I think this is exactly what Paul talks about... they were NEVER followers in the first place... also, just my humble opinion, we need to stop using the term "true" repentance or christian. you either are or NOT.
I appreciate the heart behind your response about “true” repentance or believers and not using the wording. Scripture does this though, so we can as well. For instance, Paul spoke of false believers/brothers (Galatians 2:4). This is what’s being communicated when that wording is used. Someone who portrays themselves as a follower but is not truly one. You can even think you are true and not be (Matthew 7:22). This is not foreign to the Bible at all, and is communicated in many ways, even in the Old Testament (Isaiah 29:13). These are false believers with false repentance for one reason or another, and since they are false, we can say they are not “true believers” or do not have “true repentance”. This is no different than saying one has false/not true any number of things, such as humility (Col 2:18), false prophets and messiahs (Mark 13:22), false witnesses vs true (proverbs 12:17, etc.
