34.c. “So outwardly appear righteous to others”

 

Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

 2 Peter 2:2   And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

 1 Timothy 4:1-2  Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,  through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared

 Jude 1:4    For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God 

 Matthew 23:27-28  For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 2 Peter 2:3   And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

 Jude 1:13   wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

 Revelation 2:23     and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

Woe unto the world because of temptations- That is, temptations will be the cause of woe or of suffering. Temptations, here, mean things that will produce sin: that will cause us to sin, or to induce others to sin.  That is, such is the depravity of man that there will be always some who are attempting to make others sin; some people of wickedness endeavoring to lead Christians astray, and rejoicing when they have succeeded in causing them to fall. Such, also, is the strength of our native corruption and the force of passion, that our besetting sins will lead us astray. (Barnes)

Considering the cunning and malice of Satan, and the weakness and depravity of men’s hearts, it is not possible but that there should be temptation. God permits them for wise and holy ends, that those who are sincere, and those who are not, may be made known.  (Henry)

We have been told that there will be bold charismatic seducers, tempters, and  influencers as an advanced warning and instruction to be wise in God’s Word through the Holy Spirit’s leading and discern these who happily lead others to stray from truth. Man’s heart is evil, his tendencies are evil, temptation is strong. Satan is active; all these forces combine to bring about a fatal result. Thus St. Paul says (1 Corinthians 11:19), “There must be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” So these temptations of which Christ speaks are overruled and permitted for wise purposes, that by them the righteous may be proved and purified, and the chaff separated from the wheat. But woe to that man! Because of this evil principle which is rife in the world, no man is exonerated from the guilt of giving into temptations. He has free will; he can choose good; he can use the means of grace; he can strengthen his natural weakness, control his perverseness, overcome corruption, by the help of God always ready to be given to them who seek. The first “woe” is a cry of pity for a world in danger; the second “woe” is a denunciation of the sinner as being responsible for the evil which he introduces. We are all in some sort our brothers’ keepers, and are bound to help forward their salvation, and to do nothing which may tend to endanger their souls’ health. (Unkown)

33.r. “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump”

 

Matthew 16:5  When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 Luke 12:1   In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

 1 Corinthians 5:6-8   Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?  Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

 Galatians 5:9   A little leaven leavens the whole lump

 2 Timothy 2:16-17   But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,  and their talk will spread like gangrene.

 Matthew 16:12    Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 “It was the Jewish metaphorical expression for an evil influence. To the Jewish mind leaven was always symbolic of evil…leaven stood for an evil influence liable to spread through life and to corrupt it.” (Barclay) 

 “False doctrine; which is fitly called leaven, because it soureth, swelleth, spreadeth, corrupteth the whole lump, and all this secretly.” (Trapp)

Then Jesus said, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees — That is, of their false doctrine; elegantly called leaven, for it spreads in the soul, or the church, as leaven does in bread. (Benson)

It passes secretly, silently, but certainly through the mass of dough. None can see its progress.” So it was with the doctrines of the Pharisees. They were insinuating, artful, plausible. They concealed the real tendency of their doctrines; they instilled them secretly into the mind, until they pervaded all the faculties like leaven.   It is secret, silent, steady; pervading all the faculties of the soul and all the kingdoms of the world, as leaven, or yeast, though hidden in the flour, and though deposited only in one place, works silently until all the mass is brought under its influence. (Barnes)

When God’s Word is neglected or when we become complacent with its influence in our daily lives, it is then we will begin to tolerate (by intentional choice) worldly or fleshly thoughts or actions that had no room in our heart, mind, and soul previously. By His Word and through the Holy Spirit we are given discernment into what is right, pure, good, and holy.  By its neglect, we allow leaven in and day by day it silently and surely influences what we say, think, and do. How sad it is that through neglect and complacency we intentionally choose to become blind and deaf to things of God and the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives.  None are immune to the effects of “leaven”. The key is to be ever seeking and desiring the Holy Spirit’s leading through God’s Word so that in all things we think, say, and do, they honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

30.u. “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”

 

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 Matthew 23:25-28    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 Psalms 15:2    He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;

 Psalms 51:6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

 Ezekiel 36:25-27   I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

 2 Corinthians 7:1  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God

 James 3:17    But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

 James 4:8   Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

 1 Peter 1:22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

 1 John 3:2-3  Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Purity, inner purity, the image of purity, ceremonial purity have been attempted by many religions in many different ways. Pure of heart in Scripture seems to define it as a single, undivided heart – those who are sincere and not divided in their devotion and commitment to God. It is an inner purity and has external manifestations of the Holy Spirit which is in them. There are pollutants (sin) that pollute the heart. Greed, pride, lust, power, anger, deception, hate, confusion, self-reliance, self-worth, self-deserving, etc….. When these are present and acted upon there is little to no intimacy or relationship with God. A pure at heart person has heard the voice of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and humbly surrendered all of this selfishness, repented, committed, believed, trusted, followed, and obeyed Jesus Christ. The purity of heart comes through this alone and not by external actions, though there certainly are external actions that can be clearly seen in those of a pure heart. Being sensitive to Godly, holy, and heavenly spiritual things requires a heart and soul that is pure to things of God and always voiding the worldly and fleshly desires. If you are not conscious of spiritual things then your heart is focused on something else. The greatest motivator of purity comes from a desire to know and understand the grace, mercy, and love of God so that in all we say, think, and do Jesus Christ is honored and glorified. They want to be pure for His honor and glory, not ours. 

16.d. “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly and unspiritual.”

Philippians 2:4  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 13:13     Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

1 Peter 2:1-2    So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation

James 3:14-16     But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

2 Corinthians 12:20     For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

Unity is the goal, “Like-minded”, “having the same love”, “one purpose”, “On mind”.  What comes in-between members, families, and churches that cause a lack of unity.  The list is long. Pride, envy, jealousy, greed, selfish-ambition, quarreling, slander, conceit, hostility, anger, etc…… are all present in the worldly realm and should not be present in the church.  When we were born again we became new creatures, a new creation.  During our growth from an infant believer into a mature believer, we will encounter these worldly attributes in ourselves as well as others.  The Holy Spirit will bring these to light within us as we continue to grow in our walk with the Lord.  I don’t care how mature you are, there is always going to be something the Holy Spirit will bring to light in your life that is not in line with honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.  We need to be mindful of worldly influences.  We need to be able to identify that which is of this world and at odds with living godly lives.  The church is made up of Christians both new and old to the faith.  Learning to live in harmony with one another requires each of us to ensure we are seeking unity and not being influenced by how the world thinks we should react to certain situations, comments, people, etc…. When we stay in God’s Word we will find peace, comfort, and strength to identify and keep out worldly influences.  Don’t you wonder how many divisions have taken place just because of pride, anger, gossip, slander, conceit, greed, jealousy, selfish-ambition, and envy?  Ask God to reveal what He sees in your heart so that you can confidently know you are living your life full of the Spirit and honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do.

161. Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me,

1 Timothy 3:1  But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

Phillipians 2:21  For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

Titus 1:16    They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Matthew 23:27-28    So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Ezekiel 33:30-32     “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’  And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.  And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

Isaiah 29:13     And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me,

Why is it that we struggle with temptation when we have been regenerated (born again).  The simplest answer is because we had and still have a sinful nature.  This sinful nature tries to pull us down and give in to what the world has to offer.  Think about how a plane is able to fly.  When it is designed properly and has engines with enough thrust it is able to defy gravity and while these engines are operating it is able to fly.  If we shut down these engines it may be able to glide for a short period of time but ultimately gravity will pull it into the ground.  Our new lives are much like this example.  When we are regenerated (born again) and the Word of God is active in our life every day, then our ability to discern temptation and fight it keeps us lifted up.  When we choose to not have the Word of God active in our life every day, then, temptation will come at us like gravity and pull us in. We will fall into patterns of life that are not Godly.  Just because we have been regenerated (born again) does not stop temptation but rather gives us the engine to set ourselves apart from worldly temptations and the Word of God gives us the fuel to keep walking with God in ways that honor and glorify Him.  I am sure of this; fueling up on Sunday and thinking it is going to get you through the week is foolish thinking.  The word of God cannot be mixed with the philosophy of the culture of the day.  This will only make the fuel ineffective and though you may think your plane is worthy of flight, it is not.  Likewise, if the Word of God is not seen as fuel it will be neglected and we will be happy with a plane that never flies.  A plane that does not fly, and if it is not flying it will never honor and glorify God.

Cast out fear, God is Greater

“At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!  But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”

‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

John 7:13  Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

John 12:42    Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;  for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Proverbs 29:25     The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Galatians 2:12    For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.  And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

2 Timothy 2:9     for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.  The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;  if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

Fear is something common to all man.  Deep down or on the surface it is there.  Fear takes root in the place where there is unknown outcomes. In our heart and mind we formulate what the possible future outcomes could be based on connecting the dots from past experiences or things we have heard or seen.  From an early age we learn either to respect  or fear natural affects of fire, gravity, snakes, bees, wild animals, water currents, speed, etc…. Some of these we have experienced and others we have heard of their affects on others. Sometimes we apply this same thought process to serving God and have fear based on only what is in our mind.  When it comes to serving God, fear should be blanketed in trust and faith in Him.  Trusting God is in control, He is more powerful than whatever I’m facing, He has promised to be our refuge, strength, and power.  He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He can do more than we ask and much more than be can imagine.  Replace fear with Trust and Faith in Him alone who can overcome whatever is or is thought to be before us.

Brood of Vipers

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell

We chase after many do’s and don’ts hoping to find something we can hang our assurance on.  This is known as a “performance” based salvation and is not what God seeks.  Scripture calls those who teach this practice different names; whitewashed, hypocrisy, blind.  We are not much different though are we.  We keep a ledger in our mind of the good and bad we do trying to be right in God’s eyes.  We will never be right in God’s eyes trying to perform good enough.  Paul said salvation is by the grace of God and not by works lest any man might boast.  We must be careful to keep our feet firmly planted on God’s grace and forevermore be thankful.  We will never find that peace of God’s that passes all understanding performing for it.  We only truly find a place of purpose, peace, rest, joy, stronghold, hope, love, mercy, kindness, faith….. when we listen and obey. Listening and obeying is not performing – it is choosing to humbly following  and be a servant to the Heavenly Father in whom you have placed your heart and soul because of what has been done through Jesus Christ – salvation and eternal life.

 

Matthew 23:24
These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel
For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self
For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness

1 Samuel 15:22
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God