How To Be A Genuine Christian

That is, our motives are what MOTIVATE us to do the things we do.

But there are two kinds of MOTIVES:

(1) Good motives

(2) Bad motives

Motives matter and they matter to God.

God doesn’t just desire us to do the right thing but to do it with the right attitude.

Illus: For example, it use to be many churches gave out PERFECT ATTENDANCE PINS you could wear showing how many years you had perfect attendance.

Some folks wore these pins on their clothing showing they have PERFECT ATTENDANCE for so many years.

It is commendable that some had years of PERFECT ATTENDANCE.

But suppose a person had earned a 10 year PERFECT ATTENDANCE PIN and they were excited about standing before the Lord and Him rewarding them for 10 YEARS OF PERFECT ATTENDANCE.

But did you know if they did not attend for the RIGHT MOTIVE they will not receive a REWARD!!!

• The same thing applies to our GIVING!!!

• You can tithe for 50years but receive NO REWARDS!!!

The Lord Jesus dealt with three things in the life of the Pharisees concerning…

1) GOOD DEEDS

2) GIVING

3) PRAYERS

They did these things primarily to make people think they were something they were not.

Illus: They were likes some of these actors in Hollywood who will dress up like a cowboy to make everyone think they were a cowboy. THIS IS WHY WE CALL THEM ACTORS.

God’s Word has another name for them…HYPOCRITES!!!

Illus: We often accuse our politicians of being great actors. They can look straight at the television camera and tell a lie making you believe something they know is a lie.

But the best actors on the face of the earth are not in Hollywood …The best actors are in the church.

• They can say something and they know it is not the truth, but they can convince you it is the truth.

• They can do things to make you think they love the Lord but it only a front of fooling people.

When Hollywood past out the OSCAR AWARD each year they give them to the wrong people.

I have seen people who profess to be saved that can make Hollywood actors look like amateurs.

• When someone does something for us, we focus in on the deed

• When you do something for the Lord, He focuses in on the motive behind the deed

The toughest rebukes in the Bible were given by the Lord Jesus to the Pharisees and Scribes, who were KNOWN FOR THEIR ACTING ABILITY.

Notice-

I. THEY GAVE ALMS WITH THE WRONG MOTIVE

Look at Matthew 6:1, we read, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, TO BE SEEN OF THEM: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father in heaven.”

The word “Alms” is the word “Eleemosune” (Pronounced as El-eh-ay-mos-oo'-nay) which means deeds.

The reason we do good deeds should be because of our love for the Lord Jesus, NOT TO BE SEEN BY PEOPLE!

We have to be very cautious when it comes to GOOD DEEDS because of two reasons:

(1) We can do GOOD DEEDS for the WRONG REASON!

But also when it comes to GOOD DEEDS…

• Satan knows he can not get some folks to do BAD DEEDS,

• But he knows HE CAN GET PEOPLE TO DO GOOD DEEDS FOR THE WRONG MOTIVE.

But when it comes to doing GOOD DEEDS there is something else we have to be CAUTIOUS about.

That is, we can get so busy doing GOOD DEEDS, and we will not have time to do GREATER DEEDS!

There are times when we simply must say “No” to doing GOOD DEEDS, because we know of another GREATER DEED that would be more beneficial to the Lord’s church.

We need to be SELECTIVE in the GOOD DEEDS we choose to do.

Saying “No” is essential to achieving your personal goals.

It actually frees you to say “Yes” to the things that really matter. It is essential to making the best choices.

Illus: Someone said, “There is a world of difference between knowing what you do not want to do and refusing to do it, and knowing what you want to do and doing it.”

We should be very selective in our DEEDS, but we should never do them FOR THE WRONG MOTIVE.

The Pharisees that the Lord had to deal with did many GOOD DEEDS, but they did them for the WRONG REASON!

WHY DID THE PHRISEES DO THESE GOOD DEEDS?

The Lord said THEY DID IT TO BE SEEN OF MEN, and the Lord said this was THEIR REWARD. (Paid in full)

When they get to heaven (if they were saved) they will not have any rewards, because they did things for the wrong reason, TO BE SEEN OF MEN!