Righteousness:  The Law

February 4, 2001

Matthew 5:17-20

Presented by T. Fletcher

We’ve been studying Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

--overcoming superficiality

-having a distinctive life-style and character as disciples of Christ:  in thinking, living, surrender to God

-last week…Salt is a hidden but powerful influence.  Light is a visible and revealing influence, When you are light, you cannot avoid being seen.

Now in Jesus teaching we are going to take a turn, as he begins explaining the Law and the Prophets, to us “The Old Testament”, and how these passages of scripture are a part of what he is teaching.

How do you understand the Old Testament?  What role should it play for us today? Is it worth studying?

Listen to what Jesus said about it…

Matt 5:17-20    "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.  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.  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.  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.

I hear that, and my first question is, “Well…how righteous were the Pharisees and teachers of the law?” 

Here you have a group of men who committed themselves to knowing the law and keeping the law.  The had the laws numbered, the re-wrote the law over and over , the committed it to memory, they built extra laws to help them be sure not to break the original laws.  On the surface, they have a very strong righteousness.  They were right on all kinds of things.

1.  THEY KNEW THE DOCTRINAL TEACHING OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

-Torah, law, the “revealed instruction”…the study of God and who He is…and who they were…His people

2.   THEY KNEW THE PREDICTIVE PROPHECY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

-looking forward to the great “Day of the Lord” and the coming of the “Messiah”…they had anticipation of what God was going to do down to a science

3.  THEY HAD THE ETHICAL PRECEPTS

-the moral law of God…the principles of the Psalms and Proverbs…the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes…they had memorized God’s law…they had even numbered them. But Jesus said about these Pharisees, that all their knowledge was not enough to bring them to the Kingdom of Heaven.  There needed to be a righteousness, an understanding of the law and practice of it, that was more than what the Pharisees were doing. 

Because the assumption of what Jesus is saying here is that…while they understood the law, they were not fully practicing what the Law was teaching.

Jesus came to FULFILL the law…"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.  Matthew 5:17

What did he mean by fulfill???

-to give deeper meaning to the revealed instructions that God had given

-to bring to completion to the prophecies

.to fill it up, to give it deeper meaning to the ethical principles of the law

Jesus is teaching that Christian Righteousness must surpass Pharaisaic righteousness.  It must be greater.  It must SURPASS the righteousness of the Pharisees. The essence of this teaching…It is not so much that Christians must keep the law better than someone who has the whole thing memorized and numbers the commandments. 

The focus is not on the law.

No, Christian righteousness surpasses pharisaic righteousness because it is deeper…it is a righteousness of the heart.  And this is a teaching that comes right out of the heart of the Old Testament…

EXAMPLE FROM OLD TESTAMENT:  Samuel looking for the new king…Jesse’s family…the strong, good looking older sons come by…

1 Sam 16:7  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Thank goodness.  That fills me with hope…

It is a heart righteousness that God cares about, not looks or popularity.  It is a righteousness based on God’s relationship with the heart of a man or a woman.

Jer 31:33  "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD."I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

 How will he do it.?  How will he write it on our hearts.??

Ezek 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Who is doing the work there?  It is all about what God is doing…through His spirit.

Spokane Pastors Prayer Summit :  -- God was present…moving among the group.  There is a sense that God is doing something in Spokane. Obedience to God’s laws is the key to righteousness…but not within ourselves…but from His Spirit working in your life.

There was a group of studious people in Jesus’ day called the “Essenes”.  They left society and devoted themselves to the study of scripture in a celebate atmosphere.  They were devoted to the law.  They asked for continually adding more and more obedience.

Jesus wasn’t teaching more and more obedience.  He was teaching deeper and deeper obedience.  That your heart will become more and more engaged in what’s happening in your life with God.  This is a result of THE NEW BIRTH…the Spirit in your life, and your commitment to walk with God.