Faking Fitness

Faking Fitness Faking Fitness Michael Morse / General Crossfit / Hypocrisy; Woe; Legalism; Leaven; Whitewash / Luke 11:37-12:3 Introduction 1. There are somethings easy in life to fake - fitness isnt really one of them a. It is easy to see if someone is focused on physical fitness and how dedicated they are i. Abs kinda tell the story ii. Muscle tone b. Physical fitness is easy to determine - because you can usually physically see it 2. Spiritual crossfitness cannot be determined by the outward - it is easy to fake it a. Its a mask we all wear to appear better and more spiritually fit than we are b. Luke's Gospel finds us in a spot where Jesus is in the presence of those who fake spiritual fitness i. There is some important lessons we can learn about faking fitness › SLIDE Luke 11:37-39 CSB 37 As he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that he did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner. 39 But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. › SLIDE Luke 11:40-42 CSB 40 Fools! Didn't he who made the outside make the inside too? 41 But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you. 42 "But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others. › SLIDE Luke 11:43-45 CSB 43 "Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 "Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don't know it." 45 One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too." › SLIDE Luke 11:46-48 CSB 46 Then he said, "Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, and yet you yourselves don't touch these burdens with one of your fingers. 47 "Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Therefore, you are witnesses that you approve the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their monuments. › SLIDE Luke 11:49-51 CSB 49 Because of this, the wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' 50 so that this generation may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world-51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. "Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible. › SLIDE Luke 11:52-54 CSB 52 "Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were trying to go in." 53 When he left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely and to cross-examine him about many things; 54 they were lying in wait for him to trap him in something he said. › SLIDE Luke 12:1 CSB 1 Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, "Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. › SLIDE Luke 12:2-3 CSB 2 There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that won't be made known. 3 Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. › SLIDE Sin of Faking › SLIDE Luke 11:37-38 CSB 37 As he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that he did not first perform the ritual washing before dinner. › SLIDE Luke 11:39-41 CSB 39 But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 Fools! Didn't he who made the outside make the inside too? 41 But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you. 1. Faking is the sin of hypocrisy a. Jesus was invited to dinner by one of the Pharisees i. Dinner time was a time to be hospitable and was reserved for close friends and to bestow love on one another ii. The Pharisee I dont see intending it to be this way for Jesus b. Jesus entered in and reclined at the table i. This amazed the Pharisee for Jesus did not perform the ritual washing before dinner. 1. For these ceremonial washings special stone vessels of water were kept because ordinary water may become ceremonially unclean. a. To properly wash you would start with enough water to fill one and one half eggshells and water would be poured over the hands starting at the fingers and running down towards the wrist and then each palm was cleansed by rubbing the fist of the other hand into it, and water was poured again over the hands this time from the wrists to the fingers b. A really strict Jew would do this not only before a meal but before each course throughout the meal as well. 2. The rabbis and Pharisees were deadly serious about this too a. Bread eaten with unwashed hands is no better than excrement b. A rabbi who failed to do this was considered excommunicated c. Another rabbi was imprisoned by the Romans and used his ration of water for ceremonial cleansing instead of drinking - nearly dying of thirst - but regarded as a great hero ii. The Pharisee criticized Jesus' failure to wash hands as they saw fit 1. Jesus failed to wash - perhaps they thought He was unclean? 2. It would appear they were right and righteous themselves for they had washed their hands 2. Jesus perceived the criticism of the Pharisee and exposed the criticism as hypocrisy - they were faking it a. Jesus responds and says - you Pharisees take great care to clean the outside of the cup and dish but you neglect what is on the inside - for inside you are full of greed and evil. i. The Pharisees faking their cleanness - their righteousness based on what can be seen ii. The inside and the outside must be clean - more importantly the inside first › SLIDE Faking it - is the hypocrisy of cleaning only the outside while declaring it all clean b. Outwardly the Pharisees appeared quite righteous - but inward they were crooked and wicked, but here they were judging Christ for not washing the outside i. Keeping external regulations - while their hearts continued to be full of greed - robbery, plunder, and seizure ii. Pharisees were careful to maintain the APPEARANCE of righteousness, more so than the reality of it. 1. The appearance of clean - there is a saying in spanish - Limpiar lo que ve la suegra a. Clean what the mother-in-law sees b. A very superficial - surface cleaning - to give the appearance of clean. › SLIDE It is possible to be outwardly clean but inwardly vile, defiled and unclean 3. Jesus says the answer to the sin of faking it - is to look to the heart and make the heart clean also › SLIDE 1 Samuel 16:7 CSB 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the LORD sees, for humans see what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart." a. Jesus tells the Pharisees the one who made the outside made the inside also - if you believe He cares so much about the outside what do you think He thinks about the inside? b. Jesus says give from within - donate from the heart - this weeds out greed that keeps you unclean inside H.A. Ironside comments: When the love of God fills the heart so that one will be concerned about the needs of others, then only will these outward observances have any real value. He who is constantly gathering up for himself, in utter indifference to the poor and needy about him, gives evidence that the love of God does not dwell in him. › SLIDE 1 John 3:17 CSB 17 If anyone has this world's goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him-how does God's love reside in him? › SLIDE Examples of Faking › SLIDE Luke 11:42-43 CSB 42 "But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43 "Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. › SLIDE Luke 11:44-46 CSB 44 "Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don't know it." 45 One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too." 46 Then he said, "Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, and yet you yourselves don't touch these burdens with one of your fingers. › SLIDE Luke 11:47-48 CSB 47 "Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Therefore, you are witnesses that you approve the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their monuments. › SLIDE Luke 11:49-50 CSB 49 Because of this, the wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' 50 so that this generation may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world- › SLIDE Luke 11:51-52 CSB 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. "Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible. 52 "Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were trying to go in." 1. Jesus continues and gives examples of the faking of the Pharisees - describing them as woes a. Woe - harsh rebuking language - not of personal irritation - this is not Jesus getting back because of the hand washing - this is Jesus in love divinely warning and condemning their hypocrisy of faking fitness b. 6 examples of Pharisees faking both legalistically and religiously - desiring to be seen as righteous and holy by others. i. Verse 42 - tithing of everything while bypassing justice and love for God 1. Following the letter of the law (legalism) but ignoring the spirit of the law (love) 2. Ritual over practical, the secondary over the primary - excelling it what man saw and forgetting neglecting what only God would see 3. Pharisees were externalists - following the smallest details of ceremonial law but careless in relations with God and man › SLIDE Isaiah 1:11 CSB 11 "What are all your sacrifices to me?" asks the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats. › SLIDE Isaiah 1:13-14 CSB 13 Stop bringing useless offerings. Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons and Sabbaths, and the calling of solemn assemblies- I cannot stand iniquity with a festival. 14 I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to me; I am tired of putting up with them. › SLIDE Isaiah 1:16-17 CSB 16 "Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil. 17 Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause. › SLIDE Micah 6:8 CSB 8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. › SLIDE Matthew 9:13 CSB 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners." › SLIDE Hosea 6:6 CSB 6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. ii. Verse 43 - You love the front seat and the greetings 1. Filled with pride - pride in any form becomes a woe 2. Loving the place of prominence and attracting attention a. Whats the point of walking right with God and being holy if others dont know about it right? b. Using their spirituality to become a celebrity iii. Verse 44 - Like an unmarked grave the people who walk over it dont know 1. It was forbidden to walk over graves for it would cause one to become unclean and defiled for 7 days › SLIDE Numbers 19:16 CSB 16 Anyone in the open field who touches a person who has been killed by the sword or has died, or who even touches a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 2. The Pharisees were like an unmarked grave people would come across and become defiled and unrighteous without even knowing it a. Rather than being those who guide the people spiritually correct they led them to contamination b. They might as well be as lepers with signs warning anyone to stay away for they themselves are unclean and will cause others to become defiled and unclean iv. Verse 46 - teachers of the law loading people with burdens hard to carry - but not helping with any of these burdens 1. Using scriptures to fake it a. Pretending to be righteous while defending your unrighteousness v. Verse 47 - building tombs for the prophets - those who their fathers killed 1. Abel to Zechariah - the totality of the martyrs of the OT a. Abel the first innocent killed - because of His righteousness before God b. Zechariah - from 2 Chronicles (the last book for the Jewish order of canon) i. Perishing between the altar and the sanctuary - the altar and the house › SLIDE 2 Chronicles 24:21 CSB 21 But they conspired against him and stoned him at the king's command in the courtyard of the LORD's temple. 2. Jesus knew that though they honored the prophets their fathers killed - they will soon kill the One whom they prophesied about - Jesus knew the cross was coming and it would be this generation to kill Jesus the Son of God vi. Verse 52 - taking away the key to knowledge 1. You didnt want to go in yourselves - but also you hindered those who were trying to go in › SLIDE Matthew 23:13 CSB 13 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you don't go in, and you don't allow those entering to go in. 2. Outwardly they profess the scriptures but refused to receive the one whom the scriptures spoke of, and in refusing to believe they kept others from coming and believing › SLIDE John 5:39-40 CSB 39 You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me. 40 But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. a. They didnt want Christ for themselves but that wasnt enough they didnt want others to receive Christ either. › SLIDE Beware the Danger of Faking › SLIDE Luke 11:53-54 CSB 53 When he left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely and to cross-examine him about many things; 54 they were lying in wait for him to trap him in something he said. › SLIDE Luke 12:1 CSB 1 Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, "Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 1. When Jesus left the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Jesus fiercely and question Him on many things a. Their motivation for this was to trap Him in something He would say i. They desired to find something against Him - so that He would be wrong and they would not have to listen to Him b. When you are faking it - correction or rebuke is unwarranted and would remain unreceived i. Faking it means you are not open for correction or rebuke - this is a danger spot for you cannot be corrected and will continue to go wrong › SLIDE Proverbs 9:8 CSB 8 Don't rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke the wise, and he will love you. › SLIDE Proverbs 15:12 CSB 12 A mocker doesn't love one who corrects him; he will not consult the wise. › SLIDE Proverbs 15:32 CSB 32 Anyone who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever listens to correction acquires good sense. › SLIDE Proverbs 12:1 CSB 1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid. ii. Faking it means you are wearing a mask - in fact hypocrisy was the term used for one who played in a play - they wore masks 1. The outward appearance is different from what they are inward - masters of masquerade 2. Anyone who has worn a mask can tell you - it is hard to fake it and you cannot fake it till you make it 2. Jesus warns His disciples to be on guard against the leaven of the Pharisees - hypocrisy - faking it a. Be on guard - look out for and avoid - do not seek to be like or use them for an example or role model. i. This sin of faking it - has a danger - that danger is seen in the understanding of leaven - yeast 1. A symbol of sin - the sin of hypocrisy - the sin of mask wearing - of pretending - of faking it › SLIDE Faking it - like leaven it only takes a little to affect a great mass › SLIDE Like yeast - faking it - begins small but grows both quickly and quietly and soon infects the entire person ii. Faking it does to the ego what yeast or leaven does to the dough - it puffs it up b. To avoid faking it - we must avoid the first or the "little" bit of leaven › SLIDE Galatians 5:9 CSB 9 A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. i. Once we start pretending the process quickens and the longer we wait the worse it gets Sir Walter Scott - wise words O what a tangled web we weave When we first practice to deceive › SLIDE The End of Faking › SLIDE Luke 12:2-3 CSB 2 There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that won't be made known. 3 Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. 1. The end of faking - is that no matter how well you fake it - it will be revealed a. Everything will be revealed - uncovered and nothing will remain hidden › SLIDE Faking it requires the ability to mask the reality - but we can only fake it with men - never can we fake it with God i. God knows all and sees all - we can pretend to be righteous all we want - be washed on the outside - but if we arent washed on the inside it doesnt matter what the outside looks like. ii. Appearance of righteousness cannot save - appearances can be deceiving - only inward reality of righteousness can save - this only comes from Jesus 1. We cannot fake being a sheep or goat - but we will be separated as sheep or goats b. We must be concerned with the inward more than the outward - because when the inward is changed the outward changes in accordance with the heart. i. Be more concerned with the cleansing of our hearts as opposed to our hands - ceremony and ritual wont cleanse us only the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross can cleanse us! 2. Attitudes matter as much as actions a. Though He experienced increasing conflict and hate and opposition from religious leaders - Jesus didnt hate them in return 3. Faking it messes up priorities - we begin to major in the minors, we put our reputation above our character and help becomes harmful 4. Scripture must be used to expose and reveal - never to hide or conceal - or to fake it - this is the hypocrisy of the the lawyers and scribes a. Professing loyalty to scriptures outwardly but inwardly rejecting to receive them or the One of whom they speak We have many ways in which we say thank God I am not like... or that I dont.... - we have our standard of legalism - it doesnt have to be hand washing - there are a plethora or topics we divide over and judge one another on or lift ourselves up by › SLIDE Matthew 7:1-2 CSB 1 "Do not judge, so that you won't be judged. 2 For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. › SLIDE Romans 14:4 CSB 4 Who are you to judge another's household servant? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand. Do not fake fitness - be fit through Christ Jesus As we come to communion I invite you all to come and lay down the masks of hypocrisy and faking it - and come again to the blood of Jesus - the only thing that can make us righteous. › SLIDE Communion › SLIDE 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 CSB 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." › SLIDE 1 Corinthians 11:25-26 CSB 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 2:02 PM September 5, 2020.