The Heart of the Matter
Notes
Transcript
A verse that keeps coming back to me throughout my life is 1 Sam 16:7. Samuel has come to Jesse’s house to anoint the new king of Israel. Samuel thinks that Jesse’s older sons would make perfect kings.
But God told Samuel:
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Too often, we as humans judge each other based up on what we can see. We even judge ourselves. We say: “well, I’m not doing anything really bad today. I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t slept with anyone. People looking at me would say that I’m a good guy. They might even say that I am godly.”
But, that’s because we are looking at the outward appearance. We judging our actions and our words. But God doesn’t merely look at the outward appearance. God looks at the heart.
In the Sermon the Mount, which we are in the middle of studying, Jesus makes clear that there is a difference between how man thinks and how God thinks, and our interpretation and application of Scripture shows that difference.
Let’s read the passage:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
In our passage, we will see man’s righteousness, God’s righteousness, and Christ’s righteousness.
Will you pray with me?
Man’s righteousness
Man’s righteousness
We as humans can be pretty self-righteous. And truthfully, sometimes, I need to stare at my own sin, square in the face to remind myself that I am not as perfect as sometimes I convince myself I am.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ were very self-righteous. They could quote the Law and the Prophets frontwards and backwards. They knew every jot and tittle of the Law. Those are the smallest strokes of the Hebrew language.
But, in all their self-righteousness, they didn’t truly understand what the Law and the Prophets were teaching.
They knew the letter of the Law. The 10 commandments: Do not worship other gods, do not make a false image, do not misuse the name of your God, remember the sabbath day, honor your father and your mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not covet.
But, they did not know the spirit of the law. They were keeping the law, but in the sight of God they were breaking the law every single day.
Because they were looking at the outward appearance, and not the heart.
Jesus said of the religious leaders:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
As Jeremiah said:
The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
The Jewish people would have said that these Pharisees are the most righteous ones among them. But, Jesus called them out, and said in our text:
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
What does this mean? There is a difference between man’s righteousness and God’s righteousness. Man looks at the outward appearance, does what people see fit with what we consider moral. God looks at the heart: is the heart of each individual person in line with the holiness of God.
God’s Righteousness
God’s Righteousness
So, Jesus begins to talk about God’s righteousness, a life that evidences a holy heart, and he bases this off of the expectations of the Law.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
He came to call people back to following the ways of God, as has been taught by the people of God since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, because of man’s interpretation and application of Scripture, the people of God had forgotten that the standards of God applied to a heart before it applied to the life.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
The heart produces the action. Without the changed heart, the good actions mean nothing. In fact, an evil heart thrives on good actions that have bad motives and results.
Jesus gave 6 illustrations of man’s righteousness, the letter of the law, as opposed to God’s righteousness, the spirit of the law, a calling for a changed heart.
As I read this passage again, think about the difference between man’s perspective on the action and God’s perspective on the heart.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Jesus was calling his disciples to a radical shift in thinking, but a shift that he had been trying to get his people to make for hundreds of years, ever since Abel brought a better sacrifice than Cain. God has constantly been looking beyond the actions to the heart.
Unfortunately, our state has not changed since the days of Noah:
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
And yet, God continually calls us to that higher standard.
It is through a holy heart that we have everything that we desire. We have a relationship with our creator. We have joy, peace, love. We have blessings upon blessings.
It is through a holy heart that we can serve our creator. That is the expectation placed by God on his people.
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Unfortunately, we cannot be perfect. Our heart cannot be holy.
Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
no one who does what is right and never sins.
So, on one side, we have man’s righteousness, which will not allow us to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And we have God’s righteousness, by which we can enter the kingdom of heaven, by which we can serve him effectively, by which we can bask in all his blessings, but we cannot achieve it.
Christ’s Righteousness
Christ’s Righteousness
Enter the perfect man. Jesus, God’s son. The one who is sitting there teaching these things.
He is the one who said:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
He brought the perfect sacrifice to cleanse the hearts of his creation.
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
When Jesus died on that cross, he paid the penalty for the sins of the world, offering forgiveness to those who will turn to him.
And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
And those who have turned to him in faith, having their hearts cleansed, can then live the truths in Matthew 5. Their holy hearts produce holy lives.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
The Spirit is given to us, calling us to that perfected living, giving us the strength for that perfected living, creating a desire for that perfected living.
Christ died, earning our forgiveness and empowering us to live for him.
Have you turned to him? Or are you still trusting in man’s righteousness?
If you have turned to him, are you keeping in step with the spirit, pursuing that holy life that he demands, showing the world that God’s righteousness is different than theirs.
Now, none of us will be completely perfect. That will happen when Jesus comes again. But, as we turn to the right or the left, he calls us back, reminds us of his sacrifice and our purified hearts, and creates a yearning in us again to follow him.
He’s looking at the heart. What does he see, when he looks at yours?
