Sermons

PREACHED BY JOHN GAINES
AT LEONARD STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST

Christian Suits

1. John 19:1-3 (NKJV) So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands. The Roman soldiers were ridiculing Jesus before they took Him to His crucifixion.

2. The soldiers' words in v. 3 are spoken in sarcasm, but notice the terrible inconsistency between their words and their actions. They said "Hail, King of the Jews" while they were striking Jesus and beating Him.

3. In less dramatic ways, we are often guilty of inconsistent behavior. Our actions don't always live up to the words we speak.

I. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN APPEARANCE AND REALITY

A. A man was looking for a job and noticed that there was a position available at the zoo. He inquired and found the zoo had an unusual job opening. Seems the gorilla was a very popular attraction, but the old gorilla had died unexpectedly. Until the zoo could obtain a new gorilla, they wanted someone to dress up in a gorilla suit and act like a gorilla. All he had to do was just sit, eat, and sleep. His identity would be kept a secret. The suit was very realistic and no would visiting the zoo would know they were looking at a man in a gorilla suit instead of the real thing. Since the money was good, the man accepted the position. He was taken to the cage and pretended to go to sleep. After a few minutes, he got tired of just lying around so he got up and began to jump up an down and make gorilla noises. The people around the exhibit loved that. They began to throw him peanuts. Since the man loved peanuts, he gobbled them down. He played to the crowd more and more and was having a ball. He starting swinging on a vine, higher and higher he went. All of a sudden the vine broke and we was slung out of his enclosure and into the lion's cage next door.

In the cage with a lion, the man panicked. The huge lion only a few feet away looked hungry. The man in the gorilla suit started screaming, "Help! Help! Get me out of here! I'm not really a gorilla! I'm a man in a gorilla suit! Heeeeeelllllp!"

The lion quickly pounced on the man, held him down, and said, "Will you shut up? You're going to get us both fired!"

The obvious moral to the story -- everything is not always as it appears.

B. We have people going around in the world today wearing "Christian Suits" who aren't really Christians at all.

1. They may look like Christians.

a. They may even come to church services regularly.

b. They may not party and drink.

c. Their neighbors may even think they're great people.

2. They may sound like Christians.

a. They may not curse or use bad language.

b. They may know enough "Christian lingo" to fool people for quite a while.

C. Jesus spoke of people such as this in Matthew 23:25-28 (NKJV) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

D. Our appearances may fool people, but they never fool God [Galatians 6:7 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.]

II. HYPOCRISY DEMONSTRATED IN LIFE

A. Consider these pertinent Scriptures

1. Titus 1:16 (NKJV) They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

2. Luke 6:46 (NKJV) "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?

3. 1 John 1:6 (NKJV) If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

4. 1 John 2:4 (NKJV) He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

B. This "disconnect" between profession and practice is seen in many areas of life.

1. People claim to believe in the power of prayer, but they rarely pray.

a. James 4:2 (NKJV) You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

b. We only hurt ourselves when we fail to pray. God will not turn His children away empty-handed [Matthew 7:9-11 (NKJV) "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 "Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! ]

2. People claim to be thankful to God for all their blessings, but they give little back to the Lord.

a. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NKJV) On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

b. Does your contribution reflect the way you think the Lord has prospered you? Perhaps you need to count your blessings again.

c. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NKJV) But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

3. People claim to believe that the Bible is God's Word, but they rarely read it.

a. If the Bible is really God's message to us, it surely deserves great attention from us.

b. The Bereans were praised for reading the Scriptures DAILY [Acts 17:11]. Are we too busy to read the Word of God every day? If so, we're too busy!

4. People claim to want to be a part of the church, but they rarely attend.

a. Our goal should be to be present at every service of the church. Jim Bill McInteer recently missed a Sunday worship service because he had emergency surgery on Sunday morning. It was the first time since he was a boy -- about 70 years -- that he had failed to attend a worship service on the Lord's Day. After he came out of surgery, someone served the Lord's Supper to him in the hospital. All of us should have that kind of dedication to attending every service of the church.

b. Some choose not to come to Bible classes or night services. Maybe 9 o'clock is too early. Maybe it's a problem to come after dark. Think about this carefully. Do you suppose your worship will be acceptable to God at 10 o'clock if you have deliberately forsaken the meeting an hour before? Where did we ever get the idea that we could please God with cafeteria-style religion where we do only what we want when we want?

c. Be wary of slipping into the attitude of trying to do as little as possible instead of doing as much as possible. Paul was ready to "spend and be spent" for souls [2 Corinthians 12:15] Is the work of the church and helping people get to heaven this important to us?

5. People claim to love their neighbors, but don't want to help when needed.

a. Matthew 25:41-46 (NKJV) "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

b. We ought to be looking for opportunities to help people, not thinking up ways to get out of helping when asked.

6. People claim to hate gossiping, but they kept right on spreading rumors.

a. James 1:26 (NKJV) If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.

b. Keep your tongue under control.

(1) If something is not someone's business, don't tell them.

(2) If something angers you, calm down before you speak.

(3) If someone offends you, talk TO that person about it instead of talking ABOUT that person to other people [Matthew 18:15 (NKJV) "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother."]

7. People claim to make God their top priority, but they often choose work, school, or sports over God.

a. Mark 1:16-20 (NKJV) And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

b. No one said, "Lord, we'll catch up to you after work." or "Lord, we have to go to the ball game tonight. Maybe next time." They dropped what they were doing, put Jesus first and left their livelihood behind. That's what following Jesus means.

c. Those who put Jesus first will be rewarded [Matthew 19:29 (NKJV) "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.]

d. Some conflicts may be unavoidable, but whenever you choose to work, play in a ball game or do something else instead of attending church services, it is a choice you have made. God knows what you can and cannot do and He will hold you accountable for the unwise choices you make [Romans 14:12 (NKJV) So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.]

e. Joshua's counsel to Israel is still good advice for modern Christians -- Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

8. People claim to go to worship, but they don't worship.

a. Matthew 15:7-8 (NKJV) "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

b. Jeremiah 12:2 (NKJV) You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth But far from their mind.

c. Do we lie in the songs we sing?

(1) Singing Sweet Hour of Prayer but give the Lord only a few minutes of prayer time

(2) Singing Onward Christian Soldier but trying to evade the draft into the Lord's Army

(3) Singing Blest Be the Tie but willing to let the least offense sever ties of fellowship to fellow Christians

(4) Singing I Love to Tell the Story but never mentioning Christ to friends and co-workers.

(5) Singing We're Marching to Zion but no even willing to march to Bible class.

9. They claim to be Christians, but they are not.

a. Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

b. Many people think they're Christians, but they are only wearing "Christian suits". Doing the Father's will is necessary. No one can be saved in any other way than obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION
Credit to Daniel Gaines for many of the ideas in this sermon.

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