your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the pharisees

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

MUST EXCEED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF

THE PHARISEES

WHAT JESUS REQUIRES . . .

“For I tell you that unless your righteousness

surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers

of the law ...”

Matthew 5:20

“…you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Central Idea: Unless you do far better than the Pharisees

in matters of right living (obedience to God), you haven’t a hope of being

welcome in God’s eternal kingdom

“The question is, 'How can mere mortals get right with God?' If we wanted to bring our case before him, what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand!”

Job 9:2-3

TWO IMPORTANT QUALIFYING TRUTHS:

1. Jesus never encouraged anyone, including the Pharisees, to not keep

God’s law

“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and

teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven”

Matthew 5:19

“it is lawful sometimes to make void the law, and to do that which appears to be forbidden.” - Bartenora

2. Faithful, loving and grace-motivated effort and self-discipline in keeping God’s clear expectations (laws) is not legalism

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48

1. Who Were The Pharisees?

The leading sect or party of the Jews in Jesus’ timeThe religious ruling elite who largely controlled the life of the Jewish people They were zealous for God and His Law though having huge blind spots about both.

Jesus freely labeled them for what they really were:

hypocrites (15X)blind men

brood of vipers

a wicked and adulterous generation

like whitewashed

to

mbs

snakesblind guides blind fools

2. What is phariseeism?

a. It is an attitude of arrogant self-righteousness

“The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.” Luke 18:11

b. It is the hypocritical observance of the letter of religious or moral law without regard for the spirit of it.

c. It is a focus on minute details of the law while ignoring the biggest issues

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness.”

Matthew 23:23

You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

d. It is critical, judgmental, and condemning of everyone but oneself

“They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” Matthew 23:4

“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long”

Matthew 23:5

e. It is far more concerned with appearances over substance or the heart

3. Am I a

Pharisee?(pharisaical)

1. Am I quick at spotting and

pointing out the errors in others but clueless about my

own faults?

Am I a Pharisee?Am I a Pharisee?

2. Can I “not worship” because of a certain music

style, volume level, or

preaching style?

Am I a Pharisee?

3. Do I live a secret life? Am I

really quite different from

the shell of piety everyone

else sees?

Am I a Pharisee?

4. Do I continue to do things which

have long-since lost their meaning in my life simply because I am afraid that to do

otherwise would make me look bad?

Am I a Pharisee?

5. Does my poor spiritual

performance cause me to

question how God thinks about me?

Am I a Pharisee?

6. Am I more concerned about

what people think than what God

thinks? Do I fear man more than

God?

Am I a Pharisee?

7. Am I known by people for what I

am against rather than for

what I am for or Who I serve?

Am I a Pharisee?

What am I to do about it?

“Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Matthew 23:26

Recognize the Pharisee that is you!

Regularly confess your phariseeism to

God

Embrace the righteousness that is imputed (credited) to

us through Jesus Christ

“And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.” James 2:23