Salvation through Christ is such a great experience, but the devil in his characteristic manner has introduced counterfeits into people's lives. The consequence of possessing a counterfeit salvation experience is a life of pretence. To guard against this wile of the devil, the Holy Spirit in 1st Timothy 1:5, admonishes us thus:
‘’Now the end of the commandement is charity out of a pure heart, and of good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.’’
While God wants us to show love to all, he equally cares about the source of this love. The source of a thing goes a long way in determining its quality and value. You cannot bring something good out of an evil heart. If you do, that good thing is already tainted. For instance, even though you see lots of food in dunghill, you will not go to eat from there. God is therefore saying that you should do away with pretence and hypocrisy, because they taint whatever good works you are doing. He is saying that if you will show Him love, make sacrifices for His sake, or give to His cause, such actions must come out of a pure heart, with a good conscience and done with sincerity; otherwise, the doer of these works may not get any reward.

Are you saved? Is your salvation genuine or false? 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says if you are saved, old things are passed away. This means that if you were stealing before, after experiencing salvation, you will stop stealing. You cannot continue stealing and still lay claim to salvation. While my father-in-the-Lord was alive, if you claim to be saved, he would ask you these questions. What were you saved from? ‘’What were you doing before that you no longer do now?’’ Today, people claim they are saved, and yet they still steal, lie or fornicate. What kind of salvation is that? In one of my missionary trips outside Nigeria, a man came to me and said, ‘’Sir, I heard that you are a prophet of God and that your prophecies are deadly accurate.’’ ‘’is that so?’’ I replied and further added, ‘’I am not a prophet but Pastor, but I do hear from God once in a while.’’ He then asked me to tell him his future. I asked him if he was born again and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and His response was ‘’No’’. So I said to him, ‘’Your future will be terrible’. Alarmed, he said, ‘’How do you know? You don’t even know my name, and you have not even prayed!’’ I told him there was no need for that because Isaiah 3:11 says ‘’Woe to the wicked!’’ On the other hand, if you are saved, your tomorrow will be alright. Are you saved? Did you genuinely give your life to Jesus Christ on a particular day? If not, do it today!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.