Living on the Edge

Chip Ingram: When you think about organized religion, what comes to your mind? As a young adult, the word that came to my mind was hypocrisy. Because of that, I threw the church and all its religious trappings out of my life. But I later discovered that the church was never supposed to be that way. Today, I want to share with you my journey, and together we’re going to learn how to live lives that are free of hypocrisy.

Dave Druey: Most of us have spent years perfecting the art of impression management, acting one way at church, another way at work, and another way at home. We hate it in ourselves, and if you’re honest, you’d probably say you’ve never fully escaped it.

Today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram confronts that head-on, picking up in Ephesians chapter five with the haunting story of Ananias and Sapphira. He’s going to show us what it actually looks like to walk in the light and what’s at stake when we don’t. Now here’s Chip Ingram with his message, Why We All Hate Hypocrisy.

Chip Ingram: Ephesians 5:1-14. In these 14 verses, God is going to reveal why you hate hypocrisy and why He has zero tolerance for it as well. It begins in verse one, and it says, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." There are two commands for every Christian to follow. Command number one: mimic God. The word where it says imitate is the Greek word where we get our word mimic. Mimic God. How? The way children in a healthy family mimic their parents. That’s the positive side.

Now, notice the negative side, verses three through six. He’s going to give two warnings for every believer to heed. But in contrast to mimicking God and loving people, do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among the saints or believers. And there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, the idea for God’s people, but rather the giving of thanks. For this you know as a fact, that no immoral or impure or covetous man, who is an idolater, has inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Warning number one: if you’re a child of God, don’t use people. Then notice the second warning: let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Two warnings for every Christian to heed. Number one: don’t use people to satisfy your selfish, lustful agenda, especially with regard to human sexuality. If we had time to develop it, all those words I underlined—immoral, impurity, greed, filthiness, silly talk, coarse jesting—they all have sexual connotations.

Loving people is about giving and serving and wanting what’s best and doing whatever it takes for their benefit. If you love someone, you want what’s best for them. If you lust for someone, you want what’s best for you. Then notice the second warning is don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking that selfish, lustful, me-centered behavior is compatible with mimicking God and loving people.

He goes on to say, "Therefore," well, what should we do in light of this truth? "Do not become partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but," here’s the good news, "now you are light in the Lord." So, here’s a command: walk as children of the light. And if you’re not sure what that means, it says, "For the fruit of light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth." The idea of walking in the light is you’re a child of the light. You’ve got a new birth and a new identity. Walk in goodness; that means benevolence and caring and wanting to do good for others.

Walk in righteousness; that means being holy and pure, morally and in your thoughts and in your mind, and what comes over the screen of the internet and what magazines and what books and what shows. Not some self-righteous, prudy holiness, but a winsome, pure holiness because your heart is clean and you love God.

Then walk in truth. That little phrase, "trying to please the Lord," the sense there is not like trying real hard to please God. It’s a word for testing or approving of metal. The idea is proving or demonstrating. When you live in goodness and righteousness and truth, you are approving and demonstrating what is pleasing to God. It produces awesome peace and goodness in your heart.

Then notice what he goes on to say. He says, "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them." We’re going to talk about that in a minute. "For it is disgraceful even to speak of these things which are done by them in secret." God is saying to His people: you don’t need to be curious about the darkness that goes on behind closed doors. It’s disgraceful even to speak of them, let alone view them, let alone joke about them, let alone actually participate in them because it is such a contrast with who you really are.

Two applications flow out of this for every single Christian. First, don’t participate in deeds of darkness. Don’t be a hypocrite. Positively, do practice walking in the light. Ask yourself right now: does my speech demonstrate walking in the light or the deeds of darkness? Does my thought life and my sexual practice demonstrate walking the light or deeds of darkness? Does my integrity with my spouse, my friends, and at work demonstrate walking in the light or the deeds of darkness? Does my commitment to my marriage and my children demonstrate walking in the light or the deeds of darkness? Is how I conduct myself at work demonstrating? You got it?

You do remember the greatest act of hypocrisy that ever occurred. Do you remember this one, ever? It happened right before Easter. One of Jesus’ twelve close friends got a few guys with some torches, got a few swords, and here’s Jesus in the garden. And here’s Judas. "Jesus, I’m your follower. I love you, love you, love you." Do you realize the implications of what it meant to greet a person with a kiss?

What was Judas doing? He was coming to Jesus as his rabbi and teacher and communicating his love by his outward action of the kiss. And the actual kiss was the sign of betrayal. Everything he did externally actually betrayed Christ. I like to identify with different people in the Easter story; this is not one of my favorites. But you know what’s really helped me to realize? When I say I love God, I love Jesus, and I walk in darkness, welcome to a fellow Judas right here. When you say you love God, oh, I know Jesus, I believe in God, and your lifestyle and your speech and your sexuality and your money and your motives are walking in darkness, welcome to the Judas Club.

This is why God so hates hypocrisy. In fact, he explains in the very next line the devastating impact when I know what’s right to do. Now, we’re not talking sinless perfection. We’re not talking about having it all together. We’re talking about knowing what’s right to do and living in willful disobedience. Notice verse 13: "But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light." Literally, the word exposed here is when they’re rebuked, when you see them for what they really are.

For everything that becomes visible is light. I mean, it’s like walking in a pitch-black room and you’ve got a flashlight. The moment you click on the flashlight, what happens? Anything the flashlight is focused on becomes visible. You see it for what it is. In the dark, you don’t know what it is. Someone could tell you, "Oh, this is great. This is wonderful. This is powerful. You’ll love it. You know what? The best sex is over here. You ought to try this. You’ve never tried this, give this, smoke this, try that." It’s darkness, darkness, darkness. Boom, someone turns on the light. You mean this could happen to you? You mean this is what will happen to your kids twelve years later? You mean this is what will happen to my body five years from now? You mean this is the psychological? Oh, my lands.

When you take the light of truth, it exposes things for what they are. For this reason it says, "Awaken, sleeper, arise from the dead, and let the light of Christ shine on you." Two things happen; they’re amazing, they’re wonderful, they’re just so powerful when Christians live in the light 24/7. When I live in the light and you live in the light, when we’re not hypocrites, two things happen.

Number one: when believers walk in the light, they winsomely expose evil and sin as the ugly agents of death that they are. I had the privilege of this happening in my life. I was exposed. I saw myself for who I was. We did not grow up in a Christian family, but my sister somewhere in high school, I don’t even know where it happened, she went to this college campus and met some group, Campus Crusade for Christ. Maybe some of you have heard of them, a group of real, live Christians.

She became a Christian. She didn’t make any big deal about it. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t become a religious fanatic in our house. But I lived with this person who was only a year and three months older than me, which you know you would expect a little sibling rivalry. I mean, I’ve never lived under a roof with any person that I know of, apart from my wife, that has loved me so winsomely. She didn’t say, "Stop doing this, do this, do this." I didn’t know even what happened to her.

All I know is I’d come in from basketball practice and man, I’d be dead and struggling. She’d go, "Hey, go sit down, Chip. I’ll fix you a sandwich." She’s my sister. "Hey, you want a Coke? Yeah. Hey, all my friends would be over." She goes, "Hey guys, you want me to make you some popcorn?" My friends were going, "Man, who is she?" She’s my sister. I’d be on my homework and dragging my feet. "Chip, can I give you a hand?" "Yeah, thanks Punky." I’m telling you, I lived with this person that I just thought, someday I want to be like her.

Dave Druey: You’re listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Stay with us; there’s more ahead. We’re currently in a series called The New You: Claiming Your Birthright as a Child of God. If you’ve joined us late, or if you want to share any of these messages with a friend or family member, every lesson in this series is available free at livingontheedge.org. You’ll also find study resources there to help you go deeper on your own or with a group. That’s livingontheedge.org. Now back to Chip.

Chip Ingram: In fact, guys, can I take you very briefly to a place that your wives know not of? Male locker rooms in high school and college. The scuttlebutt in the locker room about my sister and her best friend: "Punky," that’s my sister’s name, "and Tammy are not the kind of girls you want to date. You won’t get anything. They’re the kind of girls you want to marry."

My sister’s life was so impactful. It exposed my manipulation and I probably saw that I was such a chameleon because I was living next to this person that she acted this way with my folks, she acted this way in school, she acted this way with me. She was walking in the light and it exposed me. I literally remember, you know when you’re thinking, "I’m really going to do this thing," and you know it’s not like a great issue. "This is wrong, this is bad," and you know it, but it sure looks like fun. I’d decide I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it, and I would think, "But what would Punky think?" I would never want to let her down.

You know what that’s called? The power of walking in the light. That is exposing my ugly deception. Then the second thing happens: when unbelievers see and interact with authentic Christians, the light of Christ shines upon them and it invites them to turn from the deception of sin and death and receive God’s love and forgiveness through a relationship with Christ.

When you walk in the light authentically, not perfectly, when you walk in the light in your home, at work, when your kids see an authentic marriage where you fight and then you make up and you ask for forgiveness, when people see you living not hypocrisy but a level of significant consistency empowered by God, it’s like a light, that flashlight shines on them and they begin to see. Oh, Christians aren’t a bunch of hypocrites. There may be a lot of them that are, but you’re not. And the light of Christ shines on them and they say, "There’s hope. I could find forgiveness. I could be loved."

Do you now see why God hates hypocrisy? When I’m not walking in the light, instead of exposing the deeds of others in a winsome, loving, non-self-righteous way, I literally become a barrier to the message of life through Jesus. I become a blind guide, a whitewashed tomb.

I was invited to a camp after my senior year. My scholarship in basketball, it’s not like Ohio State and all these big schools wanted me to come play. They weren’t looking for five-eleven guards that weighed 136 pounds. But there were some small schools that were interested, and my best deal was, "You come make the team, we’ll pay your way."

A coach said, "Hey, there’s 600 of the best athletes. They’re going to be at this place, Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I’ll pay your way. It’ll really help you get better." That’s why I went. And it was like, what have I done? When you walked in, they gave you a little Bible. I’d never read the Bible in my life. Then they give you this t-shirt, FCA, and something about Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I’d never said Jesus’ name out loud before. I looked at this t-shirt and I thought, "I’m going to put this on. I am among Jesus freaks. What have I done?" It was like, they’re going to try and brainwash me. These people are weird.

Then every morning you were supposed to have 20 minutes where you open the Bible and have this little devotional time. 600 athletes on this big lawn on this campus. 599 have their Bibles open. Mine is shut and I’m thinking, "You’re not going to manipulate me. I’m not reading that thing." But every day someone would teach a little bit out of the Bible and it made sense. It was like, "Someone’s reading my mail." I had no idea.

By day number four, I open it. By day number five, we’re out playing all kinds of sports. It's etched in my memory. Everyone’s coming off the field; they’re going in. The wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons at the time and the fullback for Illinois were walking off, and I’m this skinny little drenched-in-sweat guy behind them. I’ll never forget this wide receiver put his arm around, in a very masculine way, this fullback, and they were talking issues of the heart. I never in my life had heard two men masculinely share life and love authentically.

This fullback was going through some rough times. I could kind of pick up, and then I could hear what this other fellow was talking to him about. It was like just arm and arm, authentic love. I still remember, I can’t tell you how it works, but I remember walking behind them and going, "I don’t know what they have, but I want it. I don’t know what it is, but I’m so sick and tired of playing games and being a phony and acting this way. I don’t know what they have, but that’s what I want."

A day and a half later, I was in a room much like this and that fullback said the Lord’s Prayer. A guy got up on a chalkboard and he said, "Christ died for all of you. He died to pay for your sin and your guilt. Then He rose from the dead to prove it’s true. And you can be delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light by receiving Him as your personal savior."

"In fact, today He’s standing at the door and knocking. And if you will hear His voice and open the door of your heart today, He will come into your life and He will forgive you and cleanse you. You will have a relationship with God the Father through Jesus. The moment you pray, turning from your sin and asking Him to be your savior, the Spirit of God will come and live inside you and He’ll be with you 24/7. He’ll give you power and He’ll give you peace. Life will not be a rose garden, but you will have strength and the power and the presence of the living God every moment of every day."

"By the way, the moment you would die, you will be ushered into the presence of God, not because you were a good person, but because on the basis of His work on the cross and forgiveness, you became a part of His family." I’d like to say I prayed some big theological prayer, but I remember thinking, "God, I don’t know what it really means to be in your family, but I know I’m sick and tired of being a phony. I want to ask you right now, whatever it means for Jesus to be my Lord and Savior, come into my life."

Even as I was getting there, I realized some stuff in my life I probably can’t play some sort of game with God. I realized this is what I need to do and I’ll ask for the strength to take care of some of this stuff that needs to be cleaned up. Where are you at? Any fellow Judases here who say, "Oh, I love God. Oh yeah, I’m a Christian"? But if you did a little analysis, do you walk in the light? In your honest moment here today, you’d say, "No, I’m not walking in the light."

When you don’t walk in the light, fellow believer, the message of Christ, the power of God, what was accomplished on the cross is nullified. Instead of light coming through you that gives hope to others, you become a stumbling block. That’s why this is so serious.

Notice as we turn to the final page what he says. Where do we go from here? He says, "Therefore, be careful how you walk." The word careful literally is the word see. See into your life, see, examine the issues of life with scrutiny. Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, people who don’t get it, but as wise men, making the most of the time.

There are a couple of words in the New Testament for time. One word that means chronology and length of time, and one that means time as in a ripe opportunity; that’s this word. Some translations actually say redeeming or buying back the time. Why? The days are evil. The days are evil. People are teaching little kids to put on bombs and blow people up. People are drowning their own children. People are getting in planes and crashing them. People are giving total disregard to the children and to their marriages.

We are living in a world that is evil. Light, Christians, children, walk in love, mimic God, walk in the light so that you may expose sin for what it is and invite others into a relationship of hope and peace. The word for believers is walk wisely. There’s so much at stake. Huge. If there’s ever a time for the church to be the church and for us as Christians to live like Christians, it’s now.

And there’s a word for unbelievers: awaken, sleeper. Those of you that are kind of spiritually dead, that’s the metaphor. Awake. Let the light of Christ this moment today shine on you, cleanse your conscience, give you assurance of heaven. Turn from the darkness, enter into the light, and let it cleanse and fill and let Christ come in today and give you new purpose and meaning and peace. Want to do that? Today’s the day.

Dave Druey: You’re listening to Living on the Edge and a message titled Why We All Hate Hypocrisy, part of our series called The New You: Claiming Your Birthright as a Child of God. I’d like to share a note we received recently from a listener named Christina. She says, "I started listening to your radio broadcast while driving and then downloaded your app to hear broadcasts I missed or were cut short because of my work. I am so thankful for your teaching. I pray that God would work in my heart, not only to fill my head with knowledge, but plow up the ground of my heart and teach me to hear Him and to obey His voice."

That’s exactly why Living on the Edge exists. Not just to fill your head with truth, but to let it take root, to move it from what you know to how you actually live. That happens because people just like you believe this kind of teaching matters enough to support it. This month, when you make your first gift or join us as a monthly partner, we’ll send you Chip’s brand-new devotional, Growing Deeper in Christ: A 365-Day Journey to True Discipleship, as our thank you.

One short entry each day, one truth to carry with you, one step that moves it from your head into your heart. It’s the perfect companion to exactly what you’ve been hearing this week. Make your first gift or sign up as a monthly partner today by going online to livingontheedge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. You can also mail your gift to Living on the Edge, PO Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30324. Now here’s Chip.

Chip Ingram: For many listening to my voice, today is the day. You want to know Christ. You don’t want to be a hypocrite. The Spirit of God has spoken to your heart, spoken to your mind, and you would like Him to be your savior. But you may not know exactly how. What do I do? Let me right now walk you through the process of receiving Christ as your personal savior. Are you ready?

If you want Christ, what you need to do is ask Him to forgive you, ask Him to come into your life, and believe on what He’s done on the cross. If this prayer expresses the real desire of your heart, God will hear, and today will be a pivotal moment in all eternity for you. You can pray along with me.

Dear God, I admit today that I have sinned and I fall short of your glory. I ask you right now to forgive me and cleanse me from my sin. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me, that He paid for my sin, that He rose from the dead on the third day, and that I right now ask you to come into my life and be my savior and be my Lord. I tell you that I turn away from my sinful lifestyle and I ask you for the power to be the son or daughter that you want me to be. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me a brand-new life in Christ. Amen.

If you just prayed with me, tell someone you know what you’ve done. If you know a good Christian friend, tell them. If you know a pastor, tell him. And this week make sure you get connected to a good Bible-teaching church. Welcome to the family. God never promised it would be easy, but it will be awesome and it will be great.

Dave Druey: If you just prayed along with Chip, go to livingontheedge.org/salvation. There’s more waiting for you there. I’m Dave Druey. Join us next time as Chip Ingram continues our series The New You, here on Living on the Edge.