Connect In: Christ-like Righteousness
Ryan Showalter, Associate Pastor | Family Ministry
"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). These are challenging words for those of us who are sometimes tempted to prove ourselves before God and others...tempted to show God and others how good and right we are. The apostle Paul, in describing himself as a Pharisee, said this, "If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eight day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless" (Philippians 3:4-6).
Paul, then Saul, was the epitome of Jewish righteousness. He did everything right. In fact, he did everything better than right. In a head-to-head challenge of righteousness and zeal, Saul was the winner every time. He had more reasons than everyone else to have confidence in the flesh. Perhaps you sometimes feel the same way. You maintain a carefully manicured public persona. You are at church at all the right times and serving in all the right places. Your kids say all the right things and when someone asks how you are doing, you are always ready with the right answer. When you look around at your peers, you may even notice with some satisfaction that your rightness exceeds theirs.
Unfortunately it turns out that your record of rightness (no matter how right you are) won't get you in to heaven after all. Paul's next words in Philippians 3 make that abundantly clear: "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes through the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith..."
If you want to enter the kingdom of Heaven, God's kingdom that is advancing throughout the world through the good news of the gospel, you must suffer the loss of your hollow & impotent rightness so that you can gain the comprehensive & effective righteousness of Christ. Christ's righteousness is the only righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, and it comes to you, from God, through faith...not by works, so that no man may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). God loves you, not because you maintain a Pharisee-like rightness, but because when you trust Christ and are found in him, you are given, free of charge, the very same righteousness Jesus earned through his sinless life.
THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS! I'M USING ALL CAPS BECAUSE I WOULD BE YELLING THIS IF WE WERE TALKING IN PERSON...BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS! You can stop trying to prove yourself right before God and others because God has gifted you a righteousness that is far better than anything you could muster up on your own. Now, instead of trying to impress God and others, you can focus your efforts on loving them through sacrificial service. This is the natural outworking of a heart that is being transformed by the good news of the gospel.
TWEETABLE QUOTE: U can stop trying to prove urself right b4 God&others bc God has gifted u a righteousness that is far better than ur own. #RareElements
