Jesus said, “Unless you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Many people are raised in church, but that does not make them believers or a children of God. The relationship with God is personal and direct and cannot be gained through birth, being born into a Christian family or even by going to church. Jesus said that many will be told, “I never knew you” though they professed to know God and do things in His name.

Sometimes people make a profession of faith because they think “it is the right thing to do”, though it isn’t genuine. Luke Hahn wanted to be born again after two of his friends proclaimed to be born again, but it wasn’t genuine. He faked it and then perpetuated the the lie for years. It wasn’t until his pride and false profession of faith were “stripped from him” following an accident that left him wheelchair bound that things changed for Luke.

Here is the story of a young man who came to the realization that he did not know God though he was raised in the church in a Christian family, and that realization made all the difference in the world.

Following are four testimonies that likely represent many people in America who believe themselves to be right with God because they have bought in to an easy form of Christianity that is nothing more than an insurance policy to save a person from hell. But Jesus is not just a Savior, but God. A true encounter with God changes people and gives them new hearts, making them more like Him in a lifelong process called sanctification. If there is no change in your life, in your heart, if there is no fruit from your relationship with God, you may not have received the life that Jesus has to give. It is not too late.