Uncomfortable Truth Tuesday: You Can Be Around Jesus and Still Not Recognize Him

You can sit in church every Sunday and still live like you've never met Jesus.

HOLY LIVING

Glorious Grace

10/27/20267 min read

Every Sunday, churches are filled with people dressed in their Sunday best. They carry their Bibles, sing worship songs, lift their hands in praise, and know exactly when to say amen, but what happens when Sunday ends?

What happens when the church clothes come off and Monday morning arrives? Some return to the clubs, drunkenness, fornication, dishonesty, and the very lifestyles Scripture tells us to turn away from. Yet the following Sunday, they're back in church, declaring their love for Jesus as though there's no contradiction between what they profess and how they live.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: You can sit in church every Sunday, know Scripture, and call yourself a Christian while living like you've never met Jesus.

Jesus Himself warned us about the danger of believing that a religious profession is enough.

You Can Be in His Presence and Still Miss Him

In Luke 7:36–50, Jesus was invited to dine at the home of Simon, a Pharisee. While Jesus was there, a woman known as a sinner entered the house carrying an alabaster box of ointment. She stood behind Him, weeping, and began washing His feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed His feet, and anointed them.

Simon watched her actions, but instead of recognizing her humility and love, he questioned Jesus.

Luke 7:39 (KJV) says:

"Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner."

Think about that for a moment. Simon had Jesus, God Himself, sitting at his own table, yet he was more concerned with the woman's sinful reputation than with recognizing his own need for mercy.

He could identify her sins but failed to examine his own heart. The woman, on the other hand, came before Jesus in humility. She didn't attempt to defend her reputation or pretend she had nothing to repent of.

She recognized her need for forgiveness, and Jesus recognized her faith.

Simon was close enough to sit with Jesus, but the woman understood something about Him that Simon had missed.

How many people today are doing the same thing?

Sitting in church, listening to sermons, quoting Scripture, and surrounding themselves with the things of God while failing to recognize what it truly means to follow Him?

A Christian Label Doesn't Make Someone Holy

I've witnessed this contradiction in my own life.

I've encountered people who profess to love and follow Jesus, yet defend adultery, lying, covetousness, profanity, and other behaviors that directly contradict God's Word. I've also watched people excuse those things when it involved themselves or someone they care about.

But since when did God's commandments become optional?

We cannot condemn sin when someone else commits it and then defend that same sin when it becomes personally inconvenient to acknowledge. We cannot claim to stand on God's Word while making exceptions for the parts that we don't want to obey.

This is one of the reasons that I don't typically identify myself simply by the label Christian. I want my life to reflect the holiness that God has called His people to pursue.

First Peter 1:15–16 (KJV) says:

"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

God didn't call us to blend into the world while carrying a religious title.

He called us to be holy, and holiness isn't about looking down on other people or pretending we're better than anyone else. It's about surrendering ourselves to God and allowing His Word to determine how we live.

Jesus said in John 14:15 (KJV):

"If ye love me, keep my commandments."

Not just on Sundays. Not just when other believers are watching. Not just when obedience is convenient.

If we claim to follow Jesus, our lives should reflect the One we're following.

God's Grace Is Not Permission to Remain in Sin

Now, let me make something very clear. No one expects a person to change overnight. Following Jesus doesn't mean every temptation, sinful habit, or struggle suddenly disappears. There may be times when we stumble, fall back into old ways, or make decisions we deeply regret, but there is a huge difference between falling into sin and deliberately continuing in it while convincing ourselves that God approves.

Romans 6:1–2 (KJV) asks:

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

God's grace is not permission to keep doing whatever we please. It's not an excuse to ignore His commandments or justify what He has already called sin, and it's certainly not an invitation to remain unchanged.

Second Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) tells us:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

If we truly surrender our lives to Jesus, shouldn't there be evidence of that transformation? Shouldn't the things we once embraced begin losing their hold on us? Shouldn't we become increasingly uncomfortable with the behaviors that separate us from the life God has called us to live?

The problem isn't that someone is struggling to overcome sin. The problem is when someone stops seeing sin as a problem at all. You cannot grow in holiness while continually justifying the very things God has called you to turn away from.

I Asked God to Make My Own Sins Uncomfortable

I can speak about this from personal experience because I struggled with sin when I first began following Jesus, too. I didn't change overnight. There were times when I stumbled and fell back into things I knew I needed to leave behind, but each time, I repented and asked God for forgiveness.

I began praying something very specific. I asked God to make my own sins uncomfortable. I didn't want to become comfortable doing things that displeased Him. I didn't want to keep making excuses for behaviors I knew were wrong. I wanted my heart to change, and over time, it did and still is.

The things I once struggled to walk away from gradually lost their appeal. What once seemed desirable became something I no longer wanted in my life. I didn't have to keep convincing myself to leave those things behind. They simply weren't appealing anymore, and I haven't looked back.

That's why I understand that transformation is a process. It doesn't necessarily happen overnight, and the journey may include setbacks, but there should be a willingness to change.

There should be repentance when we fall short. There should be a desire to grow closer to God rather than remain attached to the things He's calling us away from.

Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) says:

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

I didn't ask God to make my sins acceptable. I asked Him to make them uncomfortable, and that has made all the difference.

The Most Terrifying Words Anyone Could Hear

Perhaps one of the most sobering warnings Jesus ever gave is found in Matthew 7:21–23.

Matthew 7:21 (KJV) says:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

Notice something important. Jesus wasn't describing people who refused to acknowledge Him. He was talking about people who called Him Lord. People who believed they belonged to Him.

Some even pointed to the works they had performed in His name, yet Jesus warned that their religious profession and activities were not enough.

Matthew 7:23 (KJV) records His response:

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Imagine hearing those words. "I never knew you." Not because you never attended church. Not because you never carried a Bible. Not because you never sang a worship song or called upon His name, but because your profession of faith was never accompanied by genuine surrender to Him.

That should cause every one of us to examine our own hearts. The most dangerous place to be isn't struggling with sin and crying out to God for help. It's living in sin while convincing yourself that God is pleased with it.

Are You Following Jesus or Just Familiar With Him?

Simon the Pharisee knew religion. He understood religious customs and recognized the woman's reputation, but the woman who approached Jesus understood her need for mercy.

She didn't come to impress anyone. She came to Jesus, and that's what matters.

We can become so familiar with church attendance, religious language, and outward appearances that we forget what it means to genuinely surrender our lives to Christ.

We can become more concerned with looking righteous than with actually pursuing righteousness, but God sees beyond appearances, and no religious title can substitute for a heart that is willing to repent and obey Him.

So here's the question we should all be asking ourselves: If Jesus examined our life today, would He see someone genuinely pursuing Him, or someone who has simply become comfortable using His name?

I'm not asking that question because I believe I've reached perfection. I'm far from it, and I never will reach it. I'm asking because I've experienced what happens when we stop making excuses and begin asking God to change our hearts.

I know what it's like to struggle. I also know what it's like to surrender those struggles to Him and watch the things that once held such an appeal lose their power, and I know that God's call to holiness isn't something we should dismiss simply because it makes us uncomfortable.

The Uncomfortable Truth

You can dress in your Sunday best, carry your Bible, sing every worship song, and still live like you've never met Jesus.

You can recognize the sins of others while refusing to confront your own.

You can call yourself a Christian while continually defending the very things Christ calls you to leave behind, but a religious label cannot replace genuine repentance, and church attendance cannot substitute for a transformed heart.

Don't just be around Jesus. Know Him and let your life reflect that you do.

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