Sin Stinks
Matthew 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. 28 In the same way, on the
outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of
hypocrisy and wickedness.”
JESUS’ seventh “woe” takes hypocrisy another step to destruction
as Jesus moves His imagery from dirt in the sixth “woe” to decay here.
We all know the
stench of dead flesh, don’t we? One thing that is used to dull the odor is
lime. The white or yellowish substance is used to cover a dead animal or human
bodies decaying before they can be buried. I know this is a grim picture, but
sin is stinking decay. We must see sin as a stench to our souls, and we are not
to just cover it up. Jesus tells us, “Get real! Get rid of it!”
The Pharisees whitewashed
the tombs with a lime, water whitewash to give the “houses of the dead” a pleasant
appearance and to kill the odor. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for covering their
sin with mere formality of words and leaving sin’s decay in their hearts.
Listen to Isaiah
speak God’s judgment on His people: Isaiah
3:11 Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what
their hands have done. & Isa 3:24 Instead of fragrance there will be a
stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well-dressed hair, baldness; instead
of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, branding.
Isaiah and Jesus declare sin’s decay. Why do
we tolerate the stench of sin when we can “in
Christ spread everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
LIFE Link: Savor your sweet Savior.
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