14 min
February 16, 2020 – Renovation of the Heart Catonsville United Methodist Church
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- Christianity
A sermon on Matthew 5:21-37 by Pastor David Jacobson
Katie, my wife, will tell you that I’m not exactly Mr. Handy Man. But from time to time, with the help of my Dad, I’ve taken on some pretty sizable renovation projects, particularly in our previous house on Stratford Rd. in Academy Heights. Our basement bathroom was original to the house, which was built in 1950. The shower walls were made of sheet metal, so it sounded like a thunderstorm whenever you showered. And if that weren’t bad enough they were this queasy green color, that someone had apparently decided was so trendy that they thought that they would paint the bathroom walls AND ceiling in the same color.
That bathroom desperately needed a renovation. And so my Dad and I started the hard, but rewarding work of demolition and reconstruction. It took us quite a while, but the end product was a new bathroom that was as beautiful as it was functional.
My sermon topic today is the “renovation of the heart.” That phrase, and a lot of what I have to share today, come from “Dallas Willard,” whose books have challenged and grown me as much as any I’ve read.
What I’d like to do today is first to persuade you that you need a renovation of your heart. Then I will try to show briefly 1) what that renovation would look like once it happened, 2) the importance of actually making a decision to have a renovation done, and 3) the actual means through which the renovation will take place.
So first, I want to convince you, in love, that you need a renovation of your heart. If your heart is pure and free from sin, then you may disregard this section of my message. Otherwise, I urge you to continue listening.
Four times in the reading for today, Jesus says, “you have heard it said… but I say to you.” Sadly, I can’t talk in depth about each of these statements today. But I do want to simply point out that each time, Jesus takes a prohibition about some external behavior prescribed in the Old Testament law and he turns it inward and takes it deeper.
You’ve heard it said “don’t murder”… but I say to you “Don’t be angry or [insult others]”You’ve heard it said “don’t commit adultery”… but I say to you “don’t lust”You’ve heard it said “When a man divorces his wife, he should give her a certificate of divorce,” but I say [to paraphrase] the marriage bond cannot be broken easily, so “Don’t divorce for cheap reasons.”You’ve heard it said “don’t swear falsely” but I say “don’t swear at all”– basically be a person who means what they say and says what they mean.
In every case, Jesus seems to be saying, “this isn’t just about external behaviors, it’s about intentions. It’s about the heart.”
But here’s where the really tricky part comes in. Mere human will is never enough to get our hearts to the right place. I can’t will myself into not being angry with someone. I can’t will myself into not lusting. We can control our external behavior to a degree, and thank goodness for that, but we can’t control what comes out of our hearts.
What all of our experience teaches us is that when we aim to will ourselves into acting like Jesus said we should, we fail. That gritted-teeth method of forcing ourselves into right behavior is what Jesus called “the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” earlier in Matthew chapter 5. The scribes and Pharisees were very exacting at holding to the letter of the law. But Jesus scolded them, saying, “You are like whitewashed tombs. They look beautiful on the outside. But inside they are full of dead bones and all kinds of filth. In the same way you look righteous to people. But inside you are full of pretense and rebellion.” In other words, “People look at the outward appearance [and you look impressive indeed], but the Lord looks at the heart [and there finds you lacking].”
Jesus said to his disciples, “unless your
A sermon on Matthew 5:21-37 by Pastor David Jacobson
Katie, my wife, will tell you that I’m not exactly Mr. Handy Man. But from time to time, with the help of my Dad, I’ve taken on some pretty sizable renovation projects, particularly in our previous house on Stratford Rd. in Academy Heights. Our basement bathroom was original to the house, which was built in 1950. The shower walls were made of sheet metal, so it sounded like a thunderstorm whenever you showered. And if that weren’t bad enough they were this queasy green color, that someone had apparently decided was so trendy that they thought that they would paint the bathroom walls AND ceiling in the same color.
That bathroom desperately needed a renovation. And so my Dad and I started the hard, but rewarding work of demolition and reconstruction. It took us quite a while, but the end product was a new bathroom that was as beautiful as it was functional.
My sermon topic today is the “renovation of the heart.” That phrase, and a lot of what I have to share today, come from “Dallas Willard,” whose books have challenged and grown me as much as any I’ve read.
What I’d like to do today is first to persuade you that you need a renovation of your heart. Then I will try to show briefly 1) what that renovation would look like once it happened, 2) the importance of actually making a decision to have a renovation done, and 3) the actual means through which the renovation will take place.
So first, I want to convince you, in love, that you need a renovation of your heart. If your heart is pure and free from sin, then you may disregard this section of my message. Otherwise, I urge you to continue listening.
Four times in the reading for today, Jesus says, “you have heard it said… but I say to you.” Sadly, I can’t talk in depth about each of these statements today. But I do want to simply point out that each time, Jesus takes a prohibition about some external behavior prescribed in the Old Testament law and he turns it inward and takes it deeper.
You’ve heard it said “don’t murder”… but I say to you “Don’t be angry or [insult others]”You’ve heard it said “don’t commit adultery”… but I say to you “don’t lust”You’ve heard it said “When a man divorces his wife, he should give her a certificate of divorce,” but I say [to paraphrase] the marriage bond cannot be broken easily, so “Don’t divorce for cheap reasons.”You’ve heard it said “don’t swear falsely” but I say “don’t swear at all”– basically be a person who means what they say and says what they mean.
In every case, Jesus seems to be saying, “this isn’t just about external behaviors, it’s about intentions. It’s about the heart.”
But here’s where the really tricky part comes in. Mere human will is never enough to get our hearts to the right place. I can’t will myself into not being angry with someone. I can’t will myself into not lusting. We can control our external behavior to a degree, and thank goodness for that, but we can’t control what comes out of our hearts.
What all of our experience teaches us is that when we aim to will ourselves into acting like Jesus said we should, we fail. That gritted-teeth method of forcing ourselves into right behavior is what Jesus called “the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” earlier in Matthew chapter 5. The scribes and Pharisees were very exacting at holding to the letter of the law. But Jesus scolded them, saying, “You are like whitewashed tombs. They look beautiful on the outside. But inside they are full of dead bones and all kinds of filth. In the same way you look righteous to people. But inside you are full of pretense and rebellion.” In other words, “People look at the outward appearance [and you look impressive indeed], but the Lord looks at the heart [and there finds you lacking].”
Jesus said to his disciples, “unless your
14 min