The Attitude Behind the Act A

God is concerned about what you really are not what you appear to be. It is the internal that is infinitely more important than the external the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees was an external critical legal righteousness of God commands or something that action is categorizing soon the right thing to do bar your actions since people can see the really the main issue or does the problem lie deeper, while John MacArthur examines important questions like those.

As he begins a series today on grace to you that he calls the sinfulness of sin.

John to start things off the title of this series may have some of our listeners scratching their heads what are you getting at when you talk about the sinfulness of sin.

It really is odd is that you have to describe sin is sinful, but sin has been diminished in the culture.

Everybody acknowledges sin, but but the definition of sin is almost like some some slip up. It's a mistake it's a mistake. It's an error you made you hear people say that all the time. I admit I made a mistake. I admit I made a bad decision so we have to redefine sin and by the way, the sinfulness of sin is an old phrase right. I was way back into the Puritan era. Even then, there were people who wanted to minimize sin. There always going to be people who want to turn sin into mistakes and there they will or they want to turn sin into miscalculations that I made because somebody else did something to me or misinform me. So the idea of the sinfulness of sin is to set the excuses aside the cheap shallow definitions aside and let's go to the heart of what sin really is and by the way, that's exactly what Jesus did in Matthew chapter 5. He said all you think sin is this to the Jewish leaders. I'm telling you it's this and he went from the behavior to the attitude to the heart to the motive what's behind the act who is really an adulterer who is really a murderer. What is man's biggest problem this not what he does, he does what he does because of what he is on the inside so understanding the true profound depth of sin and the fact that man cannot escape it in his own power, nor is he willing to is very very essential. It's a critical understanding to understand your relationship with Christ and even to presenting the gospel.

Somebody said years ago people are receiving the gospel and not even knowing why. Because sin is not being dealt with. You can't present the good news until people understand the deadly reality of the bad news.

So it's it's a gospel lesson were going to be learning in these days about the sinfulness of sin, which leads to the glory of the forgiveness of sin in the gospel right and friend. This study looks at some of Jesus hardest and most convicting teachings. It might even reveal areas in your life that you've never thought to examine. But as John said, when you see the depth of your sin, you will see the depths of God's grace more clearly. So here again is John MacArthur to launch his study titled the sinfulness of sin that most people evaluate their lives and the lives of other people on external appearance. First Samuel 16 seven says man look on the outward appearance. Jesus said in John 724 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. In second Corinthians chapter 10 the apostle Paul said do you look on things after the outward appearance. We dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that men themselves. There are people who commend themselves on the basis of their outward appearance, there are people who are satisfied with how they behave externally. There are people who evaluate others on the basis of what they see visibly in terms of religious behavior. This is rather typical of fallen man is basically satisfied with externals God is not so concerned with the outside as he is with the inside and the outside is only validated insofar as it is representative of what is on the inside. And that is frankly the basis of the text that lies before us. Jesus emphasized here in the sermon on the Mount of frankly throughout his whole ministry that external ceremonies external religious rights that certain works are not the whole issue that God is concerned with the heart and that is precisely the thrust of verse 20. Look at it, I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven on the scribes and the Pharisees had a righteousness that was external and what Jesus is saying is you must have one that exceeds that which is in internal God is concerned about what you really are not what you appear to be. It is the internal that is infinitely more important than the external that is essentially what verse 20 means the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees was an external ceremonial, ritualistic, critical, legalism, and the righteousness that God demands a something internal. By the way it's always been God's concern.

It isn't anything new. Jesus as an articulating something never before known. In first Kings 839. The Scripture said then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive and give to every man according to his ways.

Listen to this, whose heart, thou knowest. For thou, even thou only knows the hearts of all the children of men.

So God is enjoined in that verse to respond to men not on the basis of outward deeds, but on the basis of the heart which God alone knows in first Chronicles chapter 28 verse nine also in the Old Testament, the Scripture says and Val Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve it with a perfect heart and with a willing mind for the Lord searches all hearts, and understand all the imaginations of lot the same emphasis God is concerned with the inside not the outside not a standard that God said people this is really critical. The standard that God sets to evaluate men and women is the standard of the heart message is clear. God is concerned with external behavior. Yes absolutely yes, but it is only justified insofar as it is the outgrowth of internal righteousness, for God evaluates the heart, so he has said this is what God requires its internal character, not this point. He shows how such people living by such principles relate to the Old Testament law why because this is critical to the Jews. Listening to him speak because so far. What is sad is revolutionary to their theirs is purely external religion and he has laid down axioms that are not common to their understanding of religion and so their question at this time as well as as well and good but how does it relate to the Old Testament. How does it relate to Moses how does it relate to what the rabbis have taught how does it relate to the system of traditional law that we ascribe to the Jews, to whom Jesus was preaching would lean so totally on the teachings related to their own. Judy is declawed that our Lord couldn't bypass this section, he has to show how this relates to their system really verse 20 is the key. He says God standard is higher than yours. What you now know as a righteous standard is unacceptable. Now they're going to immediately say wait a minute, we obey the law of God, and in essence, Jesus is saying I have to redefine the law of God for you because it's been lost in the midst of your tradition so that in fact I want to get this the Judaism of the time was far from that true Old Testament law which God had given. And so Jesus is saying essentially in verse 17. I am not here to destroy the law, I am not here to destroy the prophets.

In fact, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle shall in any way passed from this law and I'm not going to tolerate anybody who sets aside one of God's command, but what you have is not God standard what you have is not God's law and so I will redefine it for you. And frankly, that's exactly what he does for the rest of chapter 5, chapter 6 and chapter 7. All three of these chapters are Jesus explanation of what he said in verses 17 through 20. How does all of this new information out of these Beatitudes relate to the Old Testament how they relate to the Judaism extent at that time how they relate to what these Jews knew as their system of religion. Jesus said it isn't God's law. I'm setting aside you've lost God's law in the midst of your tradition and I'm about to set God's law back in its primary place and that is precisely what he does in chapter 5 chapter 6 and chapter 7. Now let's see how he goes about it. In chapter 5. Look at verse 21 and watch this common occurrence. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old, thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment but I say on the you, that whosoever is angry with his brother with shall be in danger of judgment.

Stop right there. Jesus says you have heard it said but I say unto you, now look at verse 27 you haven't heard that it was said by them of old, thou shalt not commit adultery but I say unto you, that whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart again. He said you have heard it said but I say under you look at verse 31 it hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement but I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication causes her to commit adultery same formula you heard it said but I say verse 33 again you have heard that it hath been said by them of old, thou shalt not perjure thyself, but shall perform under the Lord thine oaths but I say unto you, swear, not at all. Verse 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, and I for an eye, tooth for a tooth but I say under you, you shall resist not evil but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turned to him the other also.

And finally, in verse 43 ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy but I say unto you, love your enemies, malice six specific illustrations. I want you to get tix. They all follow a similar pattern. Jesus is saying.

Your religion teaches you this but I say unto you, and what he's doing is this. He's not comparing himself with the Old Testament. He's not raising the standard higher than the law of God. He's not talking about what Moses said he's not talking about what the Old Testament said he's not talking about what God said. He's talking about what their religious system taught them and he saying you are standard is 20.

You only worry about murder, God looks at the heart and says if there is hey there. It's the same thing. You only murder worry about fornication. God says if there's lust in the heart. It's the same thing you see God standard is an attitudinal standard. Yours is only dealing with action. That's the difference. The internals are what God is looking after now in selecting his illustrations. He's very careful. First of all, he chooses to commands from Moses from the Decalogue, the 10 Commandments thou shalt not murder shalt not commit adultery.

Then he chooses to other rather wider social Commandments taken from other portions of the Mosaic writings social relationships starts with the very firm 10 Commandments he broadens to social relationships and finally he broadens to discuss the whole subject of love.

It's almost as if there's an ascending thing here he saying that it all begins at the foundation of life murder and marriage the organism, the individual, the organization marriage. It all starts there. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery. What is the right of the individual and the other is the basic definition of the social system God has standards right there and they're not only behavior standards in terms of what you do but of what you think.

And from those very basic things. He moves to a wider set of social relationships and he talks about things like truth and justice and honesty and finally to the widest possible latitude, which is love. So there is a threefold progress from a lower to a higher he starts with an individual dealing with an individual and then in a family with marriage and then expands to the whole category of truth and love and justice and honesty and finally to the category of love, which reaches as wide as not only your neighbor but your enemy, and he says it all living from the individual and his sanctity to the family to social relationships to the why of our enemies. We should be characteristically righteous on the inside and you are religious system doesn't have that definition. So therefore your righteousness in order to please God, must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. Theirs is strictly external so the Lord Jesus Christ don't think it for a minute did not come to set aside the law of God. He came to strip the rabbinic barnacles off the law of God, to make it bare and naked and pure as it was when God gave it and lift it back to where it belongs. God had always been concerned with attitude always is in anything new, but the people of Israel had lowered the standard and then justified themselves by what they didn't do while their hearts were full of murder, full of lust full of lies, full of hate full of anger and yet they were self-righteous because they had lowered the standard to accommodate their abilities. Jesus lifted it right back where it below and what our Lord is saying is this thoughts are just as important as deeds. That's why no man can be justified on his own.

You may not do the deed but if you thought the thought your damned that's what he saying he is literally devastating the Pharisees, he is saying.

I don't accept your externals, your heart is rotten and in Matthew 23. Later on he says it outside your whitewashed inside like a tomb full of dead men's bones, so a man is not to be judged by his deeds so much as by his desires. A woman not to be judged by her actions as much as her attitudes. This is different than the world's standards for the scribes and the Pharisees, you see a man or woman was righteous if they never did the forbidden thing they didn't care about their thoughts. They didn't care about attitudes.

But Jesus said, man is righteous if he never desires the forbidden things. Patrick Fairbairn says it's worth reading listened and the revelation of law. There was a substratum of grace. Recognizing the words which preface to the 10 Commandments and promises of grace and blessing also intermingled with the Stern prohibitions and injunctions of which they consist and so inversely in the sermon on the mount. While it gives grace the priority and the prominence such as in the Beatitudes is far from excluding the severer part of God's character and government no sooner indeed has Grace poured itself forth in a succession of Beatitudes.

Then there appears the Stern demands of righteousness and law was." God is not saying you're a Christian, you're free to do whatever you want. God is saying you are a child of the kingdom than the standard is raised for you, not Lord standards are still there.

God hasn't changed.

God examines the heart to see the attitudes, look at me for a moment the first Corinthians chapter 4 first Corinthians 4 just want to make a couple comments verse three a very key passage listen to what sits but with me. Paul says he's talking here about his ministry about the fact that God is made of a servant and a steward and he knows the Corinthians are critical of him sources of me.

It's a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by man is judgment yea I judge not mine own self not stop there from Paul saying look I will not allow myself to settle for human evaluation.

I will do it, not yours and not mine.

I can identify with that because I tend to be biased in my own favor right so you sometimes people will come and say oh you know such complementary things such gracious things such kind words and I'm appreciative of those but I for me it is a small fee.

How you evaluate me is a small thing, whether you evaluate me negatively. Whether you evaluate me positively. I don't feel it's necessary to answer my critics and I certainly don't want to believe those who are kind.

It's a small thing. I don't even evaluate myself, why because you whether your critical or time me whether I'm critical or kind don't really know the secrets of the heart. I know a little more than you, but I don't hello picture. So in verse four Paul says I know nothing against myself. I mean, I checked around I can't find anything wrong yet am I not by that justified even though there's nothing there that that I can see that's wrong, that doesn't justify me. He that judges me is the Lord.

I can see the externals you can see if you can sell it on the outside everything is good on the outside it's wonderful on the outside it's fine for on the outside it may even look bad to you. You may say boy so-and-so that align with what they're doing on the outside boy their outline on their forget one time I was in college and I was at a school where they had so many rules.

He couldn't even read them in a whole year.

There were so many rules you could break and not even know they existed. They passed out books and and I remember one time a guy was called to the high tribunal of the school that he was told you had broken the cardinal rule we saw you leaving the campus with the blonde blue dress sitting next to you in your car where you going now in this particular thing you couldn't go anywhere with a girl you couldn't leave the campus in your car. This was this crime of the first-order to which the young man replied, that was my blue laundry bag and hanging out. It was a yellow towel. By that time the rumor was long but here was a dissolute young man who was seen driving around with a blonde and a blue dress is a small thing.

Frankly, how you see the picture is a small thing, be it critical or positive. It is a small thing whether I justify myself is the Lord that judges me. Therefore verse five says judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the substitute the word motives of the hearts is you can stop right there. That's the point when God judges righteous judgment. He judges motive, he judges inside. You may be one who goes through life and you've never struck a blow to anyone why you've never killed anybody, you've never even fought with anybody but you literally burn inside with anger you maybe one is never been unfaithful in your marriage but you cultivate the thoughts of adultery repeatedly. That's what God is looking at.

You may want so bad to do something and all your life, never do it and God says it says if you did it and God judges the evil desire, and so you see, Jesus is literally hitting these Pharisees right between the eyes. Their hearts were filthy while their deeds were religious, they just dealt with extra state of the heart was not there concern but it was Jesus concern look in our society.

They did this all time low. So-and-so is such a good person. Both so-and-so is so charitable. We hear this all time, but only God knows what's going on inside. Only God knows what motives are behind what we do. This is grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us today. John began to show each one of us the magnitude of our sin and the incomparable breadth of God's love and forgiveness. It's a study titled the sinfulness of sin. Keep in mind this study is available on six CDs or you can download this entire series for free to review these lessons or to pass them along to a friend get your copy of the sinfulness of sin. When you contact us today.

Call 805 five grace or go to our website TTY.org.

The sinfulness of sin costs $27 and shipping is free again to order call toll-free 855 grace or go to our website TTY.org and if you'd like to have the lessons from the sinfulness of sin study on your phone or your computer you can download all six messages for free at our website. In fact, all of John's sermons are free of charge.

Both the MP3s and transcript@tty.org and if you seen your love for Christ, grow after hearing John's verse by verse teaching or maybe the Lord has used this radio broadcast to draw you to faith in Christ. Please let us know your letters encouraged John and the whole staff you can write to us at Grace to you. Box 4000 panorama city, CA 91412 or send your email to letters@tty.org that's letters@tty.org now for John MacArthur and the entire staff on Phil Johnson. Thanks for tuning in today and make sure you're here tomorrow when John continues his study, the sinfulness of sin with another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on wasting