“But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for
her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Matthew 5:28 (NKJV)

READ: Matthew 5:27–30

The New Testament and the teaching of Christ Jesus centred on the heart—what cannot be seen with physical eyes. A person who is promiscuous, committing sexual immorality—adultery or fornication—can easily be seen and known. But there are many believers who claim to be of God but inwardly, in their heart, are extremely sinful in the way they live their lives.

If I may advise you: do not try to please or impress anyone by making efforts to make them believe that you are of God. Instead, strive and endeavour to practice God’s Word and live by its principles (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1–3).

• If you please God, a number of people may be displeased with you, but that does not matter.
• If your heart is right with God, you are a good person—even when others say you are not.
• What is going on in your heart is much more important to God than any other thing.

Through our text, Matthew 5:28, we could see that someone can commit sin through his or her thoughts. If you committed a sin in your mind secretly, it might not be known to anyone, but sin
committed openly can be seen by others, and you can be corrected and reproved for it. But the sin which is committed secretly in your heart—who will know about it and how can you be reproved for such a sin?

Note:
• Your recreated human spirit as a believer would always reprove
you when you did wrong or committed a sin, but many believers do not always pay attention or heed the corrections and the reproof of their recreated human spirit. In fact, some believers’
conscience is seared or callous because of constant violation of it (1 Timothy 4:2).

Pay attention to your heart—what is going on in your human spirit
and mind—for it is much more important to God than whatever
you do outwardly or physically. When you are told to listen to your heart in Bible terms, it is talking about listening to your recreated human spirit and the messages being passed through your mind.
The Holy Spirit does not condemn you when you miss it, but your recreated human spirit does. Your conscience is the voice of your human spirit, and it is safe to follow your conscience. If your
conscience reproves or condemns you, it means you have actually missed it—you have done wrong (John 8:9; Romans 13:5).

In your recreated human spirit you have: conscience, intuition, and
fellowship.

• The conscience of your recreated human spirit as a believer would
prick and reprove you when you did wrong, even when what is
done looks right outwardly.
• The intuition of your recreated human spirit will lead and give
direction in all you want to do, if you would allow it and heed it.
• The fellowship or communion of your recreated human spirit inclines to worship God—to fellowship and commune with Him. Believers’ recreated human spirit worships and fellowships with God (John 4:24).

Remember, you would be judged, rewarded, or condemned based
on the condition of your heart—what you do secretly in your heart and mind. For you to maintain a pure conscience and a good heart, let your mind be constantly renewed with the Word of God (Romans 12:2). Pay more attention to what is going on in your mind than
whatever is happening outwardly, because God is much more concerned about your motives than whatever you do outwardly.

Reflect:
• How attentive are you to the state of your inner life—your thoughts, motives, and intentions?
• Is your conscience still sensitive, or has it become callous in any area?

Peace.

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EdificationDailyDevotional