Fake Christianity: 3 Signs of an Inauthentic FaithSample

Fake Christianity Fails to Practice What It Preaches

Have you ever heard someone say, “Do as I say, not as I do”? Would you respect a person who asked that of you? In Matthew 23:2,3, Jesus warned about people like that. He told His disciples and the listening crowds, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” (ESV)

James 2 focuses on the difference between faith and works. Works do not create a saving relationship with God, but they do demonstrate one. James is emphasizing the importance of avoiding an all-talk Christianity. He doesn’t want his readers to “believe” in the way demons “believe,” with only a head knowledge of biblical truths. That fake faith doesn’t save.

James’ letter is short, but he devotes a lot of time to the “sins of the tongue.” Why? Because it was a major area upon which he knew Christians needed to focus. From James’ perspective, if you were going to be a “doer of the word,” you had to work on controlling your tongue. James also called them to be pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, humble, prayerful, honest, and generous. James was burdened by a desire to see his people live more fully like his Lord and Savior (and half-brother) Jesus Christ.

Consider if you share James’ burden. Are you committed to being unmistakably consistent in all of life?

Discussion Questions:

• Have you ever considered what it might have been like for Jesus’ siblings to be told, “Why can’t you be more like Jesus?” What advantage does Jed suggest that growing up with a sinless sibling might have provided?
• Have you ever believed something in your head but not in your heart? What did your actions reveal about the level of your belief? (Did your “walk” match your “talk”?)
• Are there failings in your life that you need to “identify, confess, and turn from for fresh grace to walk in newness of life”?