A Tall Glass of Perfection - Part 3

Matthew 7:23

And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

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I promised to give some practical encouragement on how to avoid hypocrisy. Well, the more I thought about it, and thought about the Sermon on the Mount, the harder it became to make this practical. I've already said that this issue is one of internal transformation, rather than a superficial spirituality. The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. Our Father sees what is done in secret and rewards us accordingly.

A wise man once said, "Integrity is who you are when no one else is around." That's true to an extent, but I think Matthew 7 gives us some clues to how a person of integrity (in contrast to a hypocrite) would act around other people. Rather than giving you another spiritual "to-do" list, Matthew 7 provides some characteristics, some signs, that someone is genuinely living for God from the heart.

(1) A person of integrity will search their souls carefully before confronting sin in others. "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (7:5). It is important to note that rebuking someone is not forbidden here, and confronting someone's sin is not antithetical to having integrity. Rather, the sign of a true believer is confronting self before confronting others.

(2) A person of integrity will treat others the same way that they want to be treated. "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (7:12). The Golden Rule. 'Nough said.

(3) A person of integrity will be careful not to follow the teaching hypocrites. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (7:15). How do we know if we're following a false teacher? "You will know them by their fruits" (It's so important, he says it twice in this passage, and gives an illustration).

(4) A person of integrity is more interested in knowing God than impressing Him. Matthew 7:23, quoted at the top, is the key verse here. False teachers will be known by their bad fruits, and one of those bad fruits is a showmanship that is for one's own glory. If we are truly seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness, we will avoid this kind of self-glorifying behavior. Let us be careful too, that our tendency toward works-righteousness does not lead us to trust in ourselves and our own merit rather than only in the blood of Christ - the once for all sacrifice that has torn the veil and brought us back into the presence of our Creator.

(5) A person of integrity will build his life on the promises and commands of God. "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (7:24). It's easy to yawn at this point and say, "Every sermon application I've ever heard tells me to read the Bible more!" Well, it kind of looks like that is how Jesus is ending His sermon, too! But, look carefully and notice that it is not about the quantity of Scripture that you take in to your life. Rather, the man who will withstand life's stormy trials (and eventually withstand the storm of God's judgment) is the one who trusts in those promises and banks on the wisdom and goodness of those commands. Such a person will remain standing no matter what happens.

Again, this is not a spiritual "to-do" list. The glass of perfection is still too tall for us to handle in our own strength. We would end up like the man who built his house on the sand if we tried to impress God with our own wisdom and strength. And He wouldn't want it that way. He would rather that we come to him, trust him like a child with a father, and let our hearts be transformed from the inside out.