Sincerity

The apostle, Paul. came from a good family in an important city. He was law-abiding (under Jewish law he was “blameless” Phil. 3:6); according to the standards of his time, he was well-educated, having been instructed at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3); He could speak both Greek and Hebrew (Acts 21:37, 40); and he was of a religious turn of mind. He was so zealous in the things relating to the Jewish faith that he spent his time and energy in rooting out the followers of Christ, who believed what he considered to be heresy. If he ever had any misgivings about the necessity of squelching this new sect, we have no inkling of it in the Scripture, and he gave his support to those who stoned Stephen. Could anyone doubt that Paul was sincere?

He had many good qualities, but it was not until after he had seen the light” on the road to Damascus, that he could do the work of the Lord acceptably.

One indication of his willingness to be taught, once he was convinced he was wrong, was his humble question after he heard the voice, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).

Another man who was sincere in an entirely different way was Cornelius, a Gentile. Cornelius is described in Acts 10:22 as “a just man, and one that fear­eth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews”. Further down in the same chapter, we read that Cornelius was ‘fasting” and “praying” and that his prayer was heard and his alms” had in remembrance in the sight of God.

In the language of our day, both these men were “living a good life” and were sincere in what they believed. Yet, in the sight of God, something more was necessary.

Paul was required to do an abrupt about-face and preach the very gospel he had been persecuting, and Cornelius needed Peter to instruct him, and both men were baptized before beginning a meaningful life in the service of their Lord.

Sincerity is certainly necessary, and many of us could take an example of service to others from those who are unenlightened in the things concerning the Gospel as presented in the Bible, but it is also necessary to know what God has revealed of His plan and purpose and to obey His commandments. If we read the Scriptures and obey the commandments, we will find out what is necessary for us to know and then we will put it into practice.

We are not left in doubt as to what is required of us. We must believe and be baptized and then be as helpful to others as possible. In Matthew 25:35-36 we are told to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, remember the stranger and make him welcome, etc., for “inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Regardless of the depth of our knowledge, or our ability to quote Scripture, or the accuracy of our beliefs — we can not be in the position of saying “Be ye warmed and filler and not providing what is necessary to accomplish this. Neither can we spend all our time doing good to others and ignore the study of the Scripture. Both are necessary or we may be in the same position as the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23, who had only done part of what was required, and to whom Jesus said, “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone”.