Sincerity does enter into the equation of one's salvation, but it's not everything. One must be sincere in order to secure the grace of God in order to find God with all one's heart, but one can be sincerely wrong! The Jews of Paul's day were ever so sincere, but they had a zeal for God but not according to knowledge (cf. Prov. 19:2; Rom. 10:2). Zeal isn't the only measure of spiritual success, for God isn't asking for our success and achievements, but our faithfulness. He wants us, not our works.
On the contrary, God condemns a slack attitude in serving the Lord--we are to do it with all our might. In measuring the value of our deeds God looks at the motive, not just the means and the end result. Today's pragmatists are only concerned with the consequences; the end justifies the means! Today's current New Morality says that all that matters is one's motive: they mean good, or as long as it's done in love is all that matters.
God raised the bar on morality, internalizing it: we must have pure intentions and seek God's will and do it in God's way, not our way. The song is sung by Frank Sinatra says, "I did it my way," which is misleading at best. Today one may be deceived by the cults and their zeal for God--but it's not according to knowledge but done in ignorance. God does hold us accountable for what we should know and had the opportunity to know but refused--ignorance is not an excuse, at least willful ignorance, and it's certainly not bliss. God's pet peeve with man is his ignorance and this is his downfall into sin by which he is deceived by Satan the liar and deceiver; "... therefore a people without understanding shall come to ruin." (cf. Hosea 4:14). "...I do not want you to be uninformed." (cf. 1 Cor. 12:1).
Yes, sincerity matters because of it and this excuses no one from being right. No one has an excuse before God but will give an account of himself (cf. Rom. 14:10). But most important is not whether all our doctrines are impeccably correct but the condition of our hearts, they must be in the right place! All of the resources, opportunities, talents, gifts, time, energy, and relationships God has given us will measure our sincerity. God must change our heart, intellect, and volition and this is no less than a miracle of transformation from the inside out. We must not be fooled by blind ambition or zeal! We must focus on the big picture and see things from God's perspective because of the illumination of the Holy Spirit working in the Word.
It's not the amount of faith that saves, nor faith itself, but the object of faith which is in Christ that saves--we don't have faith in faith and are not defenders of faith per se, but defenders of the faith and must contend for it as commanded. In the final analysis, God doesn't demand perfect faith for salvation, but sincere, unfeigned faith (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5) not as the hypocrites who only had faith for show and to boast; in other words, nobody's faith is perfect but falls somewhere in the certitude continuum from unbelief to absolute knowledge-- there are degrees of certainty and faith. In sum, Paul said, "I would not have you ignorant," (cf. 1 Cor. 12:1). Soli Deo Gloria!
God raised the bar on morality, internalizing it: we must have pure intentions and seek God's will and do it in God's way, not our way. The song is sung by Frank Sinatra says, "I did it my way," which is misleading at best. Today one may be deceived by the cults and their zeal for God--but it's not according to knowledge but done in ignorance. God does hold us accountable for what we should know and had the opportunity to know but refused--ignorance is not an excuse, at least willful ignorance, and it's certainly not bliss. God's pet peeve with man is his ignorance and this is his downfall into sin by which he is deceived by Satan the liar and deceiver; "... therefore a people without understanding shall come to ruin." (cf. Hosea 4:14). "...I do not want you to be uninformed." (cf. 1 Cor. 12:1).
Yes, sincerity matters because of it and this excuses no one from being right. No one has an excuse before God but will give an account of himself (cf. Rom. 14:10). But most important is not whether all our doctrines are impeccably correct but the condition of our hearts, they must be in the right place! All of the resources, opportunities, talents, gifts, time, energy, and relationships God has given us will measure our sincerity. God must change our heart, intellect, and volition and this is no less than a miracle of transformation from the inside out. We must not be fooled by blind ambition or zeal! We must focus on the big picture and see things from God's perspective because of the illumination of the Holy Spirit working in the Word.
It's not the amount of faith that saves, nor faith itself, but the object of faith which is in Christ that saves--we don't have faith in faith and are not defenders of faith per se, but defenders of the faith and must contend for it as commanded. In the final analysis, God doesn't demand perfect faith for salvation, but sincere, unfeigned faith (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5) not as the hypocrites who only had faith for show and to boast; in other words, nobody's faith is perfect but falls somewhere in the certitude continuum from unbelief to absolute knowledge-- there are degrees of certainty and faith. In sum, Paul said, "I would not have you ignorant," (cf. 1 Cor. 12:1). Soli Deo Gloria!