The purpose of the law is not to set a measure by which you can attain the acceptance and favour of God. If you treat it in this way then you will be inclined to always think about morals and how you are acting. You might even start thinking about what you can ‘get away with’. This is not what Jesus wants us to focus on. Jesus wants us to focus on the kinds of people he wants us to be. He wants us to focus on character. God gives us our spiritual status as a gift. He receives us as sons and daughters without any reference to what we have or haven’t done. Our failures are all covered by Jesus’ death which paid for all our sins. Since you are a child of God, Jesus wants you to learn how to live up to who you already are. Your rate of success in this does not change your status. Now that we are God’s children, we should be focused on aligning our hearts with the heart of God. When Jesus teaches on the law in Matthew 5 his focus is on character. God is not interested in mechanical ethics. He is not requiring us to earn his favour. He wants us to live the full life that he has freely opened up for us. Life begins in the heart and mind. When we recognise the dysfunctions in our desires and in our imaginations and when we allow God to transform us, here then we are truly walking with God.
Think about the kind of person you want to be and ask God to mould you according to his desire for you.
Read Matthew 5:17-48
