Authentic Christianity

God hates hypocrisy.  Notice I didn’t say God hates hypocrites, just hypocrisy itself. This is probably the number one thing that has kept so many from believing in God.  Sure for some, it’s just an excuse to not believe in God, but for many it is a legitimate concern.

 That is one of the major reasons, Israel was sent into exile.  With her mouth she said one thing.  With her actions she said another.  She declared that God was with her.  She even honored God with her lips.  She brought her offerings to Him at the specified times and celebrated the required feasts, but the rest of the time, she lived as if God did not exist.

 God said to her, “I hate your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.”  These are strong words.  Then He says, “Away with the noise of your song.”   God doesn’t want our sacrifices, our empty rituals performed out of a heart of duty.  He wants our hearts, nothing less.

 The sacrifices of God are a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  He wants hearts that are broken over sin, repentant hearts, not hearts that continually turn back to sin.  He wants true sorrow.

 He wants our deeds to match our words.  He wants our hearts to match our deeds.  God doesn’t care so much about the outward.  He sees us all as beautiful, for He created us.  He isn’t impressed by our deeds.  He says, 

“All our deeds are as filthy rags.”

 God looks past the outer man and looks into our soul.  He knows every thought, every motive and every desire.  He wants hearts that beat after Him.  Hearts which truly love Him and desire to please Him.

 If we have hearts such as this, then the things we do will be pleasing to Him.  We will desire to do the things He loves and we will desire to please Him, to love Him and to obey Him.

 The Israelites claimed they were the people of God, that God was on their side, and yet they turned around and oppressed their fellow man. 

 The world is waiting for authentic Christianity and so is God.  The thing that will cause us to stand out most to the world – is our love.  The greatest commandment, Jesus said, is to love God with all of our heart, all of our mind and all of our strength and then to love others.  Serious, it’s all about love!

 When we truly love God in this way, our walk will match our talk.  We will love others.  We will bless those around us everywhere we go. 

 Many of us may say, but I’m not feeling the love.  Revelations 2:4-5 shows us what to do in this case.  It says, “Yet I hold this against you.  You have forsaken your first love.”  That’s a serious thing to God.  He desperately wants our love.  He not only desires it, but He also requires it.  It’s a commandment to love God.

 Then He says, “Remember the height from which you have fallen!  Repent and do the things you did at first.”  This is how we get back to our first love.

   Remember – Meditate on how much you used to love God.  How did you feel when your first met your Saviour?  How did that effect the way you lived?  What were the things you did as a result of that love?

  Repent – A lack of love, according to this passage, is a sin.  As I stated earlier, we are commanded to love God and others.  It is not a suggestion, but a requirement.  God wants our all.  He’s an all or nothing kind of God.  Truly, He deserves all of our love, for He has done so much for us.  As we meditate on all the amazing things He has done for us, our hearts should be stirred up in praise and love for our king.  God does not want us to just go through the motions.  So if we are not feeling this love – we need to repent.

 Do the things you did at first. -  When you first came to the Lord did you devour His word?  Then start to do that again.  Did you brag about Him constantly to everyone you met?  Then do that again.  Did you worship Him constantly?  Do that.  At first it may seem you are going through the motions, but if your heart is truly doing this in order to get back to your first love, it’s okay.  God knows that.  The more you do these things, the more you will begin to be stirred up in your heart with love for Him.  But also notice, we are told to repent first.  As we do so, I also believe God will begin to pour out His love in our hearts.  He’s the one who gives us the ability to love like this and He can bring us back to that place.

 As the world sees our love for God, which will result in love for our fellowman, they will be drawn to Him.  Often, all they see is those who say they love God, but turn around and live lives that say the opposite.  They see strife, hypocrisy and churches falling apart due to disunity.

 Let’s show the world that we love – by our words and by our deeds.  “They will know we are Christians by our love.”