"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy, and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Matthew 23:23–24 (RSV)
The scribes and Pharisees fell prey to a very common snare to which humans are subject. We distort following the Lord as His obedient servants, a reflection of His love active in the into a way of filling in the imagined gaps in salvation.
We turn the miracle of unending grace by which we are saved and redeemed into a partial work of God that we must complete. We raise personal righteousness above Christ, then insist that others must comply.
"You must invite Jesus into your heart if you wish to be saved." Insisted the Bible study leader. I had joined the study to learn more about Scripture as I had learned little before confirmation. The study was useful but always ended with a prayer time focused on 'inviting Jesus into one's heart.'
At first, I wanted to just that, make a real commitment to God. I wanted to but could never get past the reality of my heart. I could never admit to the group, but the wretchedness of my heart was plain. How could I invite Jesus into that mess?
The human desire to complete salvation leads to hypocrisy or despair. One must constantly do holy things, insisting others do the same, or the charade falls apart.
An honest sinner knows nothing can be done to make the heart ready for Jesus. Indeed, the human heart is hostile to God, resenting anyone save the self seated upon the throne of the heart.
The Gospel is that Christ died and was raised for sinners, of whom I am the foremost. There is nothing I can say or do that merits such mercy. It comes from God alone by sheer grace. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we trust the promises of God, and in joy, announce this mercy and grace to others.