Hippocritter!

Titus 1:16a, 3:8 – “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him…This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”

When I was growing up, I was taught a song at school that was called “Hippocritter.” The song focused on teaching children not to be hypocrites. I would love to sing it for you, but unfortunately, I don’t remember most of the words, but I do remember one distinct line from the song, “Hippocritter! Hippocritter! Say one thing and do the oppositter.” The song was a great reminder for me not to live as a hypocrite.

One of the hardest things about being a disciple of Jesus Christ today is that you are now carrying not only the name of Christ but a presumption that you are a hypocrite. So many people have been calling themselves Christians who do not live that way, that the name Christian almost seems to be synonymous with religious hypocrites. In Titus 1:16, Paul addressed to Titus that there were people in the church at that time, who were professing to know God, but their works actually denied Him. The verse seems to be a clear example of what Jesus said during His ministry, “By their fruits you shall know them.” So many people profess to be Christians but are living in a manner that says, “God is not going to rule or reign over my life,” yet they come every Sunday to church and sing songs about surrendering their all to God and having Him be their Lord. I saw so many people from my high school who professed to be Christians, speak like an unbeliever and act just like one too.  One application that I want us to draw from this passage today is that we examine our hearts right at this moment and see if we have been living as hypocrites. Do our works show that we have been saved by the grace of God or do they label us as hippocritters?

The second application is found throughout the rest of the book of Titus. A recurring theme that appears numerous times throughout the rest of the book is that we were called and should devote ourselves to good works. Titus 2:14 states, “…who gave Himself [Jesus Christ] for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.” Our second verse today states it clearly to us, “…I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” We have been called by Jesus Christ out of sin to live for Him and do good works. Now, this in no way tells us that we can work for our salvation for we cannot. Good works have nothing to do with you becoming saved, but it is a fruit that should come out of your salvation. It should be a fruit of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-10 states it best, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” We were called not only to turn from our sin but to a new life in Christ with new goals and new fruit. Let us as Christians not be hippocritters but close reflections of Jesus Christ that can testify of our new life not only through words but through our lives.

Standing Alone? No Way!

2 Timothy 4:16-17 – “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”

Fox’s Book of Martyrs is one of the most beloved Christian classics of all time. It probably ranks among the top few books that every Christian should read outside of the Bible, which include My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers and Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. To be truthful, I have probably only read 4/5 of this book, because I quickly got bored due to the old language and similar stories repeating over and over again, but it definitely can encourage a Christian in times of trouble. Fox’s Book of Martyrs recounts the sad deaths of many of the most prominent Christian leaders that have ever lived, speaking of the twelve disciples, Polycarp, and even John Huss. The multiple volumes of this book just kept adding more and more Christians who suffered and died for the cause of Christ.

Many of us who live in these privileged Western nations have never had to deal with strong persecution against our faith. We never had to deal with death or ostracizing or losing a job due to our faith. Because of this, most of us have grown laxed with how we stand for God, but the truth is there will come a time in your life that you will have to stand for Christ and that standing will leave you all alone. Paul wrote this same idea to Timothy in II Timothy 3:12, “yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” We might not have to deal with death and marytrdom, but we will definitely encounter some form of perseuction whether it be by words or being left out of a group or something or another. Knowing that this persecution will come to each and every one of us who are choosing to become disciples of Jesus Christ, this passage that we are looking at today can be a strong encouragement.

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy as he was awaiting his death in Rome. He was about to be beheaded by Nero. All of this because he was a Christian standing for the name of Christ. But he writes to Timothy that nobody sstood with him, everybody left him. How sad! Imagine being in that situation in which you stand up for Christ, thinking that everyone will stand up with you or at least your fellow Christian brethren, but you find yourself alone. That would break my heart! But what gave Paul strength during this time was one thing. Well, not a thing, a person – Jesus Christ. Paul knew that Christ was still standing with him and would always be faithful and that brought him strength. It is similar to the Old Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who all three stood against worshipping idols and were thrown into a fiery furnace, where God in the form of Christ preserved them.

Hebrews 13:5 says, “…For He hath said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'” This is God’s promise to each and every one of His disciples. So next time you need to stand up for the cause of Christ do not fear. Do not fall back. Do not be depressed thinking you are all alone, for Christ is with you.

An Expected End

Jeremiah 29:11 – “‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ saith the LORD, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.'”

Originally, I had planned to share with you all some other passage from 1 Samuel, but today, I was met with this verse in one of my devotionals. It is an amazing and beautiful verse that reminded me of a memory that I had before I moved to Maryland for an internship with the National Institutes of Health. The memory is of my father telling me this verse before leaving as my parents dropped me off here in Maryland. I don’t remember when it was or the circumstances around it except that he was saying this to me to bring me comfort, knowing that I would be here in this new place on my own – a new adventure and a new path. This verse brought so much encouragement because it reminded me that the Lord was directing my steps and was leading me to what would be best for me and His glory.

This verse hits home again recently because of what is happening to one of my close high school friends. He was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer. Now, the doctors arent even sure if it is malignant or not, but whatever the case, it is still shocking news that will drive a person to think about eternity. But knowing that this is a situation that nobody would wish on themselves, it gets you to think about how you would find encouragement at a time like this. I find that this verse is also a great encouragement for those in trying times. \

We must always remember that the Lord is guiding and directing our steps. In this verse, the word thoughts can be interchanged with plans, as some versions translate it. The Lord has plans for us that may at first seem evil, horrible, and downright mean, but His plans and thoughts for us are always for peace to give us a wonderful outcome in the end. This verse is just a wonderful reminder to us that as disciples of Jesus Christ, God will always work out for good all situations for them that love Him. Do not doubt your Lord but place your trust in Him, knowing that He will take care of every situation according to His purposes.

My Struggle

John 6:37 – “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”

So I would like to share with you the struggle I was having a few days ago. It is a struggle that arises up every once in a while in my life. It is similar to a struggle that drug addicts have with relapsing into drugs or alcoholics to alcohol. I have a tendency to fall into the struggle of doubt. This is not doubting who God is, but more like doubting if I belong to Jesus Christ as a Christian. Did I belive and place my trust in Him truly?

The truth is I have, but that doesn’t mean more that that He has died on the cross to save me. The reason I fall into this struggle of doubt so often is because I forget that it is not my belief or my repentance or my choosing that saves me, but it is Christ who saves me completely and fully by His grace. I have a tendency to want to take a part in it, so I try to find where I can do my part. I want a checklist of things to do, so that I can just check it all off. But the truth is salvation is nothing like that. It is a gift given to us by God. Today’s passage was a real encouragement to me, for it teaches me two things.

1) God will draw a person to Jesus Christ for salvation. When I frist became a Christian, I thought that my coming to Christ was a choice completely and fully of myself. I made the decision. I chose to believe. I turned to Him. But as I grew and learned more about Him and His Word, I learned that it was all Christ drawing me to Himself. It is as Jesus says later on in this passage, “No man can come to me, except he Father which hath sent me draw him…” (vs. 44). This reminder was such an encouragement because it reminded me that it is all because of Christ that I am saved. I had nothing to do with it. I accepted it, but that was it, and even the acceptance was through His drawing me to Himself.

2) Christ will in no wise cast out those who turn to Him. This was just a strong reminder of Romans 10:13 – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved…” How can we doubt that Christ will save us when He says that all who turn to Him, He will not reject. It even has one more fold application if you see the other versions, for it says that He will “never” cast out. As in, once saved, you will always be saved, even if you mess up.

Knowing how great our loving Father and Lord Jesus Christ is, how can we not seek to serve Him?

Partial Obedience is Disobedience!

1 Samuel 15:3, 9 – “”Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”…But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and wortheless they devoted to destruction.”

Today, we have many regulations that require vehicles of all kinds to be inspected before passengers may use it to get from one destination to another. airplanes need to pass inspections, cars need to pass inspections, even elevators and roller coasters need to pass inspections. Having this knowledge, I want to pose a question to you dear readers – Would you ever get into a plane, car, or even an elevator that has not passed an inspection? Now, I am not talking about a complete failure of the inspection but one where it covers maybe 80% of the checklist but misses just a few points. For example, an airplane is good to go for the landing brakes, the turbine engines, and the communications but fails in structural integrity. Or a car has a perfect engine, no tire problems, but has no brakes. I am sure that there is no way that you would get on any one of these vehicles, if even one of these checkpoints are not covered.

In a very similar way, obedience to God must be 100% not just 70, 80, or 99%. In the passage above, Samuel had just told King Saul, the first king of Israel, to destroy the Amalekites, an enemy nation of Israel, completely. Everything was to be destoryed man, woman, child, and livestock. It is very similar to the destruction that was supposed to happen to Jericho. But instead of destroying the Amalekites completely, Saul decided to spare what looked good in his sight – the livestock that were healthy and fattened and good for sacrifice. Saul decided to obey most of the command instead of completely. For this he was rebuked by Samuel three times. In vs. 13, he was rebuked, but Saul still tried to justify himself by talking about his good intentions for disobedience. In vs. 19, he was rebuked again, but Saul then tried to justify himself by blaming the people. And finally in vs. 22-23, Samuel rebukes him once more, to which Saul finally confesses that he had sinned.

So much of the time, we as disciples of Jesus Christ choose to obey God’s Word partially. We pick and choose what we want to obey and follow only those commands. We do this all the time based on our situations and what we want. Sometimes, we even have a “good” reason why we shouldn’t obey. But the LORD makes it clear here, that He will not take partial obedience but complete and full obedience. Even more, we choose not to obey completely, whenever God wants us to remove some type of sin/idol in our life. We say, “You can have this part and this part, because they are destroying my life and are useless, but let me keep this cause maybe I can use it for you.” Just like Saul, we destory the worthless and vile, but we keep the “good.” But we need to realize that when God demands obedience, He demands it completely. It is just like if you were a construction worker and had the blueprints in front of you. If you decided to follow 80% of the blueprints and change the other 20%, you did not complete the job, you are still missing 20%. We need to obey the LORD completely and fully. As disciples, what is it that the Lord is asking you to be obedient in today?

PARTIAL OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE!