Holiness, Righteousness, and the Kingdom

Jesus declared, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). As already observed, the Pharisees assumed the secondary duty of the Levites due to the rise of synagogue worship—to teach the people the Word of God so that they might know God and how to relate to Him in submission and obedience of love (2 Chronicles 17:9). In Matthew 23 Jesus supported this observation by the declaration, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do” (vv. 2, 3). 

Sadly, while the Pharisees’ goal was to maintain the purity and holiness of Israel, their practice degenerated into legalism and prideful self-promotion. They became overlords demanding exact observance of their directives while failing to exemplify their teaching by their own obedience, making them hypocrites. “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others” (Matthew 23:4, 5). In short, the Pharisees were externalists, “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). Nevertheless, they were convinced that their righteousness exceeded that of others. They were those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). This is what provoked Jesus to argue that His followers’ righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees if they were to enter the king of heaven.

Righteousness describes the character and behavior of one who lives in the presence of God. To judge what is righteous is not the privilege of the follower of God, but of God. God is holy, that is, wholly separate from all He has made. Indeed, God is infinitely separated from His creation. There is no standard of righteousness to which God submits, for He is that standard. If any of His sentient creatures is to dwell with Him, they, too, must be holy (1 Peter 1:16). The divine requirement to be holy is perfect righteousness.

Only Jesus was able to satisfy that requirement. Hebrews recounts, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence [fear of God]. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect [in His obedience], he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:7–10).

Being the second Adam, Jesus, through adoption, is transforming a host of sinners, redeemed and saved by Him to be like Him and, thus, able to live forever in the presence of God, “holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). Although salvation is the sole work of Christ, the result of this work is evidenced in the obedience of His people to Him resulting in practical righteousness and the pursuit of holiness (Hebrews 12:11, 14). In this way, Christian righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Righteousness That Exceeds

Jesus emphatically declared that, although He came to fulfill the Law, fulfilling did not mean that He abolished the Law. “For Christ is the end [fulfillment] of the law for righteousness” (Romans 10:4). Law reflects the character of God and can be abolished only when God no longer exists. The issue here involves the kingdom of heaven and the responsibility of kingdom citizens.

Kingdom citizens must keep kingdom laws; however, they must do so in a way that transcends the reputation of the scribes and Pharisees (v. 20). To understand what this means, one needs to know who the scribes and Pharisees were. The Sadducees were not included because they basically rejected the authority of the Scriptures, so why obey them? On the other hand, the Pharisees were set on preserving the purity and integrity of Judaism. The Pharisees took upon themselves the responsibility of the Levites (Sadducees) as “teachers of the law” (Luke 5:17). Those so devoted were called scribes. They were also referred to as lawyers due to their claim of expertise.

They “sit on Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:2), a colloquialism for teaching the Law. However, they became legalistic because there is no power in the law to change the heart of anyone. Thus, as Paul states of them that, “Being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (Romans 10:3). They were hypocrites. “They preach, but they do not practice” (Matthew 23:3b). They expected their followers to take up “heavy burdens hard to bear” while “they themselves are not willing to move them with their little finger” (Matthew 23:4). They were also externalists, praying and giving before others just to be seen and admired (Matthew 23:5).

Knowing the Pharisees to be lovers of money, Jesus rebuked them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:14, 15). Each of God’s children must search his own heart in the light of this revelation of the Pharisees. Do we demonstrate a loving relationship with God through sincere and humble obedience to His will, or are we slavishly devoted to impressing those around us of our spiritual piety with empty and sterile hearts before God?

The Lord began His discussion (vv. 21ff) with the second table of the Law, not the first, because the Pharisees reasoned that if they kept the second table in their public conduct, they must be faithful to the first table as well. However, Jesus sought to reveal how evil and deceptive the heart truly is.

Righteousness is simply doing what the Law requires. We may think that we have fulfilled our obligation, for example, by not murdering someone. What we fail to understand is that not loving our neighbor in godly obedience, harboring hate and anger towards him, makes us guilty of breaking the sixth commandment. May God grant us spiritual sight to see whether our righteousness is merely Pharisaical, or if it exceeds as Spirit-generated to the glory of God.     

Dismissing the Authority of the Law

The Law has great power and authority. Jesus stressed that He did not come to abolish or destroy (kataluo, from luo, meaning to loosen) when He introduced the kingdom of God. His intention was not to undo or dissolve the Law or its authority. He came to fulfill; indeed, He was the fulfillment. In fact, Jesus’ reference is to the whole of the Old Testament. Fulfilling means to cause God’s will (revealed in the Law) to be correctly obeyed and God’s promises (revealed in the Prophets) to be fully realized.

Some might think that the beatitudes were designed to replace the Law. Thus, Jesus began this section with the warning, “think not,” meaning that none should approach this subject with any judicial prejudice, such as that of the scribes and Pharisees (v. 20). The will and promises of God stand unaffected until everything in them is fully accomplished. When that is done, the kingdom of God will be completely implemented as revealed in Revelation 11. When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, it will be announced: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” The twenty-four elders before the throne of God fell on their faces and worshiped, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name” (Revelation 11:17, 18).

The reign of God requires all His subjects to joyfully submit to His authority with absolute loving and willing obedience to all He wills. When the Bible speaks of fearing the Lord or His name, it refers to a state of mind that fully recognizes the Lord’s majesty and authority over every detail of His creatures’ lives. which requires careful and diligent obedience to His will as expressed in the Law. As King Solomon stated: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

“Therefore, whoever relaxes (luo, the same word used in verse 17, but without the preposition, kata, which makes loosing emphatic in that location) one of the least of these commandments and teaches other to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (v. 19). If Jesus did not come to relax one of God’s standards, who thinks anyone else can relax the least commandment with impunity? What an affront to God! Yet, how many of God’s people seek to justify themselves while breaking His commandments. The Sadducees destroyed the Prophets and the Pharisees destroyed the Law. Professed followers of Jesus are prone to condemn these enemies of Christ on the one hand yet mimic them in justifying their own relaxing of His Law. They all put their own will over His will. 

Perfect Obedience Necessary

The importance of the Law as set forth in Matthew 5:17–20 is demonstrated in four ways. First, Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it. Since the law reflects the moral character of the Person who gave it, Jesus, being Divine, could neither abolish nor replace it.

Second, the law protects God’s creatures “until all is accomplished” (v. 18). Christ came to save His people, not from obligation to the law but from its condemnation. When salvation is fully accomplished, the law will pass away as an external objective standard. The new covenant makes the law an internal guide for His people (Jeremiah 31:33, 34; Ezekiel 36:26, 27). The time will come when the character of the redeemed will correspond perfectly with God’s, making the law no longer necessary.   

Third, the law requires perfect loving obedience (vv. 19–20). The important aspect that is often missed is that loving obedience to God is the heart of Creator/creature relationship (Matthew 22:34–40). Law-keeping is not just observing rules in the hope of making one’s life better. Neither is God like the pagan deities, requiring certain routines and gifts to placate fickle whims.

On the other hand, many modern Christians live as though grace releases them from the law to live their own lives. They know that they ought to worship and serve the Lord if only they could talk themselves into it. They no longer keep the law since it is now regarded as an obsolete requirement from Old Testament days. True grace, however, teaches a different lesson because it puts within the believer a knowledge of Christ. The law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2) gives Him the right to govern everything in a believer’s life. Grace calls on the saints to present their bodies as living sacrifices to God and to glorify Him in all that they do.

Fourth, Jesus informs us that, in His coming, the kingdom of God has invaded the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 3:2 cf. 4:8). The whole of the Sermon on the Mount is designed to inform Christ’s disciples of their duty to Christ in this new kingdom. The kingdom of God previously existed in Israel and was governed by the law of Moses. However, the trespasses and sins of Israel’s leaders were roundly condemned in this Sermon (v. 20; see Matthew 23:28). This failure brought about the change Christ was instituting (Matthew 21:43). The glorious truth is that when all is fulfilled, the renewed and holy character of the redeemed will enable them to live in perfect righteousness in the kingdom of heaven to the eternal praise and glory of God.

In the meantime, the teachings of this sermon inform Christ’s followers of their duties and privileges in the kingdom of heaven while they await the end and destruction of the kingdoms of the world and their full sanctification at the second coming of Christ. Thus, the saints are charged, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (6:33). Only in this way will their righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.   

Practical Righteousness (Matthew 5:17–20)

Considerable confusion is evident in Christianity, its doctrine and history, arising from the failure to distinguish between two aspects of righteousness—positional and practical. The gospel is based on positional righteousness. Sinners are saved because of Christ’s righteousness imputed to them through faith (Genesis 15:6; Romans 3:21, 22, 26; 4:6, 13; 8:4; 9:30; 10:4). This is the righteousness one needs if he is to find acceptance with God.

However, there is another aspect of righteousness, practical righteousness, that is also vitally important. It comes from obedience to God’s rules. This is what Christ addressed in Matthew 5:20: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The section ends with “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The doctrine of sanctification makes practical righteousness possible. The Spirit and the Word are the means of developing this righteousness: “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3–6). Jesus provides both grace and discipline to encourage believers’ obedience. Peter wrote, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

In Revelation 22, Jesus declared three times, “I am coming soon” (vv. 7, 12, 20). Without getting too technical, know that the verb, coming, is in the present tense, which in Greek indicates continuous action—it is a continual coming. This is supported by the use of the term, soon. In other words, these “comings” are scattered throughout church history to prepare the church to enter the kingdom of God. The result of these “comings” is seen in the verse, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14 NKJV).

This is a gracious work for His Church, and it involves correction and reformation. What if there are some believers who do not keep His commandments? Said believers may indeed be under His covenant protection and will be saved but, in the meantime, their failings must be corrected. When Jesus comes to take His bride, she will be ready, clothed in fine linen which is “the righteous deeds of the saints” (Revelation 19:7, 8).

How is she prepared for this wedding? There is a hint found in the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2; 3): “I will come to you soon . . .” (2:16; which is also the present middle indicative). These chapters are full of judgment threats and calls for repentance and correction. Jesus will not take a bride unto Him until she demonstrates practical righteousness. Christ intends to “sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water by the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26, 27).

The Importance of the Moral Law

     Matthew 5:17 introduces the longest section of the Sermon on the Mount, running to the end of chapter 5, beginning with the indication that Jesus was addressing the thinking of the people around Him as He began His ministry. Without question, Jesus’ ministry was attracting attention (Matthew 4:23–25). He was doing this characterized by meekness and lowliness that distinguished Him from the religious leaders. Yet, He was doing things that clearly evidenced His divine commission, like healing every disease and all who were demon possessed, which also could not be duplicated by the religious leaders. Nevertheless, none of them was willing to endorse Him. This brought many questions to mind. Who was Jesus? Did He come to replace the Jewish religion? Did He come to abolish the Law of Moses?

     Jesus was getting ahead of the rumors: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets” (v. 17). The reference is to the whole of the Old Testament, usually designated in this way (Matthew 7:12; 11:13; 22:40). However, note that here Jesus does not join the two with and but or. In other words, Jesus is arguing that He is not dismantling either the Law as given to Israel through Moses or the Messianic predictions of the prophets. He was fulfilling it all. He was the end of the Law for righteousness (Romans 10:4), and He was fulfilling everything spoken of Him by the prophets. No less than thirteen times in Matthew do we read, “this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet . . .” (1:22; 25, 17, 23; 4:14, etc.).

     The law, as we have seen, forms the very foundation of all moral governance. The moral law of God resides in the Ten Commandments. This moral law was then applied to Israel in two ways: through the rules and ordinances it governed their worship of God and civic life in society.  These two areas of application were made obsolete in the new covenant, but not the Ten Commandments.

     Jesus summarized the Ten Words, as they were known, in two basic rules: love for God and love for neighbor (Matthew 22:37–40). Nevertheless, Jesus did not change the Law. The Ten Commandments reflect the moral nature of God and are eternally binding on all His image bearers (believers and unbelievers; Jews and Gentiles, alike). It is on the basis of Law that all judgment is to take place (Romans 2:12). This responsibility includes the fourth commandment. 

    Christians have generally misunderstood the nature of this commandment because they worship on the first day, not the seventh, celebrating the resurrection. Although Jesus fulfilled this commandment, personally becoming the believers’ Sabbath rest (Matthew 11:25–30), the moral responsibility of all people to keep this commandment remains. The Sabbath commandment ties into the first three by serving as the regular weekly means of trusting God (the first), worshiping God (the second), and honoring His name (the third). How do we accomplish this? We shall see.

The Law of God

Law is defined by Samuel Hopkins (1721–1803) as “the eternal rule of righteousness which is essential to the being and glory of God’s moral government and kingdom.”* Hopkins argues that the divine law is the foundation of moral government, defining the obligation of moral agents to God as moral governor. God is God, Creator of all that exists. As moral creatures, humans have a conscious duty to God. Law defines that relationship of the creature and his accountability to God. None are free from the law.

Iniquity (anomia, “no law,” translated “lawless-ness” in the ESV) is the condition of one who believes himself to be free to act independently of God’s Law. This is the inheritance of Adam’s children. Satan deceived Eve and lied to her that she was free to be god, “knowing good and evil”—that right to determine one’s own moral course. That is iniquity and the root of human depravity. All Adam’s offspring are fully corrupted by the notion that they are gods, capable of determining the rightness of their own behavior.

Citing Psalm 14, Paul wrote, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:10, 11). Righteousness is the condition of one who is judged by God to be in full conformity to His law. The Bible plainly teaches that no one is so judged. Further, no one understands the required obligation, nor does he even care to. Thus, no one seeks God. Nevertheless, all are to be measured by the rule of law.

Adam’s failure is offset by Christ, the Second Adam. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17, 18), Jesus declared His relationship to the law and His intention to fulfill all righteousness by perfect conformity to the law. Some might think that human guilt could be cancelled by annulling the law and replacing it. As God, Jesus, however, asserts His authority in the words, “I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”—to cause God’s will (made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be. In fulfilling all the law’s commands, Jesus qualified Himself to become righteousness for those He saves, justifying them before God. In taking the sins of His people upon Himself, He also took the penalty for their sins in order for God to forgive them (1 Corinthians 1:30).

 Jesus further asserted the value and place of the law, stating that it would be easier for the creation to pass away than for a small letter-mark (jot or iota) to be removed from the law. This supports the observation that the law is also permanently linked to Scripture. The Old Testament is basically divided between law (the Pentateuch) and the Prophets (God’s watchkeepers of the law). This affirms Paul’s observation that “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12).

*Samuel Hopkins, chapter 2 (pg. 17), Salvation in Full Color, Richard Owens Roberts, Ed. © 1994