But the goal of our
instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith
(I Timothy 1:5 NASB)
We
end our letters of correspondence with the salutation, “sincerely.”
We want to end our communication with a tone of
cordiality and authenticity. What does
the Bible mean when it talks about a sincere faith? I think we might be a bit surprised when we
examine the biblical meaning of the word sincere.
Without
Wax
I once heard Dr. David Jeremiah do a word study
on sincere in this passage. The word
comes from two Greek words, sine and cera, which together mean “without
wax.” A stone sculpture of that day, who
might not be real honest, would accidently crack a statue and fill in the crack
with bee’s wax.
He would carefully paint over the repaired
fracture and sell it with the flaw unbeknownst to the buyer. People who knew of this practice would ask if
the statue was sincere? Meaning without wax or with no defects.
How
does this meaning of a sincere faith relate to our lives today as Christians? The issue is not really about us being
perfect (We are all marred creations.), but are we covering up our
imperfections. Jesus, though not
condoning their sin, did not condemn the prostitutes and tax collectors who
were pretty flawed people. The Pharisees, on the other hand, took some pretty
harsh criticism from the Lord. Why? These religious leaders were always putting
wax on their cracks. Outwardly they
appeared righteous but inwardly their hearts were evil. They were not sincere people.
A Sincere
Faith
In relation to your Christian walk, how does the
salutation of your life read? Do you
mask over who you really are with religious expertise? If you do you are only portraying your own
righteousness, which the Bible calls “filthy rags.” Or are you open and honest about your
inadequacies and trusting God for His mercy and grace to change? The latter
will cause the righteousness of Christ to shine forth from you life. Which do you chose, sincerely yours, or a
life sincerely about Christ?
Email:kenbarnes737@gmail.com
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