May we not Suppress the Truth
There is a danger of going through the motions. Take for example the “going through the motions” of these actions:
- Telling someone you will pray but then forgetting or choosing to not write down the prayer so you will remember to pray (as promised).
- Seeing someone in need but then getting busy with your own life so that you become so fixated on your own needs, wants, and pleasures that you choose not and cannot see the needs of your neighbors.
- Reading your Bible but then not allowing the Spirit to change your life-actions, your thoughts, your desires, your passions—yourself.
- Sensing the Holy Spirit of God prompting you to speak the gospel to another but then refraining or turning away, and ultimately refusing to open your mouth to share the love of God and saving grace with another.
“Going through the motions” is not a godly action but a sinful one because in doing so, we become hypocritical. We “act” a part but we lack and even reject the true discipleship that Jesus demands to be His follower. I know. That last statement is heavy, one that digs into the interior of our being and pierces our heart. If your heart has been pierced (like mine), then may we read on to see the dreadful reality of suppressed truth that faces those who choose to not believe on Christ Jesus. Then, may we see the hopeful reality that exists within Christ-followers, along with the power encompassed to bring others to the knowledge of Jesus’ Amazing Grace.
Let us first see the dreadful reality of suppressed truth that faces the unbelievers.
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 1: 20 NASB)
- Look around the world as we walk through it today and see how the truth of God is being suppressed. There is a hardness of heart, a “I don’t want to believe in God because I just don’t want to.”
- There is a hardness of heart, a “I want to stay in the desires of the flesh because they are pleasurable.”
- There is a hardness of heart, a “I don’t want anyone in authority ruling over me because I’m the boss of me.”
People may choose not to believe, but they stand without excuse, for God has intrinsically written the truth of the Law of God upon the internal heart of every man, woman and child.
“and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 1: 32 NASB)
We live in a world where anything goes. We can think as we wish to think, live as we wish to live, walk as we wish to walk, and be accepted just as we are (sinful creatures) BECAUSE the flesh likes harmony with the flesh. To the one who believes in Jesus and has given his heart to Christ, then that previous sentence really should settle in upon us, convicting us of our non-action. For we may:
- See the hardness surrounding us, and choose to not witness about the saving grace of Jesus.
- See the dreadful reality and remain silent, not speaking the gospel truth.
- See the consequences of an unrepentant heart and make conscious decisions to not testify about Christ.
May we who have believed share with those who have not yet believed the hopeful reality that exists. We know the truth, for it grows within us, the followers of Christ. We have received the Spirit’s power to share Jesus with others, to bring them to the knowledge of the Amazing Grace of Jesus.
May we not become derelict in our task before us, for if we do, then—
“in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel,
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 2: 15-16 NASB)
God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”