Fake Faith

In Luke 20:20, we read something pretty interesting:

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

Before we get deeper into this verse, I’d like to just sketch out a quick background to what’s happening. So, in the verses prior to this, Jesus was being questioned by the chief priests and scribes about His authority. So, Jesus asked them if John’s work was “from heaven or from men” (see Luke 20:3). The chief priests and scribes answered by saying, “Uh…we don’t know” (see Luke 20:7); and Jesus gets them pretty mad by telling them that, since they didn’t know, He won’t tell “by what authority” He does His work (see Luke 20:8).

And this is where we find ourselves in verse 20. The chief priests and scribes are fuming, and they send spies to Jesus to somehow “trap” Him and get Him in trouble with the authorities. But what struck me the most about this verse was that these spies from the Sanhedrin were people “who PRETENDED to be righteous.” What does that mean? Pretending to be “righteous?” Well, that word “pretended” in this verse comes from the Greek word hypokrinomai  (ὑποκρίνομαι); it means “to impersonate anyone, play a part.” I looked up what the word “impersonate” meant in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, and it gives the following definition:

“To assume or act the character of”

Is it possible to ACT like a Christian? Can you or I be PRETENDING to “be righteous?” Let me assure you, it is very easy to ACT like a Christian than BE a Christian. I mean, anyone can wake up early in the morning, eat an extremely healthy raw vegan breakfast, go to church right on time every Sabbath, dress in very modest clothing, and be extremely active in various church ministries. I’m not saying that we should neglect the standards God set up for us as church in diet, dress, and service; but what I am saying is that it is possible to follow such standards but with an UNCONVERTED heart. Ellen White talks about this in her commentary on the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:

“[T]he class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character; they have not held communion with Him; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form.” (Christ’s Object Lessons pg. 411)

I’m sure most of you wouldn’t want to find yourselves trapped into living a spiritual life that’s only a form. Only acting. Or, maybe you’ve found yourself trapped in such a circumstance. You’re just going through the motions of going to church, going to Sabbath School, hearing the pastor preaching things that just don’t “click,” hearing songs during the service that only get you on a temporary emotional high but just crash down into nothingness once Sabbath ends.

You’re getting TIRED of it. TIRED of acting. TIRED of going through only a form of religion every week. Deep inside you want something BEYOND just floating down a dull river of “pretending to be righteous” but you feel your heart is about to sink into a whirlpool of sin and hopelessness.

HOW do you get out of such a place? What are the PRACTICALITIES of going from acting like a Christian to being a Christian?

The answer is simply this: “In yoking up with Christ, man becomes a constant worker with God; and through Christ he is strengthened to rise to the heights to which God calls him.” (The Review and Herald December 6, 1898, emphasis added)

What does all that mean to us as Adventist Christian teens who may be stuck in acting like a Christian but not being a Christian? To be blunt, we CAN NOT BE Christians in OUR OWN STRENGTH! The key phrases in this quote are “yoking up with Christ” and “through Christ.” It is only with Jesus’ help we can BE Christians. After all, Jesus Himself said that “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). So, how do we do all that?

It’s really simple. We need to pray. Simply just pray this prayer, and trust that God will answer it in His own time and way:

May this prayer be the deep language of our hearts every day. Amen!