Sincerity

 I am so thankful for God’s grace and mercy, without which you and I are literally doomed! That is not hyperbole. It is truth. Grace is receiving something we don’t deserve and mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. God extends these gifts because His Son, Jesus Christ made it possible through His death on the cross. He paid for our sins, past, present, and future. When we trust Jesus as Savior, all our sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God. 

But that doesn’t mean that we keep on sinning. We still need to confess our sins and when we do “He is faithful and just to forgive them.” 1 John 1:9. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-2a, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.” (KJV) Paul’s words were strong and direct. 

The Scriptures, especially the New Testament, are full of admonitions and exhortations describing the way we are to live as Christ-followers. Space prohibits going into a deep dive of this subject, however what I do know is that I fall short, as I assume we all do. Yet that does not let us off the hook to do whatever we want. We must be sincere in our walk, growing in our relationship with our Lord.

Full disclosure, I am not pointing fingers. I remember the illustration that when you point a finger, you have three pointing back at you. That’s where I’m at right now. What I’m writing applies to me as much as anyone else.

We live in very contentious times, exacerbated by social media. Facebook, Instagram, X, and others, give us a way to keep in touch with friends and family, regardless of distance or the passage of time. They can also be a source of biased and false information, which I’m sure is no surprise to anyone. They also give people, sometimes anonymously, the platform to write hurtful, hateful, and offensive comments, and for us who claim to be Christ-followers, things that are contrary to the Biblical characteristics that we are to strive towards.

When we post on these sites, we reflect on our Christian testimony, especially to those who follow us and are familiar with our Christian profession. When we demonize the other side, use derogatory names, and even use profanity or other judgmental language, are we really being sincere to our profession of faith? Of course, we have every right to state our own positions on issues but we need to weigh the way we present them.

Let’s all be sincere. Philippians 1:9-10, “And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ…”

Let’s all do better.