More from Mr. Moody 6/8

“Character is what a man is in the dark.” ~ D.L. Moody

The Bible commands us in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Many great sermons have been preached on “Let your light so shine.” However, what we are on the outside is not nearly important as what we are on the inside. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees?

Matthew 23:25-28 - “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

The Pharisees were the Independent Fundamental Baptist of their day. Yes, they had many flaws, the main one being pride, but as far as their religion of Judaism, they were the ultra-conservative crowd. The Sadducees were the liberal, scholarly types, on the other hand. The Pharisees were clean and pure on the outside. They dressed nice, walked with dignity, had Bible verses written all over their clothes, they were well respected men, etc., But, Jesus wasn’t that impressed. Jesus looked at those “whited sepulchres” and said that they were full of a bunch of dead men’s bones!!! (By the way: who ever said that Jesus wasn’t a fiery preacher? He preached with passion and fervor against sin!!!) The Pharisees were the most spiritual religious guys in town, and yet Jesus looked at them and told them that they were wicked! Was that harsh? No, it was truth. Don’t get me wrong, God cares about the outside…”that the outside of them may be clean also.” But, God knows that the outside is not necessarily indicative of what is on the inside.

Jesus said, “cleanse first that which is within”. The main occupation of a Christian should not be, “What do people think about me?” But rather, “What am I in the sight of God?” We all need to re-evaluate ourselves today with this question…Does your outside match up with your inside? They are both important, but as a Christian, do they match? Are you “spick and span”, “spit and polished” on the outside, but dirty and carnal on the inside? Do you walk into church on Sunday with your KJB under your arm, decked out in your 3-piece suit, looking like the next Jack Hyles, but failed to even crack open your “beloved” KJB during the week? Are you that type of person? It’s not hard to be. In fact, I believe we all are this person at times, however, we should be striving to make our inside match our outside. If your spick and span on the outside, be spick and span on the inside!!!

The question is…who are you really? Are you really the person that people see on Sunday? Or, when you get in the car, do you turn back into your “real” self? You see, character is not what people think we are. It is who we are when no one else is watching! Sure, we’re good Christians when the cameras are on! But, what kind of Christian are you when no one’s looking? Of course, we dress modest! But, what do we wear when no one’s around? We keep our tongues under control! Unless we’re alone…We read our Bibles…when we’re at a prayer meeting. We love the preacher when we’re at church…but scowl about him in the car. Who are you? Are you really you? Or are you someone else??? “HUH?” Are you the “you” that we all know? Or is there an alter-ego that we don’t know about? God will not judge us on people’s perceptions!!! He will judge us with truth. The Pharisees looked spiritual, talked spiritual, walked spiritual, but were just walking dead men. What about you? What about us? Are we content to lead this double life? I don’t know if this applies to you today…and I don’t because there are only 2 people who do…you and God. Who are you…in the dark. That is where men are made…in the dark. You are who you are when no one’s around. Are you a good Christian when no one’s looking? This is something we all need to work on.