What is the definition of inconsistent? As it is described in http://www.merriam-webster.com/ and also in www.dictionary.com is quite telling of the state of the world we live in today, including many Christians. Let's take a look at the definition before proceeding:
a : not compatible with another fact or claim (example: inconsistent statements)
b : containing incompatible elements (example: an inconsistent argument)
c : incoherent or illogical in thought or actions (example: changeable)
d : not satisfiable by the same set of values for the unknowns (example: inconsistent inequalities)
e : acting at variance with professed principles (example: professing a specific belief system while acting in contradiction)
f : not consistent in principles, conduct, etc (example: contradictory actions, confusing)
g: not persistent, lacking firmness of constitution or character, and lacking harmony of conduct and practice with profession.
There is an old adage that I grew up hearing from my mom, God rest her soul, that would definitely apply to this entry: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH! As Christians, we are here to do the cause for Christ, to witness, to spread the Gospel, to mentor, to lead by EXAMPLE. All too often, nothing seems to turn off and turn away non-believers from Christianity than that of the Inconsistent Christian, those Christians that say one thing but do another. This is very deadly, but sadly, it's also very prevalent. We dare not talk for God if we do not have a walk for God and before people ACCEPT our talk they need to SEE our walk. Non Christians will discount every word we say about Christ if our walk is inconsistent. Once again, what we ARE is seen BEFORE what we SAY! People will tend to believe the truth of our message more often if our lives back up what we say. Otherwise, they will put a question mark behind everything we speak. And since our time is short and every unsaved soul is at risk of remaining lost, what Christian wants or desires to leave behind ANY question marks!?!
In I Thessalonians 4:12, we read, "That you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing." This is our testimony to those who do not know Christ. Again in I Timothy 3:7, it says, "Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside." Look what Ephesians 2:12-13 says, "(v12) that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (v13) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Non Christians are without, it says, but of WHAT are they outside of? They are outside of Christ because they haven't been brought near to God by the blood of Christ! Those who don't and won't trust the blood of Christ as sufficient pay for their sins are outside of God and will remain there until or unless they choose to receive the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. The blood sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross is the ONLY way to get on the inside with God. We must come to trust His death for our sins if we are going to be right with God. If we do this, God will let us into His heaven.
I found two quotes about the sins of inconsistency that I found to be very profound and spot on.
1) J.A. Motyer is quoted as saying, "The damage of the sin of Inconsistency in the life of the Christian is that it sours even our worship of God."
2) A.W. Tozer once said, "The glaring disparity between theology and practice among professing Christians is a more destructive evil in its effect upon the Christian religion than Communism, Romanism and liberalism combined."
Now the Bible gives several examples of inconsistency so let's put them into three categories:
1) Say and Do Not
2) Judge Others/Exclude Self
3) Talk the Talk but Don't Walk the Walk.
I'll briefly examine each category in the paragraphs below to give us a little more clarity and insight into how dangerous it is to the Kingdom of God to be inconsistent!
1) SAY AND DO NOT - Romans 2:21-23 states clearly - "(v21)You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? (v22) You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? (v23) You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?" So who are these people that are being spoken about? They're the people who have a very substantial knowledge of the Word of God,.who can preach like a House of Fire, who can teach with great clarity of speech, who can exegete any passage of the Scriptures. They can quote Scripture after Scripture, showing many their skilled command of the Word of God. Their sermons are masterpieces of Biblical and literary art. They know right from wrong, yet in all contradiction, they fail to apply all their knowledge to their own lifestyle. They outwardly say one thing but inwardly can't apply their knowledge to their own lives, whether out of selfishness, self-centeredness or outright rebellion. Like the Pharisees, they say and do not! But how is it possible for someone to preach and teach to others and not learn himself? How can it be possible to preach against stealing, adultery, or idolatry and yet be guilty of the same sin? How can it be possible to preach the law to others and yet dishonor God by breaking the law yourself?
Oh, IT'S POSSIBLE! It's happened in the past and it's happening today! Sad to say - there are many preachers who are preaching against Sin in pretense, yet living a life of Sin behind closed doors! Man doesn't see it, but God DOES! God sees ALL things, outwardly AND inwardly in the heart of every man and woman! In Numbers 32:23, it warns, "But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out." The sin of inconsistency is VERY deceitful...and the enemy is behind the lines egging it on. The devil doesn't want our lives to reflect Christ's! He doesn't want our lives to bear witness to the lost souls that the devil himself wants to consume! He stays on our heels so closely sometimes just to make sure one stays in the throes of the lies so as to deceive as many as possible......
2) JUDGE OTHERS/EXCLUDE SELF - Romans 2:1, "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things." And also, Matthew 7:3, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" We have two Scriptures which depict judging others but let's take special notice of the Spiritual Blindness in the one who is passing judgment on others. If one is able to criticize, run down, condemn or event scrutinize another for something they, themselves are guilty of doing, must be a gross deception to be under!! This doesn't APPEAR to make sense to condemn someone for a sin that one is guilty of himself, however, sin is deceiving and so much so sometimes that it blinds us to our own sin. We have to remember though that sin will cause an individual to recognize itself in others yet blind itself in his own life. That's why it's SO important to remain grounded in the Word but also to grow closer to the Lord Jesus Christ daily so we can show ourselves approved, so we can help others through those things we've been guilty of but have overcome....to remain in fellowship with our Father!
3) TALK THE TALK BUT DON'T WALK THE WALK - Luke 6:46, "But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?" And also in Titus 1:16, "They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." In these Scriptures, we are shown the words of the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul. Both bring out the disparity between some the so-called believer's confession and their ACTIONS. And in some instances, the LACK of actions. But how can one call Jesus "LORD" which means Ruler, Master, King, and Possessor of All, yet refuse to do what He says? How can one profess to be walking with God, yet have works that are detestable, loathsome, unbelieving, disobedient, disloyal, and rebellious in his life? How can one profess their love of Jesus, profess a relationship with Him yet remain closely tied to the worldly things? The only explanation is the Sin of Inconsistency, and believe me - It Is Very DECEITFUL! Because of the inconsistency that is so widespread and prevalent among God's chosen people, the Name of God is reviled. The Gospel is treated with contempt. The Things of God are scorned, ridiculed, and disdained. His commands to us on how we should live our lives in the face of the evil ones who are without the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ, are being totally ignored. If they aren't being ignored, they are being replaced with a much "easier" "fluffier" and "less convicting" teaching. THIS is dangerous! Not only to the Christian but to the very ones they are trying to reach in His name's sake!
Much of the three categories can fit nicely into the category of WORLDLY LIVING! When a sin is committed because we have a wrong desire in our hearts for self gain, or to still try to control the outcome of some circumstance in one's life, it's worldly. Justifying a wrong and trying to give glory to the Lord is also a very dangerous thing to do! I've known people in my life that did just that...they made a decision that was clearly outside of God's instructions, or took/sought advice from a worldly "mentor", or decided for themselves that something was "right" because they wanted to control a situation, it's outcome or for the wrong desire of their hearts, and tried to justify all of it by saying it was the Lord! Discussing the sin of this to someone who is really bent on wanting to be "right" as opposed to desiring to be Christ like is almost an irrational act in and of itself! Taking a godly approach to something is often not the "popular" or politically correct thing to do in the eyes of the world! So WHO you choose to seek counsel from is existentially important in your walk!
The world is easy to walk in when you don't want to do the will of the Lord. It will offer all kinds of "advice" and compliment your sinful manner and ways. It's what it's supposed to do...but it's NOT where WE'RE supposed to LOOK for counsel! We are living IN the world, but we are not OF it! That isn't popular though and a lot of Christians are taking that fall-away path, which inevitably will sabotage their walk and their testimony. Who will take you seriously about how the Lord WILL transform you from all of your sins, addictions, co-dependencies and make you new, if they can't SEE that transformation IN you first!?! Who will turn away from your words because they see you living IN the world, thinking like the world, following the world trends, loves and desires, because your words aren't matching your actions or how you live! And even your words don't match your "words!" That happens too! You can profess the love of God, profess how much you know, quote all the scriptures in "judgment" yet your own nasty words towards other, about others, AT others, contradict what you're preaching. People are WATCHING! I don't know about you, but I don't want to be deceiving about the Power of God!
One way in which sinners frequently excuse themselves, while deceiving, is by endeavoring to get some apology for their own iniquities from the inconsistencies of God's people. This is why it's so dangerous to be an Inconsistent Christian! They lead others astray. This is the reason why there is much slander in the world. A true Christian is a rebuke to the sinner, wherever he goes he is a living protest against the evil of sin. His language is in his heart, he accuses and yet they can't bear the sight of their holy character which is Christ like and it tends to make the darkness in their own lives appear more unbearable when they see it compared to the lightness contrasting it. If the unbeliever still fails to open his eyes, he will next try to invent a fault; he will slander; he will talk of vicious intent and even there he will fail. "Doth Job serve God for nought?" said the devil.
The first distortion is cultural gluttony. It's best described as being in sinful compromise with the world. The consequence of this distortion however is being missional without being theological. More often than not, it's masked in the guise of desiring to win the world, but rabidly pursuing the likeness to the world. Which, over time, eventually and unfortunately, those worldly values, objectives, desires, and hungers become our values, objectives, hungers and desires. Cultural gluttony can more closely be described as the act of ravaging and consuming the culture until it forms us into it's likeness. The second distortion is cultural starvation. It takes on the form of a radical withdrawal from the world of which the consequences are of being theological without being missional. Since some are SO determined not to let the world shape them, they isolate, insulate, and withdraw from the world altogether. And before long the Church eventually evolves into a kind of an enclave, an island of irrelevant piety, and eventually we lose the ability to speak to non-Christians. Worse yet, our hearts become filled with a compassion-less indifference toward such people. Arrogance eventually emerges. These distortions have a compromise.....it's the testimony of the righteous to the unbelievers! ANY extreme is a hindrance and a hindrance becomes an obstacle....
On the one hand, as followers of Jesus Christ we are exhorted in James 1:27, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Moreover, we are informed in James 4:4, "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." On the other hand, none of us can deny that God Himself loves the world (John 3:16). Nor can we ignore Jesus’ repeated self-identification as the one whom the Father has “sent into the world” (John 10:36, et al). These are NOT contradictions. We are commanded to go out INTO the world and become disciples, but we are not to BECOME as the world! A big difference. This is where the inconsistent Christian falters and falls by the wayside. They are all too often becoming like the world, living like the world, desiring worldly things, that they compromise the gospel and allow non believers to turn from them. A "worldly Christian" is someone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, but still clings to, and loves, his or her old ways of living. Their BEHAVIOR, ACTIONS, WORDS and ATTITUDES aren't much different from those of their unbelieving neighbors, friends and family. Their motives and goals seldom take God into account. When the Apostle Paul addressed the Christians in the city of Corinth, he had to rebuke them for their worldly ways. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:3, "Since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"
Christians today face a barrage of worldly temptations and demonic deceptions. Everywhere they look there are images, music, television shows, movies, billboards, and a slew of other ways we are being bombarded. Christian conduct is very important in today's world and we mustn't forget how the worldly still watch us, still secretly and inwardly are curious about who we are and who we belong to that's filled us with so much light and love. If Christians are out to the bars, partaking in the evil doings of the "nightlife" how does that reflect on their testimony? If a Christian is swearing, using foul language, telling off color jokes, and trying to fit in with non believers, how will those non believers be able to tell them apart from themselves? If a Christian is joining secret societies, laying up treasures here on earth (materialistic) and trusting in the promises of the world for their protection, then how, pray tell, will they be able to separate themselves apart from the world to profess the Promises of our Lord God when we are to be laying up treasures in Heaven? The spirit of Christianity and the spirit of the world are directly opposite in their nature.
We really can’t claim to love Christ and say that we serve him if we continue to fornicate, lie, steal, kill, etc. We can’t continue to deliberately trample the Son of God, insult the Spirit of grace and cheapen the blood that was shed on the cross of Calvary for us. We ALL have moments of weakness when we sin, but the blood of Christ gives us second chances to repent. We may have to reap the consequences of our actions, but we are still forgiven (I think of the story of David) It's one thing to fall, scrape our knees, sin and get back up, but then it's a totally different story to constantly CHOOSE to live a life of sin without conviction or repentance! Big difference! God said that you cannot serve two masters, you have to be hot or cold, not lukewarm or He will spit you out of his mouth......this is not saying you can LOSE your salvation, because as God has said over and over in His own living WORD, you cannot.
So, then, why are some Christians this way? Well, sometimes it's because they don't really understand what God wants to do in their lives. They don't understand what having a relationship with Jesus means or how that relationship will renew their minds and transform their lives. God wants them to become more like Christ, but they've never understood this, some out of ignorance because once they became a Christian, they were left to fend for themselves instead of having discipleship in their lives. Others, however, just don't want to give up their sinful ways. It's much easier for some to remain in sin, to remain in the worldly things, than it is to turn from what's comfortable, and become new. But no matter what the reason, God's will is for us to submit ourselves completely to Jesus Christ. To SURRENDER! He will help us do the rest! It takes committing yourself to Christ then asking Him to help you in your Faith! Ask, and it shall be given....seek and you shall find.....We need to take a good look at the lives that we're living and make sure it's in line with God’s will. If you see a friend living in sin, loving the sin more than having the desire to be transformed into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ, talk to them about it because that's our duty as Christians. God has not given us the Spirit of fear, so we need to do what Paul did to the Corinthians and just do what needs to be done. I assure you that if that person is serious about his/her Christianity, they will appreciate you even more.
If you're a worldly Christian, living in the world and being like the world, yet professing your love for Jesus, then you are serving two gods...the god of this world which is the devil and all of his deceptions and trying to serve Creator God. Truth and LIES don't mix very well. You can't have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom because that too is serving two gods......Be a CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN and let the world see Jesus through YOUR transformed life! There comes a time in our lives when we have to do things for Christ that we are afraid to do, and it starts with being consistent, being spiritually mature and not living in the world in order to witness TO the world.
He died for our sins, nothing we can do can ever compare to that!
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