Founded by Bryant Wright, Right from the Heart is a
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An Even Tougher Standard Mar 17 2009
"You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good for nothing!' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into fiery hell." - Matthew 5:21-22
If you think about the Ten Commandments, Jesus makes us realize the standard is even tougher than we thought. For instance, most of us are pretty comfortable that we are obeying the commandment, "Thou shall not murder," but then Jesus sets our world on end with his perspective on the verse. Not only is the actual act a violation of the commandment, but Jesus says our angry thoughts are just as sinful.
Wow. That's a little tougher than the first reading of the Ten Commandments. Jesus says that God weighs whether our heart and thoughts are in line. Because if we lose our cool with our fellow man, we have broken this commandment on murder! Now that seems unfair doesn't it? But Jesus is very clear. God doesn't just judge us by our actions, only. He also judges us by our thoughts and hearts' desires. Is that a tough standard to follow? You bet. Yet we are fortunate that God sent His only Son to pay for the many sins we are bound to commit in our day-to-day lives! But not only does He forgive us when we trust Christ, He gives us the "inner want-to" to have our heart as pleasing to God as our actions.
Christ's standard is the toughest. Yet, in Him is the victory. That's mighty Good News!
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2 Comments
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Yes, report it NevermindThis, perhaps, is the hardest thing for a new believer to accept. We simply are not ever going to be "good enough" by our own merit. We cannot say,"well, I'm pretty good compared to everybody else".
For all our righteousness is as filthy rags. The only righteousness in which we have any hope is the imputed righteousness that we are credited with when we put our complete faith in Jesus Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior.
If you think this comment should be removed because it is mean spirited, compromises someone's privacy, or is SPAM, then let us know.
Yes, report it NevermindGrant, I am so happy you said this.I struggle with my thoughts daily and ask for forgiveness as soon as I think them. I have (some) doctors cursing and taking their day out on all of us as well as upper management. The pressure of today is almost unbearable in the medical field, a place that should be filled with the holy spirit is filled with fear and an evil spirit at times. I pray for all people in my field and the patients. I hope Bryan speaks to our fears of today soon.