Christian Righteousness and the Law

 A busload of politicians headed to a convention. A detour forced them down a narrow, windy, road. The driver missed a turn, went through a fence, & hit a tree in a field. The owner, Farmer Fred, noticed & went to check it out. He went back to his truck for a shovel & buried them all. They were reported missing, & a state trooper retraced their route. When he found the wreck, he went to see Farmer Fred. The trooper asked, "Where are the politicians?" Fred said, "I buried them." The trooper asked, "Didn't you call 911? Surely, they weren't all dead." Fred replied, "Some kept saying they weren't. But you know how politicians lie!" Could Fred have been Christian? In numerous "Good Samaritan" studies, there's no difference in the percentage of Christians vs. non-Christians who stop to help-sadly, even if they're on the way to talk on the parable! And according to the LA Times (10/30/2015), a 2011 UN survey said the 10 nations with the highest murder rates were very religious. 4 were among the most religious. Of nations with the lowest murder rates, nearly all were secular. 7 were among the least religious. And according to Focus on the Family (4/1/19), nearly 75% of Christians don't even believe in absolute truth. How can we expect a difference in how often Christians lie? In our culture, there isn't much difference. But there should be. What's the problem? We think morality, our righteousness, is about what we do. Let's look at Mt 5:21-37. 21a"You've heard it was said to people long ago, 21b'Don't murder. Ex 20:13, the 6th Commandment. Lv 24:17 adds, 'Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' That's the law. 22aBut I tell you... This shocked hearers. Jesus is reinterpreting God's law! Not even Scribes (lawyers) claim that authority. Scribes all refer to others. "This dead guy said... That one agreed. As did another. Since they all agree, this law means..." But Jesus? "I tell you..." Shocking! He's saying He's the Lord of Scripture! Dt 18:15's prophet. The one God says, "Listen to Him!" Jesus has authority to say what the law really means. 22bAnyone who's nursing anger at his brother will be subject to judgment. Nursing anger puts us at risk of God's judgment. In the oral tradition, 22canyone who calls his brother, 'Stupid, or Empty-head,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But Jesus? 22dBut anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. Angry name calling is murdering someone with our tongue. It'll be judged. The real issue? Relationships. God values all our relationships. How much? 23"If you're offering your gift at the altar & remember your bro/sis in Christ has something against you, 24aleave your gift in front of the altar. A broken relationship is more important than any offering! Did they start it? Doesn't matter. Did we already forgive them? Doesn't matter. Even if s/he is still angry with us, we are to make the 1st move. 24b1st go & be reconciled to your bro/sis in Christ. Let nothing to break our unity in the Spirit. Do anything & everything we can to fix the relationship. 24cThen come offer your gift. How important are relationships to God? He counts each of us as precious. Let no hurt break our unity. (Certainly, not murder.) Ignore a rift, & we risk being judged. Even if they started it. It's that important. Resolving anger is especially important when 2 people are angry enough to sue. 25a"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who's taking you to court. 25bDo it while you're still with him on the way. If you make it to court, 25che may hand you over to the judge. If you lose the case, 25dthe judge may have you thrown into prison. Is a dispute worth that? Of course not! 26 I tell you the truth, you won't get out until you have paid the last penny. Not till our penalty-debt is paid in full. Anger is dangerous. Settle every dispute while we still can. 27"You've heard it was said, 'Don't commit adultery.' Ex 20:14, the 7th Commandment. 28 But I tell you that anyone who keeps looking at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. It's the same for a woman looking at a man with taking eyes. 29aIf your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out & throw it away. Not literally. But is anything entering our eye-gates that's tempting us to lust? 29bIt's better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Whatever keeps entering our eye-gate to tempt us, cut it out of our lives. Rip it out. It's that important. 30aAnd if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off & throw it away. Whatever we keep doing that tempts us to lust, stop. Cut it out of our lives. 30bIt's better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Spiritually, we become what we eat. If something we're taking in (by looking or doing) is causing us to sin, cut it out of our lives. Forcibly. Problem: we can't not think about something. Instead, think about something from Php 4:8. Put that back into our minds / lives. Sexual purity in our hearts is important. Especially in one area. 31"It's been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' In Jesus' day, scribes said Dt 24:1 meant divorce was ok if she displeased him in any way. But Moses gave that law to protect wives. Not promote divorce. 32aBut I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress. Jesus doesn't mandate divorce. He permits it only if marital unfaithfulness can't be overcome. (Maybe an adulterous spouse won't return.) 32bAnyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. As Jesus says in Mt 19:6, God joins husband to wife. They're one. Let no one separate them. Another area we're strongly tempted is telling the truth. Too many Christians nod at the counsel an exec gave his son. "Son, you need 2 things to succeed." "What are they, Dad" asked his son. "Integrity & sagacity." "What's integrity?" asked his son. "Keep your word, no matter what." So far, Jesus agrees. "And sagacity?" "Never give your word." Uh-oh. The world embraces this strategy to sidestep the truth. Jesus doesn't. 33a"You've heard that it was said to the people long ago in Nu 30:2. 33b'Don't break your oath. Ever. 33cBut especially, keep the oaths you've made to the Lord.' Scriptures like Jer 12:16 say to use the Lord's name, when an oath is necessary. (I swear to tell the truth & only the truth, so help me God.) Pharisees were using oaths to sidestep the truth. Swear by Jerusalem? Your fingers are crossed. You don't have to tell the truth. But swear toward Jerusalem? Your fingers aren't crossed. You have to tell the truth. And Jesus? 34aI tell you, 'Don't swear at all. 34bDon't swear by heaven. (It's God's throne). That counts as swearing in His name. 35aDon't swear by the earth. (It's his footstool). Also counts as swearing in His name. 35bDon't swear by Jerusalem. (It's the city of the Great King.) It's God's. It counts, too. 36And don't swear by your head, for you can't make even one hair white or black. If we take an oath in the name of anything, we involve God's property. Therefore it's in His name. The 9th Commandment (Ex 20:16) really means don't lie. Ever. Jesus says there's only one solution. 37aSimply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' & your 'No,' 'No'. Just tell the truth! Always. 37bAnything beyond this comes from the evil one. Let's wrap it up. Jesus gave us God's law. Only He has authority to interpret it for us. When He says what it really means, we better listen. Just as God told us: listen to Him. And what did he say today? In our verses, Jesus unpacks the 6th, 7th, & 9th Commandments. He showed us God's law isn't just about our actions. It never was. We sin if in our hearts we murder, commit adultery, steal, or lie. Want to obey the law? Start by getting our hearts right. As we do, our deeds will follow. There's only one way to get our hearts right. Ask Jesus for a heart transplant. Ask Jesus to come into our hearts. Replace our heart of stone with His heart of love. Then ask Him to fill us to full measure & running over with His Spirit. Why? To empower us & guide us as we try to follow Him. Press into Jesus. Keep pressing into Him. His Spirit is always speaking to us. But about spiritual things, we aren't just blind. We're deaf. So, learn to hear the Holy Spirit. Practice listening. You may be amazed. The Holy Spirit does more than just guide us. He sings love songs over us! We're His beloved. As we learn to listen, we'll begin to hear. And we'll fall in love with Him all over again. Loving Him, our righteousness will be a response to His love. Christian Righteousness and the Law - Matthew 5:21-37 Page 1 of 1