Read today’s texts first: Matthew 5-7
Live from the inside out so you can help
turn the world right side up!
turn the world right side up!
The thesis statement of the Sermon on the Mount is that Jesus has come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it (5:17). The law works from the outside in. For fear of physical punishment, we restrict our actions. But the law has no effect on our hearts or attitudes. This is the inherent weakness in a legalistic system, be it the church, a Christian school, or a Bible college.
Jesus knew the only way to truly change behaviour was through a change of heart. Legalism can curb outward behaviour, for fear of punishment or disapproval, but people will continue to sin in their own hearts or in the privacy of their own homes. That dichotomy is known as hypocrisy, the word Jesus used to characterize the Pharisees. But our righteousness as followers of Jesus must exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law (5:20).
And so the attitude behind the action must be adjusted: for murder it’s anger, for adultery it’s lust. It involves turning the other cheek, going the second mile, loving our enemies, giving quietly, praying in our closets, fasting in secret, laying up treasures in heaven, trusting God for what we need, not judging others, seeking God, and doing what He says.
Such a major attitude adjustment seems impossible – it runs contrary to human nature. However, Jesus came not only to point out how to live, but to enable us to live that way. By taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself, He bridged the gap between God and man. He made it possible for the Spirit of God to live in and through those of us who receive His forgiveness so that we can now live from the inside out!
“Lord, show me when I lapse into legalism, trying to control my own behaviour or the behaviour of others from the outside in. The only way to live righteously is to allow Your holiness to flow out from a changed heart. Help me to live from the inside out so I can help turn the world right side up!”
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