Untitled Sermon

Matthew 5:20 ESV

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

How do you exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees?

They were Jews whose job was to translate, interpret, and teach the law.

They read, they prayed, the studied!

Their lives were spent down to the punctuation of the Law of Moses.

They were morally excellent!

Works based religion can bring moral excellence, but not perfection.

Non-Christians consider sin to be a term of action—It’s something I do.

Things I have done or should not do.

Morally ethical people want to live within the law, but have little conscern for the spirit.

The ultimate win for them is to uphold the moral law and be seen as good.

Jesus is more interested in the heart.

Jesus looks beyond the letter of the Law, and that intensifies it’s requirements!

If you are innocent of physical adultery, are you still right to watch pornography or stare at the woman in the office with impure thoughts?

If you are innocent of physical murder, are you still angry to the point you could cause harm to someone? Have you plotted someone’s demise in your head? Is that still okay?

The Christian is concerned with the Spirit than he/she is with the letter of the Law.

It’s more than murder—My soul is angry to the point of murder.

It’s more desire than sex—It’s having the desire for someone other than my spouse

It’s more than promise keeping—I want my word to be true.

These things pull us into a relationship with God because we are pursuing the heart of God.

NonChristians think of God as primarily Someone to be obeyed.

The Christian thinks of God as Someone to enjoy.

When we enjoy the presence of God, we respond with obedience to God.

I don’t want to just be morally good, I want to be close to the heart of God.

“You must be perfect.”

The word “be” is an identity statement.

He doesn’t say you must do perfection.

He just finished adding to the actions.

The word “be” is “to exist as” or “have the quality of being.”

Doing perfect and being perfect are two different statements.

You know what He just said for the last 26 verses? You’re not perfect.

“So, how do I become verse 48?”

1. Recognize you can’t.

In yourself, you cannot be perfect.

You do not have the strength, the discipline, or the soul to be perfect.

You’re utterly broken.

Go back to the Beattitudes.

Many people think that these are qualities of individuals.

That’s not the case.

These are qualities of a particular person: A Christian.

You cannot make yourself any of these things.

Poor in spirit

Mourn

Meek

Pure in heart

Persecuted

You cannot force yourself to be any of these things.

In yourself you do not have the perfect righteousness and fullness it takes to be perfect.

But there’s this little phrase in the Bible.

At Graceland, we are people of the Word.

We submit to the authority of the Bible.

I want you to go and read your Bible.

Primarily in Paul’s letters in the New Testament.

Circle every time you see the phrase “in Christ” or “through Christ”

One of my favorite doctrines is “union with Christ.”

This means that Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, Christians are united with Christ in his life, death, resurrection, and glorification.

The biblical depiction of salvation can be summarized as union, or reunion, with God. It is the process by which the redeemed are rescued out of a life marked by opposition to God and drawn into a life defined instead by reconciliation with him.

The Holy Spirit applies Jesus’s work on the cross and the empty tomb in the lives of believers.

So it is through, and in, and by God’s Spirit that we are brought into God’s family and Kingdom.

Being “in Christ” means that your life is no longer your own, but rather it is Christ!

Romans 8:1 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

How can this be?

Romans 5:6-8 “6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus died to give us life!

Where we were dead in our sins, Christ died for our sin as our substitude!

When Jesus came out of the grave, our lives are in Him through faith!

The life of a Christian is a life spent in Christ!

Christ in you, Christ around you, Christ above you, Christ through you!

Recognizing that 2 Corinthians 5:21 is the gospel lined our for sinners like you and me!

“21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

“If somebody doesn’t ‘amen’ that, I’mma start this sermon over.”

2. Follow Jesus because He can.

You cannot make yourself perfect or any of the Beattitudes.

Following Jesus results in these things.

What we find in the Beattitudes are qualities that Jesus will give us overtime.

If you follow Jesus long enough, you will be:

Broken/poor in spirit

Mourn

Persecuted

Thirst for righteousness.

Why? Because this is the very heart of Christ Himself.

You don’t strive to be perfect to be better than your neighbor

You’re probably a bigger sinner than they are anyway

The Christian strives to be perfect because Jesus Himself was perfect.

That’s what sets the Christian apart from the rest of the world.

We’re not like them, we’re like Jesus.

What happens if I fall? Will Jesus kick me out because I’m not perfect.

Repent, get up and keep walking toward Jesus.

Rafiki and Symbal - Lion King

“You can either run from it, or learn from it.”

“If somebody doesn’t ‘amen’ that, I’mma start this sermon over.”