Tag: Righteousness

Clean the Inside

“Cleaning Yourself” was the title of another of my studies and writings. In that writing I was studying in Isaiah where we are to wash ourselves to remove the big chunks of dirt and making ourselves presentable to God. We are still sinners and have plenty of filth, but we can work to wash away the conscious sin.

This morning I am in Matthew 23 where Jesus is speaking at the temple about 3 days before His crucifixion. He is in public and not mincing words and at this moment is speaking of how the scribes and Pharisees are hypocrites in their work. They say one thing in public and then in private act another way entirely.

“25Woe 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. 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” – Matthew 23:25-26 (ESV)

Jesus, speaking directly to them tells them to first work on their hearts and allow that to make its way to their actions for all to see. The scribes and Pharisees were famous for preaching the ways of the LORD (cleaning the outside for all to see) and then when they were out of sight of the people, they would not necessarily heed their own words (dirty heart that was not seen).

Isn’t this the way we are as well. We all talk aloud how we should be acting in the way that God would have us act and then when it comes time to actually act, it is as if we had not even hear ourselves speaking aloud. I know that I struggle with this myself. One of my biggest struggles is maintaining a calmness. I tend to allow my passion for order in things spill out and lose the calmness I speak of with others. I immediately turn to the words known by parents as they speak to their children when caught in the act of not heeding their own advice, “do as I say and not as I do”.

“1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘2The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.’” – Matthew 23:1-3 (ESV)

Jesus tells us to do as the scribes and Pharisees say and not as they do. I know, isn’t that the words from above. It is. Jesus is acknowledging the correctness in the words from the scribes and Pharisees. He is letting it known that the people that are doing what is preached are doing so in a righteous manner.

Jesus also point out that these same scribes and Pharisees are not righteous as their words and calls to action. They say one thing and then do another, not out of passion for a particular thing, but as they are just saying one thing for people to “see” and then doing something else when the feel like no one is watching. They lack the integrity of their own words.

This is where I was going with my writing this morning. It is up to us to clean our hearts on the inside and allow that cleanliness to show through our actions on the outside. We have to scrub ourselves of the dirt and grime on our hearts and then allow that cleanliness to drive us to do some scrubbing on the outside with our actions.

We are not able to wash away our sin, but we are able to scrub the vessel starting on the inside that the LORD will be seen by all on the outside as well.

What does cleanliness look like to you? Are you showing one thing on the outside and walking around doing otherwise on the outside? What if you were to start by cleaning yourself up on the inside and allowing that cleanliness to be seen in your actions on the outside?

Build Your House on Righteousness

I believe it should go without saying to build your house on righteousness, but what does that really mean. I have studied and written that righteousness is not something that we can assign to ourselves, only God can count us as righteous. So how are we to know we are building on righteousness.

“13Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,

and his upper rooms by injustice,

who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing

and does not give him his wages,

14who says, ‘I will build myself a great house

with spacious upper rooms,’

who cuts out windows for it,

paneling it with cedar

and painting it with vermilion.”

— Jeremiah 22:13-14 (ESV)

In the verses above, we find what not to do. As I read the above, I see a selfish man who takes advantage of others in order to elevate himself. I see the one who is more concerned with his own possessions and status than that of others around him. This is certainly not righteous.

Now, having fine things and seeking assistance from others does not indicate unrighteousness. It is the using of others and placing those things above the well being of others where one demonstrates unrighteousness.

There it is, what is meant by building your house on righteousness. No, we cannot declare ourselves righteous, only God can. But, what we can do is demonstrate righteousness daily in all that we do. We should be doing righteous actions. We should be building others up as opposed to exploiting them. We should be sharing with others instead of building our own wealth and status. We are to love, care, and protect those less fortunate. We are to share the gospel with others as opposed to keeping the LORD to ourselves.

Righteous actions do not make us righteous and somehow make us better than others. It does not make our house any more or less than that of our neighbor. But, what righteous actions show is our understanding of where it all comes from. Righteous actions demonstrate the love of God flowing from our heart. Righteous actions show who and where we have given ourselves to, the LORD.

“15And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15 (ESV)

Joshua makes it clear to the people that he gives himself to the LORD. He will serve the LORD and seek guidance from Him in all matters of His house. Joshua chose righteous action in the name of the LORD to build his house. He was not the selfish man taking advantage of others to elevate himself. He did not consider himself righteous. Joshua built his house on righteousness through his actions in the name of the LORD. We should be doing the same.

Where are you building your house? Are you gaining while those helping you get there are less than taken care of? What if you decided to build your house on righteousness through the actions in the name of the LORD instead?