The Righteous Heart
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
v
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
The Honest Heart
The Honest Heart
The Good Soil.
The Good Soil.
In the parable of the “sower” there are four soils that the sower’s seed falls on.
There was the hard soil that no seed could penetrate.
You had the rocky soil, i.e. the soil that had bed rock right below it, that made it impossible for the roots to properly allow for growth.
You also had the soil covered with thorns & weeds that would choke out any seed growth present.
Lastly there was the “good soil.”
15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
The honest hearted person has a sincere soul.
This is a soul that delights in integrity and thus does not get caught up in stubbornness and hypocrisy.
Abimelech is a great illustration of an honest heart where integrity is found.
5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
Nathanael is a great illustration of an honest heart where no deceit is found.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
The dishonest hearted person is the opposite.
Pharaoh is an excellent illustration of this.
He hardened his heart because of his stubborn resistance to God’s will.
In the same senses God heartened his heart by doing that which God knew Pharaoh couldn’t accept.
Summary
Summary
A love of God begins with an honest heart.
A heart that is open to whatever “truth” is.
That brings us to our next heart…
The Seeking Heart
The Seeking Heart
The Prudent.
The Prudent.
In order for salvation to be achieved, an honest heart is necessary, but that doesn’t mean it is the only heart that is required.
Saul of Tarsus life clearly demonstrates this truth.
Saul, before obeying the gospel, had an honest heart concerning his persecution of Christians.
1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”
16 So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.
9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
He honestly “thought” he was doing the right thing.
He wasn’t though and if he had died while remaining in that state he would have died lost in sin.
This is why Solomon would declare in the book of Proverbs…
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
There is a required heart of the righteous that is not only honest but is inquiring as well.
Saul who then became the “apostle to the Gentiles Paul” learned this lesson after realizing that an honest heart still needs a seeking heart.
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
The honest hear that loves the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10), and seeks it, can know what is right, and can know that he knows it.
Jesus declared this very reality as well to those that were stunned by his marvelous teachings.
17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
The first “will” here is in the present tense is thus saying “anyone that has a strong desire and firm resolve to know the truth will seek truth out in God’s word.
The Bereans also were called “more noble” than the Thessalonians because they not only had an honest heart but had an investigative heart as well.
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Summary
Summary
This investigative heart is why skeptics of God’s word are so confused by it.
They come to the Bible as critics instead of with honest and seeking hearts.
While the ‘honest’ heart is premium, and the ‘seeking’ heart is essential, still, these by themselves—even in concert—cannot satisfy the demands of God’s plan for man’s salvation.
These two hearts must also combine with…
The Understanding Heart
The Understanding Heart
Grounded In History.
Grounded In History.
During Jesus’ years of ministry, he began to use the parable format.
When the disciples desired an explanation for why he changed his teaching method the Lord explained it this way in Matthew 13:13-15.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
From this text we can see that the heart should be used, as one man put it, “an instrument of intellectual comprehension.”
The reality is, most religions, and denominations for that matter, think it simply does not matter what anyone believes, i.e., the “church of your choice.”
Jesus clearly demonstrates this is simply not the case concerning God’s will.
Why is this significant that we have an “understanding heart,” because Christianity is a religion that is grounded in history.
The church’s validity depends upon whether or not certain events actually happened in the past.
Illustration: Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:14 if Christ didn’t raise from the dead our preaching and faith is in vain.
Simply put, without an understanding of certain key aspects of “history” concerning God’s word, one cannot be a Christian.
In Jeremiah 31:31-34 Jeremiah spoke of this very thing.
Jeremiah, inspired by God, noted that God’s law would be written in man’s heart, which is simply saying one would “know the Lord.”
This implies that understanding certain truths are imperative to being apart of the kingdom of Christ and that just being “physically born” would not allow access to the salvation being mentioned.
This is because God requires “all people to come to the knowledge of truth.”
4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Summary
Summary
This understanding heart is something we must always be vigilant to teach in the church during these modern times.
So many today are inclined to follow the pattern of the “mega churches” and their fast-growing communities who bring in people through a wide variety of social programs and recreation events.
There is no wonder the turnover is a great as it is because there is no understanding being taught concerning God’s Word.
Only those that understand bible-truth and are deeply committed to it survive the persecution that comes with godly living.
Now, the next heart we are going to be talking about is that of…
The Broken Heart
The Broken Heart
Contrite Spirit.
Contrite Spirit.
A young man that had recently broken up with his girl-friend took great comfort in the first part of Psalm 34:18 which reads…
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Unfortunately for the young man the trust of the text is not his situation at all.
We must look at the rest of the text to see what David is talking about here.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
As we can see those with a broken heart are those with a contrite spirit.
What is a contrite spirit?
It’s a remorseful soul because of one’s sins.
The best example of this is David broken heart described in Psalm 51 which is all about his spiritual and emotional state after sinning with Bathsheba and being told “thou art the man.”
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Summary
Summary
The world today needs a double portion of the broken heart as so many called evil good and good evil like in Isaiah’s day (Isaiah 5:20).
There is no getting around it, a broken heart is required for reconciliation with God.
Another heart found within the pages of God’s precious word is that of…
The Obedient Heart
The Obedient Heart
To Listen.
To Listen.
In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, Paul pointed out the fact that in their heathen state these men and women had been enslaved to sin.
17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
However, if you look at the whole of the verse we find that this changed because they became obedient from the heart.
17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
The word “obedient” here is from a compound Greek word which means “to listen and obey.”
This same word of the elements that “obeyed Jesus’ voice” when the storm ceased (Matthew 8:27).
The phrase “from the heart” in the Greek focuses on the “pure heart that desires to obey.”
5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
Obviously there is no shortage of verses also dealing with the “disobedient heart.”
Paul would clearly state that “God’s law” is in place for those who progress in rebellion instead of obedience.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,
Summary
Summary
I cannot stress enough that the obedient heart is the heart that strives to keep his heart “trained in the powers of discernment” (Hebrews 5:14) in order to be faithful to God’s will no matter the cost.
Because the obedient heart fears…
The Backsliding Heart
The Backsliding Heart
Filled With Our Own Ways.
Filled With Our Own Ways.
I want us to consider this interesting warning from the book of Proverbs.
14 The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.
The key expression in both cases is “his ways.” These are backsliding hearts desires, to long for their own ways and eventually he will be filled with or reap the reward of his God-dishonoring philosophy.
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.
Because mankind is prone to sin (Romans 3:23) the theme of backsliding is found throughout the scriptures.
17 Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
5 Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.
7 “Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
It’s fascinating how many have then turned from this prolific doctrine to one that denies this very truth.
How many teach one cannot lose their salvation or backslide after one has become a child of God?
Often called “once saved always saved.”
This doctrine “once saved always saved” is a myth and Hebrews 3:12 is sufficient, if the other passages weren’t enough, to dismantle it.
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
Notice these were “brethren” who could “fall away from the living God” due to their evil and unbelieving heart.
Summary
Summary
The backsliding heart is not honest, seeking, understanding, broken, or obedient because it is solely focused on “his ways” and “his ways only.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
This all teaches us that our heart is a vulnerable feature of our humanity and we must guard it and cultivate it with the greatest of persistence.
We must never let our heart become a backsliding heart.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.