Obedience of the heart

A couple of recent response to my email on "good work" expressed concern about boasting of obedience in the heart, and the need to know the law in order to find clear boundaries. It seems to suggest that the heart is blind and only the law is wise, and that without knowing the law in all its details the obedience from the heart still falls short and boasts in ignorance and unfounded self-satisfaction.

While I understand how one may come to that view, it is simply not scriptural if the supposition is that the heart remains the worldly one we possessed before baptism by the holy spirit. As a believer we must have faith that our lives are no longer ours but Christ's, and that neither our hearts are ours to own but His. (Ezekiel 36:26, "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart." ) In expressing faith we surrender completely to the indwelling spirit to guide us, mold us and to transform us. And in that true acceptance the heart is no longer blind but wise, and the mind is not filled with mere knowledge and rules but the truth of God. (Hebrews 10:16, "This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." )

A heart of faith is not boastful, but only boasts of the faith of Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:4, "Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring." ) Why hold a need for false humility when Paul proudly proclaimed that, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." (Romans 1:16) Why did Paul have to defend His faith? Because there were people who criticized him for being boastful of faith and grace. I don't find anyone made to feel ashamed of the law, and certainly nobody advocating law feels the need to defend accusations of condoning sin, making light of sin, irresponsibility and spiritual laziness. Why did Paul need to constantly defend grace when he was, is and will always be the single greatest authority of the new covenant gospel? What is it about grace that continues to stir up such controversy and unbelief? What we need to be vigilant of is not being deceived by Satan on grace but, quite the opposite -- law. And I base that statement on the unerring revelation of grace to Paul by the holy spirit.
 

And when a heart is full in faith, it is a sincere heart. Sincerity is not boastful, it is humble and glorifies only truth. (Hebrews 10:22, "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water" ) A renewed heart no longer harbors a conscience of sin and guilt. Do we think this means it is like a sinner with no remorse? Certainly not! How can the blood of Jesus and the washing of spirit do a incomplete work? What we have in our new heart is no longer do we need to be constantly looking out to avoid sin, because the heart is now pure and our conscience clear by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the washing of the holy spirit. We now walk righteously because we have been made righteous, and not made to walk righteously in effort to be counted righteous.

Now where do we find pride creeping in? In the law. Let us look at a few verses from Romans 2:

17You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. 18You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law. 19You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. 20You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth.

And

23You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it.

This is the inevitable conundrum of law -- the more we know it the less we can keep it. It is like the saying of a honest wise-man that "the more I know the more I know I don't know." and it is such realization that we are brought down to our knees in true humility and repentance. But to think that true knowledge is to know more and more is self-deception at best that what we already know is valuable, and there is value to knowing more. Anyone believing law can be perfectly kept doesn't know the law of God, and that belief is pride preventing the very God of law from living in our hearts to keep it perfectly.
 

29No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit.

Let's not be concerned about obeying the letter of the law, but be fully dedicated to opening our hearts to Him whose spirit is the very law and very obedience of grace. And ours is to boast not of our faith for God, but boast in faith for the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ! Amen

James