Reality Check

We’ve just embarked on a grand trek in the Letter of James.  I’m calling this sermon series, “ALL IN,” by which I mean that James calls every follower of Jesus to an all-or-nothing faith commitment:  no religious games, no mere going through the motions.  Live it out, take the plunge, pursue Christ’s honor all-day-every-day.  As we journey with James, this no-nonsense vision will come clear.

And the series subtitle is, “Authentic faith according to James.”  It’s important to clarify what this does and doesn’t mean.

Authenticity, of course, is a great virtue.  It’s a way of speaking about genuineness—the “genuine article,” what’s real and true, not fake.  People of all ages are repelled by what’s fake, but especially today’s younger generations who’ve grown up in the shadow of so much scandal and such rampant posturing and pretense via social media.

Authenticity is the opposite of hypocrisy.  A hypocrite is two-faced, different inside than on the outside—like acting a part, wearing a mask.  Jesus boldly confronts religious hypocrites:  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25).  The remedy for all of that is authentic, sincere faith.

But be careful.  The authenticity that’s very much in vogue today can morph into something other than a virtue.  Beware of a warped “authenticity” that becomes a synonym for “brokenness”; watch out for the tendency to idealize flaws and struggles and imperfection.  Don’t get me wrong:  I’m not suggesting any Christian is perfect; we all battle with sin and temptation.  But the authenticity boom of today makes “messiness” a badge of honor that’s almost flaunted.

And as a result, we end up snubbing Jesus’ call to holiness.  If we pat each other on the back and no longer feel an urgency to put sin to death (Romans 8:13), and if we wallow in our “sin issues,” we’re not living out biblical authenticity and we’re not walking a path of hope:  hope in God for new mercies and growth in godliness.  So don’t let an idea of the “authentic” get in the way of obedience to God’s charge:  “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).