Staining the Deck
I noticed I'm blogging based on incidents that have occurred this summer and this blog entry is no different. Wondering what I've been up to? Oh yeah, the title gave it away. So here goes...
As I was sweeping my paint brush across the wooden planks of our deck, I thought about how amazing it is that the blood of Jesus covers all of our sins. I admired the exterior transformation that was taking place before my eyes (the deck REALLY needed to be stained) and a scripture came to mind: "You are like whitewashed tombs..." What? How does that fit with my previous thought? I had to look it up to see what Jesus was referring to. It's found in Matthew 23:27-28:
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
Jesus' concern is that the religious leaders looked righteous but weren't. They were (literally) acting righteous and didn't have integrity. Their inner world and outer world didn't match. Just like the whitewash was merely there for esthetics and didn't touch the inside of the tomb, the righteous actions of the teachers of the law and Pharisees were for public image not personal holiness.
So how is the covering of our sins by the blood of Christ different than the "whitewashing" of hypocrites? Because the blood of Christ not only covers our sin (Romans 4:7) but also cleanses us from it (Hebrews 9:14). We are washed (1 Cor. 6:11). The stain of our guilt is removed that we may be made righteous inside and out!
Interestingly, Jesus exhorts those He is rebuking to "First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean" (Matt. 23:26) in the verse right before calling them whitewashed tombs. God's desire isn't just that we would look, act or speak in ways that others would say "that person is good and righteous". He wants us to become righteous through Jesus our Saviour (2 Cor. 5:21) and experience that transforming work of His Holy Spirit in us (2 Cor. 3:18). Then He will say "they are holy and blameless in My sight" (based on Eph 1:4).
As I was sweeping my paint brush across the wooden planks of our deck, I thought about how amazing it is that the blood of Jesus covers all of our sins. I admired the exterior transformation that was taking place before my eyes (the deck REALLY needed to be stained) and a scripture came to mind: "You are like whitewashed tombs..." What? How does that fit with my previous thought? I had to look it up to see what Jesus was referring to. It's found in Matthew 23:27-28:
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
Jesus' concern is that the religious leaders looked righteous but weren't. They were (literally) acting righteous and didn't have integrity. Their inner world and outer world didn't match. Just like the whitewash was merely there for esthetics and didn't touch the inside of the tomb, the righteous actions of the teachers of the law and Pharisees were for public image not personal holiness.
So how is the covering of our sins by the blood of Christ different than the "whitewashing" of hypocrites? Because the blood of Christ not only covers our sin (Romans 4:7) but also cleanses us from it (Hebrews 9:14). We are washed (1 Cor. 6:11). The stain of our guilt is removed that we may be made righteous inside and out!
Interestingly, Jesus exhorts those He is rebuking to "First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean" (Matt. 23:26) in the verse right before calling them whitewashed tombs. God's desire isn't just that we would look, act or speak in ways that others would say "that person is good and righteous". He wants us to become righteous through Jesus our Saviour (2 Cor. 5:21) and experience that transforming work of His Holy Spirit in us (2 Cor. 3:18). Then He will say "they are holy and blameless in My sight" (based on Eph 1:4).
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