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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 6, NUMBER 27, JULY 9, 2006 “HOW CAN THERE BE ANY ‘SIN’ IN SINCERE?”
Q. Would you please comment on the place of sincerity in the plan of salvation?
A. When I was a member of a barbershoppers chorus and quartet we used to sing a song from The Music Man that raised the question, romantically – “How Can There Be Any ‘Sin’ In Sincere?” There is a tendency is us all to feel that if one is sincere then that’s all that matters. Wrong.
Sincerity (honesty, genuineness) is essential to salvation. Jesus taught it in the parable of the sower. For the seed (word of God) to do any good it must fall on a good and honest heart, Lk. 8:9-15. Paul taught that sincerity (gravity) is essential in doctrine, Titus 2:7. He prayed that the Philippians would be “sincere and void of offence” Philippians 1:10. Sincerity is the opposite of hypocrisy, which Jesus condemned in the Pharisees, Matthew 6:23.
THE MISTAKE
The mistake most often made is not whether sincerity is essential but whether it is sufficient alone. Paul had a good conscience all his life (Acts 23:1) – even up to the day he appeared before the Sanhedrin on behalf of Christianity. Now, consider some of the things he had been doing while he was sincere! He dragged both men and women from their houses and committed them to prison, Acts 8:3. He traveled to distant cities in order to persecute, 26:11. He wasn’t content to persecute only in his own area. He was zealous! He called himself a blasphemer, a persecutor, injurious, and “the chief of sinner,” in 1 Timothy 1:13-15. Yet, Paul’s attitude toward sincerity was admirable. “Herein I also exercise myself to have a conscience void of offense toward God and men always,” Acts 24:15. Sincerity means one should never violate his conscience. However, the conscience may need retraining about what is right and wrong. Jesus told his disciples, “Yea, the hour cometh that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service to God” John 16:2. Sincere people! (See Romans 10:1.) I do not question the sincerity of Jim Jones and his followers who were persuaded to commit suicide. I don’t question the sincerity of the heathen people who have thrown their babies into the fire or into an alligator pit as an act of worship. I don’t question the sincerity of Karl Marx, the father of Communism. And in most cases I don’t question the sincerity of the denominational preachers who teach that one can be saved by faith only, before and without water baptism. But I know that the Bible says, Acts 2:38, 22:16; Gal. 3:27; 1 Pet. 3:21. Cornelius was a devout, religious man, Acts 10:1-4. But he was lost and had to “hear words whereby thou shalt be saved,” Acts 11:14. Among the “words” was a command to be baptized in water, Acts 10:47-48. Therefore, it was essential. Sincerity alone was not enough for Cornelius. It is not enough for denominational preachers. It is not enough for you and me. Dick Blackford, The Lamplighter THE WORLD NEEDS MEN
…who cannot be bought:…whose word is their bond:…who put character above wealth;…who are larger than their vocations;…who do not hesitate to take chances;…who will not lose their identity in a crowd; …who will be as honest in small things as in great things;…who will make no compromise with wrong;…whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires;…who will not say they do it “because everybody else does it”;…who are true to their oldest friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity;…who do not believe that shrewdness and cunning are the best qualities for winning success;…who are not ashamed to stand for the truth when it is unpopular;…who can say “no” with emphasis, although the rest of the world says “yes.” God, make me this king of man. Leonard Wagner MISSING HEAVEN BY 18 INCHES
I recently received a tract from a Baptist church with the above title. Eighteen inches is supposed to be the distance between the heart and the head. The tract observed that some have “head religion” instead of “heart religion.” The error of the tract is in not recognizing that the Bible heart is the head. The “pump” (18’’from the head) is not the heart of which the Bible speaks in connection with salvation. It has nothing to do with conversion. All it does is pump blood. I have known sincere people who would pound their chest (over their heart) and say “I wouldn’t trade what I feel right here for a stack of a thousand Bibles.” They claim to believe the Bible – with reservations (as long as it doesn’t contradict their feelings). When one trusts himself more than the Bible he is rejecting the God who gave it and is offering no respect at all. Notice some things the Bible heart does: (1) thinks, Lk. 9:47; (2) reasons, Mk. 2:8; (3) believes, Rom. 10:10; (4) understands, Mt. 13:15; (5) loves, Lk. 10:27. If our blood pumps do all of these than we have some real theological problems in this age of heart transplants. If one is saved and has the heart of a lost person transplanted into him, will he then be lost? Or, if the heart of a saved person is transplanted into a lost one, whose salvation will it result in? Or will both be saved? No one knows the answers to such questions and fortunately, we don’t need to know. Only the person who “wouldn’t trade what I feel in my heart” is obligated to answer. The gospel appeals to a man’s intellect. He must examine it and make a decision. It is not left up to whims and subjective feelings that are often misinterpreted. We should use our heads more, not less, 2 Tim. 2:15.
Dick Blackford, The Lamplighter
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