Last week we examined the concept of sincerity as it applies to the Christian life. Sin has its very roots in an insincere offer of satisfaction that intends to overthrow God as its only rightful source.
"The existence of pretense, deceit, and hypocrisy in our world is the reason we need a word like 'sincerity.' It is a word we use to differentiate things that on the surface may appear to be equal, but ultimately do not deserve to be compared. The culprit for these identity conflicts is a sinful nature that we all contend with." –Part 1
The point of our eternal deliverance is marked by the acknowledgement that our ultimate need for satisfaction comes from God, and that the blood of Christ is sufficient to bare the cost of our rebellious deviation from that. Further, we saw how this message is intended to transform our ongoing pursuit of God!
"In Christ, we have become God's holy possessions! And his intent is that we bring the transforming power of the gospel into the life that we are now living in the flesh... the gospel is the only remedy to the self-centered bent within us that compromises our pursuit of God-glorifying satisfaction." –Part 1
Therefore, sincere Christianity must begin with a proper view of God and ourselves—seeing God as the only source of satisfaction, and seeing ourselves as existing to glorify God through receiving it from him.
Sincere Maturity
Even as followers of Christ, we are going to face the struggle of being recaptured by the satisfaction of temporal things that disguise themselves as the satisfaction that only God can provide. By far the most common example of this is how pride and ulterior motives can compromise even our Christian work. In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul describes some individuals like this as having suffered "shipwreck."
"Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith." –1 Timothy 1
Earlier in this chapter, Paul is advising Timothy on how to deal with people who are teaching false doctrines and stirring up controversies. The advice he gives Timothy is just as relevant today—it strikes at the heart of our level of maturity in Christ. Lets take a closer look at Paul's concerns about these false teachers.
"As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm." –1 Timothy 1
In addition to false teaching, Paul warns against two destructive tendencies: the devotion to "myths" and "endless genealogies." The nature of a myth is usually something characterized by the absence of actual information. Those who are focused on endless genealogies could be thought of as having an obsession with an unnecessary level of detail—perhaps a level of detail where there is no real certainty. A fondness for these things can distract us from a sincere devotion to God's work. In the realm of these kinds of intriguing topics we can be tempted to shift our focus to becoming prideful about what we know and believe.
Paul condemned people who had this kind of a focus—people who had selfish motives for obtaining and promoting what they knew (in this case the Mosaic Law). The implication is that these people did not truly understand the purpose of their knowledge. On the surface they appeared to be interested in the things of God, but inwardly they were not pursuing the things of God—they were insincere. Paul then clearly draws attention to the countermeasure for these insincere (selfish) pursuits... love. He describes love as having its source in a "pure heart" and a "sincere faith." Love is the greatest sign of sincere maturity.
In the following audio clip, John Piper provides some insight to help us redirect our focus, from the kinds of marginal issues that Paul is warning us against, to what is ultimately important:
Conclusion
A sincerely mature Christian is one whose actions are motivated by love, and directed towards the advancement of God's work and glory. When we lose the purity of these intentions in our ministry, we are no longer serving the Lord—we are serving ourselves. There is probably no Christian who has not once felt this force of pride when in a conflict with another Christian, even over matters of God's work!
We must allow God to mature our motives as we detect this kind of pride in ourselves. The Spirit of God will be there to convict us, and as a loving father the Lord promises to discipline us for our good and his glory. Our roles is to humbly submit to this process when the conviction comes.
"...but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees..." –Hebrews 12
"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." –2 Corinthians 3
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." –Romans 5
You can be so thankful that God is willing to intervene in your need to be humbled from time to time. C.S. Lewis remarked that pain is God's megaphone to arouse a deaf world. When you face challenges in life, you can often be assured that God is doing some of his best work. There are lessons we learn, and ways that we mature in our love and devotion to Christ, that cannot be attained through any other means than God's refining fire.
In Christ,
Andrew Fritz
Andrew Fritz is the President and Program Director of Thoughtful Life Ministries and an occasional writer for the Thoughtful Life Journal, which is published weekly from March through September. The purpose of this blog is to challenge and encourage those who have a desire to cultivate a more meaningful walk with Christ. Visit our Homepage to learn more about the ministry and our annual two-week summer Discipleship Program for teens and young adults.