"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel!

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plates, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness. Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too!

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.

Matthew 23:23-28

Many people put on a front in their spiritual lives. They appear to be Christians. But deep down inside these spiritual actors know they have never admitted their sinful condition to God. They also know they have not placed their trust in the LORD Jesus Christ as their only hope of salvation. Have you been faking it? You may fool others, but you can't fool God. He sees what is in your heart. Don't be a pretender. Receive God's Son as your Savior. Experience the real thing.

You can have tons of religion without an ounce of salvation.

Our Daily Bread - July 5, 2003