Salvation is about the heart…

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17–20)

Jesus clarified what the prophets before Him kept saying to God’s people. It was not about outwardly keeping the rules — those would pass away — but it was about obedience from the heart. His first example explains:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire." (Matthew 5:21–22)

Once when I was explaining sin and salvation to a small group in a junior church program, a four-year-old girl rolled her beautiful brown eyes and said, “But I’ve never murdered anyone.” 

The excuses of the Pharisees begins young! Being a child of God is not just about what I do not do, but about my heart. When Jesus spoke to these religious people of His day, He explained:

"But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:18–20)

A man-made ritual of hand-washing was supposed to indicate spiritual purity, but the purity God calls for is not about rituals. Anyone can wash this way and claim they are pure, yet the Bible word used is about moral cleanliness without any cover up of real desires. Many leaders tell their congregations not to participate in communion (a ritual of remembering the sacrifice of Christ), if they are not believers or if they have unconfessed sin in their lives. God wants purity even in rituals! 

We sing, “So give us clean hands and give us pure hearts, let us not lift our souls to another,” because if we know Jesus, we know our heart and hands are inseparable. No excuses. No pretense.

Lord, the words of this song and Your words need to be more evident in my life. It is easy to cover sinful thoughts — or is it? Eventually they pollute my living. Clear my head and my heart. May I honor You with every part of who I am — for I belong to You.