Matthew 5: The Sermon on the Mount: Exceeding Righteousness (7)

Pray Psalm 15.1, 2.
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart…

Sing joyfully Psalm 15.1, 2.
(Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made)
Lord, who may dwell within Your tent, or on Your holy hill?
All those who keep Your covenant and walk within Your will.

All they who with integrity work peace and righteousness,
forever in God’s house shall be forgiven, kept, and blessed.

Read Matthew 5.1-48; meditate on verses 21-48.

Prepare.
1. In what sense is Kingdom righteousness exceeding righteousness?

2. What is the end, and what is the primary expression of Kingdom righteousness?

Meditate.
The idea of righteousness was not unfamiliar to the people of Jesus’ day. After all, an entire class of “righteous” made it their business to ensure that everybody but them understood just how unrighteous they were. External righteousness, paraded before the eyes of men, was the form of righteousness with which most people were familiar. And while some good was done by those who vaunted their righteousness –  righteousness that existed only on the surface of life, and mainly to impress or cow others – that righteousness does not meet the standard of Kingdom righteousness (v. 20). Life in the Kingdom entails a form of righteousness that exceeds that with which the people in Jesus’ day were familiar.

True righteousness begins in the soul, where the Law of God shapes us mind, heart, and conscience to live the righteous life. Righteousness takes the form of love – for God and neighbors – as it shapes the soul for self-denial and putting others first. It’s a struggle, because the natural disposition of our soul is toward self-service, not looking out for others. Jesus taught that people need to watch over their hearts – echoing instruction by Solomon (Prov. 4.23) – and to make sure that the attitude of their heart was always what it should be before the Lord. Only when our hearts are what they should be will we think correctly about righteousness, and value it as the primary Kingdom priority (Matt. 6.33); and only then will we live out true righteousness in all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities.

God the Father, after all, is perfect; and He calls all those who know and love Him to be perfect as well. In this life, we can only strive for perfection, by hungering and thirsting for righteousness from the inside-out. But if we will keep a close watch on our heart – our desires, longings, and loves – as instructed by the Law of God, then the righteousness that comes out in our lives will be truerighteousness. It will be the righteousness of Jesus Christ, in Whom and by Whose example we make sense out of God’s Law and all His Word.

Reflect.
1. In what sense is Jesus the key to understanding the Law and all the Word of God?

2. How can we tell, in any situation, whether we’re operating out of mere self-love or out of love for God and neighbors?

3. God wants us to be perfect, and perfection – such as we see in Jesus – is where our lives are headed. But in this life, we must strive to improve toward the ideal of perfect righteousness. What does that struggle involve?

It is merely human to love those who love you, and it is common to cherish those who cherish you. Therefore Christ calls us into the life of heirs of God and to be models for the just and the unjust of the imitation of Christ. He distributes the sun and the rain through his coming in baptism and by the sacraments of the Spirit. Thus he has prepared us for the perfect life through this concord of public goodness, because we must imitate our perfect Father in heaven.. Hilary of Poitiers (315-367), On Matthew 4.27

Make me hungry and thirsty for righteousness today, O Lord, especially as I…

Pray Psalm 15.1-5.
As you pray this psalm, think about the day ahead. Prepare your heart for true righteousness by committing every activity, situation, and opportunity to the Lord now.

Sing Psalm 15.1-5.
Psalm 15.1-5 (Arlington: This Is the Day the Lord Has Made)
Lord, who may dwell within Your tent, or on Your holy hill?
All those who keep Your covenant and walk within Your will.

All they who with integrity work peace and righteousness,
Forever in God’s house shall be forgiven, kept, and blessed.

Let truth from every heart proceed, and slander disappear:
Thus shall we know God’s grace indeed and feel His presence near.

No evil to your neighbor speak, nor turn against your friend:
Thus shall you know the end you seek – God’s presence without end.

Let every sinner be despised; but those who fear the Lord
Shall honor have before our eyes, according to God’s Word.

All they who keep their word in faith, though suffering may ensue,
Shall know the favor of God’s grace, His presence ever true.

No greed and no injustice shall they do who seek the Lord;
But on His mercy ever call and stand upon His Word.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).