THURSDAY April 11, 2019
Outward Appearances
And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Samuel 15:7-8
Saul went through all the emotions of leading his men into battle, and he put on a great show––“Charge!” As Saul attacked the Amalekites, as a leader, he looked so strong before is men; but notice, Saul only partially accomplished what God had told him to do. He took King Agag and kept him alive! On the outward appearance, Saul looked good, but inwardly he had a heart of disobedience. Saul was playing the part of a good leader, but he was a hypocrite. Before the Lord, his incomplete obedience was disobedience.
Outward appearances are one of the biggest problems within ministry today. Some people leave their homes and put on their sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are wolves. There are Christians who have a set of clothes in their closet to disguise themselves in any way they want to look––be careful of such people. Behind the great show they put on is the hidden sin of hypocrisy. It is important to stop the hypocrisy in your life.
People do not need reformation; they need transformation in their lives. If you reform yourself, you will be right back to where you were, and even worse than you were before. Anyone can do reformation; reformation does not work. Transformation does, because transformation makes you a new person; transformation brings true repentance. It changes your actions and attitude. If we are truly going to be men and women of God, the Lord has to deal with us. Transformation is not accomplished through man; it is achieved by God.
A man can be outwardly conformed to the Christian way of life while he is inwardly conformed to the spirit of this world.
~Sinclair Ferguson~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
