You Do Not Get to Judge “Almost Christian”

I recently read the article titled “I’m almost ready to become a Christian.” It is meant to comfort those who feel close, but not close enough. But I am angry, not at the writer, but at how Christians misuse that phrase to draw boundaries that only God can draw.

When they teach that “almost Christian” is nonsense, as if the word almost cancels out Christian, they need to hear what Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces” (Matthew 23:13, ESV). That is exactly what this attitude does. It slams the door on a heart God is already turning toward Him.

Herod Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28, NKJV). The article rejects that. God does not, and did not, work through the all-or-nothing proclamations of imperfect men. It is not the duty of man to determine who is “in” or “out,” “almost” or “fully.” Only the heart knows where it is headed. To say “almost” disqualifies someone is to imitate the Pharisees, not Jesus.

Almost Christian means someone’s heart is open. It means God can work with that person quietly and powerfully. “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench” (Matthew 12:20, NKJV). That is how Christ works. He nurtures. He builds. He waits. He transforms. It is not for us to quantify faith or stamp someone unfit because they hesitate.

Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6, NKJV). This is God’s work, not ours. When we declare someone “almost” as if it is a failure, we take the role of God and decide the timing and measure of His work. That is arrogance, and it is sin.

This is not about theological wordplay. This is about human doors blocking divine movement. When men decide that “almost” is failure, they destroy hope and drive people away from the faith they claim to defend. “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19, NKJV). Declaring God’s work in a heart insufficient is exactly that.

God sees more than our labels. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7, NKJV). If the heart is turning toward Him, it is not our place to say the turn is not enough.

If we want to see people follow Christ, we need to stop dictating to God how and when He can work in a life. Otherwise, we are the modern Pharisees, the ones Jesus rebuked the hardest.