“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20 NIV).
““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Matthew 5:17 NIV
We will not fulfill the Law or the commands of Christ completely because we will fail at fulfilling the first and second of the Ten Commandments. The more submissive we are to loving God with every fiber of our being, the more we’ll fulfill loving our neighbor as ourselves. The more we fulfill loving our neighbor, even our enemy, the more fulfilled our life will be.
We won’t accomplish that by our own power physically or mentally following a framework of commands or rules or principles. That’s self-righteous behavior like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. “What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. The Sermon on the Mount as well as the whole Bible must be read as a spiritual text and be taught as such to allow the Spirit to transform us spiritually and guide our steps to accomplish righteousness that glorifies Christ.
Godly behavior must be a byproduct of surrendering to God out of love before it can be manifest as genuine love. It is the fruit of the Spirit expressing love, joy, patience, etc. Acts of kindness because we must is insincere and falls short of giving God the glory.
The Pharisees’ righteousness (right vs wrong) stems from selfishness and pride (thinking too highly of themselves). Their interpretation of the law was the only right interpretation in their minds. Those doctrines concerning the Law (scripture) were ingrained through years of indoctrination from their human mentors. The emphasis was on the flesh. Jesus explained the unholiness of that when Nicodemus, a Pharisee came to him one night.
Jesus explained, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
John 3:6 NIV
Salvation does not make you righteous. That’s a fallacy. Even though you may claim to be a child of God through belief in Jesus Christ, your righteousness (concept of right/wrong) is still not automatically compatible with the righteousness of God. You have to work out your salvation with humility.
A self-righteous Christian (there are some in every denomination) will “call out” the sin in someone else based on what religious doctrine they’ve “conformed” to. The surrendered Christian (there’s some in every denomination) loves unconditionally and counterintuitively. The former comes across as holier-than-thou and hypocritical because the love is not sincere. The latter glorifies God.
Categories: Devotional Inspiration Love
Douglas Knight
I have the rich life full of a sinner wounded by misunderstanding and punishment but blessed by mercy and forgiveness.
Knight Writer 
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