True Righteousness--Jesus surely must have shocked His hearers by telling them that they could have no part in the Kingdom of God unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes Pharisees (Matt. 5.20).

The Rule of Law: Government of the Soul (6)

Here is true righteousness, indeed.

“And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.” Deuteronomy 20.25

Jesus surely must have shocked His hearers by telling them that they could have no part in the Kingdom of God unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes Pharisees (Matt. 5.20). All their lives these people had believed they could never measure up to the righteousness of their leaders. Now Jesus was telling them they had to exceed even that standard.

He was simply telling them what Moses had been saying all along, that true righteousness begins in the soul, where the heart, mind, and conscience work together, under the tutelage of God’s Law and Spirit, to bring forth love that is genuine and sincere (1 Tim. 1.5).

Doing “all this commandment” surely implied doing it from the heart (Deut. 6.4-9). Only when Israel’s love and obedience flowed from within could they expect to know the promised blessings of the Lord. Only as we thus love and serve the Lord can we expect the same.

The righteousness that Christians begin to realize is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, formed in them by God’s Word and Spirit as they “put on” Jesus in every area of life, beginning with their renewed souls. When our hearts love God supremely; when our minds are in sync with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2.16); and when our consciences value supremely His highest priorities – seeking the Kingdom and building His Church – then our lives will reflect His righteousness in all our words and deeds.

But the soil in which this righteousness grows to fruition is the reading and study of God’s Law. Unless we are governed in our souls by the Law of God, and by all the subsequent revelation of God elaborating, clarifying, explaining, and applying that Law, we will never see the righteousness of Jesus Christ take shape and come to expression in our everyday lives.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.