What causes a false convert?

Boy is that a can of worms! It's one of those subjects that can get you in a lot of trouble. I really hate that it does...one would think that assuring each other of our salvation would be welcomed dialoge. But more often than not it's an unwelcome monologue! Furthermore, bring this subject up and you'll create a roundtable discussion with answers from every angle (the interesting part though is that God's clear instruction is the ONLY angle that counts). When it comes right down to it though, "what causes a false convert" is really a very narrowly, precisely, and easily answered question. But in order to answer it, we must first declare what is necessary to be "born again" (also known as a true convert). Or in other words, in order to know what causes a false convert, it's imperative to know what causes a true convert.
Listen up:
1. Realization of one's sinfulness (God is HOLY, and your sin is despicable. It makes you physically sick with conviction)
2. Repentance of sin (a sincere confession to God that you see your sin just as He sees your sin.)
3. Declaring to God that you believe and trust that Jesus' death on the cross was the sacrifice to make you acceptable to God. It is the payment for all that nasty sin that you're ready to leave behind.

That's it. You are now saved, you are a "new creature". So if it's that easy, why would there be any false conversions? Because many (if not most) neglect (if not completely omit) steps 1 and 2. A lot of invitations to the Gospel today sound a lot like "Jesus died for you, don't you think He deserves your devotion? Come on, give your life to Jesus." Sure, some of us can get emotional enough to respond to that invitation, but it left out a required step, thus resulting in a false conversion. And sadly, to the typical person, ME is the most important person in my life, so that devotion to God will quickly wane. Stay with me right here, because we're about to get into the meat of the matter... In Psalm 19:7 God's word says "the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul". Another translation reads "the law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul". Not much difference. Before salvation you are spiritually dead...a dead soul. What we want is a soul revival! A true conversion is equivalent to a soul revival. So what is PERFECT at doing it?-God's law (the 10 commandments). Let me give you an analogy to illustrate this point. I sell for a living. Specifically, I sell life insurance for a living. But regardless of what the product or service being offered is, three things MUST be addressed before any sell is made:

(1) Here's a problem
(2) Here's a solution
(3) Do you want to do something about it or not?

If you skip any step, or get them out of order, you will NOT make a sell. Step #1 is absolutely the most important. Unless I can illustrate to you that you have a problem, you won't see the need to buy my product. A good salesperson will spend 90% of his time showing the client he has a problem, not 90% of his time explaining the solution. (Read that last sentence again...it is the pivotal issue of this discussion.) You can have the best product, at the best price, but until your client understands he/she needs it, they won't buy. That is what is missing from so many conversion experiences that make them false. The person didn't really get saved, because he/she responded to Christ in a wrong manner. They never recognized their sin, much less repented of it in brokenness. The typical person who walks the aisle today does so out of a desire for "life enhancement". They are experiencing problems in their life, so they hear a message about how much God loves them and/or how being saved will fix their life. So they respond, everyone parades by and hugs their neck and congratulates them, and then a year later they aren't even coming to church anymore. Then everybody just says "oh, they are backslidden" Phfooey! They were never saved. (Listen, give a man a parachute and tell him it will make the flight more comfortable...it won't take long before he realizes the opposite is true. But tell him that the parachute is to save him from the jump to come, and you'll never get it off his back!) Backsliding is a man-made concept to justify why we can't understand how that "Christian" isn't acting saved. After all, we all saw them walk that aisle. If you can tell me how a mortal man can overpower the Holy Spirit living within him, I might begin to believe in "backsliding". But back to my point. How do I prove to a prospect that they need life insurance? I use what's called an "FNA"...a Financial Needs Analysis. It's pretty simple: You ask the prospect how much money they need to bury themself, pay off their debts, put the kids through school, and provide some "living" money to their survivors should they die prematurely. During this process, the client begins to see "I have a need". Then I show him life insurance, and how it fills his need, and a sell is made. If I just go to that client and ask "do you want to buy some life insurance", they'll say NOPE. So to begin wrapping this article up, how do I connect this? What if we used an "SNA"?...a Spiritual Needs Analysis. We could list the 10 commandments, ask the client how they fare with each one, and they'll quickly begin to see "I have a problem". Then just share the Gospel, and you'll make a sale. Likewise, if you just go to them and say "Jesus loves you, do you wanna get saved", they will say NOPE. Why would they, they don't have a problem, right? Think about it!