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| Sermon #65 "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," MAT 5:20. Think of the shock that puzzled the multitude when Jesus said, "...except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." In the time that the Lord Jesus was on the earth, the scribes and Pharisees were not only zealous guardians of the law, but they were the highest authorities in the law. The scribes and Pharisees held the highest rooms at the ceremonial feasts; they held the chief seats in the synagogues. They were looked up to and were called Rabbi, or Master of the law. They were the ones who understood and taught the law. They were not only the teachers but also the upholders of the law. Now in our text, we have the Lord Jesus telling the multitudes that "...except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." May the Lord give wisdom as we examine the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Wherein had they gone wrong? What righteousness is the Lord Jesus speaking of that we need so we might enter the kingdom of heaven? We need to be able to sort out the distinction between the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and the righteousness that is needed to enter into the kingdom of heaven. FOR OUR FIRST POINT, let's consider the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. FOR OUR SECOND POINT, let's consider how our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. We will consider how this must be and how we are to exceed that righteousness. FIRST, let's consider the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes developed and divided each commandment into many distinctions. These distinctions always set new precedents for further clarifications which became traditions. As we read in MAR 7:1-2, the Lord Jesus was dealing with this very thing. Notice that this chapter begins, "Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault." The law, or the righteousness they were enforcing, were traditions made by man. They were not the laws of God. I want to follow through with this in MAR 7:3-5, "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.[watch what happens] And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?" This is what the Lord Jesus was dealing with when He said, "...except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees...." Why was this? It was because the scribes and Pharisees held traditions ahead of the law of God. They held their traditions superior to the law of God, and the Lord Jesus said unto them in MAR 7:6, "Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." Now we start to see the distinction between the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and the righteousness that is needed to enter into the kingdom of heaven. The righteousness that is needed to enter into the kingdom of heaven is the righteousness that comes from the heart. How can we serve God if our heart is not with Him? The heart must be right before God. MAR 7:7-8 says, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do." The Lord Jesus gave them an illustration in which He points out that by their tradition, they are making the Word of God of none effect. By doing so, their righteousness becomes a righteousness of man. Their righteousness becomes a righteousness of obeying their traditions and not the law of God. "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye," MAR 7:9-13. This is what the Lord Jesus is speaking of in our text when He says, "...except your righteousness, [i.e., your conformity of heart and life to the Divine Law,] shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees," ye cannot enter into My service. The Lord Jesus is pointing out that they are conforming to their own traditions, but their heart is not with the Lord; they are not conforming to His Divine Law. The Lord Jesus is pointing out that they are holding their traditions as being superior to the Word of God. A collection, or digest, of these traditions and explanations of Scripture, Called the Mishna, contained 613 major commandments. Of these traditions of the elders written in the Mishna, 284 were positive and 365 were negative. The Lord Jesus was pointing out that these traditions were not the law of God. These traditions were divided into six main sections. The second section dealt with the festive seasons which was also divided into twelve parts. One of those parts, which contained 156 pages, dealt with the Sabbath Day. We will look at a few examples contained in the Mishna; then we will start to see how these traditions were totally contrary to the Word of God. 1. The biblical law forbids labor in simple terms on the Sabbath. These simple terms are developed into several special ordinances by first dividing the bearing of a burden into two separate acts: lifting it up, and putting it down. This is written in the Mishna. Now it was against the law to bear a burden on the Sabbath day so what they are doing with their traditions and with their exemplifying of the law is to set forth in the Mishna what that means. They become very technical. 2. This burden might be lifted up or put down from two different places: from a public place into a private or from a private into a public place. They are saying that you may not pick up a burden and set it down in the same place because then you would be bearing a burden. It was not permissible to pick it up in a private place and put it down in another location in a private place; to do so was bearing a burden. 3. A burden is identified by its weight. The weight of a dried fig is a burden, half a fig is not a burden. They went by a weight measure to decide if it was a burden or not! They were splitting hairs. If you moved an object that had the weight of a dried fig, you were bearing a burden on the Sabbath, but if you picked up something that had the weight of half a fig then you were not. 4. If half a fig was carried at two different times, these two actions were to be combined into one so as to constitute the sin of Sabbath desecration. But if one had deposited in another locality a burden of the weight of half a fig and removed it again, it involved no guilt, because the burden was altogether that of only half a fig. In other words they are saying, if you move two items the weight of a half a fig, that constituted the weight of a fig. Therefore, you have moved a burden. You've desecrated the Sabbath, but if you twice moved the same burden, you have still only moved the weight of half a fig. This is how they split hairs. 5. The standard measure for forbidden food was the size of an olive. If a man had swallowed forbidden food of the size of half an olive, rejected it, and again eaten of the size of half an olive, he would be guilty because the palate had altogether tasted food of the size of a whole olive. 6. If an object that was intended to be worn or carried had slipped behind, it involved no guilt, but if it had been intended to be worn or carried behind and it slipped forward, you were guilty of performing labor on the Sabbath. 7. Cold water could be poured on warm, but warm water could not be poured on cold. Doing the latter for that involved energy or work. When you pour warm water on cold water you are involved in making energy, this was considered a desecration of the Sabbath. When you pour cold water on warm water you are decreasing energy, this was permissible. 8. It was declared lawful to lift seats to move them, provided they had not more than four steps. If it had more than four steps, it would be considered as a ladder which was illegal to move on the Sabbath. 9. It was not allowed to draw or push chairs on the Sabbath as this might produce a rut or cavity in the ground. Since the soil would produce a cavity, this would be plowing which would be work. Therefore you were not allowed to move a chair unless you picked it up and sat it down because if you slid it, you might make a groove. 10. It was taught not to wear a frontlet or necklace or nose ring or crown or any ornament on the Sabbath. If it dropped and you picked it up to carry it, you would be guilty of bearing a burden if it weighed more than half a fig. 11. They were not allowed to extinguish a fire on the Sabbath. Think about this; they were not allowed to extinguish a fire on the Sabbath. If their house caught on fire, they were not allowed to put it out. This produced a whole section of what you could do if your home caught fire on the Sabbath. I'll touch on just a few. A. All portions of holy Scripture, whether in the original or translated, could be carried out. It might be rescued from the flames because they wanted to preserve the Word of God. You could pick up the Bible, you could pick up anything that pertained to the Scriptures and carry it, thus rescuing it from the fire, and it would not be considered a burden. B. Food or drink needful for the Sabbath might be rescued. If the food were in a cupboard or basket, the whole might be carried out. This pertained only to food prepared for the Sabbath. C. All utensils needed for the Sabbath meal could be rescued. Only the clothing which was absolutely necessary for the Sabbath might be saved. It being provided, however, that a person might put on a dress, save it, go back in, put on another, and come out and save it, and so on until your clothing was removed. You could not take your clothes in your arm and carry them out. D. Anything in the house might be covered with a skin so as to save it from the flames, or the spread of the flames might be arrested by piling up vessels. Now they are picking up vessels that weigh more than the weight of a half fig, but that is permissible as long as they stay in the house with them while it is on fire. It was not lawful to ask a Gentile to extinguish the flame. It was not a duty to hinder him, however, if he volunteered to do so. These are the traditions Christ spoke of when He said in MAT 5:20, "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." In other words, except you abide by the spirit of the law of God exceeding these traditions, you cannot enter into His service. You cannot serve God with such traditions of man. These few examples are but a glimpse of the 156 pages of what would be proper to do on the Sabbath. They are taken from only one of the sub-headings, under one of the twelve sections which the law was divided into. Can you imagine the impossibility for any person to observe the law as set forth by the scribes and the Pharisees? Observing the law under the scribes and the Pharisees teaching was a total servile fear. It was absolutely no filial fear, i.e., a holy reverence for God and His will. It was totally a servile fear, i.e., strictly a fear of service of do's and don'ts. Now think of the shock Jesus must have caused when He 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," MAT 5:20. This is but a glimpse at the heavy burdens which were bound upon the people with delight. The scribes and Pharisees delighted in being able to bind these heavy burdens upon the people. Jesus said in MAT 23:2-4, however, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." The Lord Jesus calls them hypocrites because they bound heavy burdens upon the people, but they wouldn't move them themselves with one finger. Another example is in MAR 7:6, "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." The Lord Jesus is speaking about the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees. He is saying that their righteousness was absolutely only a righteousness of man. This righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees must be recognized in two particular heads. First, they were teaching their own traditions and commandments of men. Second, we must recognize that their motive was selfish. They had a selfish motive in their traditions and in their self-righteousness by the fact that they were able to impose these burdens and make such grievous servitude upon the children of God. The second selfish motive was that it was self-honoring. It was self-sufficient; it was the fact that they had a servile righteousness that by the serving of their traditions they thought they were earning salvation. MAT 15:4-7 tells us, "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." They perverted the Word of God. The Word of God says they were not to curse father or mother, and they say but it is a gift, i.e., they lost sight of how we are to serve our parents with self-denial to show them honor, by whatsoever you might be profited by me. In other words, they made their traditions supersede the Word of God. In V:8 the Lord Jesus says, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." This is what the Lord Jesus speaks about when He says our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. As the Lord Jesus says in JOH 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." The motive in keeping the commandments of the Lord is love. It is not a servile servitude, but it is a filial fear, i.e., a holy reverence for God's will. It is a matter of serving the Lord because we love Him, we honor His law, and we have a holy reverence for the Lord's will. This wisdom or righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees shall be set at naught as prophesied in ISA 29:13-14, "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." It was prophesied in the Book of Isaiah that Israel would teach the precepts of men rather than the will of God! When the pride of the heart has lifted man up and placed their own traditions above the law of God, the Lord left them to a reprobate mind, i.e., a mind void of sound judgment. Love is the motive of acceptable obedience, or righteousness. The motive of the scribes and Pharisees was to edify and glorify self. Love for God has to be the motive for all acceptable righteousness, or obedience. Jesus said of the law of love, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," MAT 22:40. In EZE 33:31 we read, "And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness." This is what the Lord is teaching us about the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. They show much love with their mouth but "their heart goeth after their covetousness." The word righteousness in our text comes from the same root word in the Greek, as the word justified in ROM 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." What do we mean when we talk about being justified? We are not going to be justified walking in the ways of rebellion against the Lord. We are not going to be justified in our own works or the traditions of man. We are not going to be justified in any work that is outside of the revealed will of God. There is nothing in all this traditional servitude that comes under the word justified, i.e., this righteousness that is spoken of. The word righteousness in our text is taken from the Greek word dikaiosune" which means "equitable in character or act; innocent by implication, holy, justification: righteousness." This means is that we are observing the will of God to be righteous. The righteousness spoken of is the righteousness that would be according to the revealed will of God under the law of love. God's Word tells us in ROM 1:18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," i.e., against any infraction of the first or the second table of the law of love. Ungodliness is any infraction against the first table of the law, to love God above all, and unrighteousness is any infraction against the second table of the law, to love our neighbour as ourselves. The six contrasts which Jesus gives between the righteousness that excels, and that of the scribes and Pharisees in MAT 5:21-48 deal with being "equitable in character or act," toward our fellow man. FOR OUR SECOND POINT, we will consider how our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. It is important that we understand this. I thought it well to set forth what the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is, so we understand what the Lord says when He says ours must exceed theirs. It must excel. We have dealt with how Christ came, not to destroy, but to fulfill the law for His church with His perfect obedience. We must see that our righteousness must be that perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We dealt with this in our sermon on MAT 5:17. How that righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ was to come to build perfect satisfaction of the intent of the law. That perfect obedience of Christ was to satisfy and glorify our heavenly Father. This perfect righteousness of Christ is what we need imputed to us and imparted in us to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. MAT 5:17 says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." It was in the fulfilling of that law and in the perfect obedience of Christ that His righteousness, where the Father was so glorified, was established. That is the righteousness we need. Our righteousness must excel to the extent of perfection that we have by the imputed righteousness of Christ. We have dealt with how we cannot slight the least sin for which Christ has died. When we have that righteousness of Christ imparted in us, the fruit of that righteousness is love: the loving of His will, loving of the revealed will of God, loving to do what is pleasing unto Him, and the keeping of His commandments with the motive of love. Now we want to take notice, how should our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees? It is only by the imparted righteousness of Christ, i.e., Christ formed in you. Paul said in GAL 4:19, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." Read what it says in JAM 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Not one of us shall ever come to perfection of keeping the law because we are fallen in sin. We are fallen in Adam, our covenant head. We have a fountain of filth and corruption within us. We have so much of the hypocrisy, of the Pharisee and scribe within our hearts by nature. How shall we ever keep that perfect law? If we offend in one thing, we are guilty of the whole law. A certain Lawyer asked Jesus "...Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live," LUK 10:25-28. This is what it comes down to; it takes perfection of obedience. The righteousness that is required to be able to enter heaven is perfection of obedience, and this comes only through the imputed righteousness of Christ. Jesus paid the penalty of sin for His church through an act of obedience, thus fulfilling both the first and second table of the law for her. The law of love demands that we love God with all our hearts. To love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and with all our strength is Godliness, but we know we come so short. There is so much ungodliness within us. There is so much within us that is not for the welfare of our neighbours; there is so much unrighteousness and ungodliness within us! This must bring us constantly back before the throne of grace pleading Christ's righteousness and seeking mercy for our souls. We shall therefore proceed to dwell on the fruits of holiness or righteousness that proceed from the imputed righteousness of Christ. What are the fruits? What is that righteousness that the Lord looks for in us? What is the fruit of that imparted righteousness of Christ? The righteousness God accepts from His dear children is a righteousness in excess of the most scrupulous moralist. We must understand the most scrupulous moralist does not have a righteousness that is acceptable in God's eye. There is only one righteousness that is acceptable: the imparted righteousness of Christ being formed in you, the Spirit of Christ that comes as the fruit of the work of regeneration. Christian righteousness is positive; it is doing the will of God. It is not negative, which involves doing the orders of God. You see there is a difference. The scribes and the Pharisees were taking the law in a literal letter of the law to do the orders of God. They were obedient in a servile servitude. The distinction of a Christian's righteousness is doing the will of God with a filial fear, i.e. a holy reverence for God, a love for His will, and a desire to do His will. It says in PSA 112:1, "Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments." It is that new heart, it is that work of regeneration wrought in the soul that brings a new desire. This is a desire to do the will of God. This is a positive, not negative, desire. It is a desire not a servitude. Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in that they would not commit what was forbidden, but they neglected the positive. They had a servile fear. They would not do what was forbidden, but omission of good actions did not trouble them. We see this again in MAR 7:12, "And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother." They would not suffer him to do anything to serve his father or mother, why? This was the sin of omission. The law had not specifically said you must do this, or this, or this for your father and mother. Since the law had not specifically ordered it, they would not serve their father or mother. Now read V:11-13, "But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition..." What was it that they were making of none effect? What they were making of none effect was the fact that God's intent in the spirit of the law was overlooked. They were looking at one thing only: the black letter of the law in the way of a servile service. Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in that they minded what God spake but not what He intended. They obeyed God in the letter but not in the spirit of the law. Our Saviour's conflict with the Pharisees reveals the error in their understanding of the Sabbath keeping. Here is a good illustration of what I am talking about. It shows how they were in error of the spirit of the law or the intent of the law. They went only by the rituals written in the Mishna of what they could pick up and what they could put down--all traditions of man and their elders. They were not observing the intent of the law. In MAR 2:27-28 we read, "And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." What Christ is reproving them for is all of their rituals. He is telling them that the intent of the Sabbath was not to put man into a rigid bondage of servile work to serve the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the man. This is what the Lord Jesus was pointing out. The scribes and Pharisees thought inaction was Sabbath keeping. In other words, by literally not moving a muscle, not picking up a whole fig, not swallowing more than a half an olive, etc. they thought they were keeping the Sabbath. The man was not made for the Sabbath, however, to serve in the legal bondage of the Pharisees. MAR 3:4 says, "And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace." What the Lord Jesus is showing them is that they were missing the spirit of the law; they were missing God's intent of the law. The teaching of Jesus contradicts the human traditions. Read LUK 13:15, "The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?" In LUK 14:5 Jesus asked, "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?" They were criticizing the Lord Jesus because He had set one free from the bondage of sin on the Sabbath day. Isn't it a miracle, a wonder of wonders how the Lord Jesus was setting people free on the Sabbath day! Isn't it a blessed consolation for each one of us when we come under the proclamation of the Word, and the authority of the Word sets us free from the bondage of Satan and the bondage of sin on the Sabbath. Yet here the scribes and the Pharisees, with their traditions and works of man, were forbidding setting one free on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made as a repose from secular labour to be a pleasure, to delight in the Lord. The Lord instituted the Sabbath day as a day of rest. It is an emblem of our eternal rest from the things of this world and sin. We must understand the true meaning of the Sabbath. The true meaning of the Sabbath was that it was a jubilee. When we read in the Old Testament about the jubilees, what was it? Somebody had been sold as a servant. On the year of jubilee they were set free from servitude! This is the meaning of the Sabbath: on the day of the resurrection the Lord Jesus set His church free from the servitude of sin, from the power of death, from the power of the grave. The Sabbath is a symbol of the eternal rest when we are set free eternally from the powers of Satan and sin, when we are set free from laboring under the things of this world. In ISA 58:13 we read, "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words." This text is dealing with the heart. We are to turn from doing our pleasure, and do the pleasure of God on the Sabbath day. In other words, the Sabbath day must be a delight in the Lord. It must be that which is honorable unto the Lord, but it is not measured by inaction; it is measured by the spirit of the heart. Verse 14 says, "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." The Lord is pointing out that the proper keeping and observing of the Sabbath day is a symbol of being set free from the cares of this life. We are not to be spending it in secular labor. We are not to be spending it with entertaining ourselves with things of this world, but the Sabbath is to be a delight, holy of the Lord and honorable. Jesus directs their attention to when the Sabbath was instituted, to the origin of the Sabbath. He points out that the Sabbath was sanctified in creation while Adam was still in the state of innocence. It was sanctified and set apart as holy--as a day of rest. The observance of the Sabbath separates between the wicked and the people of God. HEB 4:9 says, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." The word rest taken from the original Greek is interpreted to mean an emblem of eternal rest. There is a rest to the people of God: There is no rest for the wicked, there never was and never will be. They are not going to keep a Sabbath if they keep a Pharisee Sabbath. Do you know why? It is because their heart will never rest from the things of this world. If they sit on a chair and be so ritual-minded that they don't move a fig, they don't move a chair, and they do all these rituals of the Pharisees, they still have not rested on the Sabbath day because their heart doesn't rest. They have no rest from the things of this world! HEB 4:9 says, "Their remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." Do you know why? Because it is sanctified, it is set apart, it is holy, it is honorable unto the Lord. That means their hearts are not taken up with the things of this world; their heart is resting. Their heart, soul, and mind are fastened on the honor of God. ISA 57:20-21 says, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." There is no rest, no peace to the wicked, so we have to see that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in the Sabbath observance. Their Sabbath observance was strictly a ritual Sabbath and the Lord says, "The Sabbath was made for the man not the man for the Sabbath." It is a day of repose, a day to be able to come away from the things of the world, to come away from the pleasures and entertainments of the world. It is a day for the assembling of ourselves together for fellowship in the things of the Lord so that our hearts might be united with oneness in Christ. The Sabbath is an emblem of eternal rest for the people of God. The word rest in HEB 4:9 is taken from the Greek word sabbatismose which means, "The repose of Christianity as a type of heaven: rest, The sabbath, or day of weekly repose from secular avocations." In COL 2:8 we read, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." This is so true in the observance of the Sabbath. We must be so careful that we don't get caught in the traditions of the Pharisees so the Sabbath becomes a day of servitude of do's and don'ts. The Sabbath must be a day of repose, of completely giving over of everything that is secular, and the entertainment of this world. We must come together for one thing: to honor the Lord. Christian righteousness is a heart that loves God with all its soul, heart, and mind. Christian righteousness does anything that would please God even though it was never laid down as a command. We have to understand that the righteousness that God is asking for is the intimate desire of the heart to do what is pleasing to the Lord; it is not the strict letter of the law but a holy, filial fear. This love for God and his neighbour is what the rich young ruler lacked--he was keeping the law by the letter of the law. MAT 19:20-22 says, "The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.[He never understood the covetousness of his heart. He never understood the Spirit or intent of the law.] But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." He was not able to give up the things of this world. He was not able to take up his cross and follow Christ. He was not able to crucify that old man of sin. He was not able to crucify that covetous heart, so he left. He had great possessions of this world but no possessions for eternity. A man who obeys moral laws without loving them is like a man who walks within the walls of a penitentiary. Have you ever thought about this? Here we see a beautiful illustration of a Pharisaical obedience. Why does this man obey the laws? He obeys because it is imposed upon him. He has absolutely no restraint in himself or desire to keep the law. He is doing it because the prison walls restrain him. This is a Pharisaical righteousness. Oh beloved, how many today desire heaven to escape the consequences of sin, but they have no desire to serve the Lord out of love? Heaven would be worse than a penitentiary for such a one. Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. For although their righteousness looked good on the surface and was externally moral, it had heart a deficiency. This is what the Lord Jesus is speaking of in MAR 7:6 when He "...said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." This is the problem we have to identify in our own hearts. Is it our hearts desire to do what is pleasing to the Lord, or is it our hearts desire to only serve the Lord for the reward? Are we fleeing the consequences of sin? Is that all the repentance we have, a legal repentance? Righteousness that excels flees sin with an evangelical repentance, i.e., with a true remorse over sin, because sin is so hateful to the Lord. In 1PE 1:17-18 we read, "And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: [This means in a filial fear, a holy reverence, with a heart that is tender for the will of God.] Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers." Stop and think about this. What have we received from our fathers by inheritance? That vain conversation, that heart that is constantly taken up in the things in this life, and does the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law is the Pharisaical righteousness. Our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, in its source. Theirs begins and ends in self. Christ's glory is the motive of Christian righteousness. 2TI 4:8 says, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." Do you understand who will receive that crown of righteousness? Those who love His appearing. Do you understand what this is? It is how the Lord appears in our life when the Holy Spirit takes those precious things of Christ and reveals them to us, and we have times that we understand those blessed visits of Christ. When we understand this, we long for the presence of God. It says in JOH 14:23 "...and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." The Father and the Son will take up their abode with those who love Him and keep His commandments from the motivation of love. Loving His appearing is not only looking forward to His appearing in the day of judgment, but also His appearing when the Spirit reveals those blessed things of Christ. When Christ is revealed before the eyes of our faith, we see how far short we come of the righteousness that is acceptable before God. Then our best righteousness are but filthy rags in His sight. When Christ was revealed to the prophet Isaiah he said, "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts," ISA 6:5. True Christians love Christ in His appearing because they have the Spirit of Christ in their soul. When they see Him by the eyes of faith, their heart longs to be conformed to that blessed image of Christ. Christian righteousness desires the light. Those who have truly received the work of regeneration desire to come to the light so their deeds might be made manifest, and that they might be cleansed from all sin. In 1CO 4:5 we read, "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God." In other words, the intent, the motive of the heart, will be brought to light. The intent of the heart is the distinction between Pharisaical righteousness and Christian righteousness. What is the motive? Is it self glorification or the glorification of Christ? I think it is so beautiful where Scripture says, "...who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God." The Lord looks at the intent of the heart. Christian righteousness longs for the reward of being found in Christ's righteousness. The reward that a Christian looks for is that all our uncleanness will be washed away; they desire to come to that fountain that is open for all sin and uncleanness and be washed and found in the righteousness of Christ. TIT 2:12-13 says, "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." We should have a longing desire for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm going to tell you why. If we are only fleeing the consequences of sin and serving in a servile fear, then all we are doing is working under a slavish fear. When our heart is right, we serve not primarily because we fear the consequences of sin, but we serve because we love God, and we long to be in His presence. When we long for His appearing, we long for those visits of His love; we long to be taken away so we can be forever with the Lord. I remember my dear Mother told me about one time when her family was still young, and they had gone through some tough times. She said she had just experienced such a precious nearness of the Lord; He had been so blessedly near her. She said as she could feel He was departing, she held up her hand and said "Lord, don't leave me now. Take me along!" She had such a desire to be with the Lord. It wasn't the idea of the do's and the don'ts, but it was knowing what it was to love Him in His appearing, to love His nearness, and to have a desire to be forever with the Lord. Verse 14 says, "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Our desire is that He would "... redeem us from all iniquity, and purify [us] unto himself a [as His] peculiar people, zealous of good works." In other words, the heart's desire is be cleansed from all iniquity and to do what is pleasing unto the Lord. Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in that it is not of mere outward zeal for the law, but it is of Christlike conformity. This is the desire of the heart as we read in ROM 8:29, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." We were predestined to be conformed unto that blessed image of Christ. Our righteousness must not be of servile fear, but of filial confidence. In other words, it must be a holy reverent faith. ECC 12:13 says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,[that is a filial fear] and keep his commandments:[out of love not servitude] for this is the whole duty of man." Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in the way of self-denial, liberality, and love. Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in that it must be an essential righteousness--as essential as the air we breath. Do you understand that we must have that desire to see into our own heart and know what a fountain of corruption we have within us? When we do , it then becomes so essential to be cleansed, to be washed, and conformed to the blessed image of Christ. HEB 12:14 says, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." We see how essential holiness is! It says without holiness no man shall see the Lord! In 2CO 6:17-18 we read, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." In 2CO 7:1 it says, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." The perfecting of holiness is that desire to do what is pleasing unto the Lord and be cleansed from the corruption of our own heart in the fear of God, i.e., with a Godly desire to please the Lord. Entering the kingdom of heaven involves leaving the kingdom of darkness. The Lord Jesus says, "Except ye have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." What does it mean to enter the kingdom of heaven? It means leaving the kingdom of Satan. You cannot serve two masters. Whatever ministers to sin partakes of its nature and its curse. Misconstruction of the words or actions of their brother, easily believing evil of others, willingness to report evil they heard, washing the hands but not the heart--these were the hypocrisies of the Pharisees and the scribes. This is not the righteousness that excels. They were washing their hands instead of their hearts. The great defect was their self-sufficiency. This is what you and I must understand. When our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, our self-sufficiency is gone. The Apostle Paul said in 2CO 3:5-6, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Amen. |
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