The Pretender

Do you consider yourself a hypocrite?  Well, of course not.  I would guess that not many people would admit to being a hypocrite, because to admit to being a hypocrite is to admit to being fake.  By definition, a hypocrite is simply a pretender, so if you admit to being a hypocrite, you have to admit to pretending to be something other than what you are.  So, I’ll ask again, do you consider yourself a hypocrite?

In the closing verse of Matthew 5, Jesus gave His listeners this charge: “Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  In short, Jesus is telling these people, quit pretending!  He is not telling them to be perfect as without flaws or shortcomings.  No one can do that, because we are all sinners by our nature.  We will inevitably mess up, no matter how hard we try.  Rather, He is telling them to work to complete their faith.  They should strive to have a mature faith because they have learned the ways of God.  This verse references back to Leviticus 19:2, where God said, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Holiness simply means that we are set apart and consecrated for a particular use or function.  God is set apart as Creator and Lord.  He is the King of kings who is able to set the standard for all to attain.  We are set apart from the world to be the people who honor God with our service and our witness.  Our level of holiness and maturity is reflective of the quality and depth of our relationship with God.  It is revealed in our attitude toward service to others, and in our attitude toward prayer, which is our communication with God.

Jesus warned us not to be a pretender like some of the religious leaders that came to the temple each day.  These people would give offerings of money and service, but their motivation was strictly to be seen and to be complemented by others.They didn’t really care about the work they were doing or the offerings they were giving.  They just wanted praise.  In the same way, they were not really sincere in their prayers.  They just wanted people to see them giving long prayers with colorful language so that people would think that they were very pious and godly.  Some people even thought that by constantly repeating the needs or the names of the gods they prayed to, that they would have more successful prayers.  Jesus simply said that this was not the way to do it.

Many people call the passage in Matthew 6:9-13 the Lord’s prayer.  It’s not really, because these words are not what Jesus prayed.  Instead, it is a pattern to follow when we pray.  He gave this pattern in response to the disciples asking Him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-4).  Here is the simple pattern:

1.  Worship God.

2.  Pray for the provisions of your needs.

3.  Confess your sins.

4.  Pray for strength to live a God-honoring life.

Having a prayer life that consistently follows this pattern will draw you into a deeper relationship with God.  Being consistent in your prayer life will help you mature in your faith.  You will live a life that reflects the fact that you have been set apart from the world and consecrated to the service of God.  When you can do this, no one will wonder if you are pretending.  Your faith and trust in God will be obvious for all to see, and God will honor you in return.

Pass the Salt, Please!

Yesterday I mentioned that Matthew 5 presents a big challenge to us in how to live our lives.  Part of that challenge is in being a witness to the world if you are a follower of Christ.  Jesus said that we are to be salt, and to not lose our flavor.  But what does it mean to be flavorful as a Christ follower?  Jesus said he is “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6).  He said if you know Him, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32).  Finally, He said that He came “that (we) may have life, and have it abundantly.”  (John 10:10).  Jesus came to give us eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.  Our job is not to save people.  It is simply to witness to others what we know -  that Jesus is the Christ, who died for us!  

One of the ways that we can witness to people about our life in Christ is to live God-honoring lives.  I have heard people say that being a Christian must be boring, and that they don’t want to be a Christian because you have to give up all the fun stuff.  I could not disagree more with that thought.   have a beautiful wife and three wonderful daughters.  We have a lot of fun.  We go to the beach and to water parks, to ball games and concerts and movies.  We hang out with friends and talk and laugh and eat too much.  And yes, we go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and sometimes we help with mission projects or special events with our church.  We don’t do these things because we can’t have fun.  We do them because Jesus has set us free.  We are not in bondage to the things Satan says are fun.  Instead, we delight in the things of God that build us up spiritually.

The rest of the chapter talks about living an honorable life away from things that keep you in bondage to sin.  When you have hatred toward other people, when you lust after someone, when you swear that you will do something, or plot revenge on someone that has wronged you, you are in bondage to sin.  You are in bondage because you are either plotting to sin, you are sinning, or you are covering up the sin.  This consumes all your time and energy so that you cannot simply enjoy life.  The thing that Jesus really tried to drive home for us here is this fact - sin is not sin because we do it.  Sin is sin because it has manifested itself in our hearts.  He said, “everyone who is angry with his brother,” (v. 22) or “everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (v. 28).  You don’t actually have to attack your brother, or have sex with someone.  You have already sinned when you think about it.

So, what does this have to do with being salt, and being flavorful?  It is simply this - you cannot show the world how great life is for a Christ follower if you are living like the world.  You have to put sin aside and treat people with love, respect, and care.  You take the attitude that others are more important than you, and that your ultimate purpose is to love them.  It also means that life is fun, and full of love and laughs because you treat people in this matter.  This is an area of my life I have struggled with, and I am learning how to do this better.

I believe that Jesus had fun while He was here on earth.  I believe that He laughed, alot, and that He danced at weddings.  I believe He enjoyed spending time with His friends, and that He enjoyed joking with them.  I believe that He might have been a practical joker.  I know, because scripture shows us, that Jesus had what could be described as a cutting, sarcastic wit.  He used this to make His points and teach lessons, not to embarrass or humiliate people.  I believe that the best fun is fun that I can lift up to God and say, “Hey, Jesus, you want to join us?”  And I believe He would say “YES!”, because He’s just salty like that.

And, I believe that the best people in the world have more than a little salt in them.

Don't Mess Up Crap

Today’s reading, Matthew 5:13-48, presents an incredible challenge to believers.  In these verses, Jesus challenges us to lead God-honoring lives of integrity.  He begins by telling us how we should be a witness to the world concerning the Gospel.  

First, we are to be salt.  Salt at one time was used as a preserving agent, because there were no refrigerators, and no chemically enhanced, vacuum-sealed foodstuffs for people to put in the back of their pantries and forget about.  The salt helped keep the food, especially meat, so that people could store food for later use.  Salt also added flavor to food so that it wasn’t bland.  We still use salt like that today.  Now, Jesus was not talking about cooking in this passage.  Rather, he was talking about preserving souls and enhancing life by sharing with people the Good News of the Gospel.  Whenever the Gospel is shared and received, a soul is saved from eternal death in hell.  This is the primary responsibility of Christians, to go out and share faith!

Jesus said in this passage that salt that has lost its flavor is useless.  In fact, in Luke 14:34-35, He used a bit stronger language to describe salt that had lost its flavor:

14 Therefore, salt is good; become if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?  35 It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile; it is thrown out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus says that flavorless salt isn’t good to throw on the ground or on a manure pile.  Francis Chan once said that a Christian who has lost his flavor will mess up crap!  That’s what manure is, and if you are that bad, you’ve got some issues.

The reason I referenced the passage from Luke and mentioned the Francis Chan comment is this - Christians have been commanded to tell people about Jesus.  We have to do this!  Before Jesus left the disciples and ascended to heaven, He told them, “...you shall be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8).  So, if we aren’t telling people about Jesus, then we have lost our flavor, and are useless.  We mess up crap.  And, we are failing in the second command here, which is to be a light to the world.  Letting our light shine means that we let people see the difference Jesus makes in our lives.  We can’t do that if we hide what we have and don’t share with people around us.

I close today with this.  Penn Gillette, of the Penn & Gillette magic act, and a strongly avowed atheist, made a video some time ago talking about a man that approached him after one of his shows.  This man shared the Gospel with Penn.  Afterward someone asked Penn if he was bothered by the man, and he said no.  In summary, his attitude is this - if Christians truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world, we SHOULD be telling others.  If we’re not telling people about Jesus, then he (Penn) can’t respect us for that.  I understand his attitude.  I have struggled with this for many years, because I do not share my faith like I should.  I don’t take advantage of opportunities, and I don’t make opportunities.  I am trying to be the kind of Christian that I need to be.  I hope you are as well.

If you believe it, you should tell it.  Be salt.  Be light.  Don’t mess up crap.