God's Impossible Demands
 

Text: Matt. 5:20, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

If we were to face this demand with only the abilities of man to perform righteousness, then it would certainly be an impossible demand. The Pharisees carried outward righteousness to extremes, and nowhere in the scripture are they actually rebuked for this, but only for leaving off the inner righteousness that can come only from God.

Consider two main thoughts:
First, the fact that works of righteousness cannot produce a righteous soul. God, being perfect, cannot be satisfied with anything less than perfect righteousness. Man, being born in sin cannot produce righteous works.
There is no use trying to meet God's requirements by the keeping of any law, for the Word of God says, in
Rom. 3:20,`By the deeds of the law, there shall be no flesh justified in his sight.'
Nor can it be done by ethical or moral standards, or even by keeping the Golden rule as some claim to do, for we are told in
Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by His mercy hath he saved us.

What must be seen is the hopelessness of man ever meeting the standard of righteousness demanded by a holy God, as long as he depends upon his own abilities. It is impossible for man to meet the demands of holiness and it is equally impossible for God to lower those requirements.

So, enter the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. Here is the one way that man can stand before God in perfect righteousness. Our righteousness can exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, for it is the righteousness of Christ, who was made our sin-bearer.

Thus, the imputed righteousness of Christ cannot be earned for we are told in
Rom. 4:4-5 "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of Grace but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

Praise God for His wonderful Grace! He has made it possible for man through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, to attain that otherwise impossible state of perfect righteousness, which opens to us all the joys of that perfect place we call heaven. Think of the wisdom of God in this. If it HAD, in some way been possible for God to have allowed the ALMOST PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS to enter in, then sin would have had a toehold in heaven and would continue to plague man for eternity! But thanks be to God, He has ruled out sin and its sorrows ,thereby upholding His Holy demands, and yet has opened the way for sinful man by providing that perfection in Christ!

Now for the second main thought. The standard of righteousness in the lives of those who are saved must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees to please Christ. How sad and tragic when one sees the truth of salvation by grace without works and then uses it as an excuse to satisfy the flesh by saying "since I'm not saved by works it doesn't matter how I live."

Jesus referred to the demands of the Law several times in his teaching. NOT ONCE DID HE LOWER ITS STANDARDS in his own demands, but in every case he raised those standards!
Where the Law had said, Thou shalt not kill, Jesus said, "But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause is in danger of the judgment.
The Law had said, thou shalt not COMMIT adultery, but Jesus said, "whosoever LOOKS upon a woman to lust hath committed adultery already in his heart.

They had been taught that if a person had sworn an oath, then he must perform it, but Jesus taught his disciples that even without any oath, they must be honest. Let your communication be yea, yea, and nay, nay. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, said the Law. Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him thy other also, said Christ.
Love thy neighbor, hate thy enemy was the way of the law, but the righteousness of the disciple of Christ must exceed this as Jesus said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you.

There are really two very simple reasons why more is demanded of us under grace than of them under Law.
First, because under the Law, it was up to man, to judge the offenders’ guilt and execute the penalty of the Law. Since man can only see the actions and not the heart from which those actions spring, man can only judge those things which have been put into action. Therefore the murder must have been committed before the penalty could be carried out; the adultery must have been done before the stones could be cast.
But now, we are told that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and He who looks upon the heart of man will judge. Not simply according to the deeds committed but even for our motives and desires.

The second reason why more is demanded under grace than under law, is that those who have received Christ into their hearts and lives, have the ability through Him to reach a state of righteousness in their lives that is absolutely impossible for those who depend upon their own strength, and determination to ever attain.
What a tragic waste of life and opportunity, when one who has been saved by the grace of God and to whom the perfect righteousness of Christ has been imputed, is willing to settle for less in his service of love than the Pharisees demanded of themselves out of fear and pride!

An impossible standard? Yes! If one expects to meet it by the flesh alone. But by the aid of the Spirit of God, we can exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, because our good works shall proceed, not from a heart filled with the desire of the praise of men, but from a heart that has been made free from sin by the blood of Christ, and a heart in which the love of God has been shed abroad by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us!
To abstain from evil is not enough for those who would please Christ, but the command is to abstain from all appearance of evil. The one who is saved but still desires to be conformed to the world, is far short of the acceptable standard that Christ has set. It is a standard that can be met and Paul told us how in the twelfth chapter of Romans, "but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." When this is done, we are on our way to becoming fruitful servants for our Lord. With the help of the grace of God it is possible to be what God wants us to be.
 

I’M RICH

My father is rich in cattle
In houses, in land, and in gold,
He owns the earth and the heavens,
His riches are untold.

My Father owns time and eternity,
He controls it, it's all in His power,
And He gives to me an allowance
Of time, hour by hour.

Each moment shines as a diamond,
Set in its hour of gold.
It gleams upon the breast of days.
Each one is mine till it's sold.

Help me, Father, to treasure each one
And not sell it for earth's passing dross,
But buy with it, treasures in heaven
By taking up my cross.

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