“…bear fruits worthy of repentance…” (Matthew 3:8 NKJV)
Some would baptize old Lucifer hisseff if he showed up with a towel and a willingness to get wet. The Baptist confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees who professed that they had repented, as well. He refused to baptize them. Why not? He did not believe their repentance was real. Before John would consider baptizing them, they must first “bear fruits worthy of repentance.” Their lives must first provide credible evidence of genuine repentance.
What happens when a hypocrite ‘repents?’ The same thing that happened the last time he repented—nothing. No real change occurs because his professed repentance is only one more fleeting impression that vanishes as soon as it appears. Such repentance is repentance to be repented of.
He believes he is righteous while others are rather flawed. His thinking is straight; others are irrational or delusional. He knows the truth; others merely trifle with truisms. The Pharisee acknowledges himself sinful…but he is not nearly as flawed as those with whom he is forced to deal, day by day. Anyone who seriously challenges him just isn’t right; couldn’t be!
Indeed, we all deny the truth about ourselves at times. The truth can be a rather unflattering thing. Turns out that we are not the people we imagine ourselves to be. In our dreams we are reasonable with a good grasp on reality, fair and sober-minded. Our over-reactions are not really over-reactions at all; we can justify our behavior no matter how inappropriate; turns out that our reactions were precisely what the situations called for. Some people are simply unwilling to acknowledge the truth about us. Isn’t it strange?
Why does no one seem to believe a hypocrite’s repentance is real? Why do emotional apologies fall on deaf ears and meet with blank stares? Could it be that people recognize the same old song and dance? It may be a new situation, but the same tune and the same lyrics. They know that, if history can teach them anything, recent apologies mean no more than the earlier ones meant. Within minutes, hours, or at the most days, true colors will shine through again. The new repentance is but momentary sorrow; it will pass. Sorrow sometimes comes because harvest has begun. And who wouldn't feel sorrow when his evil seeds have produced evil fruit in abundance?
A hypocrite is surprised, and even angered, by the reluctance of others to believe that he is sincere. He believes others are sincere. He gives them the benefit of the doubt. He is quick to show sympathy and is understanding. He holds no grudges, but freely forgives. His conscience is clear, although seared black as night. Without malice, he is simply amazed at the pettiness, the pathetic smallness, of people: so exacting, demanding, unforgiving, and unfair.
Repentance and regret are not the same. Temporarily replacing anger with remorse is a hypocrite’s repentance. Saying, “I’m sorry” with tears is just his way of saying, “I’m sorry I lost control over my situation; I want it back.” Repentance is not an emotional event. Real repentance, the kind the gospel speaks about, is a spiritual grace that transforms a person at his very core. As a result, his thinking and his behavior change.
The ‘change of mind’ that is true repentance produces new actions and right words, the things life is made of. Degrees of sorrow, regret, and remorse may accompany true repentance, but the fact that one feels such things does not prove true repentance; a hypocrite may feel all of these ever so deeply and remain a hypocrite. Repentance is known and shown by persistent, consistent, appropriate fruits. Otherwise, the professed repentance is not credible. Pharisees and Sadducees talk the talk, call you “Brother,” and pretend love for God; all hypocrites do. These prove nothing.
“Fruits worthy of repentance” consist of more than apologies and wordy justifications. For repentance to be taken seriously and regarded genuine, one’s life must consistently produce the right fruit. A man often-remorseful and, as often, returning to wallowing in the mire of his sins—face it; he is a hypocrite. He is not a struggling Christian, although many have, in charity, treated him so.
At some point it ceases to be charitable to recognize a hypocrite as a struggling Christian; he must know that the farce is no longer convincing. He is a stranger to God and to saving grace. That is the sober assessment of men who know and love God in truth. He may have passed himself off as “wheat” for a time, yet the evidence of his life declares him to be “chaff” destined for destruction by “unquenchable fire.” The seeming evidence suggesting that he is a genuine child of God has vanished. What remains is empty, meaningless “chaff.”
Instead of fearing eternal wrath and bowing low in brokenness over the sins that hold him captive and poison his soul, the hypocrite maintains that he is genuine, although misunderstood. Never mind the mountain of evidence to the contrary. It is the nature of self-righteous delusion. In such a condition, no one will repent; but only keep up appearances as long as possible. And when no longer possible, keep on trying—the only other option is to acknowledge the truth. But the truth would utterly devastate his religious and damning pride.
“Fruits worthy of repentance” are produced by the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Who is kidding who? The hypocrite is only kidding himself, because he simply cannot bear the truth. Instead of producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, he is, instead: ‘quietly cruel, mostly joyless, much troubled, often impatient, subtly unkind, conniving manipulation, consistently inconsistent, inappropriately coarse, and absent self-control.’ A self-serving life blurts out the truth, as plain as day.
Can we bear to face the truth? Or, must we twist it and torture it and turn it on its ear so that it becomes something else? Only the truth can really set anyone free. Hypocrisy ultimately fools only the hypocrite. –TSA
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Remember...
We are rarely able to put ourselves into another person’s shoes. To feel what he feels and think as he thinks is not natural. It’s a wonder that any of us wonder why no one really understands when we are in trouble; we don’t try very hard to really understand when others go through trouble.
“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them — those who are mistreated — since you yourselves are in the body also.” (Hebrews 13:3 NKJV) Here, we are called to remember and to put ourselves into someone else’s skin. That requires us to think and to feel. Some prisoners suffer confinement and abuse for Christ and the gospel, not for evildoing. Instead of whining and complaining, they go on furthering His cause in the place where Providence has put them and they still find their joy in Christ. They deserve to be remembered—and remembered with great feeling.
Many who love and serve the Lord Jesus with all their hearts find themselves today in prisons of other kinds. Steel bars and guards and razor-wired walls are nowhere in sight, but they yet live in a confinement of circumstance and in too much maddening isolation. They are not the sort of martyrs whose memory we sing, but they love Christ with all their hearts and bear witness to His grace by their persevering faith. But it isn’t easy to walk in their shoes. How could we forget them? How could we fail to comfort the Lord’s loved ones who suffer in any prison? Ah, but we do. We do.
We have intentionally short memories when it comes to pain or trouble or solitude. We forget as soon as possible. The royal cupbearer forgot Joseph as he quickly put the dungeon experience behind him. We too forget Joseph, like we never knew him. And why not leave an unpleasant past unremembered? It was a bad time we want to forget forever. Weary times, possibly not so long ago, when we suffered things most unbearable and felt that no one cared or understood—who wants to remember such things or such times? But forgetting our unpleasant past means forgetting Joseph’s painful present.
And what about Joseph? We didn’t put him there. Ultimately it was God who purposed that he should be in that hard place, right? Are we to interfere with evident providence, to intervene?
We make a great mistake to think that since Joseph lived in a dungeon that God had judged him guilty. We err further to think that God intended for him to stay there forever. Was he not impressive enough to recall, when he spoke comfort and strength to our soul, bearing good news in hopeful words? Did not Joseph’s quality shine through, despite the peculiar setting? How do we forget a virtual diamond of a man?
We have known some people and have conveniently forgotten them, and possibly some “of whom the world was not worthy.” They once enriched us, but that was then. It is as if they died, or never lived. But they are very much alive, though forgotten. To remember them would require us to revisit an old dungeon from our past where we were afraid and cold and alone. We would just as soon never think of it again. It is so much easier to leave it all in the forgotten past. Joseph will somehow be noticed. Someday someone will do something. Meanwhile, we have plenty to keep us busy without taking on projects. He’ll be fine. He was well a couple of years ago.
Is there someone you must remember, whose life, whose existence, should be your great concern today? Do you think you can now feel what they feel? Would you try to get into their skin? Are they lonely, sick, grieved, or even hungry? Can you begin to imagine their relief to see your face and to feel kindness in the touch of your hand? To know you care enough to interrupt their trouble! Someone…yes, you! You remembered!
Dear one, we have forgotten long enough. It is time to remember and that is something we must do on purpose! Remember; then do something. Do it today! –TSA
“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them — those who are mistreated — since you yourselves are in the body also.” (Hebrews 13:3 NKJV) Here, we are called to remember and to put ourselves into someone else’s skin. That requires us to think and to feel. Some prisoners suffer confinement and abuse for Christ and the gospel, not for evildoing. Instead of whining and complaining, they go on furthering His cause in the place where Providence has put them and they still find their joy in Christ. They deserve to be remembered—and remembered with great feeling.
Many who love and serve the Lord Jesus with all their hearts find themselves today in prisons of other kinds. Steel bars and guards and razor-wired walls are nowhere in sight, but they yet live in a confinement of circumstance and in too much maddening isolation. They are not the sort of martyrs whose memory we sing, but they love Christ with all their hearts and bear witness to His grace by their persevering faith. But it isn’t easy to walk in their shoes. How could we forget them? How could we fail to comfort the Lord’s loved ones who suffer in any prison? Ah, but we do. We do.
We have intentionally short memories when it comes to pain or trouble or solitude. We forget as soon as possible. The royal cupbearer forgot Joseph as he quickly put the dungeon experience behind him. We too forget Joseph, like we never knew him. And why not leave an unpleasant past unremembered? It was a bad time we want to forget forever. Weary times, possibly not so long ago, when we suffered things most unbearable and felt that no one cared or understood—who wants to remember such things or such times? But forgetting our unpleasant past means forgetting Joseph’s painful present.
And what about Joseph? We didn’t put him there. Ultimately it was God who purposed that he should be in that hard place, right? Are we to interfere with evident providence, to intervene?
We make a great mistake to think that since Joseph lived in a dungeon that God had judged him guilty. We err further to think that God intended for him to stay there forever. Was he not impressive enough to recall, when he spoke comfort and strength to our soul, bearing good news in hopeful words? Did not Joseph’s quality shine through, despite the peculiar setting? How do we forget a virtual diamond of a man?
We have known some people and have conveniently forgotten them, and possibly some “of whom the world was not worthy.” They once enriched us, but that was then. It is as if they died, or never lived. But they are very much alive, though forgotten. To remember them would require us to revisit an old dungeon from our past where we were afraid and cold and alone. We would just as soon never think of it again. It is so much easier to leave it all in the forgotten past. Joseph will somehow be noticed. Someday someone will do something. Meanwhile, we have plenty to keep us busy without taking on projects. He’ll be fine. He was well a couple of years ago.
Is there someone you must remember, whose life, whose existence, should be your great concern today? Do you think you can now feel what they feel? Would you try to get into their skin? Are they lonely, sick, grieved, or even hungry? Can you begin to imagine their relief to see your face and to feel kindness in the touch of your hand? To know you care enough to interrupt their trouble! Someone…yes, you! You remembered!
Dear one, we have forgotten long enough. It is time to remember and that is something we must do on purpose! Remember; then do something. Do it today! –TSA
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