Name brand or Knock off?
Most products marketed to the consumer have a name brand imprinted or fashioned on
them. The brand stands for the quality of the product and the reputation and reliability of
the company who made it. To purchase a name brand is to purchase hopefully the best.
There are countless knock-off, cheap imitations. We can all be glad for the store brands at
the grocery store; hundreds of dollars are saved every year. With some things, one cannot
afford to settle for something that is not the best. Brands cost something and are worth
more. A Hoyt bow will cost a lot more than one from Walmart and perhaps Cabelas, but it
will live up to the standards of the name brand. This is generally true in all marketing.

Spiritually there is an application here. There is no room to settle for anything less than the best in our spiritual lives.
We must make sure that our Christian life be name brand and not knock-off. Our faith must be name brand and
stand the test as that which is truly real. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say,
Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou
believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt
thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:17-20)

Our repentance must live up to the Bible’s high standard. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to
salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this
selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea,
what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement
desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be
clear in this matter. (II Cor. 7:10-11) We cannot have a cheap substitute.

Repentance:
Repentance is owning
my self-righteousness,
confessing my
unrighteousness, and
trusting Christ for His
righteousness!
It is the difference
between the Pharisee
and the Publican
Luke 18

The fruit of the Spirit must not be in any way cheapened, we cannot afford to have any lack of quality
in spiritual performance. To walk in the flesh produces nothing that will please the Lord
and certainly is devoid of any fruitfulness. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live
in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-25)
Satan is out full-time to sell us cheap substitutes that look good but don’t live up to the Lord’s perfect expectations.
Let us not settle for anything less than true Name Brand Christianity.