Scripture is not gentle with those who profess faith but are lukewarm in their thinking and double-minded in their actions. Some of the most pointed indictments come right out of the pages of the Bible, directed at people whose priority in life is not the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Sadly, too many of these descriptions are appropriate for our day.
Jude 1:12 uses terms such as waterless clouds, fruitless trees, twice dead, uprooted. Matthew 23:24 rebukes those remiss in their responsibility to faithfully teach God’s people calling them blind guides. One that caught my attention recently is Hosea 7:8 which identifies those who consider partial obedience as sufficient as cakes not turned. Spurgeon had this to say about this phrase,
Dear soul, I ask if this is true in your case as well? Are you thoroughly obedient in the things of God? Has His grace so permeated the very core of your being that it flows through and divinely affects all your strengths, your actions, your words, and your thoughts? Your goal and prayer should be to become fully sanctified in spirit, soul, and body. And although your sanctification may not yet be perfect, the process should be affecting every area of your life to equal degrees. There should not be the appearance of holiness in one area while sin continues to reign supreme in another, or else you too will be a “cake not turned over.”
A “cake not turned over” is soon burned on the side nearest the flame, and although no one can have too much knowledge of God’s Word, some people appear to have been charred on one side with bigoted zeal for one part of the truth they have received. Or they are burned to a cinder with inordinate Pharisaical pride and ostentatious spiritual rituals performed simply to please themselves. This presumptive air of superiority and self-righteousness is frequently accompanied by a total absence of true living godliness. A “saint” who is only one in public is a devil in private, dealing in flour by day and soot by night, for a cake that is burned on one side remains as dough on the other.*
With the all-too-frequent scandals that fill the pages of social media, it is good to remember that none of us are capable of remaining in God’s favor if we abandon His law-word and fail to apply it throughout all areas of our life. This includes acknowledging our sins and making the necessary restitution where appropriate. Though we won’t be fully sanctified until the Lord takes us home, while we are still fighting the good fight here on earth, our goal should be to glorify Him in all we do—both publically and privately.
- Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening Devotional, June 23.
The Kingdom-Driven Family 