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. Matthew 5:20 (NKJV)
The scribes and Pharisees were pretty amazing when it came to being good. They were miles better than myself when it came to following God’s rules. They probably did a lot more “good” kind of servant works than I will ever even consider doing. (Moment of truth—they were a lot more “good” than I am!) Let me tell you that I feel a bit out of sorts, because Jesus said that I will not enter the kingdom of heaven unless my righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. "Are you kidding me? Jesus, are you really expecting me to be that good?"
Further into this teaching, Jesus doubled down and said that the expectation is that I (Ron Dugone) should be perfect, even as God is perfect. My goose is so cooked! (Poetic Pause) “What’s that Lord? What are you saying? That Your grace is sufficient for me? What does that mean?”
It means that I will never be “good” enough to “earn” my salvation, but that God’s grace will cover my short-comings. As far as my righteousness is concerned, I am covered in the beauty of Christ’s righteousness, a righteousness that far surpasses the religious works of the scribes and the Pharisees. One more thing before I go…knowing that I’m called to be perfect as God is perfect causes a new wave of humility. I have an incredible journey ahead as I humble myself and chase after the God who calls me to be like Him.
I am really not a very “good” person. Really…I am always more concerned with how I look than how you look. I am always more focused on what I eat and don’t give a second thought to what you are eating. I care more about how much money is in my bank account than what you have in yours. I could go on…’cause you see, I’m really not a very good person, and that’s a real problem.
The scribes and Pharisees were pretty amazing when it came to being good. They were miles better than myself when it came to following God’s rules. They probably did a lot more “good” kind of servant works than I will ever even consider doing. (Moment of truth—they were a lot more “good” than I am!) Let me tell you that I feel a bit out of sorts, because Jesus said that I will not enter the kingdom of heaven unless my righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. "Are you kidding me? Jesus, are you really expecting me to be that good?"
Further into this teaching, Jesus doubled down and said that the expectation is that I (Ron Dugone) should be perfect, even as God is perfect. My goose is so cooked! (Poetic Pause) “What’s that Lord? What are you saying? That Your grace is sufficient for me? What does that mean?”
It means that I will never be “good” enough to “earn” my salvation, but that God’s grace will cover my short-comings. As far as my righteousness is concerned, I am covered in the beauty of Christ’s righteousness, a righteousness that far surpasses the religious works of the scribes and the Pharisees. One more thing before I go…knowing that I’m called to be perfect as God is perfect causes a new wave of humility. I have an incredible journey ahead as I humble myself and chase after the God who calls me to be like Him.
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