Holiness or Hypocrisy
Words of Holy living to encourage and inspire
From Uncle George
Throughout the past two millennia Christians have attempted to live a holy life before God. In order to accomplish this holy life style and therefore be a “Spiritual Person” some have isolated themselves from the world. Others have adopted outward standards of dress, behavior, and customs.
Jesus cautioned against hypocrisy in Matthew chapter 23 when he spoke of the seven woes. Jesus said that some try to clean the outside of their cup but leave the inside dirty. If the heart is cleansed and full of the love of God and His light, the outside actions will be a reflection of that light and love coming from within. It is impossible for one to purify the heart by just cleaning up one’s outside actions. The Pharisees during Jesus’ time lived this double standard and there are Christians today who are acting the part of a servant of Christ without having the Holy Spirit reigning within.
On the outside the actions of a person living with Christ reigning and one living a hypocritical life will be similar and in fact it may be difficult to tell the two individuals apart. The difference is the motivation toward holy behavior. If the motivation is due to the love in one’s heart, that person is truly a child of the Savior.
I am certainly not advocating disregarding the standards of behavior within the Christian community, for we need these standards. But if we are merely performing a certain way because of the church’s rules or customs we do not have the spiritual freedom Christ died to give us. If we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, as Jesus instructed, the church rules will give us no problem because we will be living a higher standard.
Many times our rules exclude sinners from church, because they do not fit in. They cannot live that way or match up to the standards. Some want to become “good enough” first and then come to worship. Others who are trying to live the double standard just give up and backslide because it is so hard to live righteous. Hospitals are for sick people to make them well and churches are for sinners to heal them spiritually. The first thing a person should do is to seek God and after the sinful heart is replaced with a heart of love, everyone will notice the difference in attitude and actions.
If you are living a life based on outward works, God has a better way, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6. God is waiting and ready to fill you with his Holy Spirit and purify your heart.
May God bless you this week as you draw closer to Him. If you need spiritual counsel, contact a Bible believing church. You can also contact me at address below.
Uncle George Miller,
A servant of our Lord, serving in the Solomon Islands
PO Box 712, Honiara, Solomon Islands
email: george_nancy@reachone.com
For other information about our ministry - http://oceanianazarene.org
