And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.
Philippians 1:9-10
The word “sincere” is defined as being free of deceit, hypocrisy, or falseness; it is to be genuine, real, and pure. Now, I’m pretty confident that most of us want sincerity to be an essential (and proven) characteristic of our spouse, children, friends, boss, etc. None of us secretly hopes that our best friend makes a habit of lying to us, or that our coworker smiles and chats pleasantly with us only to turn around and badmouth us to another team member.
Sadly, our culture today doesn’t blink at dishonesty—just watch the news. And social media is all about promoting falseness and “un-realism,” from filtered Instagram selfies to impossibly perfect Pinterest desserts. But what about us? As much as we desire sincerity from others (and detest their insincerity), do we live out pure authenticity ourselves?
God’s Word is very clear in exhorting Christians to live, love, and serve with sincerity (Philippians 1:10, Joshua 24:14, 1 Peter 1:22, Colossians 3:22). Modern dictionary definitions aside, there is an interesting oral tradition from antiquity that the word “sincere” actually comes from the Latin words “sine” and “cera”—which together mean “without wax.” According to commentary on Philippians 1:10 from John MacArthur’s Study Bible:
In the ancient world, dishonest pottery dealers filled cracks in their inferior products with wax before glazing and painting them, making worthless pots difficult to distinguish from expensive ones. The only way to avoid being defrauded was to hold the pot to the sun, making the wax-filled cracks obvious. Dealers marked their fine pottery that could withstand “sun testing” as sine cera.
Think about that. What a meaningful parallel that is for our life! Once we surrender to Jesus, we strive to be more like Him every day. (Of course, we only reach perfection once we are in heaven, but the goal on this earth is to more closely resemble Jesus as we become more mature in the faith.) So, as we walk out our salvation, our lives are to withstand not “sun testing” but “Son testing.” To ensure purity, truth, and sincerity, we can hold our thoughts, words, actions, and decisions up to the Light—Jesus (John 8:12).
Friends, let’s make it a point to live wax-free. When the angel of light (Satan) tries to blind us with the shiny things of this world, may we prove strong and unyielding. When the blazing heat of tempting sin beats down on us, may our faith not melt away. And when we hold up our life to the glorious Light of our Lord and Savior, may it reflect His beauty back onto us.
Lord, help me to walk in sincerity through this world that elevates lying, cheating, and hypocrisy. Let me live according to Your example.
encouraged by grace 