3rd December 2021
Grace for you today !
The Power centre of Excellence!
“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:20 NKJV
These are the words of our precious Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Scribes and the Pharisees were the religious leaders. They were the role models for the people to follow. They were blameless in their religious observances. People look up to them for guidance even today. Obviously, people must have believed that the Scribes and the Pharisees should be the first to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
In a culture where the Pharisees were considered to be the epitome of righteousness, the above statement should have blown everyone’s minds. If the Pharisees weren’t righteous enough to enter the kingdom of heaven, what is the hope for the rest ?!
Secondly , what is the kind of righteousness that is acceptable to God that exceeds the righteousness of these religious leaders?
The Lord Jesus showed that they need to do everything that the Pharisees did & also have a perfect righteous thought life. Wow! The whole idea behind the Lord’s teaching on righteousness was to shun our attitude or trust to earn God’s favor by keeping a set of rules by our own strength. Rules are important but if the rules become the yardstick for measuring one’s righteousness it leads to arrogance & pride by comparing. “I keep more rules than you , so I’m more righteous than you!” This stout attitude is bound to set in our hearts. This is the simplest form to explain “self righteousness”.
We cannot trust in our own righteousness. This is ultimately the reason why the death and the resurrection of Jesus is so important. In Jesus, our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees because Christ’s righteousness is the perfect & the ultimate. It is imputed to us just by believing & it’s a free gift. The goodness that I get from Christ far exceeds even the holiest of the Pharisees. Hallelujah!
Keep confessing, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus” to shun self righteousness and draw the best of blessings from His righteousness.Amen 🙏🏽
Praise Jesus!
Grace Revolution Gospel Church