Matthew 23:23-32 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.”

Text Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”

Like Christians from every generation, the believers at Philippi found themselves in a spiritual warfare with the world, the flesh, and the devil. When writing to them, Paul used terms like, “adversaries” (vs.28), “suffer” (vs.29), and “conflict” (vs.30). In an effort to aid them, Paul gave three simple principles in Philippians 1:27. Having seen the mandate of Christian living, we turn our attention to the motivation of Christian living, “that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs.” While the mandate is to live like a citizen, the motivation is to live consistently! Paul wanted them to understand that the quality of their Christian life should not be affected by his presence or his absence! If we are not careful, we act like the Pharisees whose life was all about show or putting on a good front! Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). Like them, we act real spiritual at church or when our parents, the pastor, and other Christians are looking, but it’s only a front. Living the Christian life is all about doing right no matter who’s watching or who knows what we are or are not doing. God not only wants us to live like heavenly citizens, but to live that way consistently!