Wednesday, July 08, 2015

When Jesus began referring to specific laws beginning with Matthew 5:21, which all of the people were familiar with, most in His audience would say, “Well, I haven’t murdered anyone.” Outwardly or publicly that might be true, but Jesus went on to say, “But I tell you that anyone who “secretly” is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” He even amplified this further. This business of God seeing what is going on in the secret recesses of our hearts raises the bar on what is meant by righteousness. Even if while you are worshiping God, you remember in the secret place of your heart that your brother has something against you, stop and take steps to make it right with your brother. This is a high standard, but it illustrates why Paul concluded, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). When Jesus continued by talking about Adultery he said, “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Each law Jesus referred to He explained the secret or hidden dimension that God sees. And when He did this He was putting the searchlight on our failure to keep the law or live righteously. What He was essentially saying was that before you are ready to hear the Good News you need to hear the Bad News. We are sinners and we need to understand and acknowledge this before we can fully appreciate and embrace the Good News that God is ready to forgive us if we trust in Jesus.