Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Matt. 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- All human beings are stuck in an inescapable conundrum. We are sinful – which means that we desire things that are wrong, that are hurtful to others [selfishness, pride, greed, various lusts], and also this means that we are not eager to do good things that are helpful to others [sharing, elevating, honoring, loving].
- We know that we are supposed to be doing good and avoiding evil, so we attempt to do some good things and to avoid doing really bad things – in order to “satisfy” God and maybe other people, and get them off of our back. That way we can have some peace as we continue doing what we really want to do, and not doing the good things we don’t really want to do.
- In our honest moments we recognize the hypocrisy of this – but we comfort ourselves with the thought that at least we are doing some good, and are not among the truly horrible, and we convince ourselves that we are better than most people. And if anyone accuses us we are fully prepared to defend ourselves, even if it means attacking and demeaning someone else.
- This is the “righteousness” described in the Old Testament Lesson from Isaiah 58, and also the “righteousness” of the scribes and Pharisees in our text. It all relies upon “relaxing” the commandments of God so that they are tolerable to our sinful nature – all the while continuing in a loveless external conformity to God’s law without any real love for God or others within us.
- It is understandable then that Jesus pronounces judgment upon this kind of “righteousness” and warns that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The goal of Jesus’ teaching, and His mission and ministry, is that we escape this fate and this conundrum – so that we may enter the kingdom of heaven by faith, and also learn and grow in the ways of love by our experience of God’s great love for us. And this is the only way that we can come to have “SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS.” For:
I. Human Righteousness, What We Can Muster On Our Own, Is Always Hypocritical And Deceitful
OT Lesson: “Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.”
In the next chapter of Matthew, chapter six, Jesus warns of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who did good only to be seen by men, who were white on the outside but like graves, full on the inside of death and rottenness.
Statement: Our first reaction when confronted with the hypocrisy, imperfection, and shallowness of our efforts to do good is anger against God: “Why have we fasted, and You see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You take no knowledge of it?” Essentially, we charge God with being evil because He doesn’t give us credit for the effort we expended doing something we really had no heart for, no desire to do! It was a sacrifice that we resented making – and then He gives us insufficient credit for it!
Application: This is always the nature of good works that are done “outside” of faith in Christ, apart from the renewing power of the knowledge of God’s love for us. And it is conundrum, a slavery that we cannot escape – though the unbelieving are incorrigibly committed to somehow making it work for them. But the judgment of Jesus stands sure and certain – those who have only this kind of “righteousness” will never enter the kingdom of heaven. We need a different kind of righteousness, a “SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Transition: And this is precisely what Jesus came to provide for us. And:
II. Only Christ’s Righteousness Avails For Us And Suffices For Our Need
Rom. 3:20,21 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.”
A. This Righteousness Of God Has Been Provided For Us In The Cross Of Christ Jesus, As God’s Free And Gracious Gift To Us
Rom. 3:23,24 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified [declared righteous] freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
B. And This Surpassing And Availing Righteousness By Which We Do Enter The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Received By Humble, Repentant Faith Alone
Rom. 3:21,22 “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.”
Eph. 2:8,9 “By grace you are saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Statement: This faith is not in ourselves, in our fasting, our tithing, our morality, our self-discipline. No, this faith acknowledges that even our “righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” that we have no real righteousness of our own. Rather, this faith trusts in Christ – that He is the Lamb of God Who has taken away the sin of the world, that He is the blood atonement for our sins, that His blood cleanses us from all sin, that God has accounted us to be perfectly “righteous” in His sight “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Application: This is “SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS,” the perfect and complete righteousness of God Himself – and it is accounted to us for Christ’s sake, and appropriated personally through simple faith and trust in Jesus. Such faith is honest, it is humble, it is repentant, it acknowledges the truth, what the reality is, and it puts us in touch with Who God really is – that God is love.
All efforts to earn God’s favor by our own righteousness deny that God is love, and make God out to be a taskmaster and slave-driver. What a terrible thing to do, to lie about God in this way!
Transition: But if we know God’s love by faith in Jesus Christ, and claim God’s gift of imputed and accounted righteousness, this is renewing inwardly, and remaking of our hearts. The result is that:
III. The Righteousness Of Believers Is Real – We Become Salt And Light To God’s Glory – And Not Our Own Glory
Text: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Statement: When we grasp the light of God’s love and salvation in Christ Jesus, God makes us light, light which cannot be hidden. We grow in love as we grow more confident in His love for us. We have been forgiven much, so we love much. And this love, these good works, do not bring us glory but rather they bring glory to God – without Whom nothing good happens. So we hope that within us there is something that is praiseworthy, and that all glory be given to God, the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ.
Application: It is Christ’s righteousness accounted to us by faith that is “SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and because the love of God that we grasp by faith is powerful and renewing, so our “good works” moved by His love, our own personal righteousness, always surpasses that of the unbelieving – no matter how disciplined and self-righteous they may appear, because true righteousness is based in real and genuine love.
Conclusion: So through faith in Jesus Christ the conundrum is broken. When we recognize our failings at “righteousness” we confess our sins and rejoice in God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness, and His gift of “accounted” righteousness, the surpassing righteousness of Christ. The more we do this, the more we experience God’s gracious forgiveness and love, the more we love. The more we love the more “surpassing” our righteousness becomes.
This is God’s will for us and the aim of Jesus’ teaching, His suffering, death, and resurrection – that we receive His surpassing righteousness, that we become true children of God, and that we enter the kingdom of heaven through this faith. May God grant it to us all in rich abundance! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.