Sermon on the Mount - Can't be legalized.

The sermon on the mount can't be legalized, its almost completely internalized. What does externalizing a religious ethic lead you toward? Hypocrisy, an outward show of religion that is deficient of internal spirituality. Now I think freedom in Christ is a little bit different than we would expect. I can do anything, but for internal and not purely external reasons I choose not to do certain things. It comes down to where my love is at, and what I let into my heart.

God sees in secret. God sees deep into our heart and knows all our secrets. God knows what we do in private. This is not a covenant of works, but a covenant of love. This is not a covenant of self-denial, this is a covenant of love asking, 'where is your heart at when you do these things.' I'm not trying to earn God's love, but in the understanding of God's love I so desire to love like God. How is this not a religion of denying self, a stoic ethic? Because I know when I let the wrong things into my heart, they compete for my love of God. Therefor I don't desire the same things I once desired. A stoic ethic is much like a purification ethic, but because God sees deep into our hearts and convicts, I'm not doing this alone, I'm doing this through God's love. I don't have to be dependent on myself, I just have to seeking, keep following after Jesus because that's where my heart is leading me. I want to be a disciple, and I don't have to explain all the mysteries.

Oddly, many who reject Christianity know deep down in their hearts that only God can judge. They are aware of a higher accountability, but it doesn't lead them anywhere.

God sees in secret.

I was once extremely skeptical of the high number of  pew sitters in church, but perhaps they knew something I didn't. Living a servant life is not summed up as a Sunday morning exercise of volunteering. This was indeed my entry point, and I would not persuade a person away from activity in church. God sees in secret what you do when you leave church. God is right there. My service in church doesn't earn me any favor, nor is it an indicator of what God is seeing in secret. But my service in church has encouraged growth on many levels, and often in times of lament it has reminded me of how close God is. I've come to realize that being a servant happens in many ways throughout the week.

The pew sitters are there because they've responded to something, and we need to keep that in mind. Our local church many not be complete enough to utilize the servant gifts of the pew sitter. 

What else may the pew sitters know? 

There is something more to the Christian life than a public display of religious activity. So I have to check myself to make sure that I'm not being a hypocrite. Am I on stage for the right reasons? Have I received my reward? I don't know what rewards has the pew sitter has stored up in heaven if it's things in secret that play a role in defining who we are with God. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Jesus warns us not to judge, and why Paul warns against comparative spirituality. Don't be so high on yourself for what you've done in public, and what you see in public, for God sees in secret.

The danger occurs when you're been playing the game for so long that you no longer realize you're playing it, and this gives way to the worst kind of hypocrisy.  It's even dangerous when you've inherited the game, thinking this is normative Christianity and then try to break from game.