Kingdom Righteousness

Introduction:

I’ve certainly been enjoying these messages. I’ve been learning, and filling up, refreshing, and worshipping.

I’m also excited about our new live streaming service - yesterday morning’s Bible study was the first officially live streamed service of Independence camp 2021.

I’m also thankful for how the Lord has been helping me in these Bible studies. No we haven’t shouted or ran the aisle’s but I have felt Him near.

Review:

We have been discussing the Sermon on the Mount one of the greatest teachings of Jesus to His disciples and we get to sit in on that conversation.

It says:

Matthew 5:1–2 KJV 1900

1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Martin Luther once quipped: These are the three things, it is commonly said, that mark a good preacher; first, that he take his place; secondly, that he open his mouth and say something; thirdly, that he know when to stop.

The Sermon on the Mount covers Matthew 5-7 this is our fourth session, so I’m going to have to kick it up a notch as we are still in chapter 5

We’ve talked about the

1. Beatitudes Matthew 5:3-12 = The Disciples Character - the blessed life

2. Similitudes Matthew 5:13-16 = The Disciples Influence

3. Jesus The Law and Prophets Matthew 5:17-20 (Jesus emphatically declares that He has not come to take away or to annul the Law and the Prophets but rather to fulfill them now he’s going to tell us how to be perfect.) Jesus had a Commitment to Uphold

We had just started to talk about Kingdom Righteousness yesterday so that is where I want to pick up.

We have a Righteousness to Behold Matthew 5:19-48

We will take this section like we did the beatitudes - we will read each passage and then comment on it.

Remember the Sermon on the Mount runs on those two tracks that support and guide the wheels of the Sermon:

...the two rails on which the Sermon on the Mount rides are summed up in two Greek words: “markarios” and “teleios” in English they are “blessed” and “perfect” or “mature” or I will probably use terms like “blessed and Spiritual Formation/ Christlikeness”.

The Key verse of this passage Matthew 19-48 is found in the last verse

Matthew 5:48 KJV 1900

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

I was talking with someone earlier in the camp about how important it is to study scripture with scriptures - to allow the Bible to interpret. One has said the Bible is its own best commentator. I believe this is true in this case - although I did consult commentaries, books, and other resources for this passage.

But The passage begins with Jesus telling us our righteousness had to exceed or be greater than the Pharisees and scribes -

Matthew 5:20 KJV 1900

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.

I attempted to briefly explain the difference between the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees and Kingdom Righteousness -

Their righteousness was an external and more concerned with public approval and support

Kingdom Righteousness is an internal righteousness and is more concerned with character and the King.

The Six Contrasts - (Righteousness to Behold)

Jesus is going to give us six contrasting statements with proper interpretations of the Law that also contrasts the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees to Kingdom Righteousness.

In each of these the Jewish tradition is given first, then the Kingdom Righteousness translation.

Again Tradition or their righteousness was concentrated on outward tangible acts

Jesus is showing in these six illustrations that the Law was intended to regulate motives and intentions as well. The teachings of the Scribes and Pharisees were lacking in this.

I also want you to notice that all six of these contrasts are dealing with personal relationships -

God values our personal relationships and how we maintain them.

I know different personalities are different - I’ll be honest I struggle sometimes one on one with someone - I would consider myself part introvert -

Brother Quessenberry when he was here for Preacher’s Convention told us the difference between an introvert and and extrovert.

An extrovert has their inner battery charged by being in groups of people

An introvert has their inner battery recharged by going home or getting alone for a little while -

While this isn’t referring to whether or not you are introvert or extrovert it does matter how you are in your personal relationships -

These six contrasts are:

Matthew 5:21-26 = Anger & Murder

Matthew 5:27-30 = Lust & Adultery

Matthew 5:31-32 = Divorce and Remarriage

Matthew 5:33-35 = Oaths & Vows

Matthew 5: 38-39 = Retaliation

Matthew 5:43-44 = Treating your enemies

I will read each passage and then comment on them

Anger & Murder

Matthew 5:21–26 KJV 1900

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Pharisaical righteousness says “Thou shalt not murder- but I’m going to hold a grudge against you forever”

Jesus says hold on a minute - those in my Kingdom live a different way - they don’t get angry without a cause because that is a precursor or what murder stems from.

He goes on and says reconciliation is more important that elaborate worship

He says to not stir up strife with your adversary - if you know someone’s buttons you avoid pushing them.

Lust and Adultery Matthew 5:27-30

Matthew 5:27–30 KJV 1900

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Jesus says it is so important for men to not objectify women and in reality I would say this would extend to both sexes - we treat other people with the dignity and respect they deserve - they were created in the image of God

He says if this is a problem for you take desperate measures to avoid it -

Brother Steven Height in the EFM paper several years ago wrote an article titled “As for me and my Mouse we will serve the Lord” He’s saying His computer wasn’t going to take him spaces he shouldn’t go

My Utmost for His Highest June 29th—Direction of Discipline

There never has been a saint yet who did not have to live a maimed life to start with. But it is better to enter into life maimed and lovely in God’s sight than to be lovely in man’s sight and lame in God’s.

Divorce and Remarriage - Matthew 5:31-32

Matthew 5:31–32 KJV 1900

31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Jesus goes directly to the seventh commandment of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. Adultery was considered one of the most serious offenses in the Old Testament because it broke the relationship between a Husband and Wife that was a reflection of God and his people.

You might remember that God accused the Children of Israel with adultery for following after other gods.

Joseph - whom I thought Brother Knipmeyer preached on so well Sunday morning when in Potiphar’s house was placed in a compromises situation with Potiphar’s wife. - He was an example of this Kingdom Righteousness because yes he did not want to sin against Potiphar - but it was “A sin against God” Genesis 39:9

Personal relationships especially those between a husband and wife are extremely important.

Jewish tradition had so mangled the Law that they were divorcing their spouse over things as ridiculous as burning their breakfast and taking too long to do their hair.

Jesus says - Kingdom Righteousness will help in your marital relationship

Oaths and Vows - Matthew 5:33-37

Matthew 5:33–37 KJV 1900

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

God talks in the Old Testament about oaths and vows. This is not a quotation of a particular commandment but really a summary of various Old Testament “oath” passages.

The Law demanded that any oath sworn or vow made had to be carried out (Lev. 19:12; Numbers 30:2)

By the time of Jesus’ ministry they had concluded that oaths, and vows were only binding if they had invoked God’s name, or something Holy.

If they weren’t really serious about their oath or vow they might swear by something considered less holy, “I swear by heaven” or by earth or Jerusalem As it didn’t involve God’s name it wasn’t considered binding.

When we were young at my time at public school there was a similar promise - you could make a promise but if you had your fingers crossed (even if behind your back) your promise wasn’t binding.

Jesus says - no just say what you mean and do what you say.

Sometimes we make the truth like one little girl in Sunday school expressed the human ambiguity well. When asked what a lie is, she replied, “A lie is an abomination to God and a very present help in time of trouble.”

As kingdom dwellers our word should be enough.

Retaliation: Matthew 5:38-42

Matthew 5:38–42 KJV 1900

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Jesus condemns the way the Law of Retaliation was being abused to promote personal revenge.

The Law of Retaliation was part of the Law of Moses Leviticus 24:19-20 it was the law and standard of rightness, fairness and justice.

Leviticus 24:19–20 KJV 1900

19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; 20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.

While this in some sense teaches retalitaion it was actually a form of checks and balances

Humanity in its fallen state is often prone to exagerate the losses.

You ran over my dog I’m going to kill your dog, cat, chickens, and cow

Dr. James Bryan Smith a professor at Friends University in Wichita, KS has written the Good and Beautiful series and in there he compares the Kingdom Teaching to that of Jujitsu

Now I am not someone who enjoys fighting and was intruiged with this analogy - Martial arts and Kingdom Righteousness

But he goes on to explain that jujitsu is not a way of fighting but the word actually means “a way of yielding”

He says, you use the opponets force and energy to work against them. You overcome with no other weapon than intelligence.

I have heard this passage quoted and used to say how Christians need to just be pacifist and never do any violence or harm never defend yourself etc. But I think that is not fully understanding what Jesus is saying here.

Jesus uses four illustrations of injustice lets look at them:

Insults or attaks (Matthew 5:39)

Matthew 5:39 KJV 1900

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

In Jesus’ day it was common to see a master slapping a slave. but you didn’t dare slap someone in a higher rank. The left hand was never used for hitting so to slap someone on the right cheek meant you backhanded them with your right hand.

A slave couldn’t do anything but cower in submission to hit back out have been worse punishment or even death.

This only allowed the abuse to continue

But Jesus says turn the other cheek now that person has to think what are they going to do next. In reality it is a passive aggresive reproach to the injustice - Jesus isn’t saying become a punching bag - but rather in a christlike attitude reprove the injustice

2. Being Legally Sued - Matthew 5:40

Matthew 5:40 KJV 1900

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

In Jesus day and even if we don’t like to think about it even today the poor are often at the mercy of the rich.

But in that day people often only had the clothes on their back. They would use those clothes for collatoral.

The clothing of that day was two pieces an under garment or tunic and an outer garment or coat or cloak.

They would exhange the tunic or undergarment for an advance loan and then if the poor person couldn’t pay them back they would keep the undergarment and still have the outer garment to cover and protect them.

The idea is that when they sue you for the tunic or the undergarment or coat - you offer them the cloke as well.

The guiding principle of the Kingdom is love those in the Kingdom take a different approach than hoarding or holding on to it or even violently striking out at injustice “Here is my shirt, do you need my coat as well?”

I’m not sure Jesus is making these statements as commands but again showing what the inward attitude of the heart of Kingdom dwellers respond to injustice. I think our current society should take notice of this.

3. Someone imposes on us or takes advantage of us

Matthew 5:41 KJV 1900

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

During the time of Jesus’ ministry Romans were in power, they could compell a Jew to carry his baggage or load and they would have to by law up to one mile.

Notice the word “compel” that means force - no self respecting Jew would dare serve a Roman soldier. And knowing that Soldiers might abuse this right it became Roman law that made it illegal for a soldier to carry his bags indefinitely so they settled on the “one mile” amount.

Jesus asks the unthinkable as he has been doing - go two miles.

Now this is not someone who you have volunteered to help, or agreed to help this is someone who is forcing you to do it.

Why? Because again the guiding principle in Kindgom righteousness is Love

4. Someone begs from us Matthew 5:42

Matthew 5:42 KJV 1900

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

During this time the acceptable thing to do was to help out only those who were related to you and only by giving them the minimum.

Deuteronomy 15:7–8 KJV 1900

7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.

Again this is not necessarialy a law or a commandment as there are times when I knew that money was more of a hindrance to someone than a help.

I like how Smith ended this section:

The Good and Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ 4. Someone Begs from Us

The world imposes natural boundaries (fines for cheek slapping, limits on litigation, predetermined distances, and restrictions on giving) to obtain justice and prevent abuse. But the kingdom of God aims higher than justice. We are in a different position when we stand in the kingdom of God. Practicing kingdom jujitsu startles people and provokes them to ask, What kind of person would do such a thing? This is evangelism at its best.

Oswald Chambers sums this passage us by saying “Never look for right in the other man, but never cease to be right yourself. We are always looking for justice; the teaching of the Sermon n the Mount is—Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.

Treating Your Enemies Matthew 5: 43-48

Matthew 5:43–48 KJV 1900

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Loving your neighbor should have been familiar to every God fearing Jew of that time its right in the alw

Leviticus 19:18 KJV 1900

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

The problem was what if someone wasn’t my neigbhor or my kin - they felt they were not obligate to love them especially if they were an enemy - but Kindgom Righteousness says to love them to pray for them

What is love?

The Good and Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ Love Your Enemies

To most people love is a feeling, an emotion. But the Greek word agapao (or agapē) refers not to a feeling but to an action. To love (agapao) is to will the good of another. It does not entail an emotion, loving or even liking a person. We

Jesus isn’t asking us to feel love towards our abusers but rather to act in love to everyone even our enemies.

We are most Christlike when we live this out:

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:10 KJV 1900

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

This is why I think Jesus ends this section with the word “perfect”

Matthew 5:48 KJV 1900

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Perfect here doesn’t mean flawless but rather spiritually mature.

The command “Be ye perfect” is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command.

C. S. LEWIS, MERE CHRISTIANITY

All of these things mark us a perfect or mature when they are present in our lives - but they only come about in our lives by being connected to Christ or being in the Kingdom

We won’t meet for Bible Study tomorrow as it will be healing service - but the next session we will look at How to Pray a little bit out of order from the scripture but I will explain that then.

Thank you so much for your kind attention

PRAYE