Woe To You!

III. WOE TO YOU FOR LOOKING GOOD ONLY ON THE OUTSIDE

Matt. 23:27-28 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. “In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

ILL.- One time when I attended the Ozark Christian College preaching convention one of our former classmates came to me and another preacher saying something like, “Hey, do you want to know how to make your church grow?” Well, who wouldn’t? He was dressed to the hilt, in the finest looking suit I’d ever seen at that time. He said, “I got a book that will make a difference in your ministry.” It was entitled, “Dress For Success.”

And brothers and sisters, I do believe that, for example, when you are job-hunting you need to dress decently, look neat, be clean, etc. It makes for a good impression. But the truth is all people want to see the real you no matter how you are dressed. And some people dress well just to put on an act or to give the appearance of being upper-crust or wealthy, or perhaps better than others.

And you know as well as I do that doesn’t mean a thing to God. God looks on the heart, not the outward appearance.

If you can dress and be nice at the same time, go for it. But if a person just dresses nice in order to give a good outward appearance, no matter how they act otherwise, FORGET IT!

ILL.- Someone said, “A mule dressed in a tuxedo is still a mule.”

ILL.- One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out bible.

The Church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and accessories.

As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it.

The preacher gave a long sermon about Hellfire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how much money the church needed to do God’s work. As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship." The old cowboy assured the preacher he would.

The next Sunday, he showed up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored. The preacher approached the man and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church."

"I did," replied the old cowboy. "If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?" asked the preacher. "Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t have a clue what I should wear. He says He’s never been in this church!”