My stepdad passed away over a year ago, leaving all his possessions to my mother, one of which was a Rolex watch. My mother offered it to me, not knowing the watch’s value, so I began researching. You see, Harold, my deceased stepdad, was known for his bargaining ability, and I thought he may have stumbled across a gem. But when you compare the genuine with the knock-off, there are some qualities Harold’s Rolex lacked, such as weight, durability, and shine. Indeed, his watch was not authentic, falling about 99% short of a genuine Rolex’s value; it was pseudo-swag.
Pseudo-swag
I have found people to be like knock-off watches regarding their faith. They talk a good game, but given enough space to reveal their heart, their mouth gives them away like clockwork. They look good on the outside, but inside, they are full of dead men’s bones. This is how Jesus described the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28. “Ye also appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Jesus also said in Luke 12:1 that the leaven of the Pharisees is hypocrisy. Like a pseudo-swag watch, they are phonies.
America is filled with spiritual phonies. Even though liberalism is consuming our coastlines, most people in the interior states still have an empty confession of faith. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:5, they have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work, reprobate.” Titus 1:16 But to the unobservant, the chaff looks identical to the wheat. How can we know whether someone is a pseudo-saint?
Pseudo Security
Another way to identify pseudo-saints is by their conversation. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 that the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. Let a person talk long enough for them to reveal their heart. What direction will their conversation go? Does it gravitate toward sports, movies, money, and work? Do they garnish their words with foul and crude expletives? (While some say they are only words, they indeed are a violation of scripture and, minimally, are a tell-tale sign of pride) Or do they always end up talking about the things of God? You can quickly gauge the condition of one’s heart by what flows from their mouth.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:19 that we can know them by their fruit. Most fakers hide behind a shroud of the false teaching of eternal security, which teaches we are already forgiven for future sins. It also teaches that we are all sinners and that the sacrifice at the cross only appeased God, leaving us all in our sins. What a powerless and useless gospel. There is no cleansing, no victory over sin, and no power of God in our lives to overcome the world. These pseudo-saints are sinners, and they admit it.
Anti-Pseudo Life
A true believer seeks Him in prayer and the Word. Like a newborn infant, they desire the sincere milk of the Word and take the time to consume it. They are eager to fellowship and worship! They have a hunger for the things of God, and out of the overflow of their heart, they cannot help but speak of the things of God. We all know you become like those you spend the most time with. If you spend the most time with Jesus, you will inevitably become like him. If you spend the most time with the world, you will become worldly. What you dwell on, you become like.
True believers run from sin and the sinful. They have no desire to feed their flesh by watching others sin. The world nauseates them, and they are very uncomfortable spending time with the godless. The genuine are translucent. What you see in public is what they are in private. They are not duplicitous or phony. They walk with Jesus in private and in public. They do not need to virtue signal by wearing religious garb. The Holy Spirit within exudes His virtue through them.
Self Serving Pseudo Saints
In contrast, pseudo-saints are self-serving, attempting to navigate the boundary of sin. They think to themselves, “How near can I approach wrongdoing without crossing into sin? I have freedom! I’m not feeling guilty! Legalism restricts my liberty!” They lack a sincere hatred for the unholy and dismiss the convicting scriptures, concentrating solely on God’s love and mercy. These individuals are the ones who trouble street preachers the most, causing the most significant distress to the saints. They mock and condemn whole counsel preaching.
The Word
Hebrews 10:4-10,14,16-17 KJVS
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. [5] Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: [6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. [7] Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. [8] Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; [9] Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. [10] By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [14] For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. [16] This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; [17] And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
The old covenant was dead in that it did not solve the sin problem. He created a new and living way
Hebrews 10:20,22 KJVS
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; [22] Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
The Solution
This is the answer, friends. We must enter into the new covenant and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Through His blood, we have forgiveness. Through His blood, we have new birth. We can only be born again through faith in Him. He takes away our sins, friends. He alone creates genuine conversion. He alone takes out the stony heart of sin and rebellion, converting the pseudo-saint into a genuine saint!
www.newheartoutreach.org
