How they Pretend to Love God but Covet His Position

No One Can Hide What is in their Heart

We know the heart of people by their heart condition revealed in their actions, attitudes, and words.

The Spirit of Christ lives in us and He reveals to us through His Word and His discernment what is in the heart of another human being. We must consult with Him to see it but we can see it. The fruit is not words or actions it is the character qualities of Christ that lead to words and deeds.

Matthew 7:15-20

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?

17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 So then, you will know them by their fruits."

Every believer can discern this fruit that exudes the character of Christ.

Not everyone who has good words or actions is born again. this is why we must watch them over time to be able to see the resistance to God that dwells in them.

Those who love Christ will love His Word, desire His direction and be ashamed when they make a misstep. Even the slightest bad attitude will torment their heart until they confess. They sense the broken communication between them and God when they have grieved His heart.

Those who are pretenders only care about outer appearances, This is why only those who live with them day in and day out can see if their walk is real. Those who are authentically born of Christ do not have two personas, they are the same at home as they are in public. Those who are different at home than they are in public are those who walk the walk of the Pharisees.

Matthew 23:27-29 "…27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous."

Matthew 23:4-6 "…4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"

These people love the praise of men and will be angry if they do not have it.

Matthew 6:1

"Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."

Those who need the praise of men will be agitated and even angry when they do not receive praise for all that they do.

2 Corinthians 4:18

"As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

As we walk through life we will be seeing things through the eyes of Christ Who lives in us. We will not see as the world sees but will be able to discern the things of God, the actions of believers and nonbelievers clearly.

1 Corinthians 2:13-15 "…13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.…"

When someone says to you that you cannot know the heart of a man they are repeating only one passage that is describing the lack of Spiritual discernment of the unsaved.

Psychology teaches that a man's actions can be different from his heart, but God says that a man's actions prove his heart.

Our actions cannot be different from our hearts. This is why a covert narcissist does subtle unkind things to agitate their friend, they are not walking in love but in hatred. Anyone can have a slip and confess to be cleansed but the narcissist lives continually in a state of anger and resentment leading to perpetual actions and attitudes of rebellion against those who love Christ.

Those who walk in pretense without the Holy Spirit will regress as they become older because they no longer feel the need to impress anyone. They have developed a hard heart that becomes harder by the day.

I have heard people say they were astonished at how their elderly friend had changed, but no one changes their heart just because they grow old, we only stop hiding anymore.

Giving up on God and love only shows what was in the heart all along. Pretenders cannot keep up a pretense forever, eventually, the burden of play-acting is going to become too heavy and they will give up allowing their real selves to emerge.

For the believer the heart has softened even more over the years because the Spirit of Christ has been working and transforming them from the beginning of salvation. They do not become worse as they grow older, they become sweeter.

I have known believers who had Alzheimer's who would act out as a little child would because their body and mind were deteriorating, but their attitude would sneak out during the lucid times and they would praise God and sing Christian songs with great joy. Our bodies deteriorate sometimes but we never forget Christ.

It is important to develop our relationship with Christ from the time of salvation so that in our elder years we speak more of Christ not less. After all, the older we become the closer we are to going home to Him. Shouldn't He be the las thing on our minds before we pass?

Love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness and self-control do not leave us because we grow older, they intensify. I am convinced those who grow more selfish and rude as they grow older have never been born again.