How The Church Should Be Changing The World

Philippians 2:3-4 - Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  NKJV

Philippians 2:3-4 - Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. 4 Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.   (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

•  One Could Only Imagine

Could you imagine how different the world might be if the Lord's church acted like He did when He was walking on the earth? One of the world's biggest complaints about the church is the hypocrisy of her members. The church having hypocritical members isn't anything new. Why all you have to do is read the New Testament and you will be finding hypocrites immediately. 

• NT Hypocrites 

Do you remember the story in Acts 5 where Ananias and his wife Sapphira sell a piece of property and then lied about the selling price? They were hypocrites. They were guilty of "selfish ambition". They wanted to look better than they really were.
 
Do you remember when Paul calls Peter out for being a hypocrite? This story of Paul and Peter's encounter can be found in Galatians 2:11-13? Peter would eat with the Gentiles until some Jews from Jerusalem came to town and then he wouldn't associate with his Christian brothers any longer. He esteemed himself and his Jewish brothers better than the Gentiles. This hypocrisy even engulfed Barnabas.
 
I knew of a congregation that wouldn't allow the men to serve at the Lord's Table without being dressed in a suit and tie. I always found this very sad because two of the men that would come dressed in their suits were later found to be guilty of being sexually immoral. 

• What Are We To Do?

You will always want to remember that people will let you down in this life. Don't give up on God because of His people. They may have been baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) but that doesn't mean they won't resort back to being a hypocrite. Peter, Barnabas, Ananias and Sapphira all did.
 
Keep your focus on Jesus and expect Christians to let you down and then it won't take you by surprise. Some people are motivated by "selfish ambition and wanting nothing more than being on the top rung of the ladder". They have made the wrong choice in life.
 
We are not to be hypocrites. We are to be followers of Jesus. We are to allow His light to shine through us.
 
Just remember the Bible states in numerous places that God will have the final words. His judgments will not be biased, they will be true and there is no way anyone can obstruct His justice. 

Think About These:

If you hate hypocrisy then you really want to go to Heaven.

Hell will be the last stop for all hypocrites. 
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Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

​Minister of God's Word