Sincerity

Sincerity (Greek eilikrineia, from eile, sunlight, + krinein, to judge — what is pure when examined in sunlight) denotes the quality of being genuine, undivided in motive, and free from hidden intentions. In Greek usage the term described pottery or honey tested and certified as pure. Scripture commends it as the disposition God requires: the entire inner life must correspond to the outward expression. Jesus exposes the gap between appearance and reality in the Pharisees' piety (Matt. 6:1–6, 16–18; 23:25–28) and demands heart-purity beneath outward observance. Paul opens 1 Corinthians by urging the church to celebrate the feast of the Christian life "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" rather than old leaven of malice and evil (1 Cor. 5:8). He desires love from those who serve not to please men but God who tests the heart (1 Thess. 2:4–5; Eph. 6:5–7). Preaching must be "in sincerity, as from God" (2 Cor. 2:17; cf. 1:12). Paul's pastoral vision for his converts is that they be "sincere and blameless" at Christ's day (Phil. 1:10; cf. 1 Cor. 5:8). In Scripture, sincerity is not naïve simplicity but the moral integrity in which inner and outer life are transparent to God and each other.