Thinking on Internal Changes vs External Works for Those entering His Kingdom

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

– Matthew, chapter five, verses two through twelve, ESV

These scriptures are so very powerful. They can connect so much in scripture, that they can be considered some of the most foundational truths of the Bible! In this article, I’d like to capture a thought that I’m processing more fully. These teachings shed much light on total transformation vs the idea of working to enter heaven.

We love to say we are not saved by works. And, technically, this is correct. But when a life is transformed by God, works should definitely become part of the resulting “new nature.” So how is Christianity different from any mere religion? How does one become transformed on the inside – apart from cleaning up external behaviors through works? How does one become operated on by God, as opposed to laboring to make one’s self acceptable before Him?

Here’s the distinction: Everyone focusing on religion ( morality alone, or morality mixed with some false god behind it – not the True God ) can only strive at “being better” through works. But, everyone who finally “get’s it” … everyone who starts to see the absolutely beautiful, marvelous, absolutely pure nature of God Himself, – revealed to us, ( just because He wanted to reveal it to us ) – revealed to us by His sent, only begotten, precious, Son, Jesus Christ – everyone who understands this, (it seems to me) are receiving glimpses of stark reality. The result is, ( since they are being shown this from God, because they will appreciate it ), that they are developing a longing to be made different, a homesickness for His kingdom, a hunger and thirst for His righteousness. And they continue to stand in awe of Christ – and see themselves as spiritually bankrupt! This is what it means to be “poor in spirit.” From seeing that we are poor in spirit, we start to mourn for who we are, and what we must appear like unto Him. Then, the response affects how we live. We start to live differently. We see things differently, we understand things differently. Our behavior follows this internal change, we become meek in our thinking and our nature. We develop a strong desire for real righteousness to become part of our nature, (2 Pet 1:4), and He allows us to partake of His nature. Do you see how these teachings are progressive? The first one: Blessed are the poor in spirit, becomes the start of a person being transformed, a person who has started the process of becoming fit for the kingdom of God. The important thing to remember is, these teachings are not about “doing” … they are about “being”. They are internal changes which, if made, will effect our behavior as a natural process.

These revelations from Christ’s lips become saturated in meaning; they become very rich. Remember, if these things are true for those in His kingdom, then those final characteristics of righteousness, mercy, peace making, etc … are also characteristics of Christ Himself – the King of the kingdom. We are able to understand and agree with the words that came from the Father from heaven:

This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.

People in the kingdom of God see that they are already undone before Him, and at the same time, they can do nothing but admire Him. This starts the process of change from within them. The idea of “works” for the sake of entering the kingdom of God is left meaningless in the light of understanding these teachings. Works is definitely a part of a Christian’s life, but the motivation is so different, it’s not really “works” at all … rather, it’s just a response, a natural process – perhaps it should be called “growth,” or “maturity,” – perhaps it should just be called “receiving spiritual understanding from God through Christ.”