Mathew 5:20 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Except your righteousness … exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees”... On the one hand, Jesus was calling His disciples to a deeper, more radical holiness than that of the Pharisees. Pharisaism had a tendency to soften the law’s demands by focusing only on external obedience. In the verses that follow, Jesus unpacks the full moral significance of the law, and shows that the righteousness the law calls for actually involves an internal conformity to the spirit of the law, rather than mere external compliance to the letter. “Shall in no case enter into the kingdom”: On the other hand, this sets up an impossible barrier to works salvation. Scripture teaches repeatedly that sinners are capable of nothing but a flawed and imperfect righteousness (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore the only righteousness by which sinners may be justified is the prefect righteousness of God that is imputed to those who believe (Rom. 4:5).
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 23:57:33 +0000