The Pretender!

As I was sitting in the courtroom this morning, I was listening to a case on trial where a man was called to the witness stand. When the witness arrived to the stand, he was asked some questions by one of the lawyers and one the questions asked was if he had been charged with a felony for driving under the influence (DUI). While the witness did say he got a  misdemeanor charge for drinking and driving, he also stated he was charged with obstruction of justice for giving the police officer a false name. After the man provided this information to the attorney, the attorney stated..."So you were pretending to be someone else?" .....
 
The title of message today is, The pretender. What is a pretender? In order to answer that question, let's consider the meaning. As defined by the dictionary, a pre·tend·er (pr-tndr) is one who simulates, pretends, or alleges falsely; a hypocrite or dissembler. To be fair, all of us, in one way or another have been a pretender. But for a Christian to be a pretender is to say, then that one is a hypocrite...and the word hypocrite means pretending to be something you are not. In the Bible, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus twelve disciples was an example of a person who pretended to be someone he was not. Judas followed Jesus for three years, along with the other disciples and pretended to be one of them. While Judas is best known for his betrayal to Jesus, he did more. Judas was a liar, deceiver, a thief who pretended to care for the poor (John 12:6). Not only that, but he was possessed by Satan (John 13:27), he did not address Jesus as Lord, but 'Rabbi '(Matthew 26:25), and he betrayed Jesus with a kiss (Matthew 26:47-50) ... As we see here, although Judas was chosen by Jesus to be one of the twelve disciples, he was not a true believer. He just looked and acted like a one. He was a pretender.
 
In the religious world, there are many people like Judas that give the appearance of a believer. Like Judas, they have the right association, reputation, and participation...but no salvation! From the example of Judas, we see here that a person can be very close to Jesus, and yet be lost. And this is why the bible tells us "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine." (Corinthians 13:5). But, there are still those who profess and pretend to be a follower and believer, but inwardly they are worldly. While the other disciples thought Judas was good, Jesus knew how he was, because he knew his heart. I Samuel 16:7 says, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  I've learned from life experiences that outward appearance is not the best way to judge how good a person is...but by their fruits, you will know them. In Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul spoke about what a Christ-follower looks like . "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." The fruit Paul is referring to is the character, attitudes, and actions of a Christ-follower. A person can't be a follower of Jesus while doing their own thing. The Holy Spirit produces fruit in the life of a believer.
 
Conclusion
If we look at the religious world today, we have to admit that there's many people pretending to be followers and believers, but one can only pretend for so long. You see, a person can be a member of a good church, be respected for their service in the church, and be faithful in attendance...but when reputation becomes more than character, that person becomes a pretender! We need to remember that an audience of one is easier to please. You can only be a Christian if Christ is in you. Being a Christian doesn't mean that you're perfect, but God does command His people to be holy as he is holy! On another note, we need to remember that while we may fool others, we will never fool God!

Lord, help us all to love and to obey you. Help us to be Holy not only on the outside but also on the inside. Thank you for knowing all about us and for loving us!