What happens when someone misrepresents who they truly are?
Many years ago, a physician contacted my laboratory and expressed interest in using me as his consulting dermatopathologist. He introduced himself as a Mohs surgeon—a dermatologic surgeon specially trained to evaluate tissue during skin cancer surgery.
For the first few months, everything seemed routine. But as I reviewed more of his cases, I became increasingly puzzled. Some of his diagnoses differed dramatically from what I was seeing on the slides he submitted. The confusion deepened when I received a phone call from another Mohs surgeon who practiced nearby. His voice carried a sense of urgency.
“Did you know he isn’t a Mohs surgeon?” he asked.
I was stunned.
The surgeon went on to explain that this physician was not even a board-certified dermatologist. He had purchased another physician’s practice and was advertising himself as both a dermatologist and a Mohs surgeon.
To be clear, this was not a matter of specialty pride. Throughout my career, I worked with excellent family practitioners and internists who performed skin biopsies and treated dermatologic conditions very competently. The issue was not what he was doing. The issue was who he claimed to be. He was a board-certified physician—but in emergency medicine, not dermatology.
That incident has always reminded me of a strange and sobering story from the Book of Acts:
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Acts 19:13–16 (ESV)
It is one of the most humorous—and unsettling—encounters in Scripture. The sons of Sceva wanted the authority associated with Jesus, but they did not belong to Him. They were attempting to borrow a name without having a relationship.
The evil spirit’s response cut straight to the heart of the matter: “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
That question reaches far beyond exorcism. It reaches into our own lives. Who are we when the titles are removed? Who are we when no one is watching? Who are we when our reputation, accomplishments, credentials, and social standing are stripped away? It is possible to look like a Christian, talk like a Christian, attend church, quote Scripture, and still never truly know Christ.
The sons of Sceva knew about Jesus. They did not know Jesus. Christianity is not borrowed authority. It is not religious performance. It is not attaching ourselves to someone else’s faith. It is a personal relationship with the living Christ.
One day each of us will stand before God. On that day, our resumes, titles, and accomplishments will mean very little. The question will not be whether we knew about Jesus. The question will be whether we knew Him.
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
#faith #trustinggod #christianity #jesuschrist #bible #seekinggodswill #truth #sanctification #godisincontrol #godhearsourprayers #salvation #providenceofGod #whoareyou #Acts19:13-16
