Submitted by Leah Page on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 12:22am hypocrisyLCM010
LCM – CH1: Getting Beyond Our Masks
Started off in overview of Matthew 5-7, seeing the pattern of both "heaven" and "righteousness" in the Sermon on the Mount – the theme of which is in short "the righteous lifestyle of those who belong to the kingdom of heaven." (LCM p.6)
"Bookmark" chapter for this week was Matthew 23.
Highlights of discussion centered around the following:
I. BEING PRECEDES DOING
Jesus starts the sermon concentrating on what makes up the "character" of those who are the "favored ones of God" – and what follows is the righteousness that is the "natural result" of having been changed by God, given a new heart. We re-stated this as "Being precedes Doing" – what we do stems from who we are. We sin because we are sinners; if we are "saints" / "sanctified" / the "holy ones of God" / set apart, we increasingly do as God’s Holy One does, because we are made into His likeness.
We ARE changed [given a new heart / the righteousness of Jesus] and so we LIVE that way.
Where we typically mess up is in flip flopping the process, as if "doing" righteousness is what earns God’s pleasure. This will become a theme in our study as "blessed" means "favored" of God which is intimately tied to what it means to say "God is pleased by..."
II. GOD’S PLEASURE / OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
There is an inescapable connection between our "doing the will of [Jesus’] Father who is in heaven," and pleasing God. Jesus is explicit that those who do not do the will of the Father are among those of whom "on that day" Jesus will say "Depart from me, I never knew you..."
But does this invite, then, some kind of doctrine of "salvation by righteous works"?
Well...I suppose that depends on whose works are righteous!! In whom is the Father well-pleased? Who lived a perfectly flawless life, fully righteous life? By whose righteousness are WE able to become the righteousness of God? Our own?
How do we obtain the righteousness that pleases God? The righteousness that God rewards?
III. TRUE CHRISTIANITY VS. HYPOCRISY
"Real Christian life – the genuine article – is never hypocritical. Authentic Christian life is something higher, brighter, and infinitely more powerful that pale, phony substitutes. It will take you from the valley of sin to the mount of blessedness. It will take you from the depths of destitution to the heights of God’s approval...." (LCM p. 3)
"True Christianity is discipleship. It’s the willingness to turn around to leave everything, and to let Jesus Christ be all in all. It’s the willingness to follow Him wherever He leads, and to do whatever He says. True Christianity is a total commitment of oneself to the lordship of Jesus Christ." (LCM p. 10)
Matthew 23 – "woe to you, hypocrites" – the "religious ones…the ones who claimed to know God...." (p. 14)
v. 3 they say and do not do
v. 4 they bind heavy burdens (works to earn God’s favor!) and lay them on the shoulders of others, but they themselves won’t lift a finger
v. 5 they do all their works to be seen by men, to DRAW attention to themselves
v. 6 they love the BEST places at the feasts, the BEST seats in the synagogues
v. 7 they love to be recognized and greeted in public places and called "Rabbi, Rabbi" (teacher, teacher!)
v. 13 they shut up the kingdom of heaven to prevent others from going in
v. 14 they give long prayers for pretense
v. 15 they move heaven and earth to make one convert, but make him twice as much a son of hell than themselves (increasing his dependence on his own "works" of righteousness)
v. 23 they are caught up in the tiniest of details! Regarding what to offer of the least of the herbs, and LOSE the weightier matters (which the lesser were meant to serve and reveal!) – law, justice, mercy, faith
v. 25 they clean the outside, but inside are full of extortion and self-indulgence
v. 27-28 outwardly appear clean, but inside are DEAD, UNCLEAN, full of hypocrisy and lawlessness....
IV. WHAT HE DEMANDS, HE SUPPLIES
We do not approach God with our "cup" full of our "offering" as if to bring some good thing to God, or to add to God’s pleasure. His GREATEST pleasure is derived from our coming to him with our "cup" EMPTY, so as to RECEIVE from him of HIS fullness....
We will look at this more in the next week as we study "poverty of spirit."
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