My Bible study group is reading through the Gospel of John in the New Testament. The apostle John gives us a compelling revelation of Jesus as God on earth, the son of God! His teachings, healings, miracles, and lifestyle all pointed to what He said: “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.”

John also reveals something disturbing. The religious people of the day, especially those in power, were hard-hearted and not interested in spiritual life or righteousness. They continually clashed with Jesus over His behavior, teaching, and claims.

The religious leaders ran the temple and the synagogues. They were the keepers of the Hebrew scriptures and the teachers of the law. They had probably memorized many portions of the Old Testament and prided themselves on having extensive knowledge. They were the priests who handled the daily sacrifices and the judges who decided when people were breaking the law. They had the power to cast people out of the religious community if they were deemed to have broken the law. They were given great honor and esteem and wielded great power.

Yet, Jesus called them white-washed tombs, painted nicely on the outside but full of rottenness on the inside. He called them hypocrites because they kept the commands on the outside but had hidden sin inside. For example, they prided themselves on giving a tenth of all they had to God. They carefully measured the smallest things to make sure they didn’t miss anything, yet neglected to show mercy and love to people.

He also called these ultra-religious leaders sons of the devil. Shocking! How could those entrusted with leading people to know and honor God be so far from the truth?

The Apostle Paul’s well-known ‘love chapter,’ 1 Corinthians 13, illustrates the issue further. Paul says,

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Corinthians 13)

This eloquent exposé contrasts love with the activities we esteem as powerful expressions of the Spirit. Yet these spiritual activities fall short if there is no love. This passage doesn’t suggest we shouldn’t do those activities, but if they are done without love, they are just a show. The Holy Spirit gives God’s people spiritual gifts. Many are mentioned here. The gift of speaking other languages, the gift of prophecy, the ability to understand and teach the scriptures, the gift of faith, the mercy gift that gives to the poor, the courage to lay down our life as a martyr. These are all good and necessary expressions of the Holy Spirit. Shockingly, they can be done apart from love! They can be done for selfish ambition or to take pride in our spirituality, but “love does not boast, it is not proud,” says the Love Chapter. (1 Corinthians 13:4)

That brings us back to the teaching of Jesus. He said,

Be careful not to do your `acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Religious activity can be deceiving. It can lead us to think we are more spiritual than we are. It may lead us to believe we are pleasing God when we are not. What we do on the outside does not impress God! Who we are on the inside is what is important to Him. If we are full of His love on the inside, then what we do on the outside will be valuable to Him and others.

The proof that we truly know God is seen in how we love!