Should This Matter?

Lady Gaga, an outspoken supporter of the LGBTQ movement, took time during her concert to call out our Vice President Mike Pence and his wife on their Christian stance in response to Mrs. Pence’s decision to teach at a Christian school that does not support LGBTQ students. According to the NBC news article by Ben Kessler entitled “Lady Gaga slams Mike and Karen Pence as ‘worst representation’ of Christianity” (published January 22, 2019), Lady Gaga said, “You say we should not discriminate against Christianity. You are the worst representation of what it means to be a Christian” and added “I am a Christian woman, and what I do know about Christianity is that we bear no prejudice, and everybody is welcome.”

Lady Gaga is a classic representation of the fake Christian. She wants to consider herself a ‘Christian’ perhaps to feel moral or to help her album sales with a certain demographic but she is most certainly not. Sure, the truth is that only God knows her heart. Only God is the ultimate judge of who is a Christian or not. That is the argument I will see written over and over again against people like me. But the fact is that anyone who actually reads the Bible can see that her lifestyle does not match up to what the Bible says a Christian is. She can claim it all she wants but those are only words. And my initial argument to her is:

It takes one to know one!

And she doesn’t know a what a Christian is because she isn’t one. She clearly has rejected the Bible or at a minimum large portions of it. You cannot be a Christian and reject any portion of God’s Word!

Let’s get one thing straight right now. We are absolutely able to judge a persons heart based upon their actions. We do know that ultimately only God can truly see a person’s heart and He is the ultimate judge, but we can get a glimpse into someone’s beliefs based upon how they live their lives.

Matthew 7:15-20 (KJV)

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

This is Jesus speaking here in this passage, by the way. He is telling us to examine the lifestyle of the people around us. Of course, we will be judged as well so we better apply this to ourselves.

We are warned many times in the Bible of people who will come before us and claim to know the truth and will say they are Christian. They will tell us what they believe Christianity is. If their source on what it means to be a Christian is themselves, then we have a problem. Their source should always be the Bible. But how do we know what their source really is? Many claim that they read the Bible and even pull out verses to support their viewpoint. We examine everything they claim and do and compare it to what God says! And by the way, it is hard to do this if we, ourselves, don’t know the Bible! We need to constantly be studying God’s Word to know the truth and only then can we easily spot the false teachers.

Jeremiah 23:16 (KJV)

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.

Matthew 24:24 (KJV)

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

We are also told that sadly, many people will follow fake Christians because people like to hear their message. Often, the message of the fake Christian is easier to follow than the truth. Lady Gaga’s message sounds so nice. In our depraved world, sounding nice and tolerant is a quality that many uphold. The world lifts up people who promote their version of love and tolerance (which is actually neither by the way – another article for another day!).

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (KJV)

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Luke 6:26 (KJV)

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.