Sunday, October 9, 2011 am
CLEANING THE INSIDE
Luke 11:37-41
It
is no secret that people are concerned about appearance.
We live in a society where appearance is a big business.
There is makeup, fashions, possessions and associations.
We know that the world puts far too much emphasis on such things.
It is truly sad when we value such things at the expense of that
which is far more important.
But there is also another way, in which appearances are seen as
important. That is how our
character is perceived by others.
We desire to be seen as moral and upright.
We want our brethren to see us
as faithful and godly. And
that is a good thing. But
are outward appearances always accurate?
There are many careers in society where good moral character is
perceived as important - religious leaders, teachers, judges, law
enforcement officers and even politicians. But are they always pure?
How often do we hear of scandals?
(i.e. Politicians, in general, seek to give an outward appearance
that they are moral and upright.
But how sad it is how often they are caught in immoral activities
and scandals. Often, such
hypocrisy is a career ending act.)
The point is, we want our leaders to have good, moral character
and at times we will look the other way to keep it that way.
But is such a good thing?
In
our lesson today I want to talk about how the outside needs to reflect
what is inside and make some observations about how we can ensure that
such is the case.
a.
Like many questions
about morality, it is loaded.
The answer depends on what you have in mind.
b.
When it is not important
– If you are talking about superficial looks, it is not important.
i.
Prov. 31:30 says, “Charm
is deceitful and beauty is passing.
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”
ii.
1 Peter 3:3-5, “Do not
let your adornment be merely outward — arranging the hair, wearing gold,
or putting on fine apparel —
4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the
incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very
precious in the sight of God.”
iii.
Many a man has been
deceived by outward appearances.
When you choose a mate based upon looks (alone) or some other
outward standard (like wealth), or choose your friends based upon
outward circumstances, you are setting yourself up for disappointment
and failure in matters that really do matter.
c.
It is important – when we consider that we are to be examples to those around us,
our spiritual appearance is VERY important.
i.
Matt. 5:16, Phil 2:15
tells us that we are to be children of God without fault “in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as
lights in the world.”
ii.
1 Peter 2:12, “having
your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against
you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe,
glorify God in the day of visitation.”
iii.
People ought to perceive
that we are religious! Jas.
1:26,27
They ought to see Christ reflected in our lives – Gal. 2:20
They need to see the word of God demonstrated in our conduct – Col. 3:16
iv.
There is nothing will
turn off a seeker quicker than hypocrisy.
And quite honestly, if we are poor examples we are going to
answer for it in the day of judgment.
a.
Absolutely!
Consider the text we began with.
i.
Luke 11:37-41 – Jesus
observed the inconsistency between their pious, outward demeanor and
their corrupt behavior.
ii.
Matthew 23:25-28 states
the dilemma and solution clearly.
Jesus called them hypocrites and told them they needed to change
the inside.
b.
Hypocrisy is strongly
condemned in scripture and to be avoided.
i.
Hypocrisy is a term
associated with play acting according to Vine’s.
Thayer describes the word as “one who acts pretentiously, a
counterfeit, a man who assumes and speaks or acts under a feigned
character.”
ii.
Rom. 12:9 says, “Let
love be without hypocrisy.”
iii.
James 3:17 described the
wisdom from above (contrasted with demonic wisdom) as being without
partiality and hypocrisy.
iv.
Newborns are commanded
to lay aside all hypocrisy, envy and evil speaking and to “as
newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow
thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1
Pet. 2:1-3)
v.
One whose outward
appearance is inconsistent with his inward character is a hypocrite.
And when he deceives others, he is living a lie and has more than
one problem to deal with.
c.
God KNOWS your inward
heart and whether or not you are outwardly consistent.
i.
Heb. 4:13 says that
everything is naked and open before His eyes.
ii.
Let us never forget that
He judges the heart.
God told Samuel, when seeking a replacement for King Saul not to look at
outward appearances. 1 Sam
16:7, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at
his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not
see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord
looks at the heart.’”
iii.
Psalm 51:6, “Behold, you
desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make
me to know wisdom.”
iv.
Prov. 21:2, “Every way
of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
d.
Considering these
things, we must take seriously our need to live consistently.
Our inward man should be reflected in our outward conduct.
IF they are not, we have a problem.
And, whether you admit it or not, we KNOW whether or not our
lives are consistent both inside and out!
You can’t hide from God and you can’t hide from yourself!
a.
Let us understand that
what we are inside is most important.
Because if we are seeking to be right, what we are inside WILL be
manifested in our outward conduct.
i.
This is NOT a two-way
street. A good heart NEVER
yields evil outside – it is inconsistent.
But an evil heart will try to deceive.
Why? Because
hypocrisy is evil! It is a
product of the evil heart.
ii.
Jesus taught this in the
Sermon on the Mount, Matt 7:15-20, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from
thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit. 18 A good
tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. 20
Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
iii.
Consider also Matthew
12:33-37 where Jesus condemned the religious leaders for their bad
fruit.
iv.
As an aside, we need to
be careful to not look merely at one’s outward appearance.
We need seriously weigh the actions and words of others and make
judgment accordingly.
John 7:24 says, “judge with righteous judgment.”
b.
Be converted
i.
Acts 3:19, “Repent
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”
ii.
You have to be converted
if there is to be a hope.
The word, converted, means, ‘to turn around.’ (Vine’s, Thayer).
The idea is one who changes from one state to another.
iii.
To change the inward man
REQUIRES conversion.
iv.
Accept and submit to
God’s terms of pardon:
1.
If you have never obeyed
the gospel, let me encourage you to do that.
Jesus spoke of being born again.
John 3:3-8.
It is in God’s word that we learn how to be born again.
James 1:18, “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of
truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures”
James 1:21, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of
wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able
to save your souls.”
1 Peter 1:22-24, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the
truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one
another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of
corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives
and abides forever”
What must one do? Obey the gospel! Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, 22:16, etc.
2.
If you have obeyed the
gospel, and you are unclean.
Make yourself right with God again.
James 5:19-20 speaks of one wandering from the truth and someone
turning him back (the same word as “converted” in Ac. 3:19).
What must one do? 1 John
1:8-10, Acts 8:22.
c.
Be sanctified
i.
The word sanctify means
to set apart. Conversion is
change of one’s state. It
involves your repentance (which means to change one’s mind).
Sanctification is the action which helps you maintain your
converted state. While God
sanctifies us when we are converted (sets us apart for His use – cf. 1
Cor. 6:11), we also have to sanctify ourselves for him.
That means removing whatever idols are in your life, purifying
yourself self and redirecting your motives and conduct.
ii.
Sanctify the Lord God in your heart – 1 Pet. 3:15.
iii.
MAKE UP your mind! This is an absolute
necessity in purifying the inner man.
The will HAS to be there, or you are going to struggle with the
inner man. Rom. 12:1-2
tells us to be transformed “by
the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.”
iv.
Put off the old man – Col 3:5-11, “Therefore put to
death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness,
passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of
these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7
in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to
one another, since you have put
off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who
is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”
Eph. 4:20-24, “But you have not so
learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by
Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22
that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which
grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the
spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was
created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
v.
Put on the new man
– it is not enough to put to death the old man, you must put on the new
man as both the above passages demonstrate (Col. 3:10-11, Eph. 4:23-24).
Romans 6:3-4 in describing the act of baptism notes that we put to death
the man of sin and bury him.
We are then “raised to walk in newness of life.”
Vs. 14 says sin no longer has dominion over us.
This will only occur if we replace the old man with the new man.
Friends - that is how we clean the inside.
As we have noted, if we do that, the outside will take care of
itself and our lives will be consistent.
Think about it! What
about you? Is your inside
clean? Is the life you live
before the world and your brethren the life you live before God?
If not, let me admonish you to change.
Your eternal soul depends on it.