What’s doing?

As we have explored the Sermon in the Mount, Jesus continually challenges the religious (self-righteous) status quo led by the Pharisees.  The Pharisees taught and practiced “doing” to make themselves feel right with God.  And today we can easily fall into the same patterns of “doing” in order to accomplish the same.  Yet Matthew 5-7 teaches us over and over that Jesus is concerned more with our “being” than our “doing.” 

When Jesus says “If you love me, keep my commandments” it would be easy for us to see this as more doing.  But as we saw last week and again today, it is the motive of the heart that is of primacy of Jesus.  Empty actions, devoid of a heart for God, only achieves the applause of men.  It is easy for us to fall into this thinking of performance, since it seems this is what we have heard since we were young.  Parental instruction and expectations many times are more concerned with behavioral modification rather than heart correction.  I know that as a parent I struggled with wanting my sons’ hearts to change.  It is a harder and longer road of raising children to focus on heart change than simply behavioral modification. 

It is the same with discipleship of new believers.  And it is easy for them to fall into the same trap of “doing” rather than “becoming and being.”  Philippians 1:6 reminds us that “Being condition this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” The work of “becoming” is the work of the Holy Spirit as we surrender control of our will to His.  Want to join me in allowing the Holy Spirit to make each of us more in the character of Christ than like ourselves?  Oh, and as the “being” progresses, the “doing” will come and it will be pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

Pressing On…

Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor