Are Christians Spending Too Much Time with Complaining About False Converts Instead of Checking Themselves?

Arthur W. Pink's quote above makes sense considering that Christians tend to be too concerned about the apostasy in Christendom namely with false converts. What Christians ought to do is to really start some soul searching to see whether or not one's heart is perfect before God. While Christians may not be like the Antinomians who think they can sin all they want but they can suffer from compromise.

Let us think of the Bible of the sinful compromises. I remembered how a Bible seminar once differentiated Saul, David and Solomon. Considering Saul was no believer then it was natural that he had no heart for God. Then there was the problem of David and Solomon where one had a whole heart and Solomon had a half heart. Solomon was the most intelligent king of Israel's history but he fell into several degrees of stupidity with what he did later in his life. Remember he had 1,000 women in total but he could only love the Shullamite woman in the Song of Solomon. Before Solomon, we have Lot who foolishly entered Sodom and Samson who flirted with danger.

It is true Christians must be aware of the false converts around but they must be wary whether or not their hearts are truly perfect before God. Proverbs 20:9 has Solomon say, "Who can say I have kept my heart pure, that I am free from my sin?" Matthew 7:5 also warns of hypocrisy saying, "Thou hypocrite,first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." The sad truth is that even if Christians are not sinning all they please but it does not mean they are already and completely free from sin.

As Matthew Henry says in Matthew 7:5:
"We must judge ourselves, and judge of our own acts, but not make our word a law to everybody. We must not judge rashly, nor pass judgment upon our brother without any ground. We must not make the worst of people. Here is a just reproof to those who quarrel with their brethren for small faults, while they allow themselves in greater ones. Some sins are as motes, while others are as beams; some as a gnat, others as a camel. Not that there is any sin little; if it be a mote, or splinter, it is in the eye; if a gnat, it is in the throat; both are painful and dangerous, and we cannot be easy or well till they are got out. That which charity teaches us to call but a splinter in our brother's eye, true repentance and godly sorrow will teach us to call a beam in our own. It is as strange that a man can be in a sinful, miserable condition, and not be aware of it, as that a man should have a beam in his eye, and not consider it; but the god of this world blinds their minds. Here is a good rule for reprovers; first reform thyself."

John Gill says this about Matthew 7:5:
"Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye,.... Very rightly does our Lord call such a man an hypocrite, who is very free in remarking and reproving other men's sins, and covering his own; and indeed, one end of his critical observations, rigid censures, and rash judgments is, that he might be thought to be holier than he is. Christ very manifestly points at the Scribes and Pharisees, who were men of such a complexion; and whom he often, without any breach of charity, calls hypocrites. The meaning of this proverbial expression is, that a man should first begin with himself, take notice of his own sins, reprove himself for them, and reform; and then it will be soon enough to observe other men's."

From the Jamieson, Faust, Brown Commentary on Matthew 7:5:
5. Thou hypocrite—"Hypocrite."
first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye—Our Lord uses a most hyperbolical, but not unfamiliar figure, to express the monstrous inconsistency of this conduct. The "hypocrisy" which, not without indignation, He charges it with, consists in the pretense of a zealous and compassionate charity, which cannot possibly be real in one who suffers worse faults to lie uncorrected in himself. He only is fit to be a reprover of others who jealously and severely judges himself. Such persons will not only be slow to undertake the office of censor on their neighbors, but, when constrained in faithfulness to deal with them, will make it evident that they do it with reluctance and not satisfaction, with moderation and not exaggeration, with love and not harshness.

Christian growth starts between the Christian and the Triune God. Every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit to rebuke of error. Every time I sin, I feel the Holy Spirit convicting me and I feel the loving hand of the Father telling me to straighten up. The Christian's judgment must first start between self and God. The Christian is first instructed to check out whether or not his or her life is in order first before he or she is fit to be a reprover of others if he or she does not severely judge himself or herself first.

Because of the old man, Christians have the struggle of judging one's self before judging others. It's very easy to judge others but difficult to receive judgement from others and no man is exempt from feeling that. I always felt it annoying to receive judgment but not to give judgment because whoever judges reigns over the judged and whoever is judged, is reigned over by the judge.

Sometimes, it's shameful to even think how some Christians can be shamed by the actions of the world. Just think that sometimes a Christian could afford a decent meal when he invites his preacher's family to dinner but only cooks canned food while the Roman Catholic buys some delicious food for the priest who he invites to dinner. It also made me think of how a pagan spent time in prayer giving back the glory for his success but some Christians at times may forget to give thanks to God. It's time for the Christian to evaluate whether or not their actions have shamed them in front of unsaved heathen.

As 1 John 1:8 says, "If we say we have no sin then the truth is not in us." When I think about my self-evaluation, I am without sin but I have to make sure that I am not giving in to sin. Christians are still sinners even if they are not reprobates. As John 15:1-8 describes, there is the pruning process and God prunes every believer. If every Christian were without fault, God would not prune them. While false believers will inevitably be thrown away into the fire when they die but the true Christians should expect the loving pruning of the Father.