Monday: In Sincerity and Truth
Daily Lesson for Monday 22nd of December 2025
What did Joshua appeal to the Israelites to do (Joshua 24:14-15)? What does it mean to serve the Lord in sincerity and in truth?
Joshua’s appeal clearly expresses the fact that the Israelites have to decide whether, through loyalty to their Creator, to keep their uniqueness and live in the land or to fade back into being one among many idolatrous peoples, with no clear identity, purpose, or mission. The choice is theirs.
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Joshua’s appeal is twofold: Israel should fear the Lord and serve Him “in sincerity and in truth.” To fear the Lord does not mean a life of perpetual trembling and emotional insecurity. It rather refers to the reverence and awe that stem from the recognition of the unfathomable greatness, holiness, and infinity of God on the one hand and our smallness, sinfulness, and finitude on the other. To fear God is a constant awareness of the magnitude of His demands, a recognition that He is not only our heavenly Father but also our Divine King. Such awareness will lead to a life of obedience to God (Leviticus 19:14, Leviticus 25:17, Deuteronomy 17:19, 2 Kings 17:34). While “fear” describes the inner attitude that must characterize an Israelite, the practical outcome of reverence to God is service.
The service that is required of Israel is characterized by two Hebrew terms: “in sincerity” and “in truth.” The first term (tamim) is mostly used as an adjective to describe the perfection of the sacrificial animal. The second term that describes Israel’s service is “truth,” or “faithfulness” (Heb. ’emet). The term generally connotes constancy and stability. It usually refers to God, whose character is intrinsically characterized by faithfulness, which is manifested toward Israel.
A faithful person is somebody who is dependable and trustworthy. Basically, Joshua is asking Israel to demonstrate the same loyalty to God that God has displayed toward His people in the course of their history. It is not merely outward compliance to His requirements but what springs from an undivided inner consistency of the heart. Their lives should reflect gratefulness to God for what He has done for them. Basically, it is how we today should relate to Jesus, as well.
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What does it mean to you to serve the Lord “in sincerity” and “in truth”? What are some of the distracting factors in your life that prevent your full devotion to God? |
The story is told that in Roman times sculptors would guarantee their marble sculpture was “sine cere”. Unscrupulous sculptors would cover up mistakes in their workmanship by filling them with wax the same colour as the marble. But a good sculptor would mark his work as “sine cere”, Latin for “without wax”. Their sculpture is without cheap cover-ups.
Modern etymologists have no sense of whimsy and have cast doubts on this story, saying that sincere comes from the Latin “sinecerus”, which means “clean”. That is much more prosaic. However, the folklore remains and its imagery is quite meaningful. It is really saying, “you get what you see.”
Nowadays, in Christian circles, we sometimes use the word sincere pejoratively to describe Christians who get up our noses with their Christian talk. That is unfortunate and it would be good to return “sincere” back to the notion of “you get what you see, no cover-ups!”
Today, Christianity is used in many ways as a meme for selling ideas or purposes that are highly suspect. We see Christianity as political weaponry, influencers on YouTube video clips, and so on. The use of Christianity as a brand commodity has degraded its value. We need to return to sincere, no “cover-up” Christianity, characterised by the absence of hidden agendas.
“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in truth.”(Joshua 24:14).
To begin with, what does the above statement mean? Secondly, what does its practical application look like? To “serve in sincerity and in truth” most likely means that our actions, motives, and commitments are genuine, honest, and in agreement with God’s will, and not merely outward or self-serving. This means that all that we do in our religious endeavours is rightly done for the right reason in the right way, for God’s glory and honour only. God looks at the sincerity of our hearts. The honesty, integrity and faithfulness towards His Word.
How does to “serve in sincerity and in truth” practically look like as citizens, parents, employees, employers and leaders? As citizens, we are expected to obey the law (Romans 13:1–2), reject corruption, bribery, and all forms of dishonesty. Also, we are expected to seek the common good and not selfish gains (Jeremiah 29:7). At all times, we should speak truthfully and act justly (Micah 6:8). As parents, we are required to train and instruct our children in the way of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). As parents, we should model sincerity and truthfulness. As employees, it is our obligation to “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.” (Ephesians 6:7). We should work diligently with utmost honesty. As employers, we have a solemn responsibility to be fair, respectful, transparent and lead by example. “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them.”(Ephesians 6:9). We should use our power responsibly without manipulation. Finally, as believers, we are admonished, “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”(1 John 3:18).
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”(Ecclesiastes 12:13, KJV)