Life of Christ 111
Note: This is the second in an eight part mini-series on the errors of the Pharisees
Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, Glenn Davis and Felix Blanchard, dual Heisman winning running backs that won 3 national championships for West Point in the 1940's |
The first error with
which Christ reproached the Pharisees was that of placing a premium on the
external to the neglect of the internal. 'And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye
Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward
part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that
which is without make that which is within also?' (Luke 11.39-40).
This is exceptionally
strong language, even for Christ, but He clearly was justified in His choice of
words. How foolish is it, indeed, to painstakingly ensure the outside of a
dirty cup is carefully washed while all the while ignoring the filth on the
inside. Certainly, I want any dish I pick up to be clean on both the outside
and the inside, but, of the two, the inside is the more important.
In this we see the same
theme that has come up so often in His ministry, and that is the importance of
the heart. He must needs repeatedly emphasize this, not because Jesus didn't
care about the external, but because the Pharisees didn't care about the
internal. What we see so often in American Christianity is the unbalanced
mistake of being in a ditch on one side of the road or the other. Contrarily,
what we see so often in Scripture is a balanced approach, one which takes into
account the importance of both the inside and the outside.
Let us take the thorny
example of women's dress, for instance. Take a walk through any mall in America
and you will see attractive women parading around in all sorts of short, tight,
low, high, revealing attire. Worse than that, however, is that you can see
similar attire on almost any contemporary church youth group activity. Woe
betide any preacher who dares to address the subject, for he is quickly shouted
down with references to legalism, liberty, grace, and nunya business as if the
Bible is completely silent about the subject of how women ought to dress.
The simple truth is that the Bible does address it.
'In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel' (I Timothy
2.9). We may disagree over where to draw the line in relation to modest apparel
but we cannot disagree that there is a line, and that God's Word explicitly commands
women to dress modestly.
However, by the same token, there are some religious
groups in my experience who go take great care to ensure that their women dot
all the I's and cross all the T's when it comes to modesty, and yet sadly and
completely fail to emphasize much at all the importance of the heart. Woe
betide the preacher who dares to address the subject, for he is quickly shouted
down with references to weakening standards, greasy grace, and neo
evangelicalism as if the Bible is completely silent about the condition of a
woman's heart.
The simple truth is that the Bible does address it.
'Whose adorning let it not be that of outward adorning of plaiting the hair,
and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden
man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek
and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price' (I Peter 3.3-4).
We may disagree over what exactly a meek and quiet spirit means, and what are
the evidences and foundations of an incorruptible heart, but we cannot disagree
that these are an absolute necessity, and that God's Word explicitly commands
women to cultivate them.
I don't think God's people ought to ink themselves
with gang tats, wear clothing with swear words, or run around half naked. There
is an emphasis on modesty and propriety and a clean cut exterior in the Word of
God that is sorely lacking in today's culture, both secular and Christian – but
you can dress up your exterior to a modest and Christian fare thee well and
still be as wicked as the devil inside.
The Pharisees were foolish in Jesus' view, not because
they emphasized an external cleanliness, but because they did so while
completely ignoring the inward 'hidden man of the heart.' The solution to this
great pharisaic error is not to abandon any teaching or correction in relation
to the visible part of life, but to place, without fail, a tremendous emphasis
on the invisible part of life.
Holiness is being like Christ. That doesn't come
natural to humanity. We are greatly blessed in that He has furnished us with
the Holy Spirit enabled grace to do what is unnatural, and to progress in
holiness. But a holiness that is never seen by others isn't a genuine holiness,
and a holiness that is only tacked up like a false front isn't a genuine
holiness either. Let us make clean the outside of the cup, but let us, at the
same time, make clean the inside of the cup.
If you don't you are a fool.
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