Matthew chapter 23
The Christian life should not be more difficult than the dead life in sin. The Pharisees placed burdens of rules which guarded every little detail in a Jewish person’s life. The Pharisees themselves were not able to maintain the life they demanded. The Christian life is alive and should be produced from within a believer. Within a regenerated life is the Spirit of God that guides and enables a believer to live the Christian life. It gives the child of God a want to. Therefore the work of Christ may need steps of faith, in that we trust Him, but there is an understanding for that faith and a relationship that guides the life of one born again. The inside has been cleansed and transformed producing outward works and behaviors. Outward works without an inward cleansing produces religious burdens that frustrate us every time we fail. In a relationship, failure is not burdensome but encouraging. Jesus lifts me up and sets me back on the road with Him. Sin is failure created by living in the flesh and not the spirit. This is why the Spirit of God convicts us and moves us closer to Christ.
How then do we keep the inside clean? We must take God’s Word into our lives which washes us spiritually. We must keep God’s commandments which strengthens our love for God as we live as His friend. We must allow the Spirit to guide and convict us, responding to His leadership quickly. We must find fellowship in the local body of Christ where He has placed us. The task should be somewhat enjoyable because the Spirit is alive in us and the Spirit wants to do this. Our flesh does not like us doing these relational functions because it kills the flesh and strengthens the Spirit in our lives.
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