“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they
are full of extortion and excess.” (Matthew
23:25 KJV)
Jesus is speaking to the scribes and
Pharisees, condemning them for making the outside look so good and inviting,
nut the inside still being vile and vicious.
John MacArthur said it this way:
“The Pharisees’
focus was on external issues lay at the heart of their error. Who would want to drink form a cup that had
been washed on the outside but was still filthy inside? Yet the Pharisees’ lived their lives as if
external appearance were more important than internal reality. That was the very essence of their hypocrisy
and Jesus rebuked them for it repeatedly.”
While these
words were recorded many years ago, they still ring true today. For many, far too many, are willing to clean
the outside and yet hide the inside of dirt, grim and filth, thinking
everything is well with them. As they
sound like believers who are sealed and sold out, they are “tinkling cymbals
and noisy bells.”
Take as an
example the one who sat in worship this morning. They came into the house of God, with the
clothes of worship on. As they admired
themselves in the mirror before leaving for the church house, they smiled at
the reflecting. They looked good. Dressed in the best they had in the closet,
their hair combed and brush just so, and all the trappings of success; they
looked good.
In the
church house they knew all the right words to say, “Good morning brother.” They knew all the right words to sing, “My
hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.” They even knew the right thing to say to the
preacher, “I’ll pray for you as you break forth the Word, Pastor.” As the preacher spoke on living for Christ,
trusting Christ, walking with Christ; there might have even be a few “Amen’s”
from this most excellent looking parishioner.
Oh, they had the looks of a good, godly soul, but there was something
wrong; something terribly wrong.
When the Samuel
was sent to the house of Jesse, to anoint the king to replace Saul, God
revealed a valuable lesson to the man of God which we need to take into account
today. As Jesse’s boys lined up before
the man of God, he eyed the very first one and said, “Surely the Lord’s
anointed is before [me].” (1 Samuel 16:6)
But God had a word for the man of God was:
“But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord
seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but
the Lord looketh on the heart”. (1
Samuel 16:7 (KJV)
Do not miss the aforementioned
words. While the world sees the outward
trappings of success and status, God sees the heart. While the world sees a man who is handsome, a
woman who is beautiful; God sees the heart.
While the world hears the educated speech, identifies the proper social
acceptance and hones in on the societal temperament; God sees the heart. As these traits gain acceptance with the
world standard; God rejects them and accepts a heart that is clean before Him.
Solomon said, in essence, “God has
put eternity in our hearts.” (see Ecclesiastes 2:24) That is correct. God created us not for this life but for the
life to come. He did not create us for
the earth; but for heaven. We are here
for a moment, a time and a season, for a blink of the eye, and then we are
gone. Gone to eternity-you either spend
eternity with Him or an eternity separated from Him. The choice is for you to make.
“For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV)
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