How to Spot a Fake

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Matthew 7:12-23, Matthew 5:3-12, James 1:19-27

Jesus makes it very clear that religion can be our enemy. In the first passage he says we must avoid the fake preachers and false teachers and he tells us how to spot the blowhards.

The Sermon on the Mount contains what are called The Beatitudes and can be found in Matthew 5:3-10. The qualities listed here are the qualities you must look for in persons who say they are Christians or who are teaching others to follow Christ.

The people you can trust are humble, sensitive to the pain of others, gentle, trying to do the right thing, compassionate, pure in heart, peacemakers and willing to suffer for the cause of Christ.

James goes on to say that faith is measured not by what a person says but by what the person does. Living this all out means we are not to judge others and we need to be busy helping those who are less fortunate. That's it. Simple but not easy.

Show Your Gratitude to God

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Scripture References:
Exodus
Luke 7:36-50 - "...a Pharisee asked Jesus to have dinner with him..."
Luke 3:16 - John says, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
I Corinthians 11:23-26 -" ... eat this bread and drink the cup... "

Backdrop: The New Year has begun slowly. The Saints had just been eliminated on Saturday evening by Seattle. Though Mardi Gras season has started, it seems quietly distant. The day is crisp (40s) and cool.

Music: Our God Reigns

The Sermon: JT described how dinners that were held in the homes of Pharisees were often open affairs where people from the community would be invited to come and listen to the discourse. The primary focus today is on a sinful woman who attended. She sat at the feet of Jesus, yet she was weeping so profoundly that she could wash his feet with her tears and she used her hair to dry them.

How strange is that?

First, in those times, washing the feet of one's guests is a task for servants. She takes on the role unlike any other because she has seen in Jesus her personal Savior. Her tears are profound. Some Bible scholars suggest that she had been earlier healed by Jesus and she had come to give him special thanks.

Here we learn in a new way what it means to "...love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength." This passage first occurs in Deuteronomy 6:5 and then is proclaimed again in Luke 10:25, Matthew 22:37 and Mark 12:30. First, she knows. She knows so profoundly she cannot hold back her joy, her blessings, that she sits at the feet of her Savior and she experiences a peace which passes all understanding. These tears and kisses are profoundly real.

This was before the cross, before the Last Supper, before the resurrection and before He sent the Comforter. Certainly this simple, direct, and total faith has set her free.