Righteousness Within

Read: Matthew 5:17-20

Unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! Matthew 5:20

IN WORD

The Pharisees were upstanding members of society. Some of them were judgmental and legalistic—we read about their confrontations with Jesus frequently—but most were genuinely interested in doing God’s will and respected by society for their devotion. They were in many ways the first-century equivalent of today’s dedicated church-goer. And they were very intent on following God’s law to the letter.

In their focus on the details of God’s law, Pharisees sometimes missed the heart of it. We can relate; we’ve all focused on rules, principles, and formulas while neglecting the Spirit’s intent. But no one would have accused the Pharisees—or us today—of being unrighteous for that reason alone. Except Jesus. Jesus saw the Pharisees’ works and knew what they were missing. Their attempts at total obedience were not enough. Their hearts had not been fundamentally changed.

That’s a sobering message for us. No matter how fully we obey God in our actions, we aren’t righteous unless our hearts have been transformed. We know from the rest of Jesus’ teaching and especially later New Testament writings that we have the righteousness of Christ by faith in Him. So our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and legal experts because it’s His righteousness in us, not ours. Still, this righteousness is never simply theoretical. It’s meant to be practical. Deep down inside, the heart fit for the Kingdom is one whose nature is changed at the core.

IN DEED

Jesus’ goal is to prepare His people for life in His Kingdom, so He produces a heart that is clean on the inside, not just a lifestyle that looks good on the outside. That doesn’t mean we become sinless, but it does mean we are growing out of sinful tendencies. His work in us is never superficial; He goes to the root. He produces the Kingdom inwardly before we can live in it outwardly.

ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 10:2-4

There cannot be perfect transformation without perfect pureness.

JOHN OF THE CROSS