Church, Where is Your Heart?

“Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupt. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.”  –  Titus 1:15-16

I live in a part of the country where it is almost impossible to find someone who will admit that they don’t know God. In south Alabama, the response is always, “Sure I’m a Christian. I know God. I’ve been going to church all my life.” You would think I live in the most wholesome place in the world. Wrong!

Hypocrisy and false profession are nothing new in our world. Titus was warned by Paul that he would run into people like that. It is amazing, though, how thin the veil of separation has become between the church and the world. Many who profess to know God are living such godless lives that they make demons blush.

I am once again reminded that it is not a person’s profession but their possession that determines their authenticity. Anyone can say they are a Christian but where is the fruit of a Christian life? We flee from those who emphasize the importance of fruit…but then again so did the Pharisees when it came to John the Baptist’s preaching.

There will be no fruit where there is no root. Ultimately, our authenticity comes back to the issue of the heart. It takes a transformed heart to evidence a truly transformed life. Paul told Titus that a transformed (or pure) heart would interject purity or transformation into every facet of a person’s life.

Conversely, Paul told Titus that a heart that had not been transformed by the power of God was only capable of corrupting everything in a person’s life. Whether it be attitudes or actions, everything would be characterize by corruption and unbelief.

Church, how can we look like the world, act like the world, talk like the world, walk like the world, and ever expect to be transformational? In order to make a difference, we must be different! We must lay aside the things of the flesh and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We must “cleanse our hands and purify our hearts” (James 4:8), if we ever expect God’s presence and blessing.

It is time for the Church to answer God’s call to holiness…it’s time for the Church to get a heart!