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Have you heard the saying Two Faced? What does it mean to you? Two Faced: when a person acts a certain way in one place and differently in another. Can you think of any examples? Do we as Christians tend to act one way when we are in church or at a Bible study and then differently when in another place? If so then do we fit the definition as being Two Faced? How then should we act everywhere? One of the greatest blocks for our walk in a loving relationship to God is the duality of life we try to live in, being 2 faced. It seems for many Christians spiritual things go in one part of our lives while secular things go in another part. We act differently in the 2 different worlds we live in. In other words we act as Christians at worship service and Bible studies and the rest of the time we live and act in a secular manor, that is; not controlled by a religious body or concerned with religious or spiritual matters. We live a worldly life.
This leads to a divided, two faced, lifestyle instead of a unified life, of Christian witness, bringing little peace in us as we move back and forth between them. Yes, we can partly blame this on the sin nature and the sin in the world which we struggle against its effects in daily life. But, when we come to faith in Christ as Lord and Savior we have entered in to a second world, the spiritual. In the spiritual we find hope and a sweeter life spent in fellowship with Christ. There are joyful times of worship and experiencing the presence of Christ, being discipled, learning from Him through the Holy Spirit, from the word of God. But, then there is the other world we must walk in, the secular. This includes our jobs, our relationships with non Christians and all the ordinary activities of life, eating, drinking, bathing, sleeping, and taking care of our physical needs and so on; the mundane things of life here on earth in the flesh. Too often we find that when we come to the end of the day we have much to confess from these daily activities and where they took us, because we acted two faced in them. Worse yet 2 faced in worship and fellowship with the Lord. Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Often we may go about our day to day works longing for the day we will be with the Lord enjoying His eternal presence. Verse 8
It seems we are caught in a trap we desire to be at home with the Lord but know we are not yet finished here. So, we walk the fence between the 2 worlds, spiritual and secular. Still there is no peace, little joy or strength while trying to manage life on the fence, often being 2 faced about which world we live in.
The Lord wants us to know that this is not biblical at all. The scriptures tell us we will have this longing for the other side while we are stuck in this one. Vs 1-5. But we are also told we can live in the spiritual the whole time we are in the secular. Vs 6-10. Jesus is the perfect example of one who was never 2 faced while He walked the earth. During His life here He lived in the knowledge and understanding that the Father was with Him every moment of every day and there was no distinction between His living in the secular and the spiritual. John 8:29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” As Jesus walked the earth dealing with the problems of the secular world He always acted in peace and poise. Even when the weight of the world’s sin pressed upon Him as He get closer and closer to the cross, He still was certain of the spiritual and its realities. He never acted differently when in different places. He was always mindful of His Father’s business, seeking to glorify Him.
The Apostle Paul tells us that we should live as Jesus did, glorifying God in everything we do, even the mundane. 1 Cor. 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Every act of our lives, whether spiritual or secular can be done for the glory of God, living to please Him as it says in verse 9. Knowing that we are God’s chosen people and that He provides everything thing for us, all our needs, we can give thanks and praise to Him for them. What do we have that is truly a gift but taken for granted? When we seek to live out the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven, giving thanks to God for our every meal, snack, drink, paycheck, clothes we wear, our sight and whatever else we have in the secular world we will glorify God. Matthew 6:25-34 This living in the spiritual 24-7 will not be an easy task. We have life long habits that need to be broken. Sheri’s saying; took you a long to get the way you are, not going to change overnight. These bad habits of 2 faced behaviors will have to be conquered by prayer and dependence upon the Holy Spirit working in us. It will take conscious effort on our part to get the idea that the secular work and mundane acts we do daily can be an act of worship acceptable to God through Christ.
We will face opposition for our efforts to live to please and glorify God in our everyday living. Our sin nature will not cooperate easily nor will the devil like our decision to live to please and glorify God. 1 Pet. 5:8–9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, Between the sin nature and the devil, they will do all they can to trip us up from living to please and glorify God daily. They will cause confusion and discouragement. But remember we have chosen to live to please and glorify God while we are stuck here in this body and because of that we will be rewarded for all our efforts to do so. 1 Cor. 3:12–14 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. We must be steadfast in our faith offering all our daily acts up to God as worship, believing He will accept every one of them. We must plant in our minds that our every act, day or night, are for His glory, to please Him, because our walk in the spiritual far out weighs the secular.
Our prayers must be reminders to God that it is our desire that all we do be done for His glory and pleasure. Even the daily mundane tasks can be done in prayer thanking God for the ability He has given us to even carry these out. We must believe as Jesus did, that God is with us every minute of everyday and every act we commit is for His glory because we are living to please Him. Eph. 6:7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, Don’t misunderstand though, not every act is of the same value as others. Paul worked as a tent maker during his ministry. This was not as important work as the epistles, the letters, he wrote to the churches to train them up in the Lord. The most important thing we can do, the only thing that will matter throughout eternity, is to lead someone to Christ. This will have effect for eternity. The rest will make a difference when we are tested for our faithfulness. These will be the daily acts we do in moral and spiritual integrity, concerned whether we do them for the Lord or not. 2 Cor. 10:17–18 But, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. When we do the secular duties in a way to please God and glorify Him there will be quality in our work, whatever it is. We must be careful not to be tempted to let our thoughts lead us to actions that are not glorifying to God. We do this by putting each one through the lens of Jesus. 2 Cor. 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. We must avoid thinking that the things we do are of less value than those of others. Each one of us has a gift to use from God and if we use it for His glory that is all that matters to Him.
If we live out our lives in both worlds with a true heart intent on pleasing and glorifying God we will not be 2 faced in our actions and always pleasing to Him because He judges our heart intent. Proverbs 21:2 All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. Our motive is everything, if we sanctify ourselves to God, to live to please and glorify Him, there will be no common or mundane task we do. Every one will be done as a deed acceptable to God through Christ. Hen we will have peace and satisfaction while stuck in this earthly Tent of the body, living is a secular world, but acting only as the Christian witness we are supposed to.
Benediction: 1 Thess. 5:23–24 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
