Disposition and Deeds
Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5: 20)
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right doing is right being. Jesus Christ came to put into any man who would let Him a new heredity which would exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus says—‘If you are My disciple you must be right not only in your living, but in your motives, in your dreams, in the recesses of your mind.’ You must be so pure in your motives that God Almighty can see nothing to censure. Who can stand in the Eternal Light of God and have nothing for God to censure? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that by His Redemption He can put into any man His own disposition, and make him as unsullied and as simple as a child. The purity which God demands is impossible unless I can be re-made within, and this is what Jesus has undertaken to do by His Redemption.
No man can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations; His teachings are truths that can only be interpreted by the disposition He puts in. The great marvel of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He alters heredity. He does not alter human nature; He alters its mainspring:
Chambers, O. (c1935). My utmost for his highest
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Its so easy to fall into the Pharisee trap. As a child I was taught to memorize my Bible verses in Sunday School and sing loudly in Kids church and do everything the “right” way in the main service. Transitionioning into adulthood, it was only natural to view my relationship with God as being tied tightly to doing things the “Christian” way. I have to constantly remind myself that “doing” the right things won’t punch my ticket to Heaven, but it is through “being” in relationship with God, regardless of how messed up my life gets. I know that I too quickly judge people for not doing things the way “we always do it in church”, and for that I need God’s forgiveness. Thank you Jesus for grace and mercy and for not making the path to Heaven a series of tests of goodness!
Comment by Ryan July 24, 2008 @ 8:49 am