04/01/2026
Many years ago, as I was on my way to high school, I was shocked to turn on the radio and find a drastic change in the music that was airing. The KATT (a rock & roll station) was playing country music. I was not the only one who had noticed this shift in style and was taken aback by the startling switch. This abrupt change in tune had caused quite a stir among the students, and many conversations were buzzing about this radical transformation. But not only had the KATT gone country…they were also celebrating this conversion by only playing one song all day long - “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma.”
To this day, that song still occupies a place in my head, but back in the day it left a lot of kids holding their heads...being rather annoyed and irritated as that ballad droned on & on and played over & over again. We couldn’t even bring ourselves to turn it off because of our stunned disbelief. Eventually, the aggravating monotony of the music won us over, and makeshift choirs were formed in the parking lot as groups of kids would join in singing along. The boys would sing, “I work ten hours on a John Deere tractor just thinking of you all day.” And the girls would sing their part, “I’ve got a calico cat and a two-room flat on a street in West LA.”
We had to laugh (lest we cry) at this terrible joke announcing the demise of our cherished resource for Rock & Roll. I vividly remember that day and even the very date the radical change happened — April 1st.
I don’t remember when the station announced it was all just an elaborate April Fool’s joke, but we were all taken in by it and swallowed the ruse hook, line, and sinker. The next day, the KATT was back to playing their same old tunes they still play today – decades later. Their “conversion” was just a joke and a trick, and it was an epic one at that. We all laughed at our gullibility and their ability to fool us with a very convincing fake conversion.
I mention this funny April Fool’s story because there is another kind of phony conversion that is not so funny. It is a ruse so cunning that it can even fool the person pulling it off. Scripture says that not everyone who makes a profession of faith actually has the possession of the saving faith they claim (Matt. 7:21). Some people only have a temporary “change of tune,” and that lack of longevity is a sign that their “faith” is phony and their conversion is a con. But an “April Fool’s Faith” is no laughing matter.
True saving faith does bring a dramatic change in our tune. Old things pass away and behold all things become new (2 Cor. 5:17), but that radical change is also a permanent change. The “Change Agent” who began the good work in us will also complete it and perfect it. (Phil 1:6) The Author of our faith is also the Finisher of our faith. God does not transform a sinner in salvation and then abandon the sinner to return and conform to his old way of life. God’s loving grace has lasting effects that are permanent.
True saving faith is a persistent and persevering faith. The Scriptures are plain on this matter.
Hebrews 3:14 - “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm to the end.”
1 Corinthians 15:2 – “...you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”
John 8:31 — “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.”
Matthew 10:22 – “...it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
Many people start the race, but it is only those who finish the race who will be received by the Savior. Our Lord said that many will hear Him say on that last day, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matt. 7:21-23). What a terrible April Fool’s joke to play on oneself.
Yet there are many who trust in a “change of tune” that was only temporary. It happened long ago and far away, but the alteration has long since gone away. Like the KATT, they dramatically switched sides for a time, and many people noticed the radical difference. But like the KATT, they quickly went back to playing their same old tunes, and they faithfully play them to this day. Or, as Peter puts it – the dog returns to its vomit, and a pig that is washed returns to the mire (2 Peter 2:21-22). But if the “change in tune” is only temporary, then the conversion is phony. And John tells us that those who go out from us were never with us (1 John 2:19). But please know, an April Fool’s Faith is no laughing matter.
Dear Christian - examine your conversion.
2 Corinthians 13:5 — "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith, examine yourselves! For do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test."
True repentance is not to be repented of (2 Cor. 7:10). After turning toward Christ, don’t turn away from Christ. When we convert and tune into Jesus, we aren’t to tune Him out and return to our old ways. The true Christian has a true conversion that lasts. We may stumble and fall many times, but by the Spirit's power, we get up and keep going. He began the good work in us, and He will complete it. “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (1 Thess. 5:24).
Stand firm and stay tuned in to Jesus Christ, the LAMB
… and beware of an April Fool’s faith.
Pastor Tim
