Super-Righteousness
Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply
Title: Super-Righteousness --------------------------------------- Date: 10/23/2000
Keywords:
"righteousness" "law" "commandment" "kingdom"
"teach"
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face of sexual temptation.
Passage: Matthew 5:17-20*
17. "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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
Questions
1. Who were the Pharisees and teachers of the law?
2. Why didn't Jesus think highly of them, since in Verse 19 he says
anyone who teaches the Law will be called great in the kingdom of heaven?
3. How can your righteousness exceed that of one who carefully and
thoroughly obeys every command he can discern?
Practical help
Christians like to rag on the Pharisees and teachers of the law,
since Jesus spared few tough words for them. But give them a break -- they were doing the
best they knew how, weren't they? They studied the scriptures for hours on end each day,
and went literally out of their way to make sure they didn't mess up. Isn't that a good
thing?
Jesus says our righteousness is to be better than that. We're
supposed to be super-righteous. How can that be?
One way we get it wrong is to build a hierarchy of commands in our
mind. Murder is worse than rape, which is worse than adultery, which is worse than
premarital sex, which is worse than looking at porn, which is worse than lusting, which is
... you get the picture. Jesus shatters that line of thinking when he says breaking the
least command drives you all the way to the bottom of the totem pole. He blows it away in
the next few verses (see the study from December 1, 1999).
The way to get it right is to recognize that Jesus defined a new
paradigm, the law of the heart. He made it clear that righteousness or unrighteousness
starts, and ends, in the heart. Whether it passes through the actions is pretty much
irrelevant. That is the fulfillment of the law of behavior.
So, when you're struggling with porn habits, you need to start your
struggle in the heart. The right start is to let Jesus into your heart. Click here if you haven't gotten started yet.
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*Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version © Copyright
1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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