Your points about our action and heart are useful. True it all coms from our Lord calling and empowering us. Much to unpack there and the whole sermon on the mount needs careful study. Including this challenging verse:
Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Paul writes often about our perfection, and not the least of his exhortations is our being rooted in the whole word of God, the Bible.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.Our righteousness begins here,…
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.…. but goes on to radiate his righteousness in our lives to his glory, which is the chief end of man.
by Mike Ratliff
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)
What is our Lord’s number one desire for His sheep? Some would say that Jesus Christ wants Christians to just get along. Others might say that He wants Christians to live sacrificially while being busy doing good works. Some may say that proper religiosity is most important. The number one desire our Lord has for His people is that their Righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisee so that their lives will bring Him glory.
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Rainbow Trout 