We’re often worried about how we look on the outside. We look at how we dress, our hygiene, how our hair is styled. We are also concerned with how people think of us. We want them to believe we are a moral, upright person…even if deep down we aren’t. Our Creator knows that we are this way, and warned us about it (Luke 11:37-41; Matt. 23:25-28). The religious elite of his day had a problem with this. They appeared on the outside to be righteous…but inwardly they were fully of hypocrisy as they constantly broke the laws of God. In order to avoid walking down that same road that leads to hell, we need to clean both the outside and the inside. We need to not only appear to be righteous and godly…but to ACTUALLY be that way on the inside.
That will only happen if we are truly converted to Jesus Christ. It starts by being born again through water, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God (John 3:5; Tit. 3:5; James 1:18, 21; 1 Pet. 1:22-23). The Bible calls this obeying the gospel, the good news found in God’s Word which Jesus wanted everyone to hear (1 Pet. 1:24-25; Mark 16:15-16), a message which includes the necessity of us having heartfelt faith, penitence, and being baptized (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:35-38). When we obey the gospel in faith, repentance, and baptism, our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16). That is TRULY cleaning the inside, isn’t it?
We must then continue to be cleansed by putting away the “old” us, how we used to be. We have to become different from everyone else also, and the only way to do that is to serious address what defiles us (Mark 7:20-23). Getting rid of the “old” us is a never-ending, continual process for the Christian (Col. 3:5-11), as is replacing it with the “new” us (Eph. 4:20-24; Col. 3:12-17). It isn’t enough to get rid of the “old.” We must replace it with something “new,” or else our old selves will come back (Matt. 12:43-45). The way we do that is by producing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives instead of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-23).
Friend, have you been born again through faithful, penitent baptism? Are you allowing God to make you different from how you and everyone else used to be by following his Word in every aspect of your life? Or are you physically clean on the outside while being spiritually dirty on the inside? Do you appear to be righteous while secretly you allow sin to reign in your life? I encourage us all to look to Jesus and become like him in order to be truly converted and sanctified from the rest of the world. Let’s not be those whitewashed tombs!
Pre-Denominational Christianity 
With all the incredible inventions man has devised to examine the inside of our bodies wouldn’t it be great (or scary) to be able to see inside our spiritual bodies. Keeping our spiritual bodies in check is so much more important than our physical bodies but it is also the one thing that we often over look or try to keep in shape. As always thanks Jon. Ken.
I feel like there is a disconnect here. The solution to being a better person is not through baptism but in conscious and intentional betterment of the self, wouldn’t you agree? Could a man not be moral in all respects, be that loving to friends, enemies, and strangers without baptism. I would argue that it is possible. Of course nobody is perfect (no matter how one defines perfect, be they theist or atheist or any variation) but certainly I believe that the argument exists that a man not baptized can be at least as moral as a man baptized. The primary response to this I would believe is that without baptism, the man cannot be moral (because he is not following the word of God) but I believe that there is a flaw in that thinking.
Glad you made this comment, mindconscious. The thing that I would encourage you to consider is that you’re looking at it from our point of view rather than our Creator’s point of view. Our Creator said that the penitent baptism of a believer washes away that person’s sins (Acts 22:16; cf. 2:38; Tit. 3:3-5; 1 Cor. 6:11). Baptism, therefore, is the first step. Without that, no amount of morality would cleanse a person in the sight of God from the sins he has already committed.
Always need to make an appearance from time to time. I like to come around to ask provocative questions, not necessarily to start a debate, but just to encourage thought. Do you agree that it is good to analyze one’s beliefs? I believe that there should be no fear in that, even from a person with faith.
Yep, it’s always good to analyze one’s beliefs. Biblical faith is not blind; it is thought through and logical conclusions based on the evidence. God expects us to “prove all things” (1 Thess. 5:21) and be ready always to give a defense to any who ask us questions (1 Pet. 3:15). Appreciate the questions, mindconscious. Good to see you again.