The False Convert - The Parrot - The Character of Creatures

This is a chapter from the book The Character of Creatures: What the Animal Kingdom Teaches Us About God and His Word.

The False Convert – The Parrot

You can teach a parrot to say all sorts of things. With enough practice you can even get the parrot to say, “Jesus is Lord.” But just because the sounds are formed in its mouth does not mean that the parrot knows what it is saying or that it believes it!

Parrots are a warning to us that just because we say the right words does not mean we are trusting Christ:

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ~ 1 John 2:19

Discussion:

1.      What makes a person a Christian? Is it praying a prayer? Is it going to church? Does sitting in your garage make you a car? Many people go to church, get baptized, tithe, and all sorts of other things without being Christians, they just repeat the words. Have you repented and trusted in Jesus Christ?

2.     Lots of people have made a lot of money by saying the words that other people want to hear. The Bible calls this scratching itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3), or declaring “peace when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). How can you know if someone is just parroting words, or if they are speaking God’s truth?

3.     It is common for pastors and evangelists to say, “Repeat this prayer and you’ll be saved.” Could a parrot repeat that prayer? The words you say are not nearly so important as that you are trusting Christ with your heart. Read Romans 10:9 and consider if you are a true believer or merely repeating what you have been told.

There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough—a cheap Christianity which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice—which costs nothing, and is worth nothing. It is a Christianity without the cross, without the Spirit, without the struggle, without prayer, without the Bible, without holiness. It is a Christianity that will not last, and a Christianity that will not save. ~ JC Ryle