Back to the Heart

I am currently preaching a series on the Sermon on the Mount from the book of Matthew, chapters 5-7. This is a fantastic sermon, preached by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, which emphasizes the conduct of a person in a right relationship with God. He is addressing the Jewish people directly in the text, but the truth is for all believers, everywhere. It is clear from the text that Jesus is taking believers back to what really matters most and that is the heart! It is simply not enough for us to rely on our religious affiliations, church attendance, or hopeless rituals. The tone is set for us in Matthew 3:2 when John the Baptist tells the people to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus goes on in 4:17 to echo the same truth as He prepares for His earthly ministry. You see, the Jews had always been taught that their religious traditions and heritage would gain them favor with God, but then the first thing Christ says is to repent! What in the world does this mean? I thought my adherence to the law was sufficient. I thought my religious traditions were adequate. Jesus Himself says that in order to enter His kingdom we must first repent. Repentance is a crucial step to a right relationship with God. We must first see the sin in our lives as God sees it. We must see what that does to our relationship with Him and then deal with it biblically. To repent is to have a change of mind, or heart, concerning our sin. It is then we understand true kingdom membership. Once we do this we are able to focus on our relationship with Him and allow Him to transform our daily lives. – Pastor Steve Inman