“These people worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”  Matthew 15:8-9

In this scripture passage, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees.  These men were the religious leaders of Jesus’ time.  They were held in high esteem.  They were considered to be the ruling class of Israel.  Yet Jesus, who knows man’s heart, is telling them that their hearts are far from Him.  He is telling them that they are worshiping Him in vain, and they are following human rules. They had strict laws about what people could and could not eat. Jesus goes on to tell the crowd gathered around them that it is what comes out of man’s mouth that defiles him, not what goes into his mouth.

When we get saved, we trust God and we accept Him as our savior.  That is the first step in trusting Him.  As we give him our trust, we develop a relationship with Him.  If we trust in Him and we believe His word, then we want to obey Him.

Some people profess to be saved, they sit in a pew every Sunday morning, they serve in the church, they make a great show of being a Christian, but when you watch them closely and you listen to what comes out of their mouths, you are sure that they are not saved.

You see, those who fake it will always mess up.  They can’t fake it well enough.  Remember, it has been said that you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Now, only God knows if someone is truly saved, but the Bible tells us we can inspect the fruit.  Let me tell you, if the fruit is rotten, you will eventually find that out.

Now, let’s say that you know that you are truly saved and you are on your way to heaven. You are good, but you must be very careful not to be deceived.  Don’t be fooled by the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

After Jesus told the crowd that the Pharisees were worshiping Him in vain and that it was not what a man put into his mouth, but what came out of a man’s mouth that defiled him, the disciples told Him that he had offended the Pharisees.  Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.  Leave them, they are blind guides.  If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” This is in Matthew 15:13-14.

I want you to understand that Jesus is referring to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus’ time.  The Bible tells us that in the end times, we will see a lot of people faking it.  Pray to God for wisdom so that you may discern those who are true followers of God.  Don’t be misled by those who are faking it.

My prayer for you today is that God will grant you the wisdom needed to make wise decisions and also that you yourself will understand the danger of pretending to be righteous.  My prayer is that you don’t fake it!

So, get real and have a great day!