Posted on January 12, 2011 at 5:01 AM //
In Jesus’s day, the Pharisees were considered the holiest men on earth. These guys did not do anything on the sabbath for fear of disobeying one of the Ten Commandments. These guys tithed out of their spice rack. In order to not look at a woman lustfully, they would literally walk around looking at the ground, banging their head into things. These guys were committed. They learned Hebrew and memorized huge chunks of Old Testament law. They could probably tell you what most, if not all, of the 613 laws in the Old Testament said.
In Matthew 5:20, Jesus says something that is terrifying, but yet illuminating. Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you will not inherit eternal life.” This seems to echo the words of Jesus elsewhere in Matthew 5:48 when Jesus says, “Be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect.”
From this, come a lot of arguments about religion. Remember the context of what Jesus was saying. This was before Jesus had died on the cross as the PERFECT substitution for our sins so that we do not have to be perfect.
On a side thought: I made a new years resolution this year not to make any new years resolutions. New Years resolutions are too easy to break. In fact, I am sure that you reading this post, if you made a resolution, have already broken it.
We do not have to be perfect. It is not about resolutions or laws or rules or spice racks. We must only be continually striving to be more like Jesus through realization and repentance. The bible uses the word grace to explain the victory Jesus achieved for you on the cross, because there is no logical reason that God would love you and die in your place to liberate you from captivity to Satan, sin, and death other than his wonderful nature.
Colossians 1:10-14 seems to sum it all up pretty well. “Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Written by Joshua Lamkins
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