Many of our readers, who are familiar with the Bible, will quickly answer our title question, “No, of course not.” But this answer may not satisfy the more thoughtful reader. It leaves unanswered the questions, Why isn’t sincerity enough ?, and, What else does God require of us ?
Before answering these questions, let’s get down to specifics. What do we mean by sincerity ? How do we live a sincere life ? In positive terms, sincerity means : purity or singleness of thought or action. In negative terms, it means: eliminating hypocrisy and double mindedness from our lives.
Sincerity means living by principle, rather than by expediency. It means becoming as a little child—have you ever seen guile or subtlety in a three year old ?
Perhaps sincerity is best defined by the example of the two Abimelech. The Abimelech of Genesis 20 acted according to “the sincerity of his heart and innocency of his hands.” He made a mistake in taking Abraham’s wife Sarah to be his wife ; but he did this in innocence. He was sincere and forthright in his motivation, and God forgave him.
In contrast, Abimelech of Judges 9, and the men of Shechem, did not “deal truly and sincerely with Gideon and his house” and both were destroyed. This Abimelech, you will recall, was selected to be king through a false promise. He then proceeded to kill his rivals, Gideon’s seventy other sons. God abhorred Abimelech’s deceit and insincerity, and he met a violent death at the hands of a female assassin. “Behold therefore, the goodness and severity of God.” Romans 11:22.
Now let’s go back to our opening questions. If sincerity of character is commanded by Christ, then why isn’t sincerity enough ? It is not enough for several reasons.
First, it is not enough because Christ calls the complete man ; he wants our whole character. Christ wants a sincere man, yes ; but sincerity is only one attribute of our character. Christ wants our hopes and aspirations, he wants our minds and thoughts as well as our heart ; he wants our entire life.
The best everyday illustration that we have of the completeness of the call of Christ, is given by Paul in Ephesians 5, verses 24, 25. There, Paul draws the parallel between Christ’s love and dedication to the church, and the love and surrender of self will that is necessary in a happy marriage. We can all appreciate the mutuality and self sacrifice that is required to build an enduring and contented marriage. This same complete denial of self, in every aspect of our
life, is required if we wish to be accepted as the spiritual bride of Christ.
Secondly, the attribute of sincerity is not enough because it is not a goal in itself. It is an attitude, not a philosophy ; a means, not an end. It is like zeal or enthusiasm. It can be directed or misdirected. Paul was sincere, both before and after his conversion, in both his persecution and his evangelism.
Furthermore sincerity has a connotation of incompleteness about it. A man or woman may be sincere in their intentions, they may lead a good life ; but this is not enough. This is the basic fallacy of the altruist. Christ’s teachings call not just for sincerity, but for sincerity with a purpose. That purpose, that goal, is the second coming of Christ to the earth to establish God’s kingdom. This was the goal, the objective, the focal point of Christ’s sincerity; and it must be the goal of man’s sincerity today.
Christ teaches us to walk in his footsteps, adopt his methods, yes. But most importantly he teaches us to look forward to, aspire to, and tell others about that same goal that his footsteps led to — the kingdom of God here on earth. When Jesus walked the dusty roads of Judea and Galilee, he walked circumspectly, he acted and spoke with sincerity ; but the purpose of his walking was to tell others of the glorious news of the kingdom of God. Perhaps we should stop now and ask ourselves —What is the purpose of our walk in life? Is sincerity enough ?
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One