Posted on 01/04/2015 10:57:43 AM PST by metmom
A person can obey all the laws without having a heart that is in surrender to Him.
The Pharisees were in that position.
Outwardly, they obeyed the letter of the law, but their hearts were not in surrender to God.
That’s what Jesus showed them in the Beatitudes.
He cut to the intent of the Law and showed what was in the heart of it.
So do you think that someone can surrender out of duty with no heart in it?? An example might be forced martyrdom or the Christians in the middle east who want to keep their faith yet surrender to being beheaded.
When it all comes down to finalities, isn’t it doing what is right and obeying God?
No. I said they can obey without having their heart in it.
Surrender is a different thing.
If one surrenders, they will obey, but one can obey without being surrendered.
That's what Jesus is saying right here in Matthew 23 talking about how the Pharisees obeyed but it was without surrender.
Matthew 23:1-12 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:23-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
When it all comes down to finalities, isn’t it doing what is right and obeying God?
Not if your heart is not right. Even David who committed adultery and murder was still called a man after God's own heart.
That's the whole contrast presented in Scripture. God looks on the heart. Man looks on the outward appearance.
Well, you can use surrender. I will use obey and sacrifice. We just disagree on the semantics of it.
Happy Epiphany to you.
Where's the hidden camera??
I've found it fairly easy; in a teaching environment; to help people learn things that are actually IN the bible; than to UNLEARN things that AIN'T!!!
AMEN! (though we’ll get scorned at a lot!)
I want to KNOW!
I suspect that NONE who've lived and died already have as well.
It’s not a matter of semantics.
Obedience can be done without surrender.
Surrender will automatically lead to obedience.
Obedience can be out of very self-serving motives. I mean, who really wants to go to hell?
Men can obey the letter of the law and expect God to owe them because they haven’t technically sinned, and yet not really surrender to Him.
But that does not indicate a heart that is truly surrendered.
Even those who appealed to their works and casting out demons, Jesus will send off with a *I never knew you*.
I Surrender All VS I Obey All
One can obey like my kids did, while complaining and fighting it tooth and nail, because they had no choice.
Like the kid who says to their parent, *You can make me sit down on the outside but I’m standing up on the inside*.
A right heart will always yield right actions, but right actions do not yield a right heart.
The book of Malachi addresses that.
wellll...since you asked, here goes:
“Tabloid theology” is sensationalist beliefs based on tabloid-type experiences that become imbedded in the culture.
A perfect example would be the “Tunnel of White Light” from Near death experiences, the discovery of giant bones which “prove’ the nephalim, archaeological claims that aren’t proven but make big headlines, End-Times Prophecies from extra-biblical sources, etc. An example of Tabloid Theology headline would be something like this:
BIRTH OF TWO-HEADED RED HEIFER AND WHITE BUFFALO ON MAYAN FARM PROVE THAT JESUS WILL RETURN IN A UFO ON JANUARY 5, 2015!!!!!”
OMG! That’s tomorrow!
Indeed we do.
But remember, FRiend, the flak is always heaviest right over the target.
**I’ve found it fairly easy; in a teaching environment; to help people learn things that are actually IN the bible; than to UNLEARN things that AIN’T!!!**
I jist lernt tahday that 3 yr old Mary ran up the temple steps leevin behind her eldlee parents Anna and Joachin, and presented hersef to the priest. Ya lern sumthin nu ever day.
Mabee tomorree I will find out that at age 6 she walked on water sum ware.
(hope I didn’t give somebody some more ideas)
**When it all comes down to finalities, isn’t it doing what is right and obeying God?**
Absolutely, just like what Paul told the saints at Rome:
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have OBEYED from the HEART that form of DOCTRINE which was delivered you”. Rom. 6:17
It really is sad, because it doesn't have to be that way. I am reminded of my favorite Dwight Moody quote: I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel God has given me a lifeboat and said, "Moody, save all you can." Now, I think it was Moody's friend, Horatio G Spofford, after undergoing all the things that happened in his life, exhibited the patience of Job. After his four daughters were killed in a collision at sea, he wrote, 'It is Well With My Soul.'
Moody would be turning over in his grave, if he could see what his beloved Chicago has become.
Ping
There MUST be giant bones; because I’ve seen, with my OWN lyin’ eyes, a giant reclining Buddha in Thailand!
They WERE big! :-)
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