Tag Archives: Righteousness

Christians and the Law

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I’m preaching this Sunday on Growth in Righteousness as an essential aspect of the Christian Life.  My text for Sunday is Matthew 5:17-20:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota, not a dot, will pass away from the Law until all is accomplished.  Therefore whoever sets aside one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same, they will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (This is my own translation).

I found this text, and the study of it through the week, to be very interesting considering what my denomination is considering right now.  There is a motion being voted upon by the Presbyteries to remove the explicit ordination standard of “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” from our ordination requirements, and to replace it with a rather innocuous, confusing, and ambiguous statment that uses a lot of words to say nothing at all.

I couldn’t read and meditate on Matt 5:19, “whoever sets aside one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same,” without thinking of what’s happening in the church.  The church continues to set aside or relax the Biblical teaching on marriage and divorce, sexual immorality and purity, tithing and stewardship – will Presbyterians be the least in the Kingdom?  Will we be there at all?

We are called to righteousness.  To reflect the glory of God is to live a righteous life.  Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  We cannot be righteous apart from Christ, it is His righteousness that saves us, His righteousness that covers us.  But at the same time, if the life we now live we live in the Spirit of Christ, then should not our lives reflect and be marked by righteousness as well.

We are quick to argue, “I am saved by grace through faith – not by works.”  Yes, and amen.  But read on, we are saved by grace through faith apart from works, “created in Christ Jesus for good works (righteousness).  The purpose of God’s grace in your life, the goal of your salvation, is that you would give glory to God through the righteousness of Christ manifest in your life.

Martin Lloyd Jones put it this way:

The whole purpose of grace, in a sense, is just to enable us to keep the law.  There is nothing more fatal that to regard holiness and sactification as expereicnes to be received.  No; holness means being righteous, and being righteous means keeping the law.  Therefore if your so-called grace (which you say you have recieved) does not make you keep the law, you have not recieved grace.  You may have recieved a psychological experience, but you have never recieved the grace of God.  What is grace?  It is that marvllous gift of God which, having delivered a man from teh curse of the law, enables him to keep it and to be righteous as Christ was righteous, for He kept the law perfectly.  Grace is that which brings me to love God; and if I love God,  I long to keep His commandments. ‘He that has my commandments, and keeps them,’ Christ said, ‘he it is that loves me.'”
(Martin Lloyd Jones – Studies in the Sermon on the Mount – page 197).

Friends, stand firm, do not turn to the right or left from God’s word, but walk in the light that it shine upon your path, that you may grow in righteousness as you walk with the Lord.

SDG

Living Proof of a Divided Heart

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It was a comedy of errors; proof of my fallen humanity and persistent depravity necessitating God’s prevailing grace.  I am often frustrated by the fact that, after prayerfully and passionately preaching the Word of God, there are those who go and do exactly the opposite of what I have said.  It is frustrating; and then I go and do the same.

Last Sunday I preached on I Samuel 16:1-13, the story of the anointing of David.  I spoke about how Saul’s problem was that he had sought the praise of man rather than God, Saul’s heart was divided, and this led to his downfall and rejection as the king of Israel.  I then shared how God had searched for a man whose heart was undivided, and that while Samuel was looking at the outward appearances of Jesse’s sons, God looked on the heart.  (You can listen to the full sermon here: www.cmpres.com/sermons)

As an unscripted illustration of this message, I shared how just the day before, I had been working with a friend when a young man walked by.  His pants were hanging low so that you could see his boxers, he wore a baggy tank top, and a black “do-rag” on his head.  He walked with an air of defiance, and seemed annoyed when we said “hello.”  After the young man had walked on a ways, I turned to my friend and asked, “what will you do when he shows up to date your daughter?”  His reply was, “what will you do?”  I shared then that I had fallen into the trap that snares us all, judging someone by their outward appearances, without ever considering their heart. What’s worse, I had just finished my sermon the day before, the text was fresh in my mind, but it hadn’t affected my heart. Strike One.

I thought the story effectively illustrated the message, and was feeling rather proud of myself after the service.  When I saw my friend’s wife, who had been working in the nursery, I thought I’d impress her with my wit and eloquence.  I told her how I talked about the conversation her husband and I shared to drive in my message.  I laughed at my own brilliance, and walked away smug with self-congratulations.  But later that afternoon, I was directed to her Facebook page, where she expressed her frustration and defended her husband as a wonderful and kind person.  Knowing that I was the one who precipitated her post, I then had to call and seek her forgiveness.

I had fallen like Saul, into the desperate need to hear the praise of man rather than the praise of God.  In less than 30 minutes after my sermon, I had become living proof of a divided heart.  I craved glory, my pride wanted polished.   I robbed glory from God.  Strike Two.

In Psalm 86:11, David offers a prayer that will become my prayer for quite some time, and if your heart is divided, perhaps you will pray it with me.  “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” 

SDG