March 27, 2008
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
--Exodus 20:16
Today I want to ask you a pretty personal question about the kind of life you’re living: Do you ever show signs of hypocrisy?
Like I said, this a pretty personal question. But it’s important that you and I test ourselves in this area every now and then.
As you probably know, hypocrisy is living a lie. It’s profession without possession. Just like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. They acted like they were religious, but their hearts were as black as coal!
One way to test hypocrisy in your life is to honestly compare how you talk and act at church on Sunday with how you talk and act the other six days of the week. Are there differences?
I honestly believe that living a lie, or being a hypocrite, is one of the most spiritually dangerous places to be.
Jesus told the church at Laodicea in Revelation that He wanted to spit them out of His mouth because they were neither hot nor cold. And that’s what being a spiritual hypocrite is. You are spiritually lukewarm… and your words say one thing when your actions say another.
Jesus said He wants nothing to do with a person like that!
How wonderful it is, though, when people finally get real with God—when they finally ask God to strip them of their phoniness and live life as a genuine, authentic believer in Him!
God desires genuine authenticity from you and from me. Which is why I hope you will ask God to do a spiritual gut-check on you today.
Ask the Lord to show you any areas of hypocrisy in your life. And when He shows you, ask for forgiveness… and then determine to stay honest and genuine with God and with your brothers and sisters in Christ from this day forward.
ARE YOU AUTHENTIC IN EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE?