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Bible Reading: Matthew 5:17-20 #
Key Verse:
1 Corinthians 1:30 — He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption
The Righteousness of the Pharisees #
You must do this to get into God’s kingdom: your righteousness must be greater than the Pharisees’. I wish you success with that! The Pharisees were interesting. They were the best at following Moses’ laws.
Paul says he lived according to the law as a Pharisee, his righteousness based on the law was perfect.
Philippians 3:5-6 — I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.
Who could make that better? You could try to do better than the Pharisees, but is there another way?
Paul says that the way the Pharisees did things does not work, so there must be. Not one of us can follow the law, which means none of us can say we are good. (Ref: Romans 3–7).
The Purpose of the Law and Jesus’ Sacrifice #
But what if the law’s purpose was to show us how bad we are and how much we need a Saviour? And what if Jesus’ death on the cross achieved the goal of the law for us? Is there any kind of justice that is better? What if this righteousness could be ours because Jesus gave it to us? Could it be that Jesus is our righteousness? Yes, he is. He is also the one who brings us into the kingdom!
Believing in Jesus Christ: The Only Way #
People can not get into God’s kingdom by being good; they must believe in Jesus, the King, Saviour and Lord. They must believe in his substitutionary death on the cross, burial and resurrection.
That is how the tax collectors and prostitutes (sinners) who turned their lives around got into the kingdom before the Pharisees. Christ was going to be their righteousness. That is good news – the gospel of the Kingdom of God!
Matthew 21:31 — Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!
Christ: Our Righteousness, Holiness, and Redemption #
1 Corinthians 1:30 — “He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption”
Righteousness is a gift from God through Christ Jesus, not something we can do or receive on our own.
Even if we work as hard as the Pharisees did, our efforts are not enough. Jesus becomes our holiness and righteousness, doing the work we could never do ourselves. We don’t have to prove ourselves by obeying the law when we receive Him. We must obey His word. Now, we are free to live in His truth and goodness.
Saving is not about being “good enough,” but about trusting in the perfect one – Jesus our Lord. It is humbling to remember that Christ’s work on the cross is the only way we can be in God’s kingdom.
So let us praise God for His compassion and ask for a stronger faith in Christ, who is our righteous one, our wise one, and our hope for eternal life!
Blessings,
Shaliach.
