One of the more challenging responsibilities we ‘believers’ have been given to fulfill, or should I say ‘live out’...is the privilege we have to represent God in a way that is pleasing to Him and brings Him honor and glory. And can I just tell you now that God does not take kindly at all to those who misrepresent Him. That might be why James cautions those who want to be ‘teachers’ to tap the brakes on rushing in to do so, given the serious consequences that come with that role (James 3:1)

This became quite evident as we read how Jesus dealt with the majority of religious leaders back in the day when He walked the earth. He was constantly confronting them for their hypocrisy, accusing them of being ‘whitewashed tombs’ as they made great efforts to ‘look good on the outside’...all the while their hearts were corrupt, hard, and defiled by the evil that remained in them (Matt. 23:23-28; Mark 7:6-23). Jesus also accused them of ‘lawlessness’, which is ‘sin’ (1 John 3:4); and how ironic is this given their passionate zeal to constantly be reminding the people to adhere to the law...like them. Why, they were always accusing Jesus of violating the ‘law’ which led to their working together to have Him put to death.

So how does one ‘misrepresent’ God? Well, consider this for starters: we can do it by the way we live out our lives before Him and others, and we can do so by teaching a ‘distorted’ message or gospel, which Paul warned would be in no short supply (2 Cor. 11:3-4; Gal. 1:6-9).

When we ‘profess to know God, but with our actions (that fail to line up with His word)... we ‘deny Him’...we are falsely representing Him.(Titus 1:16)

What was the earmark or single identifying sign that would make it clear to ‘all people’ who His followers were? I believe Jesus said it would be by the ‘love’ we demonstrated towards one another (John 13:34-35). We can be full of great works...’done in the name of the Lord’, but in the end...if we don’t possess and demonstrate this kind of ‘God love’, it profits us nothing. (Matt. 7:21-23; 1 Cor. 13:1-7) I’ll give you a moment with that one.

In Matthew 15:7-12, Jesus reminds us how ‘hypocrites’ tend to ‘honor God with their lips... while their hearts are far from Him’. Notice how it always goes back to the heart of man, hearts that can easily be hardened and go astray (Heb. 3:10,12-13; 2:1). And let’s not forget that whatever is in our hearts...will eventually surface and come out, bearing the fruit we really have (Luke 6:43-45; Matt. 15:16-20). Yes...fruit does indeed...matter! (John 15:8; Matt. 3:8,10)

Let me suggest that we should...feel the weight and magnitude of this holy responsibility we have... to NOT falsely represent Him and His word. To do so can have devastating and eternal consequences (Matt. 23:15). And it’s a weight and burden I carry often when I write and then share these messages with you here.

You do realize, I hope, how easy it is to be carried away with false doctrines and teachings of men that we can end up loving more than we love God Himself. It happens more often than you would imagine, where we are so driven to convey or project a God in the manner in which we think...He ought to be like, or act like (Mark 7:7-8; Eph. 4:14; Heb.13:9).

Let’s be honest here...we have all been guilty of doing this at one time or another, most likely because of ignorance on our parts, and...misleading oracles handed down to us (Jer. 16:19; 23:9-40). Paul addresses his own people and fellow teachers who ‘had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. They were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own righteousness...not submitting to the righteousness of God’ (Rom. 10:2-3).

Some call this tendency we have as passionate Bible teachers...the ‘pendulum effect’. We can go from one extreme to the other in how we teach and portray God to be...to others. And when we do get ‘out of balance’, we tend to overcorrect and err in the same manner...in the opposite direction. No wonder we have so much division and confusion in the ‘church world’ today.

Case and point: Is God a loving, merciful, and compassionate God...or is He more rigid and angry and overly-demanding of His estranged and fallen creation, as in us...wayward sheep?

Take a look at what Paul admonished us in Romans 11:22: “Consider, or take into account both the goodness...AND...the severity of God. On those who fell into disobedience, He dealt with them severely; but towards those who continue in His goodness...He pours out His goodness”. And he follows up that statement with this somber warning that those who do not continue (abide) in His goodness...they will be ‘cut off’.

I realize how sensitive and challenging this kind of teaching can be for people to process and work through...given the wide variety of backgrounds we all come from in our raising. But I fear we tend to err on the side of avoiding this ‘serious’ nature of God because we think people will not receive such teaching, or it will drive them away; so we withhold sharing serious things with folks believing we are doing them more good than harm. But friends...can I just tell you that is not true love when we withhold serious truth from those in need of hearing it? Timothy was warned of a day when this would play out (2 Tim. 4:1-5). Jeremiah had a few things to say about this as well, adding that we would understand this clearly in the ‘latter days’ . (Jer. 23:16-20)

Yes...let me assure you- He is a wonderfully kind and loving God whom I have “come to taste and found Him to be so, so very good (Psalm 34:8); and truly...He ‘withholds no good thing to those who walk uprightly before Him’ (Ps. 84:11). But let us also not fail to forget that God does indeed ‘discipline...those whom He loves’...and there are times that this disciplining that takes place may not seem ‘joyful, but painful’; but this is how we come to be conformed to His image and likeness...where we might be ‘holy as He is holy’ (Heb. 12:5-14; 1 Pet. 1:14-17).

And yes, I am back home now, still adjusting to the jet lag and time difference; and I have more to share. I hope you’ll meet me back here tomorrow.