Royal Generation

1 Peter 2:9-10, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."


My high school's name is the Royals. We take our name from these verses, saying we are a royal generation. We are a Christian home school organization, thus many students claim to be Christians. But of course, as it is everywhere, there are fakers in my school. There are those who say they are Christian but live another way. I have recently given this fact a lot of thought. I wonder, "How can I reach those who don't want to be reached?" This question has plagued me, and I have no good answer for it. I don't know why some people just want fire insurance. I guess some people would rather pray a prayer and then live their own way than submit everything to God. It's easier, right? Maybe. But another question entered my mind: How do I really know who is real and fake? How can I tell without judging? 


I found this answer (where else?) in Scripture. Bear with me as this passage is somewhat lengthy.


Galatians 5:17-25, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."


Scripture says that if you have God’s Spirit, you will look like what is described in verses 22-23 (the second emboldened section). If you don’t have the Spirit, you’ll instead look like what is described in verses 19-21 (the first emboldened section). It's pretty simple: God' children will have the fruit of the Spirit. Enemies of God will have fruits of the sinful nature. Using these verses, it is easy to use discernment and forgo judgement to decide who is for real and who is acting.