Faith and Intent
Jesus is on the temple court speaking to the pharisees and he tells the Parable of the two sons. Jesus is pretty explicit about the different between professing belief and walking in faith. There's a famous expression that says that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Thousands of preachers preach the sinners prayer as if that moment in a person's life is all that is needed for salvation. Many people do exactly as asked. They stand or even approach the altar; they pray the sinner's prayer - even if in earnest in the moment. They are told that at that moment, they are saved.
Then they go home and live the same life they always lived. They didn't know that salvation is process, not the response to what you said once in a moment. What you said was a good thing but was it a seed planted in good soil or did the pastor just throw seed onto the pavement.
So, I get that I can understand the difference at the personal level. We know of our repentance, our own turning to God. We battle our fleshly and worldly desires every day and we consider it a battle worth fighting. We may even be witness to the transformation in others closest to us.
But how do you apply that discernment to our church leaders and people we don't know as well. They appear religious, they seem to follow Jesus. If I saw a Pharisee on the street, I'd think he was the most religious guy I ever met!
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