Jesus had a problem with the Pharisees because they were different on the inside to what they were on the outside! He actually called them – you can look it up in Matthew 23.27 – a bunch of white painted coffins. On the outside looking very beautiful and on the inside dead, unclean bones.
Sometimes someone starts going to church, they even get born again, they even speak in tongues, but they do not reach a place where they start to yield their life to Christ, and do not reach a place where they value the love of God and loving other people. So, areas of their lives are still dead and unclean. They look great on the outside but if you get close you start to notice a bit of a whiff. They are dead on the inside.
These are the people who are living one way in church on Sunday morning, but then go home and act differently. They will do everything to be seen, and will never do anything to make a sacrifice – they will not live for Christ if it costs them something. They are hypocrites. The problem is not that often these people are deceiving others, but that most of the time they are also deceiving themselves.
They say the main work of a doctor is to diagnose a problem, once that is done, the solution is normally the easy part. It is the same in the kingdom, once you realize the problem you can solve it. But hypocrites will lie so often they believe the lies, they do something selfish and self-promoting and convince themselves they are humble and gracious and doing something righteous!
I have sadly seen this with pastors – some are wonderful in the pulpit and flow in the gifts, but then they are rude to the waiters in the restaurant and the ushers in the church. They are not the same person everywhere they go. People can preach Jesus, sing Jesus, exalt Jesus – then act in a way you wonder if they are even Christians and ever read a Bible!
Your external life should match your internal life! Do not live a dual life, do not be a hypocrite as you will end up falling off the bridge. You will not be able to hide the deadness inside you for long, before long you will stink and everyone will know what you are really like. Discover God’s goodness and love and turn to Him and find freedom today!
We don’t need a modern day Samson in the church – strong and anointed but unable to live for God, unable to be pure.
If you looked at Samson you would see the long hair – a sign of his dedication to the Lord – but he was yoked to the world, he was tied to it in his heart. Some people look dedicated but are not. They are tied up in the world, in immorality, in all sorts of messes. His not cutting his hair made people think he really loved God, and when it suited him he did love God. But he never made a sacrifice for the Lord, when no one was looking he just did what he wanted when he wanted.
He told his parents he really wanted to marry an unbeliever. He had two different personalities – a public one and a private one. Do not be a modern day Samson. If all your best friends and your girlfriend are unbelievers, you are a modern day Samson. Looked holy, but was having sex outside of marriage, and sex before marriage! That is not holy, that is not godly. He was a hypocrite.
How could a believer who wants to please God and live for God, who has a passion for God, who spends hours in prayer and studying the Word every day ever even contemplate a non-Christian wife, I will never know. I couldn’t imagine being married to someone I could not pray with, minister wife, serve with, worship with.
Samson was both spiritual and carnal. Next week, we will look at how that combination will destroy you!
Until then get rid of the hidden darkness and act like the man of God you look like. Selah!
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