Introduction:
A. There’s a story told of a woman who pulled up to a red light behind another car.
1. The driver of the car in front of her was talking on his cellphone and shuffling through some papers on the seat beside him.
a. The light turned green, but the man didn't notice.
b. The woman began pounding on her steering wheel, honking her horn and yelling at the man to move, but the man still didn’t move.
c. The light turned yellow and the woman continued yelling and blowing the horn.
d. The man finally noticed the commotion and accelerated through the intersection just as the light turned red.
2. The woman sat there in a tizzy as she had missed her chance to get through the intersection.
a. As she was still ranting, she heard a tap on her window and looked into the face of a very serious looking police officer.
b. The policeman told her to shut off her engine and step out of the car.
c. The red-faced woman obeyed and was dumbfounded at what was happening.
3. The policeman took the woman to the police station and put her in a holding cell.
a. After a couple of hours of sitting in the cell, the woman was brought out to the front of the station where the original officer was waiting with her personal effects.
4. The policeman handed her the bag containing her things, and said, “I’m really sorry for this mistake. But you see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn and screaming and cursing. Then I noticed the *Choose Life* license plate holder, the *Follow Me to Sunday School* bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally I assumed that you must have stolen the car, but I was wrong, have a blessed day!”
B. For years, television advertising has told us that: “IMAGE IS EVERYTHING.”
1 But the motto of many sincere truth seekers is: “SUBSTANCE IS EVERYTHING.”
2 Many unbelievers have the uncanny ability to sniff out what is real and what isn’t.
C. Lee Strobel was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune who began attending a church in the early 1980s in an effort to appease his newly converted wife.
1. In Strobel’s insightful book, “Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary,” Strobel recalls: “When I walked into church as a skeptical unbeliever, my ‘hypocrisy antenna’ was scanning the place for signs that people were just playing church. In fact, I was aggressively on the lookout for phoniness, opportunism, or deception, because I felt that if I could find an excuse for rejecting the church on grounds of hypocrisy, I could feel free to reject Christianity as well.”
2. So, there we have it straight from a former skeptic telling us that he was looking for something real; something authentic, but he also was on the lookout for hypocrisy and falsehood.
3. Joe Aldrich, author of the book, Life-Style Evangelism puts it like this: “Christians are to be good news before they share the good news.”
4. That is not a perfect statement, but it does have an important truth in it.
5. If we want to be the kind of high-impact, salty Christians that Jesus said we need to be, then we are going to have to start by making certain that the way we are living backs up the words we are speaking.
6. That’s not to say that we must be perfect, because we never will be perfect, but we are to be striving for perfection, and as we will see in a minute, we need to own up to our imperfection.
D. Jesus knew the importance of perceptions.
1. That’s why he gave us such clear instructions about being salt and light.
2. His goal was that people would “see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:16)
3. What I hope for us, as individuals, and collectively as a church, is that as people observe us their reactions will be positive.
4. We don’t want their impression of us to be “those Christians are uptight, rigid, judgmental, uncompassionate and isolated people.”
5. We would like their impression of us to be “those Christians are people with integrity, moral courage, and are compassionate, loving, kind, helpful and reliable.”
6. So, how must we live so that they will have the good impression and not the bad impression?
7. Over the next few sermons, I want us to focus on the power of authenticity, compassion and sacrifice.
8. All these things leave the kind of impression that we want to leave.
9. All of them can, and hopefully will, cause people to “praise our Father in heaven.”
E. So, let’s talk about the attractiveness of authenticity.
1. If I were to ask you what qualities that you see in others that bothers you the most, then my guess would be that dishonesty or inauthenticity or hypocrisy would be at the top of your list.
a. Most of us are repelled by people who say one thing and then do another and by people who put on some kind of false front.
2. But, on the other hand, we are attracted to people who are honest and genuine.
a. We like and can trust people who are real and sincere.
3. The world is full of people who are trying to act bigger than they are.
4. Maybe you heard the story of the newly promoted colonel who moved into his new office, and wanted to act “big and important” when he saw a private coming toward his office.
a. He quickly picked up the telephone and sounding official said, “Yes, General, I think that’s an excellent plan. Thanks for passing that by me. Call anytime you need advice, General. Let’s do lunch next week.”
b. He hung up the phone and asked the private, “And what can I do for you?”
c. The private sheepishly replied, “I’m just here to hook up your phone.”
5. There’s a lot of deception in this world - pretense abounds - but none of this belongs in the lives of Christians. Amen!
F. When we examine the text from Romans 12:9-19, part of it was read as our Scripture reading today, one thing that stands out to us is the need to be real, sincere, and authentic.
1. Let’s look at those verses again: 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath… (Rom. 12:9-19)
2. Can you picture the kind of life a person would be living if they were living according to these verses?
a. Wouldn’t you like to be around someone living like this?
b. Don’t you want to live like this? I do!
3. According to this passage from Romans 12, Christian authenticity includes the following:
a. It means loving without hypocrisy – loving one another deeply as brothers and sisters.
1. This includes sharing with others and being hospitable and standing beside each other in good times and bad times.
2. This includes trying to live in harmony and peace with everyone.
b. It means removing evil from our lives and clinging to what is good.
c. It means having a zeal and fervency and service in our walk with God.
d. It means living with humility and valuing all people.
e. It means enduring persecution and not acting revengeful to those who have hurt us.
2. When we live like this, unbelievers will take notice, and will respect us, and may even be become believers having drawn to Jesus by our authentic Christian living.
3. When we live in this way, we give them reason to believe in Jesus rather than reject Jesus.
4. To help us understand what Christian authenticity looks like, let’s briefly touch on four areas related to authenticity.
I. First of all, living authentically means JUST BEING YOU.
A. This has to do with authentic identity.
1. God has given each of us a unique design and personality.
2. None of us are exactly alike, and aren’t you glad about that?
3. Becoming a Christian and living like a Christian doesn’t mean becoming exactly alike.
B. The last thing that God wants churches and church leaders to be doing is pressing people into the same mold - we are not supposed to be cookie-cutter disciples of Jesus.
1. There is no good spiritual reason for all of us to start looking alike, dressing alike, talking alike and acting alike.
2. In the church, there is supposed to be a unity of purpose and belief, but that unity is to be expressed in the midst of diversity in personality and abilities, tastes and interests, and ministries.
C. Psalm 139:14 says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
1. In the kaleidoscope of God’s family, there is room for all gifts and temperaments.
2. And there is likely some seeker who will come our way who needs to connect with someone just like you – with your personality, your temperament, your passion, and your interests.
3. Seeing how God lives and works uniquely through you, might be just enough to propel him or her across the line of faith.
4. So, being authentic begins with continuing to express our own unique selves.
II. Second, living authentically means BEING REAL ON THE INSIDE.
A. This has to do with having an authentic emotional life.
1. Unfortunately, many Christians have gotten confused about how to express their feelings.
2. Some well-meaning but misguided Christians have taught that dedicated Christians should never get angry, and that expressing fear, hurt or grief are signs of a lack of faith.
3. And so, untold numbers of believers have tried to smile and say, “Praise God, everything is fine” in the midst of all kinds of tragedies and difficult circumstances.
B. This kind of inauthentic emotional life has two negative consequences.
1. First, for the person trying to repress these feelings, there can be tremendous emotional damage to their own lives.
a. God has not built us to suppress our emotions - to do so brings emotional confusion, and even the inability to feel emotions altogether.
b. This is a kind of spiritual abuse that greatly grieves God.
2. The second negative consequence is that seekers are quickly repelled by it.
a. They see the “red flags” all over the place when, for example, a Christian loses their joy or is diagnosed with cancer or a young couple delivers a stillborn baby, but then responds with dry eyes and pasty smiles and a string of cliched spiritual phrases and expressions.
b. Losses like these are filled with emotion and those emotions ought to be welcomed and expressed.
C. Contrast those kinds of inappropriate reactions with the emotional life of Jesus.
1. How did Jesus respond when He saw the temple being desecrated? He expressed righteous indignation and He made a whip and cleared the place. (John 2:15)
2. How did Jesus respond in the presence of the mourners of His friend Lazarus?
a. Jesus wept, right there in public - He cried, and those watching said, “See how he loved him.” (John 11:35-36)
D. What do seekers need to see more than dry eyes and pasted-on smiles?
1. They need to see Christians honestly wrestling with fear and sadness and anger and loss.
2. They need to hear us talk openly about our struggle with these things.
3. And they need to be able to watch how our faith makes a difference without discounting the emotional realities of life.
4. God has built us with emotions and God gives us the freedom to address them in a spiritually healthy, open and authentic fashion.
5. When we do so, that will be attractive to seekers.
III. Third, living authentically means BEING FORTHRIGHT ABOUT FAILURE.
A. This has to do with authentic confession.
1. We, dedicated Christians, have our share of foul-ups, failures and sin.
2. The problem isn’t that we aren’t perfect, but that we sometimes aren’t honest about our shortcomings and try to hide them at all costs.
3. Certainly, this is not God’s will and He has clearly told us to do the very opposite.
4. I John 1:9 reads, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
5. And in another familiar passage, James says: “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16)
B. Simply put, authentic confession is a powerful witness to the transforming power of Christ in our lives.
1. It stands out in stark contrast to our culture, in which nobody admits to wrongdoing of any kind
2. Ours is an age where people rationalize their shortcomings, cover their tracks, and hire successful attorneys to get them off the hook - no one seems to own up to anything anymore.
3. People who are investigating Christianity don’t expect perfection from Christians, but what they do hope to find is people who have the courage to confess their shortcomings and people who are trying to make things right.
4. They want to see genuine humility and repentance, and maybe even restitution.
IV. Finally, living authentically means LIVING LIKE WE MEAN IT.
A. This has to do with living by genuine conviction.
1. Many of us remember seeing this picture of the Chinese student standing in front of the advancing tank in Tienanmen Square back in 1989.
2. What goes through your mind when you see that man literally lay down his life in that way?
3. What goes through your mind when you think of all those fireman who ran into the World Trade Center towers and up the stairs while everyone else was running down and out of them?
4. What goes through your mind when you think of those Ethiopian Christians who were executed by Islamic extremists in Libya in 2015?
5. When we see someone stand up for something they believe in, it strikes a chord deep inside all of us, doesn’t it?
6. Even if we don’t agree with the cause the person represents, we are impressed with the depth of their commitment and their willingness to get involved, stand firm and pay a price.
7. Seekers are not impressed with spinelessness.
8. Deep down seekers are looking for somebody – anybody – to stand up and proclaim the truth and then live it boldly.
9. That’s why in many cases, the churches that don’t stand for anything are dying, but the churches that stand for something are growing.
10. As followers of Jesus, we’ve got to live like we mean it.
11. I hope to talk more about this in a sermon about sacrifice in a few weeks.
Conclusion:
A. So, how are we doing when it comes to authenticity?
1. Are we willing to be real?
a. Can we celebrate our individual uniqueness, and encourage people to be themselves within God’s parameters?
2. Are we willing to express our authentic emotions as we grapple with the experiences of life?
3. Are we willing to humbly admit our errors when we make them?
4. Are we willing to boldly stand up for what we believe?
B. There is power and attractiveness when Christians live an authentic Christian life.
1. If we are going to be mission minded disciples who have a positive effect in the world as salt and light, then an important part is living with authenticity.
2. When we live like this, unbelievers will take notice, will respect us, and may even be drawn to Jesus by our authentic Christian living.
3. When we live in this way, we give them reason to believe in Jesus rather than reject Jesus.
4. May God bless us and help us to live as authentic, mission minded disciples of Jesus.
Resources:
• Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels
• The Externally Focused Church, Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson
