Appearances Can Be Deceiving

I’m curious this morning and I want to conduct a very quick survey… How many in the room or watching online have ever judged a book by its cover? I’m talking about an actual book… or perhaps a movie?

I know I certainly have! And I do this while knowing that a book really shouldn’t be judged by its cover but rather should be judged by what? By the contents inside. Its external appearance simply cannot tell the whole story! Yet we have been conditioned to judge based off the initial appearance or impression we get from viewing the cover.

How many have heard of the five second rule? Usually this rule has to do with food that has been dropped on the ground. If it is picked up within 5 seconds… you’re good to go! But if you go 6 seconds, it is contaminated, and will most likely make you sick and… or course I am exaggerating!

I want to talk about a different 5 second rule for just a moment. Do we have any YouTube users in the house? Ever notice that the ads they play before most videos allow you to skip the ad after five seconds? Watch this: our minds have been conditioned to “judge” whether or not the ad is worth watching to the end with just 5 seconds of introductory content. If it doesn’t grab your attention in the first 5 seconds… chances are, you will skip right over it.

We have been trained to make quick judgement calls. In fact, it is estimated that the average person makes anywhere from 1,000 to 35,000 decisions every day! Cornell University reports that the average person makes 226 decisions every day just on the topic of food alone!

And many of these decisions are based on our personal preferences… what we like and do not like. And for many things in life… this is okay. But when it comes to spiritual matters… well, the Bible has to say s few things regarding judging a book by its cover.

Today, as we continue to look at Galatians 2, Paul drops an important lesson that we all need to pay close attention to. And this lesson has to do with making judgement calls based off appearances.

Remember… this text was written to help guide the Galatians back to the true gospel message of Jesus Christ. There was a false gospel beginning to spread which Paul identified in chapter one as no gospel at all.

Last week we looked at how Paul, after 14 years of ministry, went back to Jerusalem to confirm the message he was preaching. And our passage picks up with Paul speaking of those who gave him council… those who were held in “high esteem.” Now… why was it that Paul sought to talk to these guys? Did it have to do with their fame in the church? Did it have to do with the position that they held? Did he see these guys as more important than other believers in his day? Not at all… in fact Paul gives us some insight regarding his choice to consult with the apostles.

Paul reports in Galatians 2:6, “As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message.”

Some translations would say in verse 6, “God does not judge by external appearance.”

Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, l just as Peter had been to the circumcised. 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.

Paul did not confer with these guys because of their high position, reputation, or fame. He did not meet with them because it would look good to others. So what was the basis for his choosing to consult with the apostles? He met with them due to their knowledge of Jesus - He met with them for the CONTENT of their hearts! His meeting was not based off appearance but was based off their faith!

Today I want to talk about how appearances can be deceiving - how we need to be careful not to get locked into playing favorites or judging others based on appearances alone.

The Bible gives clear guidelines on the matter. While we might get by with judging a book by its cover from time to time, while we might choose whether or not to watch a commercial after 5 seconds into the production, we should NOT operate this way regarding our relationship with others. Paul made a decision not to play favorites as the God he served did not show favoritism.

And here’s the deal: Any “gospel message” that allows for favorites or judgement based on external appearance is NOT the true gospel message of Jesus Christ.

God Chooses FAITHFUL Over FAVORITE.

I am very glad for the truth that our God does NOT play favorites! In fact, James 2:9 identifies showing favoritism as a sin! Playing favorites goes against Scripture and… goes against the mission of this church: Loving God and Loving what? People! We cannot claim to be an assembly that loves people and show favoritism at the same time!

Here’s the deal: God does NOT show favoritism or preference to any person because of his or her heritage, reputation, position or accomplishments. God sees and evaluates the heart and His favor rests on those whose hearts are truly devoted to Him in love, faith, and spiritual purity.

This means that God does not prefer the love, companionship and prayers of the educated more than the uneducated, the rich more than the poor, the powerful more than the weak or the influential more than the seemingly unknown. As made clear in Acts 10:34-35, “...God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

Does this mean that God turns His back on those who do not choose Him? By no means! God gave His Son FOR ALL SINNERS… FOR ALL PEOPLE. ALL PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD. That is why He paid the price we simply could not pay. God’s love does not play favorites. God’s love is universal to all. God, through the giving of His Son Jesus, has given ALL PEOPLE the opportunity to move from faithless to faithful!

God does not invite only the prosperous to come to Him, God does not invite only the higher ups or the prestigious to know Him. God does not offer His love only to the well off or the well dressed or the well educated individuals. God has made Himself available to all through the gift of His Son.

His heart is for all to know Him… but not all will choose Him. His heart is for all to come to repentance… but not all will believe. For those who choose to believe, God grants acceptance and favor.

Pay close attention here: Faith in God requires the acceptance of God and His way in our hearts. When we place our faith and belief in God, God’s acceptance does not come into alignment with our life… our life comes into alignment with His way.

How badly is our world looking for acceptance? How badly are people searching and seeking for the feeling of being received as adequate or suitable? PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW THEY BELONG. They are tired of being rejected by this world. They repeatedly change their external appearance and outward lifestyle with hope that someone will take notice… someone will let them in.

We know this world to be cruel. We know this world to be corrupt. We know this world to be judgmental and unforgiving. Look at what is going on right now… say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing and BOOM! You are no longer welcome in the public arena. The word of the day in our culture is conform. You better think how we want you to think… believe what we want you to believe… do as we want you to do… or face being cut off from the rest of us. Thus, external appearances are formulated to hide what is really going on within internally.

Throughout His ministry on the earth, Jesus chose… He made the decision… to NOT judge on appearance or status but instead reached out to the hurting. He reached out to the exiled. He reached out to those the world had rejected.

He choose fishermen and tax collectors to be in His inner circle. He stood in the gap for the adulterous woman. He spoke life to the woman at the well. He touched and healed the leper. He healed the blind, the sick and the mute. He had dinner with sinners all the while people questioned why would Jesus hang out with these kinds of people?

Jesus didn’t look at status, He looked at the heart. He looked at the need for a Savior - the universal need WE ALL SHARE! Listen church: WE MAY HAVE DIFFERENT EXTERNAL APPEARANCES BUT WE ALL SHARE THE SAME INTERNAL NEED - THE NEED FOR JESUS.

LISTEN TO THESE NEXT FEW WORDS AND TAKE THEM TO HEART: God has NOT nor will He ever reject you! In fact… even when or while we were over our heads in sin… God’s love for us REMAINED!

God made a remarkable decision now identified in Scripture as a demonstration of His love when He sent Jesus to give His life for our sins. Romans 5:8 reveals “...While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

In His ministry on earth, Jesus ministered to sinners. Through His death on the cross, Jesus died for sinners. John 3:16-17 tells the story. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus did NOT come to judge you! Jesus did NOT come to condemn you! Jesus came to SAVE YOU! He came to deliver you from sin! He came to give you life to the full!

Choose Not to be Deceived.

Here’s the deal… the world has set forth a pattern… a pattern that encourages us to make decisions based off external appearances… a pattern that promotes playing favorites. But this is not the way of the Lord. This is not the will or plan of Jesus.

Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

God desires for our minds to be renewed… not programmed by a sin-filled corrupt world. Through this renewing we can know God’s good, pleasing and perfect will. WE CANNOT KNOW GOD’S WILL WHILE CONFORMING TO THIS WORLD!

As God does not judge by external appearance… As God does not play favorites… so should His people, His followers avoid this kind of behavior. As ALL people matter to God, so should ALL people matter to us! AND… so should we realize today that WE MATTER TO THE LORD!

The true gospel message of Jesus Christ, the true gospel message Paul was working to protect, the true gospel message is this: Jesus came to this world to set the hearts of sinners free! Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! But in this… a choice must be made. We must make the decision to walk away from sin and choose His righteousness. We demonstrate our commitment to the Lord as we repent, turn from sin, and turn toward God.

Do not be deceived today - sin leads to death. A life of sin will NEVER lead to the Father. Remember what was said in Acts, God accepts from every nation those who fear Him and does what is right. To actively remain in sin is to decide to reject what God is offering us through the Son. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so we can stay where we are… He died on the cross so we can experience something new!

God made a judgement call. God made a decision not based off the external appearance… but off the condition of our hearts. Because of His love for us, God chose not to leave us where we were. He chose not to abandon us… He chose to send His Son down to die for us.

So today… we make a decision. Today we decide whether or not we will follow Christ… will you give your life to Him? Will you choose to walk away from sin and turn toward our Heavenly Father?

PRAYER - SALVATION

Before we chose God… before we made the decision to follow Jesus… God chose to make a way, to pay the price we could not pay. This morning, we are going to say thank you by remembering the price Jesus paid for our salvation and redemption.

If judged by our external appearances… Jesus would have NEVER done what He did. However… Jesus saw through our external issues and saw the desperate need of our heart: our need for a Savior.

COMMUNION

1 Cor 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.