The Three Kinds of Righteousness (7)

The Problem with “Doing”

No free lunch in the world eh? True, in this world but not in His Kingdom.

Most non-believers stumble over the idea that you need do nothing, only believe in Jesus, to enter into eternal life. They think it is too good to be true. I wish to be able to report to you that the problem stops with the non-believers. But it is simply not true. Many believers today believe that after they are saved, they still need to do something to attain or maintain their righteousness.  They believe that they became righteous, and they recognize this is the greatest blessing, at the point when they received Jesus, but afterwards it’s up to their doing again to have righteousness and to be blessed by God. The Bible never teaches anything like that.

We cannot blame the world for thinking that nothing is free, because this is the system of the world. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread (Gen 3:19, NKJV), this is the lot for the fallen world. The good news is that Christ has come to turn things around. Once you have Jesus, it shouldn’t be like the bad old days! But it’s not easy to do away with bad old habits: we want to do something so that we feel entitled for the good result. We want to merit our righteousness.

“What’s wrong if I want to do more? I can be more righteous because I have Christ and at the same time I also fulfill the Law,” some believers asked me.

Let’s see what the Apostle Paul has to say:

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Rom 10:3-4, NKJV)

Certainly not all doings are bad, but all doings to make one feel more righteous are self-defeating. The problem is that, like the Jews who rejected Christ, many believers seek to establish their own righteousness. But every time they try to do something they are falling right back to the old system of Law; they are relying on their self-effort. To say that Christ alone is not enough is an insult to God!

To be fair, many are also confused over the different kinds of righteousness presented in the Bible, so are not able to make the right judgment. I sincerely hope that our meditation on the three kinds of righteousness can be helpful.

The Three Kinds of Righteousness (6)

His Righteousness

The third kind of righteousness is His righteousness. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33:

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)

This righteousness is different from the righteousness of the Pharisees or the righteousness of the Law. Paul stressed the difference in Rom 3:21:

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets…(NKJV)

This righteousness of God is “apart from the law”, meaning it does not come from the Law, has nothing to do with it. In fact, the Law and the Prophets point us to this righteousness, telling us that we can have this righteousness. This is indeed good news! The righteousness of the Pharisees is pretty worthless; the righteousness of the Law we can never hope to attain; now the righteousness of God has come on the scene, how do we have it? Paul continued in Rom 3:22:

… even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe…(NKJV)

That’s it: just believe in Jesus. Receive His righteousness from Him; He said He has done everything. There’s nothing for us to do; this righteousness is a gift! (See Rom 5:17) Some may ask, “How can this be since we do nothing?” Precisely! We do nothing because Jesus has done everything. In the beginning of the Sermon, in Matthew 5:6, Jesus said:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (NKJV)

Note that it says we “shall be filled”, it gives the connotation that we receive something. It doesn’t say that we need to do anything. Yes, if we hunger and thirst after it and seek it, we shall be given it and be filled with it – the righteousness of God. We first need to recognise that we need it badly and want it badly, then we can receive it from God free of charge! If you say it’s too good to be true and you are wary of such free gift, think again. When God told Abraham that his descendent would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, Scripture says “he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen 15:6, NKJV). Abraham didn’t do anything to become righteous, he simply believed God.  

No free lunch in the world eh? True, in this world but not in His Kingdom.

Scripture Link: BibleGateway.com

The Three Kinds of Righteousness (5)

With Men This Is Impossible

If you are fully convinced that Jesus’ statement in Matt 5:48 that “you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” is NOT a command that we strive for righteousness through the Law, you can skip reading this post. If not, read on. It is vital that you be perfectly sure of it, for then you will look at the Sermon on the Mount from a totally different perspective.

The antagonist insists, “Jesus will not ask us to do anything that’s impossible for us to do, so He means just that: be perfect. You can be perfect!”

You probably have come across the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Matt 19:16-26. Many have read it through defective lenses thereby totally misinterpret the author’s meaning.  This passage is in fact very similar to Matt 5:20-48, which we have been meditating on. In the story, the young chap approached Jesus to ask how he might enter the kingdom of heaven (this carries the same meaning as “have eternal life” as verified by Jesus in verse 23). The Lord told him certain commandments to do as per the Law’s requirement. Happily the young chap replied that he had fulfilled the specific commandments. Then Jesus told him something else that he must do (effectively “You shall have no other gods before Me” of the Ten Commandments) and the young chap despaired of ever able to do that. The scenario is similar to that in Matthew 5 in that Jesus plainly says that the Law’s standard is much higher than what men take it to be.

Many read the story and are stuck at this point and couldn’t get past it. They are greatly troubled just like the young chap was, because they thought Jesus demands all from them if they want to enter the kingdom of heaven. Some are taught that they must work harder and give all to God, and those who taught them so would also say Matthew 5 says the same thing. What is your position?

The problem with these people is that they failed to read beyond Matt 19:22; they stopped at the point the young chap walked away. But the story is not finished; Jesus has something more to say! Jesus’ disciples, seeing the back of the Rich Young Ruler as he walked away dejectedly, asked the Lord, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus gave them an answer that should also answer all our questions too:

With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matt 19:26, NKJV)

Did Jesus say we must work harder and give all? Not according to the scripture. Quite the opposite, He said it’s impossible for men by their own work to fulfil the Law and to enter the kingdom of heaven. If Jesus says it’s impossible, do you think He will ask us to do it? Of course not! How then are we to enter the kingdom? It’s impossible with men’s effort, whether by mean of the righteousness of the Pharisees or of the Law, but with God it’s possible. By His righteousness.

Photo Credit: Filomena Scalise on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scripture Link: BibleGateway.com

The Three Kinds of Righteousness (4)

 The Righteousness of the Law

The second kind of righteousness that Jesus talked about in Matthew 5-7 is the righteousness of the Law. In describing how the Pharisees fell short, Jesus also gave us a glimpse into the pristine standard of the Law (see Matt 5:20-48). It’s all summed up in the last verse, Matthew 5:48:

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (NKJV)

Jesus was saying that the demand of the Law is that we be like God. It is non-negotiable, period. Anything short of that is not acceptable. God in essence is all good; not only His actions are good, His spirit and intention behind all His actions are also holy and pure. There cannot be a higher standard. To have the righteousness of the Law, one is required to meet this standard. One thing about Law is this: it always requires the greatest effort from us.

There is no doubt that anyone who possesses the righteousness of the Law can enter the kingdom of heaven, but the problem is whether anyone can be that good. You may ask, “Didn’t Jesus say we are to be perfect like God? That means He asked us to achieve that standard. Would He ask us do something that’s impossible for us to do?”  But you are jumping the gun here. Jesus did say that if we want to enter (i.e. by our self-effort, through the righteousness of the Law) the kingdom of heaven, we must be like God. In fact, this is what Matt 5:20-48 says in essence. However, He didn’t say here that we can be like God. We must read everything in context. In fact, if you recall, that’s exactly what the devil says! (Gen 3:1-5)

In Eden, Adam and Eve were conned by the devil. He tempted them with the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, saying that if they partook of it they would be like God. What is the Knowledge of Good and Evil but the Law! We know what happened to Adam and Eve. Do you think that we are in a better position than Adam and Eve, that we might achieve the righteousness of the Law?

My point is this: the Lord Jesus could not and cannot mean that we shall achieve the righteousness of the Law. He will not tempt us like the devil does. Quite the opposite, His purpose in saying all these is to point to our deficiency: that we cannot achieve the standard of the Law. Why, so that we know that we need Jesus, and His righteousness.

… for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Gal 2:21, NIV2011)

Photo Credit: Boaz Yiftach on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scripture Link: BibleGateway.com

The Three Kinds of Righteousness (3)

The Righteousness of the Pharisees

From what we can see in the portion of scripture commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), there are three kinds of righteousness that Jesus alluded to. The first is the righteousness of the Pharisees. We can see this in Matt 5:20:

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (NKJV)

It’s plain from Jesus’ words that He doesn’t consider the kind of righteousness like that of the Pharisees to be good enough for one to enter God’s Kingdom. Mind you, not that it’s an easy standard; most of us will fail miserably trying to achieve it. The Pharisees were expert at adhering to Moses’ Law to the letter. As if that’s not good enough, they vigorously studied the Law, interpreted it and added their own traditions. How about making some 1500 oral laws surrounding the law on the Sabbath and keeping them? This was no small feat. They were also given to much prayer, fasting and giving of alms. Where religious discipline was concerned they were second to none. Yet their righteousness is not good enough in Jesus’ estimate.

Jesus didn’t leave us clueless; He went on to tell us exactly why and how the Pharisees fell short. You see, the problem with them was that they stressed too much on the external fulfilment of the Law with little concern or understanding of the spirit of the Law. They made sin so purely external. So Jesus said, “Don’t think that ‘You shall not murder’ means only that you don’t take somebody’s life; in fact anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder.” Also He said, ”Don’t think that so long as you don’t go to bed with a woman other than your wife you are not committing adultery; in fact so long as you look at a woman lustfully you are guilty of adultery.” This, according to Jesus, is the spirit and true standard of the Law. You can read much about it in the rest of the Sermon, but especially in Matt 5:21-48.

It may interest you to find out what kind of funny traditions the ingenuity of the Pharisees came up with. One of their laws regarding the Sabbath stated that if a man rode on his ass he did not break the Sabbath law, but if he carried a switch with which to expedite the pace of the beast he was guilty, because he had laid a burden upon it. Another one basically said that if a donor stretched his hand over his threshold to give alms to a beggar he broke the Sabbath law but if the beggar stretched his hand into the donor’s house the donor didn’t become guilty. What a load of rubbish! No wonder Jesus had little regard for their traditions.

In their quest for righteousness through external forms the Pharisees became more concerned about what people think of them rather than what God think of them. They needed to appear righteous. They hungered after the applause of their fellow men and looked down on anyone who was unable to meet their forms of righteousness. Being educated religious leaders they were supposed to teach people the Law but they actually lowered the standard of the pure Law.

The law they adhered to was sub-standard Law. If the pure Law is reckoned as the gold in Nebuchadnezzar's image (see A Tale of Two Kingdoms (8)), their law is at best some sort of iron. So is their form of righteousness: sub-standard.

Do you feel as if you are under no risk like the Pharisees were because you are not one of them? Think again. There are modern-day Pharisees, even in the church. I think I used to be like one of them; and I sure know many today.

Scripture Link: BibleGateway.com

The Three Kinds of Righteousness (2) - Audio Clip Listen-Only

Jam, scone or tea?

Excerpt from My Message (MMG - January 25, 2011)

This is a 15-minute audio clip. It’s part of the message I delivered in the MMG meeting. The recording was far from perfect; I will try to improve on it the next time round. But I assure you that the content is good. Hope it blesses you. 

The Three Kinds of Righteousness (1) - Audio Clip Downloadable

Jam, scone or tea?

Excerpt from My Message (MMG - January 25, 2011)

This is a 15-minute audio clip. It’s part of the message I delivered in the MMG meeting. The recording was far from perfect; I will try to improve on it the next time round. But I assure you that the content is good. Just click on the link below and play the Audio MP3 to listen. You are free to download it. Hope it blesses you.

http://www.4shared.com/audio/d0LnAw8E/3_Kinds_of_Righteousness_excer.htmlo