Sometimes the point is made that unbelievers think they know better than a professing Christian how a Christian should live and act. An unbeliever quickly discerns (but not always correctly) if a person's actions match up to who he claims to be. Unbelievers are not afraid to judge one a hypocrite and impostor from their point of view.

Maybe our struggle with this question of what it means to be a follower of Jesus rests in our different views of how a "follower" should live and act. Some say one must be separate from the world by using a horse and buggy and doing away with electricity. Others claim that a Christian is one who acknowledges there is a god, goes to church, and tries to be a good neighbor. So here is our dilemma (or blessing); we as Christians don’t have a set of rules that a person can follow. If we did have a standard set of rules, then one could fulfill them and be labeled a "Christian." Actually, if you're enamored with this concept, I can tell you it doesn't work. May I remind you of the Old Testament and the many laws of the Old Covenant, which no man (except Christ) was able to fulfill. May I suggest that even today some groups continue to write rules, hoping to discern true Christians from impostors by those who keep them?

However, our inability to judge the heart and motives of people will always shroud our judgment, regardless of the externals we see in people.

But should our inability to judge one another’s heart keep us from preaching the words of Christ, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me"? Of course not! The message from scripture remains. Robert Shenk, in his book entitled "Life In The Son," writes, "We pastors have confused the issue by such pulpit appeals as, ‘You have accepted Christ as your Saviour; but have you really made Him the Lord of your life? Why not dedicate your life fully to Him?’ Such appeals imply that the acceptance of Christ as Saviour and as Lord are two entirely separate acts. Much to the contrary, they are inseparable aspects of a single act. Like repentance and faith, they are mutually involved; there cannot be one without the other. No man can accept Jesus as Saviour of his soul without accepting Him as Lord of his life. Multitudes of 'Christians' today seem quite unaware of this solemn fact."

What this author so clearly states is that if one is a Christian, Jesus is Lord of his life! It is a "hard" gospel. Many in the Bible turned away from Jesus, unwilling to yield and submit all to Him. Is it an easy task to yield? No. Even when we do become Christians, it doesn’t mean that we never fall into sin. But it does mean that we don’t live in habitual sin.