9/19/17

Replace greed and self-indulgence with Justice, mercy and faithfulness

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Matthew 23:23 ESV
 - Do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)
 - Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (Matt 5:7)
 - Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13)
 - Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Col 3:13)
 - We plead for patients but demand respect and judge others harshly (Matthew 18:23-35)

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
Matthew 23:25‭-‬26 ESV

“‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live. The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done. “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord . Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
Ezekiel 18:19‭-‬24 NLT

The Fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:16-18)
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.…

Matthew 7:12
In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.

Romans 3:31
Do we, then, nullify the Law by this faith? By no means! Instead, we uphold the Law.