“Lip-Syncing” Christian?
Rev. Rodney Johnson and Rev. Barry Johnson
NOTE: New Light Faith Ministries and Barry Johnson Ministries, founded by Rodney V. Johnson and Barry O. Johnson, respectively, are partnering to offer Bible studies for Christians who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truth that are designed to challenge, encourage and, most importantly, flame the fire of hunger in the Christian who wants to learn more about who they have become in Christ Jesus. The Bible studies you find on this site contains the written version of the lesson. However, these lessons also include a video and an audio file of the study, a PDF version of the lesson and a sheet for note taking. If you would like any of the additional resources for these studies, please email us at newlightfaithministries@gmail.com or bjteachingltr@gmail.com for more information or contact us at the email provided on both of our Sermon Central pages. Please visit our YouTube Channel (Barry Johnson Ministries; New Light Faith Ministries, Inc.) to watch or listen to these lessons as well as other available sermons. Be blessed.
Introduction
Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I want you to say this with me: “God is good. All the time. To me and to you!” Amen! This is what we can always expect from our Heavenly Father and that’s why we are excited to see what God has in store for us and for those in the Church who want to see His will done here on Earth. Let’s open this month’s Bible study with a Word of prayer. We truly believe that the overall purpose of these monthly Bible studies is help you grow and mature in your faith walk with Jesus. And one of the ways we do is by examining what is going on in the Church today that may or may not be in agreement with foundational truths God has given to us in His Word. And, just to be clear, as we prepare these lessons, we grow in our faith walk as God continues to reveal truth to us as well.
This month’s Bible study looks at the Church and how some in the Church say the right things but are not living the things that they are saying. So, we have titled this month’s Bible study “Lip-Syncing Christians.” Would you recognize a “lip-syncing” Christian? By the close of this lesson we hope that not only will you be able to recognize one but will also be able to determine if there are areas in your life where you might be as well. Believe us; we had to make this same assessment in some areas of our lives. Before we go further, we want to remind you of one something Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “(21) Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. (22) Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ (23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Keep this Scripture in your heart and mind as we go through this lesson because lip-syncing Christians will not be known by our Lord and Savior.
How many of you remember Milli Vanilli, the R&B duo from Munich, Germany? The group was founded in 1988 and their debut album, “Girl You Know It’s True,” achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1990. When the duo did their first live interview with MTV, an executive noticed their poor English skills. Those present began to doubt whether they were the voices singing on their records. The first public sign that they were not the voices on their records came on July 21, 1989, during a live MTV performance. As they performed the song “Girl You Know It’s True” the record jammed and began to skip, repeating the partial line “Girl, you know it’s ...” over and over through the speakers. They continued to pretend to sing and dance for a few more moments then ran offstage. They eventually confessed to not singing the songs and were later stripped of their Grammys. Barry, what is lip-syncing?
What is lip-syncing?
Lip-syncing is when a person moves his lips silently pretending to say or sing at precisely the same time with a recorded sound. This is not an uncommon practice. Today many vocalists, for example, pre-record their singing of the National Anthem before performing it before large outdoor gatherings like the Super Bowl and MLB playoffs games. And, Rodney, it makes sense because there are too many variables the person has to control, unless of course you are Whitney Houston or Marvin Gaye! When Whitney sang the national anthem for the Super Bowl and Marvin for the NBA All-Star game – they were amazing! Okay, I am showing my age with Marvin Gaye! However, in the case of Milli Vanilli, they were lip-syncing the voices of other singers – not their own voices that they had pre-recorded. They were pretending to be people they were not. Let me repeat that because it is an important principle to remember for this lesson. Milli Vanilli was pretending to be people they were not. The person who lip-syncs, and Rodney and I want you to hear what I am about to say. If a person is lip-syncing and pretending to be someone else, the person who lip-syncs is a shadow of the real person. They have not put in the work necessary to be authentic, to be genuine, to be real – to be who they say they are. Now let’s me define “Christian lip-syncing.”
“Christian lip-syncing” is when the person knows what to say and how to say it, but what they say is not who they actually are. Now, we are not saying the person is not born again, and we are not saying the person will not go to heaven. But we are saying the person may know how to talk the “Christian talk”, but they are living a lie, and they are deceived because they believe that God does not have a problem with how they are living. False prophets, false teachers and false preachers fall into this category because, while they teach a “form” of God’s Word, what they teach is not the truth. Remember, someone who is lip-syncing is trying to deceive people as to who they are and what they are saying and there is no better description than that of a false prophet or teacher. We’re going to look at some examples of both. These are passages many of you have probably read before, but we want you to see them in the context of this teaching – saying the right things but not getting the right results.
Turn to Acts 19. We’re going to read verses 13 through 16. “(13) Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ (14) Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. (15) And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ (Acts 19:13-15) The truth that we see in this passage is this: just because a person knows what to say does not mean there is power behind what they say. And many of our brothers and sisters in the Church don’t understand this. They believe that just because they know what to say and they know how to say it, that means that something will happen as a result. The Bible says faith, and only faith can bring forth the promises of God into our lives. It’s not what we say. It’s what we say with faith that brings the promises!
Barry, we have these seven sons of Sceva, and the evil spirit sees them and says, “When Jesus speaks, I listen because I know who He is, and I know what He can do. When Paul speaks, I listen because I know who he is, and I know what he can do. I hear what you’re saying, and it sounds like Jesus, it sounds like Paul, but I don’t see Jesus or Paul in your words. You are not with them. You are only repeating what you have heard. You are lip-syncing! You are mouthing the words, but they are not coming from your heart because you don’t really know God.” Now let’s read verse 16. (16) Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” (Acts 19:16)
Remember what was recorded in Second Timothy chapter three? Second Timothy 3:2-5, “(2) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, (4) traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” In these verses Paul describes what lip-syncing Christians look like. In verse five he says that they have “a form of godliness but denying its power.” In other words, when you look at them and listen to them, they will appear godly and even sound godly, but they are lip-syncing. And don’t forget what Jesus said about the Pharisees when they placed their traditions above God’s Word. He said, Matthew 15:8-9, “(8) THESE PEOPLE DRAW NEAR TO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. (9) AND IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.’”
Now let’s examine a few Scriptures pertaining to false teachers, prophets and preachers. Remember, they have been around since the beginning but are having a greater impact in these last days and the primary reason for that, which we have discussed in past lessons, is that many in the Church are not faithful in reading and studying their Bibles. This makes them vulnerable to the doctrines and teachings of the false prophets and false teachers. Now, let’s look at what God says about them in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 18:20 says, “But the prophet who presumes to speak a Word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.” There are three words that stand out in this verse: “presumes” and “not commanded.” God says any prophet who presumes to say a word in His name that he was not told to say shall die. God is serious about His Word going forth. Ezekiel 13:9 further explains this when God says, “My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Now let’s read a Scripture from the New Testament that says the same thing just in a different way. Second Timothy 4:3-4 says, “(3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; (4) and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” We will have lip-syncing preachers and teachers because that is what people will want, and we are seeing that today. The OJays, an old R&B group sung a song that said - “You got to give the people what they want….” There are some ministers of the gospel doing just that! People want a gospel that makes them feel good, not one that convicts. When it comes to the Word of God, these preachers and teachers are lip-syncing – giving a version of the Word but not the true Word! Barry, how does this describe the Church today?
A Description of the Church
Rodney, this is an apt description of many Christians today. When they speak the Word, they are not speaking it from a place of faith, a place of trust, or from a place of truly believing it. They are not speaking it from a place of knowing who their Father is. And, most importantly, they are not speaking the Word from a place of love. If you listen to what most Christians say, would you say they are speaking out of love? For many of them, they are not. Many Christians profess and speak their beliefs based on things they have been told by others, whether those teachings came from family members, preachers or even their Sunday school teachers. They never went to the Bible themselves to verify what it said! And they wonder why the enemy of soul is doing to them what he does.
In Romans chapter 16, we read the following in verses 17 and 18: “(17) Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. (18) For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth Words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:17-18) So-called followers of Christ, who teach doctrines contrary to God’s Word, do so because they are serving themselves and not Christ. They use smooth and flattering Words to do what – deceive the hearts of the simple. Ladies and gentlemen, whenever God’s Word is used to deceive you, that is the definition of lip-syncing! Immature believers are listening to them and being led away from true doctrine. These men and women are saying just enough of the right things to lead people away. Isn’t that what Satan did in the Garden of Eden? He said just enough that was right to get Eve to consider something that God had not said. Satan is the master at lip-syncing. The people here in Romans 16 are lip-syncing. They say just enough right, but they don’t believe a word that they are saying.
Now, let’s turn our attention to Hebrews 10. We’re going to read verses 23, 26 and 38. Verse 23 states the following, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) So many in the Church profess that they believe Jesus; professing that they trust Him. Let me give you an example. There is a song titled “Jesus the Center of it All.” I want you to hear some of the lyrics. “Jesus be the center of my life/ Jesus be the center of my life/ From beginning to the end/ It will always be, it's always been You, Jesus/ And nothing else matters/ Nothing in this world will do Jesus/ You're the center/ Everything revolves around You, Jesus.” We can sing this song, but is it true for us? If it is not true, then we are lip-syncing when we sing it. And remember, we can have areas in our life where we get it right, but that does not mean there will be other areas that will need addressing. Lip-syncing is not all or nothing but individualized to the faith we have in a given situation. This example shows us how important it is that we not only pay attention to the words of songs that we sing, but that we also pay attention to the words we speak. When we sing the words to songs that are not absolutely true for us, we’re lip-syncing. If we sing “Jesus is the center of my life and that everything revolves around him,” then people should see this in how we live. If Jesus says, in His Word, there is something you should be doing and you’re not doing it, then your life does not revolve around Him. You are lip-syncing.
Barry, I am going to use you as an example. Jesus is not going to say “Barry, I don’t want you to go to work today because I want you to do this.” He is not going to do that. So, Barry gets home from work and all he wants to do is sit in his easy chair. But Jesus says, “Barry, I want you to spend an hour with Me in prayer. Do you think Barry is going to think twice about that? He may say, “Lord, I’m tired. I’ve been working all day.” And Jesus will simply say, “But I thought I was the center of your life?” So, Barry says, “Yes sir.” He obeys, but he’s not excited. He begins to pray, and, at some point, the Lord can deposit into Barry what He desires for him. Barry didn’t go with enthusiasm, but he went. So many of Christians just don’t go! Jesus would much rather we go without any enthusiasm than not go at all. Many times we confuse obedience with enthusiasm.
Now let’s read the twenty-sixth verse. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” (Hebrews 10:26) When we sin willfully, what we are doing, in the context of this study, is lip-syncing God’s Word. Our words have not been lining up with our actions! Now look at verse 38. “Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." (Hebrews 10:38) What is it that we are not to draw back from? The answer is faith. The writer emphasizes this point when he says, “I shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” There are many people who believe that a truly saved person cannot withdraw from God. If that were the case, the writer of Hebrews would have been wrong about what God says.
All of us who say we are believing God for this, or we are believing God for that – when He has empowered us or given us the authority to do what we are asking Him to do, are lip-syncing. Why? We are believing God to do things when He has given us the ability to do them through faith, when He has given us the power through faith, when He has given us the authority to do those very things through faith. We are lip-syncing because we want God to do it for us instead of us disciplining ourselves and doing what is necessary to build our faith to receive the answer.
Why do we lip sync?
Rodney, the question then is “Why do Christians lip-sync what they read in the Bible?” If we are to be truly honest, it is because what we say is not what we truly believe, and lip-syncing still deceives a lot of people into thinking we are something that we are not. But the wonderful thing is this: the more we speak God’s Word on purpose, the more we will begin to see it manifest and change us into who God says we are. And that’s what we want.
Let’s look at James chapter one and verses five through eight. “(5) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (6) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8) Verse six says “let him ask in faith, with no doubting.” James is making a point here. It’s not that the person is not using all the right words. It’s not that the person is not quoting the right scripture. The issue is that the person has to use the right words and quote the right scripture in faith and therein lies the problem. We will quote the Bible and yet not believe what we are saying can and will happen! Now, who is James talking about in verse eight when he says, “a double minded man”? He is talking about a person who suffers from divided loyalties. On the one hand, he wants to maintain a religious confession and desires the presence of God in his life. On the other hand, he loves the ways of the world and prefers to live according to its mores and ethics. James is describing most of the Body of Christ.
We see the importance of adhering to the Bible in Second Peter chapter one. Let’s read verses 16 through 21. “(16) For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. (17) For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ (18) And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. (19) And so we have the prophetic Word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; (20) knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation …” (Second Peter 1:16-20)
“Knowing this first.” Each time we take the Bible and make it say what we want it to say, we are lip-syncing because it says that no prophecy in the Bible is up for private interpretation. In other words, asking questions like “What does this verse mean to you or what is this verse saying to you?” says a person can determine what Scripture means to them personally whether or not that is what God actually meant. Now verse 21: “(21) for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (Second Peter 1:21) Do you know that there are Christians who really don’t believe that God is the author of the Bible? Do you know there are many Christians who believe men wrote the Bible? It would break your heart to realize how so many who don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word, that it is God’s breathed, that it is as much God as God is God. God gave who He is.
Do you know why many Christians believe men wrote the Bible and because of this they debate about what parts to believe and what parts to cast aside? Because there are things in the Bible that they don’t agree with so men had to have written it. Surely God wouldn’t write anything they don’t like. For example, Ephesians 4:28 says, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (Ephesians 4:28) That had to have come from man because we know that God helps those who help themselves, remember? Have you ever had anyone show you where that is written in the Bible? Neither have I. Rodney, sometimes in my imagination I can hear God say, “Don’t get me started on the Body of Christ!”
Barry, let’s look at Second Peter chapter three and read verses 14 through 16. “(14) Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; (15) and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation – as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, (16) as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, (Now I want you to listen to this next part) which untaught and unstable people … (or they that are immature spiritually, they that are unskilled in handling the Word, they that are still on milk. And yet these are individuals who are in leadership positions.) which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” (Second Peter 3:14-16) What they were doing was taking verses out of context and making them say what they wanted them to say. They took verses out of context and forced them to say what they didn’t say. So, what’s the question we must answer? Rodney.
So how do we rid ourselves of lip-syncing when it comes to our Christian walk?
Barry, Second Timothy chapter three will be our first stop on the way to answering this question. Let’s read verses 16 and 17 which state: “(16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (Second Timothy 3:16-17) How do we rid ourselves of lip-syncing? We do it by making the Bible our foundation. As Psalms 19:14 says, “Let the Words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” The Bible must be our rule book, the standard by which we live.
Do you want to rid yourself of lip-syncing? Just make sure that the words you speak and the words that you meditate on are acceptable to God. While we’re in Psalms, turn to chapter 42 and we’re going to read verse 5. “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.” (Psalm 42:5) Turn to Psalm 119:97 which says, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” And finally, Proverbs 16:13, which states: “Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right.”
Conclusion
When we lip-sync, we are saying what needs to be said and what other Christians expect us to say, but it is not manifesting in our lives. All of us have lip-syncing in our lives to some degree. Let’s just be honest about it. But the more we put on God’s Word, the more we make it the meditation of our heart, the less and less lip-syncing is going to occur. When you get rid of all the lip-syncing, then the power of God will begin to manifest in your life because there will nothing disagreeing with it.
As we close this lesson, we want you to think about the areas in your life where you might be lip-syncing. You know those areas – the ones where you say all the right things but deep down you know what you believe. Ask yourself in those areas do you believe what God’s Word says? Do you trust what God’s Word says? Do you ultimately have faith in what God’s Word says? If any of your answers are no, that is where you need to start in removing the areas of your life where you might be lip-syncing. And again, this applies to all of us.
Rodney, do you have any final comments before I pray?
