During His public ministry, Jesus had no problem reaching society’s down-and-outers. But amazingly, He had an almost impossible time reaching religious and moral people who were under the delusion that outward rituals and good living made them acceptable to God.
The Pharisees were moralists to the extreme, so careful to keep what were, in their perception, even the smallest points of the law. But the result was a feeling of self-satisfaction. They believed that because of what they had done, they had obtained God’s approval.
They were so spiritually blind that when God in human form walked among them, they didn’t receive His message and even had Him put to death.
Jesus summarized it well when He said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matthew 23:27–28).
In other words, we are missing it when we only concentrate on the outward. We must first take care of the inward.
This brings us to the primary call of the church today. Is it merely to try to stop the spread of corruption in our society? Is it merely to try to lobby for political candidates who reflect our values?
Even if we’re somewhat successful in passing some laws, even if we elect candidates who reflect our values, it still isn’t getting to the heart of the matter. That’s because when people truly find Jesus Christ, He changes their lifestyle.
Our clear mandate, given from the lips of Jesus Himself, is this: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19–20).
If we allow other things to detract us from this one calling, then we’re missing it. Jesus said, “cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matthew 23:26). That is where we must focus our efforts.
By itself, morality leads to self-righteousness. It can even be a damning thing. That’s because people are better off being immoral and recognizing their need for God than being highly moral and thinking they have no need for Him.
Of course, how wonderful it would be if everyone in our country were moral and no one broke the law. How wonderful it would be if we all were kind and considerate people. That would make a nice society.
But sometimes, we’re a little too preoccupied with the temporary and lose sight of the big picture. Morality apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ can be dangerous because it can blind us to the truth.
Morality won’t change our hearts. But if our hearts have been truly changed, then there will be a change in our actions and our lifestyle.
