Inside, Then Out

“Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matthew 23:26)

Matthew chapter 23 contains a harsh rebuke by the Lord to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the fundamentalist of their day. They had the right doctrines. In fact Jesus admonished the disciples to do what the Pharisees taught, but He was careful to warn them not to follow their example. They were hypocrites: they portrayed on the surface a godly lifestyle, yet on the inside they were anything but godly. They were a cold and judgmental bunch. They were quick to point out the flaws of others but they never looked within themselves to see if their own lives were right. They had all kinds of inward problems, yet they focused on pointing out the flaws of others.

Unfortunately today we often see Christians who we thought had “all of their ducks in a row,” only to discover that they are hiding some dark sin in their lives. They looked good on the outside but they were filthy on the inside. Don’t misunderstand, we all struggle with sin, but we must be careful that we come clean with the Lord through confession and then do our best to forsake the things that displease Him. God forgives and cleanses from us from our sin. More importantly though, we must not try to appear to others in a self-righteous way.  As Bible-believing Christians today, we must be very careful that while we take our stand for all of the right doctrines and as we preach the truth about sin, that we make sure that we don’t portray ourselves as above sin. We are sinners just like everyone else. While we try to live our lives as righteously and separated as we can, we are still a people who struggle with sin ourselves. Most importantly, we must not think ourselves to be any better than those that are without. If it wasn’t for the grace of God we could certainly find ourselves involved in some of the vilest sins. We must have a genuine compassion for people who are struggling. We must never compromise the truth, but we should preach the truth with a tear in our eye.

Jesus was very hard on the religious crowd, the ones that didn’t think that they needed any help. However, you will find that though He never once compromised in either His living or His preaching, He always treated the lost sinner with compassion. He loved them to Himself. We must do the same thing. While we strive to live a holy, separated life let us also demonstrate love and compassion to the lost world around us. If they get upset with us for our position, so be it; but let them never be able to find fault with our disposition.

Christianity distinguishes itself from all other religions in that it does not focus on an outward conformity to a set of rules or standards but rather involves a relationship that results in an inward transformation. Paul admonished the Roman’s to not be conformed to the world but instead be transformed inwardly (Romans 12:2). Christianity is about a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ which results in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God within the heart of every believer. The Holy Spirit works from the inside and slowly but surely brings about a change in the outward behavior. True believers are “new creatures” because of the presence of God within them (2 Corinthians 5:17).