Exceeding the Righteousness of the Pharisees
Matthew 5:20
[Jesus said,] ”For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
My name is Ryan. And I am a law breaker. Yes, I have broken God's law. I am a filthy wretch. I am a liar, a hypocrite, and adulterer at heart... I am a murderer even.
Yes. A murderer. As recorded in Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus explained the sin of murder is not limited only to the actual act of slaying someone with a blade. "Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment." Have you been angry with someone? You are liable to judgment by Almighty God, who is free to judge you as though you HAD murdered someone. "Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." I can say, with confidence, I have insulted others. My parents... my family... my close friends... my enemies.
Now, I COULD make a case that the use of "his brother" means these offenses are only applicable to the act of murder in God's eyes, IF the offense is toward a FELLOW BELIEVER. The term "brother" is often used in the New Testament to speak of fellow believers, so this could be extended to this passage (though of course in the ORIGINAL context, the "brothers" would be Jews... however, we Christians are grafted into the vine... so we are all BELIEVERS). However, I find this irrelevant for 2 reasons: 1) later in the same sermon, Jesus says to love and to greet not only your brothers, but also your enemies (v. 47). If you are murdering or insulting your neighbor, enemy or not, is that very loving? Can you flick someone off in love? I think not. 2) Even if this command is to be concerned ONLY with believers... OK! So... have I been angry with a fellow believer? Have I insulted a fellow Christian? YES... ok... so even so, I've STILL not kept that law... and I'm guilty as a murderer in God's eyes, from his standard.
So under the Law, what is the standard to enter the kingdom of heaven? What is the requirement we must keep, "so that [we] may be sons of [our] Father who is in heaven?" (v. 45) The answer: Our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees. Or... as Jesus restates in v. 48: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
:-(
Under the law... the only thing that can save us is perfection. Keeping the law PERFECTLY. Time doesn't blot out sin. There is no statute of limitations when it comes to God's perfect holy law. If you want to get into Heaven, there's is ONE thing you HAVE to do to get there: BE PERFECT. Problem: I am not perfect. I look at the mirror of the law, and I only see my own sin. Any attempt of self-justification is futile. No amount of convoluted reasoning can change the fact that I am a law breaker. A transgressor against YHVH. I sinner. I sin because I am a sinner. You sin because you are a sinner.
Left to my own, there is no possible way I would ever inherit the kingdom of heaven. It's impossible, I am stained by my sin. And if you think you can earn your way into Heaven, you MUST be PERFECT. But you know you are not perfect. Like me, you are a law breaker. A liar... a hypocrite... one who lusts... and a murderer. Left up to yourself, you are screwed. You WILL NOT get to Heaven. It is IMPOSSIBLE for YOU to DO ANYTHING to make it so that YOU can get to Heaven. I don't care how much you cared for the orphan and the widow... I don't care how much you gave... how much you read your Bible... how you only had sex within marriage... how you gave up porn... how you don't drink underage... how often you took communion... or if you were baptized... how often you pray... how you say you don't watch filthy movies... the fact is IT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH! If you think you are good enough, you are a LIAR... and right there alone you are disqualified from the inheritance. Because guess what? YOU ARE NOT PERFECT! YOU ARE NOT RIGHTEOUS! YOU WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ON YOUR OWN BY YOUR WORKS! I cannot stress this enough.
Nothing I do will make me good enough to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
I have noticed a growing confusion with the law and the gospel. SO often people are presenting the law AS gospel. I have encountered pastors saying that the gospel is all about LOVE--Love God, and Love Your Neighbor. PROBLEM: I DO NOT LOVE GOD WITH ALL MY HEART! If I did, I would not sin! Same with my neighbor...if I REALLY loved my neighbor, I would not lust for her... I would not be guilty of murder against him or her by insult. Did Jesus say, "On love does the gospel hinge?" NO! On these things (love God, love neighbors) does the LAW hinge. These 2 things are COMMANDS. They are part of the LAW. Loving God doesn't save you... if it did, do you love God PERFECTLY? Nope. So you are disqualified. The law cannot save you. Or if it could, you MUST keep it perfectly. If you don't you are disqualified from working your way to the kingdom.
However... praise God... there is good news...
...to be continued...
[Jesus said,] ”For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
My name is Ryan. And I am a law breaker. Yes, I have broken God's law. I am a filthy wretch. I am a liar, a hypocrite, and adulterer at heart... I am a murderer even.
Yes. A murderer. As recorded in Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus explained the sin of murder is not limited only to the actual act of slaying someone with a blade. "Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment." Have you been angry with someone? You are liable to judgment by Almighty God, who is free to judge you as though you HAD murdered someone. "Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." I can say, with confidence, I have insulted others. My parents... my family... my close friends... my enemies.
Now, I COULD make a case that the use of "his brother" means these offenses are only applicable to the act of murder in God's eyes, IF the offense is toward a FELLOW BELIEVER. The term "brother" is often used in the New Testament to speak of fellow believers, so this could be extended to this passage (though of course in the ORIGINAL context, the "brothers" would be Jews... however, we Christians are grafted into the vine... so we are all BELIEVERS). However, I find this irrelevant for 2 reasons: 1) later in the same sermon, Jesus says to love and to greet not only your brothers, but also your enemies (v. 47). If you are murdering or insulting your neighbor, enemy or not, is that very loving? Can you flick someone off in love? I think not. 2) Even if this command is to be concerned ONLY with believers... OK! So... have I been angry with a fellow believer? Have I insulted a fellow Christian? YES... ok... so even so, I've STILL not kept that law... and I'm guilty as a murderer in God's eyes, from his standard.
So under the Law, what is the standard to enter the kingdom of heaven? What is the requirement we must keep, "so that [we] may be sons of [our] Father who is in heaven?" (v. 45) The answer: Our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees. Or... as Jesus restates in v. 48: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
:-(
Under the law... the only thing that can save us is perfection. Keeping the law PERFECTLY. Time doesn't blot out sin. There is no statute of limitations when it comes to God's perfect holy law. If you want to get into Heaven, there's is ONE thing you HAVE to do to get there: BE PERFECT. Problem: I am not perfect. I look at the mirror of the law, and I only see my own sin. Any attempt of self-justification is futile. No amount of convoluted reasoning can change the fact that I am a law breaker. A transgressor against YHVH. I sinner. I sin because I am a sinner. You sin because you are a sinner.
Left to my own, there is no possible way I would ever inherit the kingdom of heaven. It's impossible, I am stained by my sin. And if you think you can earn your way into Heaven, you MUST be PERFECT. But you know you are not perfect. Like me, you are a law breaker. A liar... a hypocrite... one who lusts... and a murderer. Left up to yourself, you are screwed. You WILL NOT get to Heaven. It is IMPOSSIBLE for YOU to DO ANYTHING to make it so that YOU can get to Heaven. I don't care how much you cared for the orphan and the widow... I don't care how much you gave... how much you read your Bible... how you only had sex within marriage... how you gave up porn... how you don't drink underage... how often you took communion... or if you were baptized... how often you pray... how you say you don't watch filthy movies... the fact is IT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH! If you think you are good enough, you are a LIAR... and right there alone you are disqualified from the inheritance. Because guess what? YOU ARE NOT PERFECT! YOU ARE NOT RIGHTEOUS! YOU WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ON YOUR OWN BY YOUR WORKS! I cannot stress this enough.
Nothing I do will make me good enough to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
I have noticed a growing confusion with the law and the gospel. SO often people are presenting the law AS gospel. I have encountered pastors saying that the gospel is all about LOVE--Love God, and Love Your Neighbor. PROBLEM: I DO NOT LOVE GOD WITH ALL MY HEART! If I did, I would not sin! Same with my neighbor...if I REALLY loved my neighbor, I would not lust for her... I would not be guilty of murder against him or her by insult. Did Jesus say, "On love does the gospel hinge?" NO! On these things (love God, love neighbors) does the LAW hinge. These 2 things are COMMANDS. They are part of the LAW. Loving God doesn't save you... if it did, do you love God PERFECTLY? Nope. So you are disqualified. The law cannot save you. Or if it could, you MUST keep it perfectly. If you don't you are disqualified from working your way to the kingdom.
However... praise God... there is good news...
...to be continued...
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