True Righteousness Begins in the Heart
Matthew 5:17–32
17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.
19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire.
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!
27 “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. 28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!
31 “It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. 32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matt 5:17-32
Our righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. What does that mean? This word is translated as “to exceed, abound, or excel.” It implies that something is abundant. This means that our righteousness should be overflowing and this is where we start to understand our faith is not about being “more” righteousness. It’s about being righteous as God intended.
1. God’s law should be written on your heart
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deut 6:5-8
God’s point was that his law should be in your heart and be an active force in your life. His law should be a sign on your hands and on your forehead which just means people should be able to see and recognize that God is active in your life. This was always his intention.
When this happens, the law is fulfilled because the purpose of the law is to be written on our hearts. It’s not about rules, it’s about changing our hearts and having our minds guided by the love of God. Jesus assured the crowds and the religious leaders that he did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it by showing us how to actually imprint it on our hearts.
Everything from the sacrifices to the ceremonies to the 10 commandments are found in the life and teachings of Jesus. His holiness is God’s holiness and his life should be our lives. But Jesus doesn’t want rule followers like the Pharisees; he wants people that embody the heart and attitude of God himself. It’s not just doing the right thing, it’s also wanting to do the right thing.
This idea of following the law of love was so difficult for the religious leaders because they didn’t understand that Jesus was actually trying to bring us back to God’s original intention but it sounded so very wrong because they couldn’t imagine,
2. Sin begins in the heart
The Pharisees didn’t believe they were sinners, so Jesus gave them the example of anger.
everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment…whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire.
Here Jesus speaks of three grades of anger and punishment but the point isn’t types of punishment. The point is that if you allow anger to be planted, like a seed, in your heart, it grows and so does the risk to your life and your soul because your heart was made for love, not anger.
If anger goes unchecked it becomes a habit and Jesus makes it clear that this is where murder comes from. In fact, 95% of all murders would be classified as unplanned crimes of passion. Jesus wasn’t exaggerating when he said the sin of murder begins with anger.
Jesus said, if you don’t check your anger, at first you’ll be labeled an angry person. Next, you will be recognized by authorities as having an anger problem. Finally, if you allow anger to be the controlling force in your heart, there is no room for the HS and hell is all you have left.
This is why Jesus kept driving home that he wants us (you and me) to examine and judge our own hearts: our own attitudes and motives because, the point is, if you will not do the hard work of judging yourself someone else will.
He drives home how important this is by saying that you shouldn’t even worship God through your tithes or offerings until you have asked for forgiveness from whomever you have sinned against because, if you don’t live the love of Jesus, your worship is fake, and he doesn’t want it.
Again, tithing is important, he wants you to give but, more importantly, he wants you to be a peacemaker. Which begins with recognizing the sin in your life, repenting, and asking for forgiveness. Jesus even finished the model prayer with a warning,
“For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.”
Mt 6:14-15
That is how serious Jesus is about changing your heart and dealing with your anger. You should pray to God to want-to-not be angry. You need to admit that unjustified anger is a sin and make the effort to destroy the impulse to hate at its source: your heart and asking for that forgiveness is a form of sacrifice.
3. True righteousness is sacrificial
“...everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Job was the most righteous man of his time and he said he would not even look at a young woman to protect his heart and this is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he deals with lust and adultery. We must sacrifice to grow, even our “right” to look.
Obviously, sexual sin begins in the desires of your heart and it is in your heart that you dwell on ideas and topics. God gave us this ability to dwell and ponder for righteousness and justice not to fantasize about and objectify people. That is not what your mind was made for.
This led to the topic of divorce probably because it was hotly debated by the two main political and religious parties of Israel: the schools of Rabbi Shammai and Rabbi Hillel.
Rabbi Hillel was teaching that a man could divorce his wife for almost any reason. He even gave ruining your husband’s dinner as an example so, because marriage is the foundation of the home and the image of God’s relationship with his people, Jesus dealt with this topic.
“Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant…This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”—the Lord’s declaration.
“Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.”
Jeremiah 31:31-33
We see that the prophecies of the new covenant were compared to the marriage covenant and this is why, elsewhere, we are told God hates divorce. This covenant with God and our spouse is so serious that Paul says that it is the responsibility of a man to die for his wife if need be. In other words, to literally sacrifice everything for his wife just as Christ did for his church.
Jesus was so serious about this that he recommended taking extreme and drastic measures to fight off sin and sacrifices must be made if you want to protect your heart. This means that if your eye is causing you to sin, you must sacrifice it. If your hand is causing you to sin, you must cut it off and sacrifice it.
Obviously, Jesus did not actually want people to cut out their eyes or cut off their hands. His point was that, if your eye or hand is the real problem, the solution is simple: you should cut it off but I wish it was that simple. The problem isn’t your eye or your hand, it’s who you are: the problem is your heart which guides your choices and your attitudes but we know it is possible to change because God is working in your life.
4. You can change your heart
For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purposes.
Phil 2:13
This is why Paul can command us to renew our minds and he assures us we can take every thought captive because God is at work in you enabling you to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. This is an active process you are expected to be a part of and Jesus gives us two analogies for God’s word and how we participate in that heart change.
First, we are commanded to imprint God’s law on our hearts. Deut commands,
“Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads."
Deuteronomy 11:18
Secondly, like the parable of the seed and the sower, our hearts are compared to soil.
“Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness on you like rain.”
Hosea 10:12
For the imagery of Deut, the symbolism is found in clay writing tablets. God is actively pressing his words in but if you don’t want to change, you will not allow the word to leave an impression.
"Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble."
Prov 28:14
And the NT utilizes the seed and soil most often with James warning us,
My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.
James 1:21
But both help us to see that whether it is softening our hearts or tilling the soil, God is already at work, it is our job to simply prepare the way. This is why James says we must rid our lives of sin. Sin hinders us from becoming everything God intends us to be. Sins are the rocks that don’t allow seeds to take root and removing the rocks is a form of sacrifice to our God.
Ex: If you struggle with lust, you imitate Job and sacrifice your “right” to even look at young women. This may mean sacrificing your “right” to go online. If you struggle with anger, you might have to sacrifice your “righteous indignation.” This may also mean sacrificing your “right” to go on social media or watch the news. If you struggle with laziness, you might have to sacrifice your “right” to “me time” or your “right” to “relax”.
All of these things compete with God’s love to make an impression on your heart. All of these things are rocks in your heart’s soil. In both cases, they take up space where the HS should be making an impact and they rob your heart from growing all the fruit God intends for you. This is why we must remove the filth and this is how we make way for God’s implanted word.
God is pressing in but you need to soften your heart to receive it.
God is planting seeds but you need to till the soil to be ready.
Both take work but you can do it, God is already at work in your life so ask yourself, what sacrifices are you being called to make in your life so that your righteousness can be abundant?
This week, pray and consider the wax and the soil. I want you to choose an image that speaks to you so that, moving forward, you can see your sin in a new light and so you can see your good works as God intended, as making the way for God to move in your life.
pray
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