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Our sermon will be on John 3:1-21

We have a website: https://tahlequahworshipcenter.com/

We have started Sunday School

Rogers Littlefield will be bringing music for us in a next weeks 5/16

Prayer requests:

Sue

Georgey

Billy and his Dad

Dorcus’ family

Songs

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus - 258 -

I Never Shall Forget The Day - 307 -

What Makes Us Righteous?

When I was really young, going to the Peggs church, I remember this elderly couple. I’m pretty sure the wife was my Sunday School teacher.

She also played the piano.

I don’t remember when, I was still small, I remember her dying.

I remember the pain her husband had. He missed her dearly. He died within a year.

One day, as he was struggling with his loss, I could see this glow around him. I’m not talking about a physical glow. It was a glow of the spirit.

It’s the first time I remember feeling the call of God as he told everyone he would see her again.

I didn’t really understand what I was seeing at the time. I mean I didn’t even understand why someone would want to get married. I do now Cristy.

Years later, I was talking about this with someone. I told them the name of that couple. They started talking about their faults.

So what does that mean? This couple that I saw as godly saints - were they even saved.

I was confused. I didn’t know what to think.

I struggled for a long time about this topic. I knew something was wrong in my thinking. In what I had understood about God.

How are we saved?

Was this white-haired couple saved?

If they weren’t righteous, then who is?

What makes us righteous?

Matthew 5:1–20 NKJV

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

How Do The Righteous Behave?

First Jesus gives this list of things where people are blessed. We need to understand that in their culture many of these things were not seen in a good light. But it’s true today as well.

Someone that was poor was seen as someone who didn’t have God’s blessing.

Someone who is meek or gentle is not strong they are weak and won’t make it in the world

We can go through this list and see that the characteristics are not privileged.

So someone that is blessed is not someone who the world would say is blessed. Not not and not then.

See what mattered back then was how one appeared to be. Has that changed?

Jesus goes on after our scripture to take several of the commandments and show that what matters is not just appearance but what is going on inside.

He talks about if we hate someone, then we have committed murder in our hearts.

He says that if we lust after someone, then we have committed adultery in our hears.

Today, some of the things Jesus talks about here are celebrated.

Jesus sets up a standard that we can’t uphold.

Jesus not only tells us what we should look like but also what we should look like

What Do The Righteous Look Like?

It says we should be the salt of the earth. What does this mean?

You have to understand how they got salt back then. Most of the salt they got came from the shores of the Dead Sea. They would scrape it from the shores. If they weren’t careful, they would get sand as well.

So what was salt used for back then? It was used to preserve food. It was used for the land and dunghill as well. We see that in Luke 14:34-35.

The salt that they used back then was not just salt. It had many different chemicals in it. It was used as fertilizer and it was used to cover the hole after you used the bathroom.

So if we are not useful, then what good are we.

What is our purpose?

The next verse tells us. We are the light of the world.

Our purpose is so that our works are a light to those that are in darkness.

Our purpose is so that others will see our life and see the truths of God.

So hows your light?

With the spotlight on us, how can anyone be righteous?

What is it that makes us righteous?

Jesus later says that there is none good, except God. He is quoting

Psalm 53:1–3 NKJV

1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

What does that mean for us?

This is a standard that none of us can maintain.

What Makes Us Righteous?

Jesus says here that unless our righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

So how is that possible?

We need to go back to the Beatitudes to really understand what’s going on

Blessed are those who are:

Poor is spirit

Mournful

Meek

Thirsty for righteousness

Merciful

Pure in heart

So what does all that mean together?

Those who are truly seeking God will find him.

Those who understand their lack of spiritual things, those who mourn their sins, those who truly understand their place, those who long for righteousness, those who show mercy, and those who have been cleansed from within.

That brings us back to

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

What Makes Us Righteous?

which we talked about a few Sundays ago.

It brings us to

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Also,

Romans 1:16–17 NKJV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

What Makes Us Righteous?

Who are the Just? Those that have been declared righteous

Paul later says in Romans:

Romans 4:3–4 NKJV

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

What Makes Us Righteous?

What we need to understand is that all of those words are related:

Faith and Believe are different forms of the same root word.

I need you to understand this:

We are not saved by what we do, but by what Jesus did!

That doesn’t mean we are free to sin, but that we are free from sin.

We are declared righteous by the fact that we believe.

And as James says our actions, our work is proof that we believe.

What Makes Us Righteous?

Jesus makes us righteous!

If we believe that he died, if we believe that he is the son of God, if we believe that he died on the cross for our sins, if we believe that he rose again, then we are saved.

That means we can have confidence, not in ourselves, not in our works, but in God that he will count us among the righteous.

Jesus didn’t say that if we believe and stop sinning

No, he said if we believe.