Discipleship Considered 5

Discipleship Considered

A Disciple will be a Person of Character

For those that have decided to pursue the path of discipleship, perhaps the next area to scrutinise is Christian character. Why? Because God is not only interested in what we do, but also who we are. Since what we do is a result of what we are, it is necessary to ensure that the foundation is right, that is - our actions come from the right motives. He will always be interested in the process as well as the product - for only the right process can produce our maturity in Christ, which is His chief concern. Jesus said that the issues of life proceed out of the heart. We should do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. We must work from the inside out.

The conflict between the Saviour and the Pharisees revolved around this issue. Jesus clearly identified the difference between the righteousness acceptable to God and the righteousness which the Pharisees were promoting. He said, "I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt.5.20).

Their problem was that they paid almost exclusive attention to what was visible ("that they may be seen by men" (Matt.6.5)) - they tried to get the external right without the internal being sound. They had re-examined the Torah and extracted a binding set of rules which prioritised what a person should do, over what a person should believe. They taught that the Law was satisfied, even if the obedience was mechanical. The difference between the teaching of the Rabbis and the teaching of Christ is that Rabbinism, in practice, defined righteousness in terms of right conduct, while Christ defined righteousness in terms of right belief, in the knowledge that conduct arises out of belief.

The Pharisees determined that if there was a prohibition in the Law it was only transgressed when the act was committed. Jesus, in contrast, said the sin was committed when the act was planned. There are several instances of the differences in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, the Pharisees judged that the seventh law in the Decalogue, "you shall not commit adultery" was only broken when the act was committed, but Jesus said, "whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt.5.28). What He was saying is that adultery is pre-meditated and the sin was committed when the heart conceived the plan.

The reason He branded the Pharisees 'hypocrites' was because their actions were so much outward dressing. He described them as "white-washed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness" (Matt.23.27) It has been well said, 'If the water in the well is polluted, it cannot be cured by painting the pump'. The Pharisees were constantly engaged in 'painting the pump'. But it is the hidden - the inward - the character - that is important. Thoreaux said, 'For every thousand hacking at the leaves of sin, there is only one hacking at the root'. The Pharisees were concerned with the leaves, Jesus was concerned with the root. Indeed, He indicated that if the root is rotten the fruit will be bad (see Matt.7.17-20).

Next time: Good Character is the Secret of Blessing