What is Required to Go to Heaven?

Matthew 5:17-20

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.[1]

Jesus our Saviour came to save sinful people. This is a profound statement, though we who are Christians often take it for granted. We are not good people; we are sinners who mercifully have been called to life in Christ the Lord. Salvation is a big concept, and it is one which is too frequently distorted. The Word of God speaks of salvation in thee tenses—we are saved, we are being saved, we shall be saved.

We Christians have been saved. By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast [Ephesians 2:8, 9]. Similarly, we are being saved. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God [1 Corinthians 1:18]. In this same spirit, the Apostle also writes of future salvation near the end of the same letter. I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain [1 Corinthians 15:1, 2]. We anticipate that we shall yet be saved. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life [Romans 5:6-10].

Stating these views is not some form of “chrétienesque” distortion of the language. When we put our faith in Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, we are forgiven all sin, declared holy in the eyes of the Father, and set free from all condemnation. Salvation is by faith alone, but the faith which saves is never alone. Having been born from above, we shall be transformed. God’s Spirit takes up residence within our lives and He begins to change us into the image of God’s Son. Thus, we are being saved. We shall be saved, in that when Christ appears we shall be like Him and forever delivered from all that contaminates and dishonours the Lord our God.

Were I to restate the issue, I would say that we who have been born from above through faith in Jesus as the Risen Son of God are saved. We are now saved from the penalty of sin. We are being saved from the power of sin. We shall be saved from the presence of sin. God works thoroughly in our lives for our benefit and for His glory.

The focus of the message arises as result of the last statement Jesus made as recorded in our text. Of course, in this Sermon delivered on the mountainside that day long ago, Jesus had much more to say. However, this one particular statement is important for us to understand. Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. If we understand what Jesus was saying in these words, it will be sufficient for our contemplation this day.

The Foundation for Our Faith — Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. The actual Sermon on the Mount begins with this seventeenth verse and continues to verse twelve of chapter seven. In a sense, the Beatitudes and the words concerning the nature of those who follow the Christ are introductory words for the message which is to follow.

Note that the words the Law (and/or) the Prophets forms an inclusio, meaning a repetition of words that both begin and end a section. The words serve to wrap what lies between their occurrence. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets [Matthew 5:17]. This is the Law and the Prophets [Matthew 7:12].

During the remainder of this year, I propose to consider on an intermittent basis the message which flows from the words of our text. Those who are Christian, those who are truly righteous, as Christ demands, will reveal their righteousness through their manner of life. This is a novel concept in this day of laissez faire religion. Nevertheless, salvation transforms the life of the believer. Those who have been born into the Kingdom of God will let their light shine before others, so that they give glory to our Father [Matthew 5:16].

Whatever I may have to say on this vital subject must of necessity be clearly revealed through the written Word of God. The written Word of God is the foundation for our Faith and the beginning point of Jesus’ words. At the time Jesus spoke, all that existed was the Old Covenant, and his reference to the Law and the Prophets is an inclusive reference to what we have received as the Old Testament.

Some have speculated that Jesus was addressing an error common among those awaiting the Messiah. These individuals assume that some among the Jews were awaiting a Messiah who would set aside the Law of Moses and establish a new law. However, there does not appear to be significant evidence which would support this view.[2] His opening salvo in the message, Do not think… could lead to such speculation.

Other scholars speculate that Jesus was addressing misunderstandings concerning His position. Later, in the Gospels, Jesus is condemned as presenting a message which is less demanding than that of John the Baptist [Matthew 9:14]. Others accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard [Matthew 11:18, 19]. He was on other occasions accused of favouring sinning on the Sabbath [Matthew 12:2]. There were even objections to the fact that He healed on the Sabbath [e.g. Mark 3:1-6].

Bear in mind, however, that Jesus had only begun His ministry when He delivered this message. Therefore, I suggest that He is simply employing a rhetorical device to call attention to the importance of His Words. In this way, He carefully lays the groundwork for the means by which anyone will be able to recognise those who fulfil the Law.

I observe that few of us keep the Law today. Indeed, most of us who name the Name of Christ will vigorously contend that He has cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross [Colossians 2:14]. However, we must still grapple with the words Jesus spoke which inform us that He did not come to abolish the demands of the Old Testament, but to fulfil them. In what way did Jesus fulfil the Old Testament?

There are some who understand that Jesus came to fulfil the moral demands of the Old Testament. Of course, we cannot deny this. He was sinless. He could challenge His enemies, Which one of you convicts me of sin? and leave them speechless. What a powerful statement concerning the nature of Jesus, our Great High Priest we have in Hebrews 4:15. We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Repeatedly, Jesus our Saviour is declared to be without sin.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God [2 Corinthians 5:21].

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth [1 Peter 2:22].

You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin [1 John 3:5].

These are powerful claims. If even one flaw were to be demonstrated in the character of Jesus, we would be compelled to confess that He cannot be our Saviour. Nevertheless, though we can establish that Jesus was sinless, we err in insisting that the word fulfil applies to living up to the moral code. The issue in this paragraph is not how Jesus lived, but what He was teaching. The great Baptist theologian, John A. Broadus, clarified this point when he wrote, “The thought is, then, not to perform by his life, but to complete by his teaching,” citing such luminaries are Luther and Calvin.[3]

Other scholars have taught that Jesus, by His own teaching, brought to completion the inadequacies of the Old Testament. These individuals would say that the teachings of Jesus fulfil the Law in that He adds to the Law all that is necessary to make it complete. However, listen again to Jesus as He spoke on that day.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I am left with the distinct impression that He has no intention of adding to the Law. There is not a hint of inadequacy or incompleteness of the Law in His words. Jesus did provide us with the Gospels through His apostles, and we do have the remainder of the New Testament; but that is clearly not what Jesus is speaking of here.

I suggest to you that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament. The Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Messiah, and now Jesus was present to bring to fruition all the prophecies concerning Him. What this means, is that the Bible is about Jesus. Every sacrifice pointed to the perfect sacrifice which would be offered once for all. The moral code is fulfilled in His life. No doubt, this is in part what Paul means when he says that Jesus is the end of the law in Romans 10:4. Carson draws the conclusion, “The best interpretation of these difficult verses says that Jesus fulfils that Law and the Prophets in that they point to Him, and He is their fulfilment… Jesus is … engaged in showing the direction in which [the Law] points.”[4]

The foundation for our Faith is the written Word, especially as it is fulfilled in the life of Jesus. Thus, our faith is founded on Him. For this reason, I insist that there must be a basis for fellowship between professing Christians and between churches. The sole basis for such fellowship is the Person of Christ the Lord as revealed through His Word and as demonstrated through submission to that written Word.

The Endurance of the Foundation of Our Faith — For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Iotas and dots sound strange to our ears. We know that Jesus is referring to the veracity of the Old Testament. In the language of the theologian, He is attesting that the Bible is inerrant and infallible, it is authoritative and truthful. Though such assertions serve to offend liberals and modernists, it was the Master Himself who taught us to receive what was written as the Foundation for our Faith. Moreover, that which was written shall endure.

Permit me to take a moment to define what I mean when I speak of the Bible as being inerrant. Feinberg provides a helpful definition. “Inerrancy means that when all facts are known, the Scriptures in their original autographs and properly interpreted will be shown to be wholly true in everything they affirm, whether that has to do with doctrine or morality or with social, physical, or life sciences.”[5]

The Bible is reliable because the author is reliable. If the Bible is not reliable in even one small part, then none of it is reliable. If the Word errs in declaring Adam and Eve to be the first couple, how can we know that salvation exists, or how can we explain sin and the guilt which plagues us? The Bible is to be received as truth since He who gave the Word is truthful. If the Bible is untruthful in one area, then we cannot know if it is truthful in any area. The Bible is authoritative because God alone is the sole authority of the soul. If God is not sovereign, then He is not God. How important is this concept?

The late James Boice is one of my favourite theologians. His expositions of various books of the Bible are masterpieces designed to illuminate the Word of God. In one of the last books published before his death, he provides an exposition of the Gospel of Matthew. In this tome, he comments on this verse. I think his words merit consideration since they help us understand what is otherwise somewhat obscure for us.

“The more literal translation of the King James Version reads, ‘not one jot or one tittle.’ Knowing how obscure that must sound to most people today, the New International Version reads, ‘not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen.’ This is because the jot (Hebrew, yodh) is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It resembles a comma, though it is written near the top of the letters rather than near the bottom. The tittle is a serif, the small projection on letters than distinguishes a Roman typeface from a more modern one. In many Bibles, Psalm 119 is divided into twenty-two sections, each preceded by a Hebrew letter. The reader of such a Bible can discover what a tittle is by comparing the letter before verse 9 with the letter before verse 81. The first is a beth. The second is a kaph. The only difference between them is a tittle. The same feature distinguishes daleth from resh and waw from zayin (the letters before verses 25 and 153, and 41 and 49).”[6]

Professor Craig Blomberg asserts, “this verse affirms the absolute authority of all the Scriptures down to the smallest components of individual words.”[7] So, those who would destroy the Faith attack the Bible.

We who are derided as “fundamentalists,” or laughed at for the conservative views we hold, earned this derision because we accept the fundamentals of the Faith, beginning with the teaching that the Bible is the Word of God—authoritative and without error as God delivered it. We refuse to embrace new or novel views of the Word of God because we have witnessed fads come and go throughout the years, but the Book remains. Every shovel of dirt turned by the archaeologist’s spade verifies the accuracy of the Bible. Every truth points us again to the Bible as the fountain of all truth.

How do religious infidels try to undermine the authority of the Word of God? They appeal to tradition. Certainly, this was the problem of the Pharisees as chief defenders of the law. However, it was not the law which was written which they defended, but the law as they practised it.

For instance, on the subject of observance of the Sabbath, the Pharisees had multiple rules which were interpretations of that which Moses delivered. “With regard to Sabbatic observance, recent authorities tell us that the Scribes and their allies laid it down that a knot which could be untied with one hand might be untied on the Sabbath day, but not one that required both hands. A man might carry a burden upon his shoulder, but if that burden were slung between two, or even slung between the shoulders, the carrying of it would be a breach of the sanctity of the Sabbath day. It was unlawful to carry a loaf in the public streets on the Sabbath, but if two people carried the same loaf the act was good. It was so written in the Mishna and the Gemara.”[8]

Evangelicals have their own traditions which are exalted and thus they unwittingly assail Scripture. I recall a man who insisted that a sinner needed but to “pray the prayer,” referring to a particular prayer, in order to be saved. He boasted weekly of the number of people “he” saved, though I don’t recall ever seeing any of his converts in a service. Some preachers have warned that it is easier to change doctrine than it is to move furniture in many churches. They could have said that it is easier to change doctrine than it is to change the order of service for far too many of our churches.

We set artificial standards of righteousness and congratulate ourselves because we meet those standards. I precipitated a firestorm in one church when I pointed out that they had created artificial standards of what constituted worldly behaviour. The Bible focuses on attitudes instead of actions, calling our attitudes worldly.

A second assault upon the Book is the exaltation of reason over revelation. I am not condemning the ability to reason. God gave us the ability to think, and we should use reason, especially when we are reading the Word of God. However, if our reason is in conflict with the revelation of the Word, we should in humility bow before the Word. I have lived long enough to realise that reason, founded upon what man is capable of knowing, is fluid. Scientific reason has changed dramatically within the past century, to say nothing of changes which have transpired during the past two decades! Likewise, political and social views are equally fluid.

Eighteenth Century enlightenment rejected the Bible as authoritative. Now we appear to be entering a post-modernist world in which even the reason of the Enlightenment is rejected for that which is retro, but not so retro as to carry us back to a time of confidence in the Word of God. The only individuals who continue secure in the midst of a confused world are those who are solidly grounded upon the Word of God.

Today, many professing Christians condemn the Bible as insufficient; they seek “something more.” Is the Bible sufficient for evangelism? To listen to many professed Christian leaders we need to attract large crowds and employ manipulative techniques, because the Word of God simply won’t work. Paul says, in contradistinction to such views, since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe [1 Corinthians 1:21]. Trying to accomplish the work of God with secular means only brings secular results.

Is the Bible sufficient for growth in Christian character or for growth in godliness? With the multiplication of self-help programs and twelve-step programs for every imaginable condition and addiction and some conditions which are unimaginable, you would think that the Bible no longer works. I am not assailing such programs as worthless—they may have a value. I am cautioning that they are not superior to the Bible and they must not be elevated to such a position. At precisely the time when we have more self-help programs, more advocacy groups, more support groups than ever, we have less people demonstrating Christian character and godliness than ever before.

Do you actually suppose that a support group can improve upon James words? Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world

[James 1:19-26].

Can this Book make an impact on society? It is obvious that many Christians are unconvinced that this Book is capable of changing our world. I say this because of the emphasis upon political methods to accomplish the work of God. I say this because of the reliance upon lobbying in an effort to bring about righteousness. I say this because Christians appear convinced that organising a crowd, initiating a march for the cause du jour, or getting out the vote, will make a mark on society. For all the marching, uniting, and voting that I have witnessed during more than three decades of service to Christ, I don’t witness a noteworthy increase in righteousness. Society grows increasingly corrupt with each passing day. The early Christians were accused of turning the world upside down [see Acts 17:6]. If such a charge has been levelled against the churches of this day, I am unaware of it. Most of us disturb little, except our own security through disobedience.

The Book will endure, until all is accomplished. This closing phrase informs us that there is, in fact, a qualification to Jesus’ words. There is coming a day when the Book will no longer apply to us. Now, it serves to point us to Christ. It is today the instrument the Spirit uses to convict and convince us.

Until all is accomplished points to a day which is yet future. It refers not merely to the Cross, since God continued to teach the meaning of the Law and Prophets through the Apostles following the Cross of Christ. Since the whole of the Old Covenant is embraced by the Master’s words, it is not merely the commands of the Law which are in view, but the prophetic aspects of the Word as well. Jesus assured us that until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest portion of the Law would fail. This is simply a way of saying, “until the end of the age” or “as long as the present world order persists.” Therefore, the end of the age is insufficient to account for the all which is in view.

“Hence … [all] is best understood to refer to everything in the law, considered under the law’s prophetic function—viz., until all these things have taken place as prophesied… [It] simply means the entire divine purpose prophesied in Scripture must take place; not one jot or tittle will fail of its fulfilment.”[9]

The Righteousness which Accompanies Our Faith — Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The heart of the message is found in these two verses. Therefore, if you have been daydreaming to this point in the service, wake up!

There is a negative statement as the Master warns against those who would relax any of the moral/ethical commands of the law. The warning states there is no excuse for sin. The law condemns us. I recently read contrasting statements in a magazine which I receive. Listen to Dan Barker, a “former evangelist” turned atheist. “The very concept of sin comes from the Bible. Christianity offers to solve a problem of its own making! Would you be thankful to a person who cut you with a knife in order to sell you a bandage? …How happy can you be when you think every action and thought is being monitored by a judgmental ghost?”

Contrast that statement with one by Peter Marshall. “We are too Christian really to enjoy sinning, and too fond of sinning really to enjoy Christianity. Most of us know perfectly well what we ought to do; our trouble is that we do not want to do it.”[10]

Without doubt, I am in sympathy with Peter Marshall. To respond to the assault of Mr. Barker, I need but note that the law condemns murder. This is not a social decision, for there are multiplied societies which condone murder. Without question, Islam condones murder of infidels. Hinduism demands murder to appease the gods. Post-modern society condones murder, provided it is murder of the helpless yet in the womb or the invalid or the mentally injured as evidenced by euthanasia and abortion. The point I am making is that the moral/ethical code of the Bible does not so much define sin as it does expose sin for what it is—an offence to Holy God. This is the reason wicked man hates the light and it is the foundation for John’s assessment of man.

This is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God [John 3:19-21].

As Jesus uses the word, righteousness means, “an actual conformity to God’s demands in Scripture, both externally and also internally, as the next verses in the Sermon on the Mount will show… [A]lthough justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ is the core of the gospel and utterly essential … it is not the whole of the gospel, and it is not what Jesus is talking about here. It is true that God justifies the ungodly on the basis of Christ’s work, but that is not all God does. God also regenerates the one who is being justified. Thus, there is no justification without regeneration, just as there is no regeneration without justification. The important point is that the re-created person will actually live a moral life superior to that of the Pharisees.”[11]

God demands righteousness—a life which is perfectly holy and right. This is the terrifying demand Peter relays in his first epistle. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” [1 Peter 1:14-16].

Of course, none of us sitting here today will claim to be perfect. We make excuses and demur from demands such as these. This is but a frank teaching presenting the truth I have insisted upon throughout my ministry before the Lord. Those who are born from above will be changed. Regeneration is what happens when we are born again. This is what Jesus referred to when He spoke to Nicodemus, You must be born again [John 3:7]. It is what Paul wrote of in Ephesians 2:4, 5. God … made us alive together with Christ.

There are two types of works—those we are capable of in our own strength (like the righteousness of the Pharisees), and those that are produced in us by the Spirit of Christ residing in us and working through us. Listen carefully to Paul’s explanation of these latter works which accompany the new birth. By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them [Ephesians 2:8-10].

If we cannot be perfectly holy in our own strength, and we are still in flesh, how can this superior righteousness be obtained? More than that, how can we cultivate it and let it work powerfully in our lives? As we come to Christ, first to be born from above through faith in Him, we are justified. Then, having been regenerated and justified, we are called to obey and serve Christ. We are not capable of obeying Him or serving Him in our own strength. We are enabled to fulfil His call only because it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure [Philippians 2:13].

This is the basis for my warnings that those who have no love for the Saviour, those who have no love for the redeemed of God, those who have no desire to do what is right, likely have no relationship to God. They give evidence that they have never experienced the New Birth, regardless of what they profess. Having been born from above, we will be changed. If there is no change in your life since confessing Christ, you need to examine what you have believed.

I am reminded of the account of a little lad who asked his father, “Daddy, what is a Christian?”

The father answered as best he could. He explained how a Christian would live and what would be expected of a Christian. And when he had finished with his explanation, the little lad looked up at him and with a quizzical look on his face, asked, “Daddy, do we know any?”

When Christ regenerates us and justifies us, we are then imbued with the desire to do what honours Him. As we find ourselves doing what is right, we don’t take credit for our actions, but instead we will point those noticing the change in our lives to Christ. We will glorify God. After all, the righteousness we exhibit is from Him—His power and His Spirit give us the will to do what is right and enable us to do what is right. Thus living a life which is pleasing to God, we will declare His glory.

Our invitation is a call for you to be born from above. The condition is that you must believe that Jesus died because of your sin. You must believe that He raised for your justification. Coming to this Living Saviour, you must submit to Him as Master of your life. This is the call of God.

I you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].

Our prayer is that each individual sharing our service today leaves with the assurance that Christ is Lord of life. Our prayer is that not one of us will fail to call on Him as Saviour, inviting Him to take control of our life, believing that He died because of our sin and raised for our justification. Amen.

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[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Ó 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] For a discussion of this point, cf. D. A. Carson, Matthew, in Frank E. Gæbelein (ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8, Matthew, Mark, Luke (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1984) 141

[3] John A Broadus, Matthew, in Alvah Hovey, An American Commentary on the New Testament (Judson Press, Valley Forge, PA 1886) 99

[4] Carson, op. cit., 143

[5] P. D. Feinberg, The Meaning of Inerrancy, in N. L. Geisler (ed.) Inerrancy (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1979) 294

[6] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew: The King and His Kingdom, Matthew 1- 17, Volume 1 (Baker, Grand Rapids, MI 2001) 81

[7] Craig L. Blomberg, The New American Commentary, Matthew, Volume 22 (Broadman, Nashville, TN 1992) 104

[8] Joseph Parker, The Inner Life of Christ: Studies in Matthew, Chapters 1-7 (AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 1998) 140

[9] Carson, op. cit., 145-6

[10] Both quotes are cited in Servant, Spring, 2003, pg. 8

[11] Boice, op. cit., 85