#003 Remember What Has Been Done (Matthew 5:33-48)
Preaching his famous sermon on the mount in Matthew ch5, Jesus outlines the high standard he places on those who would be his disciples.
And Jesus is very clear in v17 when he says ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets’ eventually declaring in verse 20 ‘For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’
Jesus begins to reveal what that kind of righteousness looks like as goes on to preach about anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, loving our enemies and charity…
When we read the sermon on the mount, it can seem like Jesus is raising the bar with every paragraph. How could we possibly live up to what he is calling us to?
It seems daunting, if not impossible… Particularly when we consider how discouraging it is when we fail to live up to the high calling of a Christian.
Even though Ephesians ch2 teaches us that we’re saved by grace, through faith, not by works… Do we not sometimes doubt our salvation due to a lack of good works?
Especially when we hear James chime in with ‘Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’
Christian, Jesus does want us, and command us, to live out what he describes in the sermon on the mount. However, we must not forget that Jesus himself is our righteousness.
Meaning that, when we do try to reach Jesus’ standards, and we inevitably fail (because even the best Christians are only partially sanctified), we are able to bank on the righteousness he earned for us by his sinless, flawless life.
Christian, the many commands we encounter in the Bible always do two things at the same time: they direct our lifestyles and they direct us to Christ.
God’s commands throughout all of scripture - in telling us what we should do, they also remind us of what Jesus did!
Every command to do is a command to remember what has been done.
ON. OUR. BEHALF.
That’s the gracious truth that changes hearts and eventually, lifestyles. When a Christian attempts to be obedient to Jesus, he is not attempting to contribute to his salvation, he is simply attempting to live out what he already is in Christ.
And Jesus is very clear in v17 when he says ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets’ eventually declaring in verse 20 ‘For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’
Jesus begins to reveal what that kind of righteousness looks like as goes on to preach about anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, loving our enemies and charity…
When we read the sermon on the mount, it can seem like Jesus is raising the bar with every paragraph. How could we possibly live up to what he is calling us to?
It seems daunting, if not impossible… Particularly when we consider how discouraging it is when we fail to live up to the high calling of a Christian.
Even though Ephesians ch2 teaches us that we’re saved by grace, through faith, not by works… Do we not sometimes doubt our salvation due to a lack of good works?
Especially when we hear James chime in with ‘Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’
Christian, Jesus does want us, and command us, to live out what he describes in the sermon on the mount. However, we must not forget that Jesus himself is our righteousness.
Meaning that, when we do try to reach Jesus’ standards, and we inevitably fail (because even the best Christians are only partially sanctified), we are able to bank on the righteousness he earned for us by his sinless, flawless life.
Christian, the many commands we encounter in the Bible always do two things at the same time: they direct our lifestyles and they direct us to Christ.
God’s commands throughout all of scripture - in telling us what we should do, they also remind us of what Jesus did!
Every command to do is a command to remember what has been done.
ON. OUR. BEHALF.
That’s the gracious truth that changes hearts and eventually, lifestyles. When a Christian attempts to be obedient to Jesus, he is not attempting to contribute to his salvation, he is simply attempting to live out what he already is in Christ.
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