Surpassing righteousness

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matt 5:17-20

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

NIV

Oh how we could get so clouded in our thoughts by great theological discussions regarding these words of Christ. But it is not in those discussions do we find a meaning for our lives, nor the truth. The parsing of each word further clouds or hinders what Jesus is saying here. Let us simplify this so we can gain the insight he intended us to. Yet even in our attempt to simplify, we get into some theological thought.  The Law is the Law, it is from God and God never changes and the Law has never changed. It has always been the Law and it will always remain the Law. Its purpose is clearly stated for us.

Rom 3:19-20

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

NIV

If the Law changed or was nullified or canceled then we would never know we were living in violation of the Law as sinners and in need of Christ.

Rom 3:21-25

21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

NIV

But here it is. With a unchanging Law which shows us our sin, that we have absolutely no righteousness in and of ourselves and are in dire need of the righteousness of God, Christ. Jesus fulfilled every aspect of the Law perfectly, without one sin at all. He is the perfect Lamb of God, without spot or blemish. The Law remains in effect throughout the ages to continue to show men they cannot follow or fulfill it and are in need of the one who not only established the Law but fulfilled it so those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are freely justified, considered as one who has fulfilled the Law and therefore declared by God as being right in his sight. This is how we become more righteous then the Pharisees. They tried to live under the Law and they thought they actually could, that their Law following brought them righteousness. But how wrong they were. This is the same as many believers today with their lists of do’s and don’ts. They somehow think by this type of living, it defines their righteousness. But none of us have any righteousness no matter how many good things we do, nor how many supposed bad things we don’t do. These bad things are not like murder or stealing, but their lists consist of smoking, drinking, dancing, going to movies or roller rinks, etc. Some even have lists that include women wearing slacks, or not covering their hair. Some denominations have taken the Law and added and added until it has become just like what the Pharisees tried to live by. But Jesus wants us to live in the Spirit of the Law, which is in him. He is our righteousness. He is the one and the only way we will ever see the kingdom of God. He is the only way for us to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, we should try to live a good life making every effort to live a pleasing life in the sight of God. But again what pleases him the most is our accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If we live an almost perfect life, nearly living without breaking most of the Law, maintaining our vigilance on our lists of do’s and don’ts, but still we violate in the minutest of ways one point of the Law we have violated the whole Law. Of what value is keeping all the Law except but one of the smallest parts of it? The fact is we are all sinners, and we will never be anything but that, no matter how hard to try to live a righteous life, we will fail. That is not to say we should just go on sinning so God’s grace can abound. But the fact remains no matter how hard we try to live rightly we will fail. That is why we need to live in Christ if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is our surpassing righteousness.