“Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse
first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them
may be clean also.” (Mt 23:26 AV)
Verses like this one have been used to wage arguments for and against
standards of separation among fundamental Baptists for generations. Those who wish to exercise their liberty free
from moral standards of separation stress the idea found in this verse that the
inside is important. However, they tend
to stress the inside to the exclusion of the outside. Those ministries whose objective is a mere
outside conformity so as to avoid embarrassment among others of like faith tend
to stress the outside as more important than the inside. This was the problem with the Pharisees. They had the outward man well disciplined
into separation and religious duty.
Those things which could be seen of men were tended to with a regimental
discipline worthy of the greatest army on earth. However, the inward man was left to
himself. Those who recognize this tend to
blame the standard as the problem. But
it is not. It is the lack of equal
concern for the inward as there was for the outward. A lack of balance was missing.
There was this old boy scout trick my father taught us that made
clean-up much easier after a meal was prepared on an open campfire. As anyone who has camped knows, the smoke
from an open fire can adhere to a pot or pan in a way that makes gorilla glue
look like sap. If there are any pits or
dents in said pan or pot, it is virtually impossible to clean the cooked-on
carbon from it. So, to solve the
problem, my father had us smear a thick layer of soap on the exterior of the pot
or pan before we placed it on the fire. When
clean-up time came, dipping the pan in water dissolved the soap alone with the
carbon that had baked on. Looking from
the outside one would think the cookware was clean. But one would be wrong. The inside needed to be cleaned as well. Conversely, of the inside was scrubbed free
from residue, the outside still remained caked with carbon. A truly clean vessel was clean on the inside
and outside. If the baked-on soap was
not fully cleaned, it could leach into the food the next time it was used. If the inside was not cleaned, then it would
mar the next prepared meal. Both had to
be cleaned.
The same is true of the sinner and saint. Let’s put it right out there. Separation is both necessary and
expected. Stop complaining about the encroachment
on your liberty. Take up the cross and
bear it! Wear modest, appropriate, and
gender specific attire. Look like a
Christian who can be defined as such by a simple glance as opposed to an inquisition. Jesus surrendered His liberty and hung on a
cross. The least we can do for Him is
walk worthy of the vocation wherein we are called. However, don’t for a moment think that
conformity on the outside makes one a disciple on the inside. The heart and flesh are equally in need of
discipline. This is what the LORD is trying
to tell us. He did not come to destroy
the law. He came to fulfill it. So, let us stop complaining about the
law. It is what Jesus would have
done! And did! At the same time, let us consider the sermon
on the mount. A standard of the law that
went deeper than the outward man. It
went to the heart. Work on both and the
LORD will realize glory from our lives.
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