In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, “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.”
This week, Micheal writes that Jesus said, I haven’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Jesus called His true followers to a higher standard ... Jesus Christ himself is the standard for He is the Word of God made manifest. Jesus said, the self-righteousness of the Pharisees is not the kind of righteousness required to approach a holy God. To approach God’s throne of grace, requires repentance ... to turn from ourselves and unto the Lord. In the following verses Jesus said six times, you have heard it said ... but I say unto you. The Pharisees taught that in their own performance and in their own actions they were justified and righteous. They thought that the tassels on their robes indicated that they were more spiritual than others.
Sin is missing the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Without the sin nature that we inherited from Adam’s original sin, there would be no need for reconciliation, redemption, and salvation ... there would be no need for Jesus Christ who became perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf. What shall wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O blessed is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus!
The message of salvation is not politically correct. The godless “PC Police” will accuse Christians of “intolerance.” However, God’s way of salvation though His Son Jesus Christ is the exclusive way, inclusively offered to whosoever will repent of sin and receive by faith Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. He is the narrow gate and the narrow way that leads to repentance unto salvation. God is intolerant of sin, but because of His love and mercy, graciously offers a way to forgiveness and salvation. If there were any other way to justify and make righteous those born in sin and continue to sin, why would God have offered up his beloved only begotten son? Jesus Christ’s innocent blood is the just payment to balance God’s scale of justice in exchange for our guilty blood. For in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.
When Jesus called disciples to follow Him, He gave them unilateral terms that most people were not willing to follow. He said, unless you forsake mother and father and sister and brother, you cannot follow me. Following Jesus is like getting married... it means to forsake all others to live with the One with whom and to whom you have committed your life. Christianity persistently and constantly shows us that a life of vigorous self-denial is the path to surrendering our own wills to His will ... to be submitted to our Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity is a willing compliance and complete acquiescence to Him who gave His life so that we can live in the newness of life.
Let's continue Michael's message on accepting the gift in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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