|
The Mind of Christ and His view of
spirituality compared to the Pharisee’s view of spirituality boils down to
THE INTERNAL vs. THE EXTERNAL. (See our article about
The Pharisees.)
In my early Christian walk, there
was a huge emphasis on being careful of “your testimony.” The real meaning
of that emphasis was to always consider what other people would think. The
basis of my choices was to project my perception of a good Christian to the
eyes of other people. It really had nothing to do with being “led
by the Spirit.” In a sense it was “for show.” It had nothing to
do with what was in the heart, with the truth. It was an external muzzle.
I wore the “muzzle” for over 20 years. I was a Pharisee. (Read
My Experience for details of my being a Pharisee.)
What do I mean when I say, “I wore
the ‘muzzle’”? The dog would always bite the postman’s leg. The postman
complained and said he would not deliver the mail until something was done
about it. Externally they put a muzzle on the dog. It didn’t change
the dog internally. He still lusted for the postman’s leg, but the
muzzle kept him from being his true self. Our churches can become a company
of “muzzled dogs” inwardly desiring what they would never admit, while being
unable to actually express it, appearing to be something other than what
they are. Jesus called the Pharisees “hypocrites.”
For example, I read that the hotels
of a major city reported that when people attending a “Christian” convention
booked all their rooms, they had more subscriptions to pornographic
television channels than at any other time in the year. Perhaps this shows
us that when the “muzzle” is taken off, the desires of the heart are
revealed.
There is a tendency in every
Christian to be a Pharisee to some degree. What the Pharisees thought was
“spirituality” was actually putting on a show, or being a show-off. Jesus
described their mistake by saying, “all their
works they do for to be seen of men.” He described their
methods when He said, “they make broad their
phylacteries (an outward show),
and enlarge the borders of their garments (an outward show),
and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in
the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men,
Rabbi, Rabbi.” All of this was to be noticed an honored as
holy men of God.
So their “spirituality” was “to
be seen of men” or external. As it was then, so it is today,
they “love the uppermost rooms … the chief
seats.” Today it is not unusual to find them as Elders and
Deacons in our churches. They are very diligent to gain identity as being
the most holy of men. They “love”
these positions, rather than being humbled by the weight of their
commission. But, do not think these “Pharisees” are always in “the
chief seats.” Many times they are comfortable in the pew, as
Paul says, they “look on things after the
outward appearance (external)” and he warns,
“we dare not make ourselves of the number, or
compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they
measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among
themselves, are not wise.” It is for show. Jesus told them,
“Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and
swallow a camel. Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of
the cup (the external) and of the
platter, but within (the internal)
they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first
that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of
them may be clean also.”
Jesus told His disciples, “That
except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees (It is more than just the external.),
ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Even though the
Word declares, “The
LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the LORD looketh on the heart,”
this was
an absolute shock to everyone who heard Jesus. Everyone considered the
Pharisees the most holy of men. If anyone was going to go to heaven it was
thought that the Pharisee would be at the top of the list. Not so,
according to Jesus. He said, “Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of
dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.” He went on to say, “Even
so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye
are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Everything about the
Pharisee is “outward.” Note His
severity toward them: “Ye serpents, ye
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”
The indication is that we will be
shocked in the Day of Judgment. “Not every
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done
many wonderful works? (All external arguments.)
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me,
ye that work iniquity.”
But when Jesus speaks of true
spirituality, as you can see above, He contrasts the true with the false by
using the Pharisees to demonstrate how not to be. “Do
not ye after their works.” They loved to teach people how to be
spiritual. They could tell you exactly what you should do, but Jesus tells
us, “They say, and do not. For they bind
heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but
they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”
They would go out of their way to make converts. Jesus told them, “Ye
compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him
twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
To the same degree that the
Pharisees emphasized the external Jesus emphasized the INTERNAL.
From His first sermon and threaded through all He said we learn that
spirituality is internal. “Blessed are the
pure in heart: for they shall see God.” “For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” “Out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” “A
good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good
things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”
“This people draweth nigh unto me with their
mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from
me.”
As He would see them thinking on
externals like the Pharisees, Jesus corrected His disciples understanding
when He said, “Are ye also yet without
understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the
mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those
things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and
they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the
things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
Paul carries this into the warfare
of the Christian when he admonishes us, “For
though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal (not external),
but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down
imaginations (internal war), and
every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Paul tells us that our external
bodies are to be presented to God as “a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.” But how does one do that? The next verse tells us
how, “by the renewing of your mind.”
The external body is made a “living sacrifice”
by what you do with your mind. What ever you put your internal mind on,
that will take your body.
Have you ever watched a scary
movie? The people in the movie are in the water and the sharks are coming
toward them. As you “set your mind”
on the movie, your body acts as if you are the one in the water. You are
tense, frightened, your heart is racing and you are breathing faster. Why?
You are safe and in no danger at all, yet your body is reacting as if any
minute a shark might bite you. The reason is internal. You have set
your mind and your body follows.
So if you “set
your mind on things above,” if you have the “mind
of Christ,” if you are one “whose
mind is stayed on Him” your body will have a wholeness, a ”peace
that passes all understanding.”
God did not make your mind or your body to handle worry, fear, or anxiety.
When your mind is filled with these things you will find yourself
susceptible to all types of ailments. Tension headaches, upset stomachs,
nervousness, and other illnesses will plague your body as your mind dumps
its concerns on to it. Neither your mind nor your body was meant to deal
with these.
Jesus said, “The
light of the body is the eye (how you see things
internally): if therefore thine eye be
single (spiritually whole, healthy),
thy whole body shall be full of light (healthy).
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness
(or, even though you are a Christian),
how great is that darkness!” (See article on
EXPOSITION of this verse.)
When it comes to our spirituality,
let us remember it is not measured by OUR performance, but it is
based on HIS performance in us as we are “strong
in the Lord, and in the power of his might” by
having our minds “set upon things above”
and thus letting “this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus” that we might express “the
mind of Christ.” Your spirituality is not what you do or don’t
do. What you do or don’t do is the consequence of where your mind is.
Spirituality is not
external, but internal. Where you put your mind internally will possess
you, will affect your body and will be expressed externally in your life. “Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because
he trusteth in thee.”
Be who you are “in
Him.”
|
