Have a look at the following “types” of Christians and see which one fits you.
Christian-Affiliate – This is a person who classifies and categorizes their self as a “Christian” but does not actively live the life of a Christian as defined by the Bible. That is, they affiliate their self with the “religion” of Christianity … but they live a life that is indistinguishable from that of a person who makes no attempt to serve or please the Lord and who lives only for self-pleasure. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Licensed Christian – This is a person who professes to be saved (see description of “Saved Christian” below) but there is no change whatsoever in their life. This is a person who joins a church group and then feels “licensed” to do whatever sinning they want … because after all, they are a member of the church. This is a person who loves to use God’s mercy and grace as a license to excuse and cover up their sinful living. This is a person who really has no interest in living a clean, Godly life … they just need some way to get people off their back when the subject of doing right or being saved comes up … and telling others they are already saved is how they do that. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. This person is a hypocrite whose judgment is soon-coming as stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:12, “That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Not-Responsible Christian – This is a person who does not want to have to overcome or stand against sin on their own. So, if God does not block the sin from coming to them, then they just go along with it … placing all responsibility for their right-living upon God and taking no personal responsibility their self for living right and being right before God. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Self-Made Christian – This is a person who lives a warped concoction … where they “call” their self a Christian … but in reality, they merely pursue a self-satisfying religion of their own making and choosing. This is a person who does not really care what God has to say in the Bible. They just want to do things in their own way that suits and satisfies them … and they can always find a way to explain, excuse, or justify why it is appropriate for them to ignore God’s truth and to instead live their own made-up “truth”. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Fence-Riding Christian – This is the kind of person who likes to fit in with sinners … who likes to be around sinners … and when they are around sinners … they dress like them, act like them, and talk like them. But then, when they are around Christian people, they switch over and will look, act, and talk the part of a Christian. This kind of person is a hypocrite and a blight on the name of Christ. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Week-Long Christian – This is the person who asks the Lord to forgive them of their sins … but within a day or two they are getting pressure from their friends … and sinful interests strongly beckon them … and within a week, they are right back to fully living the sinful life they were living before … they forget about God … they backslide away from Christ … and now, they are no longer saved. (Matthew 13) Years later, they still have not ever got back around to praying again. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Down-And-Out Christian – This is a person who gets saved (see description of “Saved Christian” below) … and who does really good for a while … until a serious problem or situation shows up in their life … at which point, they get discouraged, disenchanted with God, or even offended at God … and they backslide away from Christ … they turn back to living a life of sin … and they are no longer saved. (Matthew 13) The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Side-Railed Christian – This is a person who gets saved (see description of “Saved Christian” below) … and does really well for a long while … they prove faithful even through hardships and problems … but eventually, they lose their love for the Lord … they lose their interest in the Lord … and they become more interested in pleasure, success, prominence, and renown … until soon enough, all of their time is devoted to self-gain and they have little time for God. Eventually, they reach the stage where they have completely backslid and they are no longer saved. (Matthew 13) The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Used-To-Be Christian – This is a person who used to be a Saved Christian (see description of “Saved Christian” below) … and they know all about … and can tell you all about … being a Christian. Just mention church and you will find out that they think they know more about God and the Bible than just about everyone else. More pointedly, they can really tell everyone else how they should be living and what they should be doing differently. But, they themselves are no longer living what they know and what they can tell you about … and consequently, they are no longer saved. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
In-And-Out Christian – This is a person who goes to the altar and repents of their sins every time a nearby church has a meeting, rally, camp, or revival. This person may even be “on fire” for God for a few weeks or months. But, it is not long until they are backslid … and back to living a life of sin … until the next meeting, rally, camp, or revival. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ.
Stranger-To-Jesus Christian – This is a person who was most likely saved and sanctified at one time … and possibly even filled with the Holy Ghost (see descriptions below). But somewhere along the way, they left off from following, obeying, honoring, and relating to the Lord … and instead, moved into serving the lusts of their own flesh. On the outside, they generally live and operate on a religious platform … but on the inside, they are full of sinful works. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. This is a person who on Judgment Day will try to tell the Lord about all their religious activities … and Jesus will tell them, “I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23)
Sinner-In-The-Pew Christian – This is a person who is a regular churchgoer … a person who has perhaps went to church for much of their life … but yet they have never turned away from their sins … or submitted their heart and life to following the Lord. This is a person who goes to church because they find it entertaining and they enjoy the socializing. The Bible makes it clear that this kind of person is not saved and is bound for Hell unless they repent of their sins and commit their life to following Christ. This is the person who on Judgment Day will tell the Lord about how they ate and drank with Him … and how He taught them … and Jesus will tell them, “I tell you, I know you not whence you are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” (Luke 13:26-27)
Sunday-Morning Christian – This is a person who comes to church on most Sunday mornings … but they give little thought to God or the things of God outside of this. This person is considered by most to be a “good person” … but they are not a very spiritually-minded person. The danger here is that this person may well headed to the outcome Christ referred to in Revelations 3:15-16, “because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
Self-Only Christian – This is a person who is saved (see description of “Saved Christian” below) and living right. But, this person does not teach or bring their faith or their convictions back into their family. Consequently, their spouse and/or their children may hardly know anything about the Bible, God, or Christ. The sad thing is, this person may be saved and living right, but their family is soon enough off living sinful, Godless lives.
Saved Christian – This is a person who believes that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and that he died on a cross for our sins and rose again on the third day to reconcile us unto God the Father.
This is a person who has knelt and bowed themselves before the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and asked Him to forgive them of their sins and to save them.
This is a person who has committed themselves to no longer doing sinful things but to instead do the things that please the Lord as defined in the Bible.
This is a person who has committed to learning more and more about the Lord by studying their Bible on a daily basis. This is a person who has committed to maintaining a relationship with the Lord through daily prayer.
This is a person who has committed to not doing the things that are associated with sinfulness: using mind or body altering drugs of any kind (tobacco, alcohol, street drugs, illegitimate prescription drugs, etc.), lying, stealing, cheating, deceiving, fornicating, committing adultery, and so on.
Sanctified Christian – This is a person who has specifically prayed that the Lord put in them His Christ-like nature.
This is a person who has prayed the prayer of Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” until their very nature has been changed … until they are no longer the same person they were before.
This is a person who is no longer driven or controlled by such emotions as anger, hatred, bitterness, resentment, envy, jealousy, pettiness, selfishness, lustfulness, or fearfulness.
This is a person who no longer “flies off the handle” or “gets offended” over every little thing that other people say or do.
This is a person who has separated themselves from all worldliness and sinfulness and dedicated themselves to living a life that is pleasing to God. This is a person who is dedicated to obeying God’s commandments as defined in the Bible.
This is a person whose interests, desires, and affections are changed so that now they are focused upon spiritual things of God … and no longer upon fleshly, earthly, base, or selfish motives.
This is a person who despises and hates sin, iniquity, wickedness, and the vices and lusts of the flesh. This is a person who is deeply ashamed of their former life of sin. This is a person who no longer has any desire, appreciation, fondness, admiration, or interest for the things they did before they got saved … instead, they only feel disgust, revulsion, and abhorrence for those things … just as God has an abhorrence for those things.
The work of sanctification is summed up well in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
Now, having your nature changed is a very definite thing. Not being the same person you used to be is a very definite thing. Not having the same interests, desires, or affections is a very definite thing.
And, there are some people who can point to a place and time when this change of nature happened within them. For other people, they aren’t really aware of exactly when the change from Saved Christian to Sanctified Christian took place…they just become aware at some point that their nature is no longer what it used to be.
Moreover, for some, the work of sanctification happens at the same time they get saved. And for others, it is something they have to pray for over a period of several weeks, months, or even years … depending upon how long it takes them to become willing to let go of their old sinful nature and fleshly interests, desires, and affections.
Here is an example of someone who gets saved and sanctified all at the same time. Picture a person going to an alter to get saved … and suppose that this person had up to this point really, sincerely hated certain people … and imagine this person really, really praying through … imagine this person really submitting themselves completely and totally unto the Lord … imagine that at the same time this person was repenting of their sins they were also totally and thoroughly letting go of their old sinful nature, interests, and drives because they did not want another minute of their old lifestyle … and imagine that when this person finally came up from praying and repenting, they discovered that they had a newfound love for everybody … including the people they had previously hated … a love that was so deep and real that the person’s face was literally glowing. Well, this is an example of a person who has received the work of sanctification at the same time they received salvation. That is, they prayed through to a level that their life and nature was thoroughly changed.
In contrast, there are people who kneel down to pray … and they sincerely repent of their sins … and genuinely commit to living their life in a way that pleases the Lord … but they get up from praying and don’t really feel much different than they did before they prayed. Other than the release of guilt and condemnation, they really feel just like the same person they were before they prayed. Well, this is a person who is now saved … because they have repented of their sins and they are choosing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior … and committing to develop a relationship with him … but now, they must continue forward … they must continue growing in the Lord … they must seek the work of sanctification … until their humanistic nature has been changed into a Christ-like nature … until their selfish, humanistic spirit has been replaced with the Spirit of Christ.
Holy Ghost Filled Christian – This is a person who is completely living their life in obedience and allegiance to God and His Word (the Bible) … a person who has fully surrendered and submitted their self unto to the Lord … who has let go of and left behind their personal will and given themselves wholly over to God’s will … and who has opened their self up to receive God’s gift of the in-filling of the Holy Ghost … and this in-filling is manifested by speaking in a language unknown by the person.
On rare occasions, there is a person who gets saved, sanctified, and Holy-Ghost filled all at the same time. More often than not, when this happens, it is a relatively young person … often between the ages of 6 and 12 … who repents and surrenders to the Lord so deeply and thoroughly that God saves them, sanctifies them, and fills them with the Holy Ghost all in one pass.
But, this rarity has also been seen to happen with adults in a couple of scenarios. In one scenario, the individual wanted to leave their old life of sin so desperately that they repented, submitted, and surrendered with such whole-sale fervor that the Lord saves, sanctifies, and fills them with the Holy Ghost in one setting. In the second scenario, God foresees that the individual has some difficult ordeal awaiting them in the near future or a difficult situation to go through, and so He fills them with the Holy Ghost so that they can have the comfort, strength, and guidance of the Holy Ghost as they go into their difficult ordeal or situation. As examples , the death of a child or abandonment by a spouse.
Now, having mentioned the exception, the rule is that most people must progress and grow in their relationship with the Lord … they must study their Bible zealously and pray in earnest … until they reach a spiritual plane that is above even that of a Sanctified Christian … until they are completely “clear” of anything standing between them and God … until they are willing to be and do anything for Christ … until they are willing to obey any command the Lord might give them … and they are completely open and receptive to the Holy Ghost. For some people, the process of reaching this plane can take a few months and for others, it can take a few years. What is for sure is that a person will not receive the Holy Ghost until they become fully cleansed, obedient, submitted, surrendered, willing, and open to the Lord.
Active Gifts Christian – This is a person who has progressed and grown in their walk with the Lord … and they have sought for deeper depths in the Lord … and they have prayed for the gifts of the Spirit … such that they have moved beyond the level of the Holy Ghost speaking through them in an unknown language to the level of the Holy Ghost working through them in manifestations of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, multiple languages, the interpretation of Holy Ghost language, and/or the edifying (enlightening, informing, educating, instructing, and improving) of God’s people.
Ministering Christian – This is a person who is saved, sanctified, Holy Ghost filled, with the gifts of the Spirit active and working in their life who has devoted their life to serving and ministering in God’s Kingdom. Some as apostles, some as prophets, some as teachers, some as workers of miracles, some as healers, some as helpers, some as governors, some as ministers / preachers, some as evangelists, some as missionaries, some as exhorters (encouragers and up-lifters), and some as prayer-warriors.
Now, let’s pause and consider an important point: whether saved, sanctified, or Holy Ghost filled, we are still human. We still have weaknesses. As long as we are on the mortal plane, we can definitely “drift backwards” spiritually. And so, there are times when a Christian needs to loop back to a previous stage and “renew”.
Sometimes, in a weak, foolish moment, a Christian can sin … and they need to go back and repent of their sins and renew their commitment and determination to live a life that pleases the Lord.
Sometimes, after an extended period of making a living, caring for a family, and carrying out the tasks and responsibilities of life, a Christian can lose their focus on spiritual things … they can lose their Christ-like nature … and fleshly drives and motives can start taking preeminence … and they need to go back and renew their sanctification unto the Lord.
Sometimes, a Christian can become content with past spiritual experiences or accomplishments … they can begin to let their close connection with the Lord go stale … to the point they no longer have the Gift of the Holy Ghost active in their life … and they need to be refilled with the Holy Ghost.
So, with that … which kind of Christian are you and I?
Hopefully, we can each honestly say that we fit somewhere within the Saved, Sanctified, Holy-Ghost Filled, Active-Gifts, or Ministering Christian types and that we are moving forward and upward.
It is important that we do fit somewhere within the Saved through Ministering range in order for us to avoid Hell and make Heaven.
Also, if we are anything less than an advanced-level Ministering Christian, then hopefully this article has helped us to see opportunities for improvement and growth. Hopefully, from this article, we can see ways we can step up in our walk with the Lord.
And, if our self-assessment is that we are not right with God through Jesus Christ … then let’s get down on our knees right now … and let’s repent of our sins … let’s turn away from our wrong-doing … and let’s commit to living a life that pleases, honors, and reverences God … so that when that unknown moment in time when our life will end, we can step into eternity knowing that we are Heaven-bound.