The Prophetic Word - Day 44: True righteousness disallows “lurking” sin.

“How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus wrecked the world of the Jewish religious leaders of His day by presenting a righteousness far exceeding their way of being and doing.

““You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, ‘Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fiery hell. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬-‭22‬, ‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Yesterday we discussed the fact that Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites because their righteousness was only superficial: They “pretended” to be righteous when their hearts and minds were full of evil intent.

Clearly, Jesus takes the concept of righteousness to the level of intent, to the level of thoughts, affections, and emotions. Indeed, the inner world of the person (thoughts, affections and emotions), will be judged along with how the person presents themselves outwardly.

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In these words to the Colossians the apostle Paul references the importance of the aligning of the inner person with the Person of Jesus Christ. Indeed, all “lurking” (hidden) sin must be put to death!

But now we face the question: How can I do that very thing?How can I ever be aligned with the Lord’s measure of perfection by putting to death all my sinful ways? How can I kill my lurking sin?

In our opening scripture we see David presenting this question to the Lord: “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?” He then appeals to the Lord to cleanse him of these things.

Happily, God through Jesus Christ had a plan to reach man’s inner depths, a plan to bring the help man needed to truly be aligned with the Lord in every aspect of his being!

We’ll talk more about God’s solution for man’s “lurking” sins tomorrow.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#ThePropheticWord