I’ve heard it 100s or 1000s of times…
“The lord knows my heart”
“The lord does not care about us keeping THE LAW, he just wants our hearts to be right with him”
Let’s look at what a “right heart” really IS.
Everyone knows the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.
The servants who followed the instructions of the Master were told “well done good and faithful servant”.
Then the Master comes to the servant who had 1 talent and finds that servant instead of following instructions decided to disobey and not be fruitful and multiply but buried the talent so that it did not grow and the Master was left with nothing more than he already had before he left on the trip…
The servant who did not follow instructions is told he is “wicked and lazy” and then:
Matthew 25:29-30 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This is a parable about following YHVH God’s Commandments (instructions of The Master).
The Commandments are instructions which are THE LAW God expects us to follow and to live by and to extend His Kingdom by if we are truly His servants and our heart is right toward Him.
YHVH was not joking around with stiff necked, stubborn people in The Wilderness.
He meant every single WORD He said and expected every single little instruction to be followed explicitly or else that person was not worthy of His Kingdom.
And He gives us many examples of what happens to a servant who does not follow the “little” instructions…
2 Samuel 6 tells us the story of The Ark of Elohim on a new cart finally headed for home after 20 years. But the driver of the cart, Uzzah, seeing the oxen stumble, decides the ark might fall and reaches out his hand, grabs The Ark to save it, and YHVH kills him on the spot.
What do we learn about a “right heart” from this story?
Uzzah seems like a well meaning man but not paying attention to those “little” instructions of TORAH and decides to take matters into his own hands and do things his own way and it costs him his life.
But, orders and instructions from the Master are expected to be followed precisely.
Only certain Levites are allowed to carry The Ark with poles…
Only certain Levites are allowed to actually touch the ark with their hand and only at very specific times and for very specific reasons…
And, if a person does not study TORAH to show themselves approved then they do not know these things and make many, many mistakes in life and are not Holy or CLEAN and will not hear the words “well done good and faithful servant”!
When YHVH God the Creator of the Universe and ALL that is in it tells us not to do something HE MEANS IT.
He does not change what He says and all that He says is forever.
His Sabbath is forever for all Israelite’s and former Gentiles who will keep it.
His LAW is forever for all Israelite’s and former Gentiles who will keep it.
Just read Isaiah 56 and see!
No one receives eternal life who refuses to keep The Sabbath and all THE LAW.
That is called LIVING like His Son lived…
So, if a person is not willing to live like God’s Son lived then their heart surely IS NOT RIGHT.
They may think they are well intentioned and a good person but God is not looking for “well intentioned, good people”, He is looking for people who will FOLLOW Him through obedience…
Shalom.
PS… What about 2 Thessalonians 3:10?
Paul is talking about KEEPING THE LAW which also has physical applications as well…
A Right Heart keeps TORAH, a wicked heart does not.