Jeff Pollard explains in this video that it's easy to be dismayed by hypocrisy we see in the lives of others who call themselves Christians. We need to be authentic. But, what does it look like? What makes a person genuine? How much are we shaped by God's words and how much are we swayed and shaped by the words of men?

Matthew 7:5 (NKJV) - "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Brethren, I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I bring you greetings from Mount Zion Bible Church and Chapel Library. I will begin by saying I actually kind of hope that I would be last today. I wanted to hear the other men, and I really do have some things burning on my heart. I hope I do not over Stay my appointed time, but I do have some things that have very deeply burned in my soul, especially this last year And I would like to share those thoughts with you. To participate in Burning in the Soul makes one vulnerable, if you're honest.

And if we're going to be honest, it means sharing with others things that come out of our hearts, things that come out of our prayer closets. It means sharing with others our communion and our wrestlings before God. And so sometimes things like that can come off kind of maudlin, but we're not here to impress each other. If Scott wants us to talk about what's in our souls, I can tell you part of what's in mine. So I'm making myself vulnerable and accountable here to you today.

The background of my thought, now if you're drifting about half a dozen of the things I'm going to say you're probably going to take wrong and I don't want that to be the case. I hope you can try to put the best spin on what you hear me say. The background of my thoughts is rooted here in the number of well-known preachers and theologians that have fallen into great and public sin since 2013. Some of them we know personally and that have gathered with us and preached to us. Now this has deeply, deeply troubled me, affected me, and I know that I, and it bothers me because I know that I'm made of the same stuff.

I'm made of the same stuff of any of these men, and I'm fully aware that I'm capable of every sin that they have committed, and far worse. And I don't say that insincerely. I mean that knowing what I am. The fallout and the repercussions of these sins are not over, and they will likely continue for some time. One of the things that has gripped me is the young men and the young women that have been crushed, disappointed and embittered by the revelations of our hypocrisy.

Now there are a lot of things that go into young people being crushed and disappointed and some of them are exactly what the Lord sent them to wake them up about some things. I'm not trying to be entirely on a downer here but the the point that I want to get is that there is something that bothers the ones I've been talking to about works orientation. I do not want the slightest scent of phoniness to be about my words or my actions, and conferences are great places to do that. I want the fragrance of Christ to perfume everything about me. For this to be the reality of my life, I know that I must die to myself, especially my pride, and that does not come naturally.

That comes only by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and knowing him intimately. These kind of thoughts, simple as they are, give rise to someone like me, give rise to a lot of questions. Things like, what does it mean to be real? When a young person says, hey man, you're not real. What does that mean?

That may not be profound to anybody, but I sit and really think about that. What is an authentic Christian, an unmistakable Christian? What does it mean to walk with Christ? What is real prayer, And how do I know if I've ever really prayed or am I just kind of repeating osmosis stuff that I've picked up from someone that impresses me? What is sincerity?

What does it really look like? What makes a person genuine? And you're with them and you say, well, you know, on my meter this seems to be genuine, this seems to be the authentic thing. How does one rid himself or herself of phoniness? Comes very naturally to some of us.

Somebody that used to be in the rock and roll business, I mean, you live in phoniness. How much are we shaped by our culture and how much are we shaped and transformed by the Word of God? How much are we shaped by God's words and how much are we shaped by men's words. We live in a world of lies, propaganda, delusions. We live in a world of celebrity worship.

What is a successful ministry? Who says what's successful? I mean, you know, does it mean you've got 40, 000 downloads on sermon audio? Is that real? You know, is that what we live for?

Is that how we gauge whether I'm doing okay with the Lord or not? How do I know if I have a real God-owned ministry? In America you can set up tent just about anywhere and have people following you in no time. You can say the most absurd heresy and get people to follow you. Turn on Christian radio.

The matter of being real is certainly related to self-denial. I know that's a core issue. Being real means telling the truth, whatever the cost. I know that. Being real means following Christ wherever he sends you and at whatever cost.

I understand that, I think, as well. But do we really know how to gauge these things very well, living in the world that we live in? Let me tell you, when I was in the rock and roll business, We used to have a saying. We'd go out on tour, we'd be, when we were nobodies, and we would travel with other nobodies, sometimes on the show with big somebodies, hoping to be big somebodies someday. And You'd go out with other guys other other bands and you know you could appreciate them You can hang out with them, and they were there were a lot of fun I mean musicians generally speaking if they're not too altered can be really fun people to be around Witty funny but then they get a hit record And then it didn't take long before you couldn't talk to them.

You couldn't get near them. They had their bodyguards. They were, someone in some important Rag like Rolling Stone had said yes, they're their geniuses and and they change overnight And we had a term for that. It was called believing your own press you actually start to begin to believe the stuff people say about you and that is one of the poison of poisons because it feeds our our pride in our ego and extent in astonishing ways but this is seeped into the church it's everywhere I mean I they talk about guys is here's a real up-and-comer. That should make all of us vomit.

But we don't. We play along with it. You know, hey, you know the big books coming, he's had five blockbusters and now, you know, buy the next one? Great God, we deserve what we're seeing and worse. But when you start believing your own press and when you start doing everything the way the world does it and thinks about it.

You lose that realness if you ever had any. Conferences can do that. I'm not attacking conferences as such, but hey, you know, your picture's up on the internet, you're up with these guys, oh, and your picture's here with these big guys. I mean, brethren, this stuff is poison, And our young people deserve something better than this. They deserve a reality that whatever else comes into their minds, they can say, there's something genuine here.

There's something real about their love for Christ, their walk with Christ. It isn't just impressive talk. As I prayed about these things, you know, these are just a few of the thoughts that occurred. They're not in any particular order. But I know this.

I must have a deeper understanding of Christ's humility, a clearer sight of Christ's self-denial, a firmer grasp of Christ's submission to his Father's will. I must have a deeper understanding of Christ's humility and a realistic understanding of my pride. And pride loves to hide under religious rags. At least it does in my wardrobe. I must have a clearer sight of Christ's self-denial and a realistic sight of my own self-promotion.

I must have a firmer grasp of Christ's submission to his Father and a realistic grasp of the depths of my disobedience. If I'm going to be a real Christian, I must recognize the depths of my self-delusion. That's really difficult. The only way to really see it is, first of all, to spend time with Christ alone, large amounts of time. And then to be around faithful men who will tell you the truth about yourself instead of being yes men.

Our wives need real, authentic, genuine husbands that love them as Christ loves the church, not just conference goers, and not just men who want to get on board so they can run the house. Our children need real, authentic, genuine fathers that deny themselves and bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord instead of being hypocrites during the week that actually sit down and open the Word of God with them, that actually have family worship with them. None. Don't just talk about it. And that teach their children the things of God, that pray for them.

I mean, I would pray that every young man here, every child in this conference could go to their grave with At least one image always burning in their mind, it was Dad sitting there reading the scriptures to them and telling them of Christ. Now we change his souls. You don't have to have a PhD for that. You just have to have a new heart. For those of us who are pastors, Christ sheep need real authentic and genuine pastors who bring them daily before the throne of grace, who weep with them that weep and rejoice with them that rejoice, that cry out to Christ for a word from heaven for them, not just a really super clean exegetical exposition.

I'm all for good exegesis, I'm all for great exposition, but fire in the belly that comes from God, that's owned by God, that transforms lives, and doesn't just feather the pockets of a movement. The next generation needs to see real, authentic, genuine men and women that deny themselves, that take up the cross daily and follow Christ whatever the cost and the way the Lord is moving this culture some of us will probably prove that. Now This is how I had to put it to me. It may not be helpful to anybody here, but this is how I have to talk to me. Not praying?

Not real. Not immersed in God's Word? Not real. Not repenting daily. Not real.

Not mortifying sin. Not real. Not accountable to others. Not real. Without someone that will look you right in the eye and out of love for your soul tell you, I think you're dead wrong and here's why.

Even if they miss it. If you don't have people like that, you will start believing your own press. After wrestling with what does it mean to be real, I finally came to a very simple conclusion. I started praying, Lord, take me to the scripture. Scripture doesn't talk about being real in those terms.

What am I talking about? What am I trying to define? What am I trying to get my finger on? And I came to a very simple conclusion. I will never be real.

I will never be genuine, biblically genuine. I will never be authentic unless I know Jesus Christ and walk with him in intimate communion. There's no way. You can talk better than everybody else. You can have a sharp mind.

You can have a great computer in here that spits out facts and verses. But that's like frost that covers the grass and makes it wither. There's no life in it. There must be the power of God's Spirit and the transformation of being in union with the living God. The greatest of saints have fallen into dreadful sin.

Both history has told us that, and of course the Scriptures make this abundantly clear. But living in a self-worshipping culture with self-centered, self-promoting flesh, and seeing that the cult of personality has so deeply penetrated Christ's churches, I know that I need to examine myself by God's Word. I know that I have to keep myself accountable. I thank God for two of the men that I work with who are not going to sit there and agree with me just because I say it. And to walk daily with Christ who is the ultimate reality.

You see, we've bought the false thing that our culture sells us as life, even as Christians. It's got its hooks in every one of us. And we tend to think those things are real. Young people, you will look and see what the world is doing and you will be attracted to it because it looks like more fun than walking with Jesus. But that's the lie.

That's the horror of the world tempting you. And she can't follow through. We need to know him, Christ. Now just my last few thoughts here, and I appreciate your patience. After wrestling with this throughout the year, I read this by E.M.

Bounds. I was absolutely shocked when I read this. He says, Stop. Pause. Consider where are we?

What are we doing? Preaching to kill. Now, there are those in our day that when they talk about preaching to kill, they're talking about the Spirit of God laying men low in their depravity, making them see how lost they are, that they're dead in their sins, which is a positive thing. That's not what he's talking about. He's saying the kind of preaching that may be letter perfect but leaves people unchanged.

We're killing them. Preaching to kill? Praying to kill? And he says, praying to God, the great maker, the maker of all worlds, the judge of all men. What reverence, what simplicity, what sincerity, what truth in the inward parts is demanded.

How real we must be. I was astonished when I read that. How real we must be. How hearty. Prayer to God, the noblest exercise, the loftiest effort of man, the most real thing.

Most real thing. We're not more real because we don't spend more time in Christ's presence. Shall we discard or shall we not discard forever a cursed preaching that kills and prayer that kills and do the real thing, the mightiest thing, prayerful praying, life-creating preaching, bring the mightiest force to bear on heaven and earth, and draw on God's exhaustless and open treasury for the need and beggary of man. After all this, again, I'm tragically simple, but to be real in a biblical sense just means to be like Christ. That's the kind of reality I'm talking about.

Authentic, genuine. The Lord Jesus said it is enough for the disciple to be as his master. That is the reality I want gripping me every day. That is the key that unlocks the door, the door through which we walk out of a world of falsehood and hype and phoniness and celebrity and mouth religion and into a world that is real. I mean, I know of a preacher, a well-known preacher, at least to some of us, who said that at one particular time in his life he felt like the electric cowboy.

Wherever he went, people were just kind of showing him off. That's a dreadful state for our churches. We are but vessels of dust bringing the message of life. And that's what we must do with every fiber of our being. Mouth religion rules the day.

We need to be real. There is one model and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ the righteous. One way. Taking up the cross and following after him.

And I'm not a believer in formulas, but I would put it this way, one formula, prayer, God's word, and obedience. And we will fail, we're limited, we are sinful, our weaknesses show there aren't any perfect people I understand that and I'm not I'm not arguing for that but even when we fail there ought to be a realness about us that manifests itself in a true brokenness and repentance before our God when we fail. As pastors, we must be real. We must preach. And if we're not, we will have lifeless, fruitless sermons that might satisfy and scratch people's religious itch, but it will produce either worldly antinomians or Pharisaic legalists and an enormous crop of hypocrites.

As husbands, we must be real, or our headship will be fake and our wives' submission to us will be nothing but hardship and misery. They will regret that they're women because of our obnoxious manhood. And as husbands, or as fathers, we must be real or we will produce a generation of phonies. At least some of the falls of men that we have known and loved and respected have trimmed off a lot of people who were just following men. Maybe not enough.

But we want to be like Christ. Whatever – I mean, if you want to look up to somebody, make sure there's something authentic about them, and you'll have to know something about Christ to be able to know that. We will produce phonies, we will produce Pharisees, or we will produce outright apostates and God haters. Go read. I don't encourage you to do it, but all you have to do is spend a few hours on the Internet reading the former homeschoolers, the former Vision Forum people, the former NCFIC people.

And I mean, there's a hatred I've rarely seen astonishing if there is a genuine hatred It should be because of our Christ-likeness, of being real, of being real. Something that young people can say. My dad wasn't much, but he told me the truth and he lived the truth. Brethren, that is what is burning in my soul.