secret sin, UNseen sin, and yet claims to know and love God when Scripture makes it ABUNDANTLY clear (see above example) that such a one as this is NOT a true believer at all.
Ther are Arminian false brethren as well as Calvinistic false brethren....there are false brethren in every denomination!
Let us exaine OURSELVES, to see whether WE be in the Faith