Christ on the Outside // The Best of the Best, Part 7

There’s nothing worse than a hypocrite. One of the things we’re called to be, if we believe in Jesus, is Ambassadors of Christ. But if how we live our lives – what we say, what we do – if our lives don’t measure up – then what sort of Ambassadors are you and I going to make? When people look at us – what do they see?  An Ambassador, or a hypocrite?

Let me ask you a question, if you're someone who believes in Jesus and who drives a car, do you have some sort of Jesus bumper sticker? One of those fish stickers on your bumper bar. Maybe, maybe not. It's okay even if you don't, that's okay, I don't either.

But if you had to put one on your car, let me ask you, does your behaviour on the road as a driver match up to the message of the sticker? I mean, are you a courteous driver who obeys all the road rules or do you break the speed limit, honk your horn at people and yell at them from the inside of your car?

I guess if you're a courteous driver it will be okay to have a fish sticker or a Jesus sticker on your car because your behaviour is a good advertisement for God. In effect because what you advertise on the sticker and how you behave, they match up and so the message works.

On the other hand, can you imagine a rude impatient driver who's constantly breaking the road rules, identifying themselves as a Christian by some sticker they put on their car. Not a very good ad for God is it? And it turns out that who we say we are, who we hold ourselves out to be and who we actually are, in what we say and what we do, if those two don't match up, well there's a name for that. We call those people hypocrites.

Over this past week on the program we've talked about living our lives as ambassadors of Christ. The key Bible verse that I've been quoting and forgive me if you've been with us each day and you've heard it before but I'm assuming some people haven't. The key Bible verse I've been sharing this week is 2 Corinthians chapter 5; verse 20 where the Apostle Paul writes:

We are ambassadors for Christ since God is making His appeal through us.

In other words, God, just as He used the Apostle Paul, wants to involve you and me in the business of making His appeal to the rest of the world. Now, what we've seen over the course of the week is that we don't all have to be Paul's to do that. Diplomacy, which is the role of an ambassador, mostly happens in one on one relationships where trust is built, so governments have relationships and a place and a forum to resolve difficult issues. That's the point of diplomacy and it's the role of an ambassador. I think sometimes we're mislead into thinking, "Oh wow, an ambassador of Christ, well that would have to be the Pastor's role, not me 'cause it sounds like flashy up front kind of title'.

And yesterday we saw that in order to be an ambassador for say India, we have to be Indian. If we're Swedish no one's going to believe we're the Indian ambassador, right? Who we are on the inside really counts, that's why God promised us something new. Ezekiel chapter 36:26:

A new heart, God said, I will give you. A new spirit I will put within you. I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Now we can't change who we are on the outside until we've had a change of heart on the inside. I've tried it, you've tried it, it doesn't work. If something first happens in our hearts to change us on the inside, then changing on the outside is kind of a natural progression of that, it's much easier.

That's what we talked about yesterday. Today we're going to follow on with a natural continuation of that. Today we're going to look at how important it is, who we are on the outside is consistent with whom we say we are on the inside. And that's why I kicked off with that story of the bumper sticker.

It's kind of obvious isn't it? Now I'm not suggesting that you or I are ever going to live a perfect life. I pretty much make mistakes every day, you probably do too and no one expects us to be perfect. But either how we live declares that our heart and our life has been changed by God or it doesn't.

And if it doesn't then without putting too fine a point on it, we're being hypocrites. That's something that Jesus identified in the religious leaders of His day. They pretended to be O so holy on the outside but on the inside, well have a listen to what Jesus said to them. Matthew chapter 23, verses 25 and 26:

Woe to you Scribes and Pharisee's, you hypocrites. For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate but inside they're full of greed and self indulgence. You blind Pharisee's, first clean the inside of the cup so that the outside may also become clean.

Pretty in your face isn't it? But you know, I'm comforted by that. I like it that Jesus is concerned about both our hearts, who we are on the inside, and our hands, who we are on the outside.

If someone came to me and said to me, "You know Berni, I've heard what you've been saying, I've decided I want to be an ambassador of Christ, what do you think is the most important thing?" Well, this is how I would answer.

"The first thing is your heart and your relationship with God, being completely sold out to Him. If you don't have that then you can't pretend."

"And the second thing is how we behave because if you say that you're one thing and you do completely the opposite, people will pick you as a phoney (Berni clicks his fingers) like that. And then, instead of shining Gods light into the world, you've just turned people off."

Let me give you an example. My country, Australia, has a strong relationship with the United States, has had for a good many years. Now imagine that the US government appoints a new ambassador to Australia and sends him across the pond to our country and within a few months we discover he's a lecherous drunk who can't keep his hands off women, whether or not he happens to be any good at his trade of diplomacy.

And scandal after scandal involving this new ambassador hits the news and the press. How do you imagine such a person would influence the view that we Australians have, not only of the US government but of the American people? It wouldn't be good for the relationship, it would be devastating wouldn't it? Not only would this so called ambassador hurt the people around him but he'd bring his nation and his people into disrepute.

And that’s why the lives we lead as Christians are so important. Come on, let's get real. Does hypocrisy display the glory of God? No, it brings God and Gods people as a whole into disrepute. 'Oh those Christians, they're just a bunch of hypocrites.' And God, God doesn't like hypocrites. Listen again to Jesus, Matthew chapter 23, verse 25:

Woe to you Scribes and Pharisee's. You hypocrites for you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate but inside you're full of greed and self indulgence.

People talk about missional living, living out our lives as missionaries in this world. You know, I think the biggest thing that we can do to live missionally is to live a holy life. What's a holy life? It's a life where the cup and the plate are clean on the inside first as well as the outside. Peter the Apostle sums it up like this. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 14-16:

Like obedient children do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead as He who called you is holy be holy yourselves in all your conduct. For it is written, 'You shall be holy for I am holy'.

My friend, there is something wonderful and utterly sublime when we roll up our sleeves with God and we get to clean the inside as well as the outside and here's the thing, people notice. People sit up and take note and think to themselves, "You know, there's something different about that person. Something good. Something I trust. Something I want."

And there, right there in that place, clean on the inside, clean on the outside we have an ambassador of Christ.