Marks of Authenticity

What would you have if someone gave you a green piece of paper with a picture of Ben Franklin and a big number 100 in the corner? A $100 bill of course. After all, it looks like money and feels like money therefore it must be money, right? It is no secret that counterfeit money exists. There is money in circulation that looks like a dollar bill and feels like a dollar bill and yet has absolutely no monetary value. They may have the outward appearance of value, but are lacking the distinct internal marks of authenticity.In the same way, there are people who outwardly present themselves as Christians, but are lacking marks of authenticity. It is exactly this problem that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 7:15-23. He warns of those who come bearing the image of godliness, but are in fact wolves in sheep's clothing. These are Christians with the appearance of value, but are in fact spiritually bankrupt. It is these spiritually bankrupt Christians that will, on the day of judgement, hear those dreaded words, "Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness."This is an issue that demands some serious self-reflection. Am I outwardly presenting as a good Christian while I am inwardly no different from anyone else? There are so many people who are craving authenticity. The church needs to be made up of authentic Christians. It needs men and women who are Christians through and through. People who don't allow hypocrisy to have a foothold in their lives.Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9 that we need to be different from the rest of the world. By our holiness we might "proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light." Let's take the words of Peter and do some self-examination. Let's correct our mistakes and bear the marks of authentic Christianity in our lives so that the church will bring glory to God through the lives that we live.