{"id":3037,"date":"2021-04-18T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/?p=3037"},"modified":"2021-05-15T09:33:09","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T16:33:09","slug":"mathew-518-20-surpassing-righteousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2021\/04\/18\/mathew-518-20-surpassing-righteousness\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 5:18-20-Surpassing Righteousness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sunday Service MVCOG - Matthew 5:18-20 Surpassing Righteousness\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z-L8_sDqHxo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Mathew-5v18-20-outline.pdf\">Matthew-5v18-20-outline<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Mathew-5v18-20-outline.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><sup>18&nbsp;<\/sup><\/strong><strong>For truly I say to you,&nbsp;until heaven and earth pass away, not&nbsp;the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God\u2019s word is forever, immutable, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">unchanging<\/span>, and God watches over His word to make sure that this is the case. Truly God has preserved His word.&nbsp; So, we can bear witness of Jesus\u2019 words in Mathew 5:18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then, after we have been reminded of the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">importance<\/span> of transmitting the Word of God accurately,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><sup>19&nbsp;<\/sup><\/strong><strong>Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others&nbsp;<em>to do<\/em>&nbsp;the same, shall be called least&nbsp;in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever&nbsp;keeps and teaches&nbsp;<em>them<\/em>, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We don\u2019t keep the law of circumcision, but Paul reminds us in Romans 2:29b tells us <strong>29 \u2026 and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; Which means that we that we cut off our desires of the flesh that we may be sanctified in heart, set apart for service.&nbsp; So it is a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">deeper<\/span> requirement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><sup>19&nbsp;<\/sup><\/strong><strong>Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others&nbsp;<em>to do<\/em>&nbsp;the same, shall be called least&nbsp;in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever&nbsp;keeps and teaches&nbsp;<em>them<\/em>, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, Jesus is saying that the Law in the Old Testament has not become <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">obsolete<\/span> with the New Covenant, but revealed more fully by Jesus.&nbsp; For example, we don\u2019t keep the law of circumcision, but Paul reminds us in Romans 2:29b saying <strong>29 \u2026 and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; Which means that when we that we cut off our desires of the flesh that we may be <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sanctified<\/span> in heart, allowing ourselves to be set apart for service, this <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">pleases<\/span> God in a way that physical circumcision never could.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1<sup>st<\/sup> Corinthians 10:6-11 lets us know that God has given us the Old Testament to provide <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">examples<\/span> for us of what to do, and what not to do.&nbsp; God has given us the Old Testament to show us who He is and what He expectsso that we do not make the same <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">mistakes<\/span> of those who fell away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we also look at the Old Testament and see how it illuminates our <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">understanding<\/span> of Jesus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><sup>20&nbsp;<\/sup><\/strong><strong>\u201cFor I say to you that unless your&nbsp;righteousness far surpasses&nbsp;<em>that<\/em>&nbsp;of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so Jesus has to explain the Old Testament from God\u2019s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">perspective<\/span>.&nbsp; But first, Jesus is going to have to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">adjust<\/span> people\u2019s thinking about the Pharisees a little.&nbsp; See, if people already think that they have the truth, then they stop looking for the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">truth<\/span>.&nbsp; Jesus begins to draw this contrast between a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">works<\/span>-based righteousness that ends up being self-righteousness, and true righteousness based on <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">obedience<\/span> to God and trust in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the purposes of the Jesus\u2019 sermon is to show us that we cannot hope to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">succeed<\/span> in what Jesus is calling us to do without the help of the Holy Spirit.&nbsp; The Pharisees, in their rule-making and traditional <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">interpretations<\/span> of the law had built for themselves a little play world in which they could pretend that they were being righteous, and in which they could be successful in attaining a kind of righteousness based on their own terms and their own definition of righteousness.&nbsp; Refusing to be righteous according to God standards, they simply re-<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">defined<\/span> what it meant to be righteousness in such a way that they could meet the standard.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because everyone thought that the Pharisees were the most righteous people, these Pharisees then had a reputation for being these righteous people to uphold.&nbsp; And for some, this got in the way of their salvation\u2014they began to believe what everyone else though of them, and forgot that God can see beyond outward appearance.&nbsp; (See Mat 23:27-28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best examples of Jesus <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">confronting<\/span> the Pharisees on their elevation of their traditions above the Laws of God is found in Mark 7:5-13, when the Pharisees accuse His disciples of breaking one of their traditional teachings regarding ceremonial washing of hands before eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Man\u2019s interpretation of the Law vs. God\u2019s interpretation (Mark 7:5-13)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus doesn\u2019t even bother to address their tradition regarding washing hands, knowing that while it\u2019s a good practice, the Pharisees were <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">wrong<\/span> in ascribing holiness to it.&nbsp; They were adding to the law that God had given them, and Jesus is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">denying<\/span> their authority to add on to what God has given them.&nbsp; In <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">thinking<\/span> that by obeying their traditions, they were somehow pleasing God, they were only showing that they loved the traditions that they\u2019d set up more than they loved God and His words.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus gives them just one example among many of their putting their traditions above what God had commanded, continuing in verse in Mark 7:9-13<strong>9 He was also saying to them, \u201cYou are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, \u2018Honor your father and your mother\u2019; and, \u2018The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is certainly to be put to death\u2019; 11 but you say, \u2018If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is, given to God),\u2019 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus confronts their elevation of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">tradition<\/span> above the Word of God.&nbsp; The Pharisees were practicing self-righteousness, not righteousness.&nbsp; Paul explains the outcome of this in Romans 10:3 <strong>For not knowing about God\u2019s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God<\/strong>.&nbsp; In seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God\u2019s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">righteousness<\/span>, which is Christ Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God is concerned about Justice, about liberating the oppressed, about integrity in our dealings with others, and conducting ourselves honorably in everything that we do.&nbsp; God, indeed cares about social justice, but it must be a social justice rooted and coming forth from what He has said.&nbsp; We don\u2019t practice good works for their <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">own<\/span> sake.&nbsp; The good works that we do must flow from our loving <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">relationship<\/span> with Jesus, and be motivated by the Holy Spirit.&nbsp; We must always put our relationship with Jesus first.&nbsp; Otherwise, we end up turning the good works into an idol, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">worshiping<\/span> the good works, and leaving Jesus out of the picture.&nbsp; Jesus reminded us just a few verses ago, the true reason for our works in Mathew 5:16 <strong>16 Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.&nbsp; <\/strong>Giving <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">glory<\/span> to God is what it\u2019s all about.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>18&nbsp;For truly I say to you,&nbsp;until heaven and earth pass away, not&nbsp;the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!&nbsp; God\u2019s word&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-services"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3029,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2021\/04\/11\/jesus-fulfills-the-law-mathew-517-19\/","url_meta":{"origin":3037,"position":0},"title":"Jesus fulfills the Law Matthew 5:17-19","author":"Robert","date":"April 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/zQ6fmQDkIK8 Matthew-5v17-19-notesDownload 17\u00a0\u201cDo not presume that I came to abolish the\u00a0Law or the Prophets; Jesus\u2019 audience were Jewish disciples who had been taught by the Pharisees about the law.\u00a0 In their mind, keeping the requirements of the law, as interpreted by the Pharisees was what being righteous was all about.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/zQ6fmQDkIK8\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":870,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2014\/04\/06\/the-freedom-of-forgiveness\/","url_meta":{"origin":3037,"position":1},"title":"The Freedom of Forgiveness","author":"Robert","date":"April 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Freedom of Forgiveness Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. 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Colossians 1:14 \"God has purchased our freedom with His blood and has forgiven ALL our sins.\" Nehemiah 9:17 You are a forgiving God, gracious and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1664,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2016\/10\/09\/beatitudes\/","url_meta":{"origin":3037,"position":2},"title":"Beatitudes","author":"Robert","date":"October 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Matthew 5-7 Matthew 5 Matthew 6 Matthew 7","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4997,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2026\/03\/15\/4997\/","url_meta":{"origin":3037,"position":3},"title":"Tax Collectors and Sinners","author":"Robert","date":"March 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/MFp70j4owNQ?si=XJHNylEfG9HPb-xV Tax Collectors and Sinners Mark 2:13-1713 And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.After cleansing the leper, Jesus withdrew to the seashore, where He taught a multitude of people. Remember that Capernaum was a sea-side town,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Youtube-Thumb_260315105224.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Youtube-Thumb_260315105224.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Youtube-Thumb_260315105224.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Youtube-Thumb_260315105224.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Youtube-Thumb_260315105224.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3545,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2023\/01\/15\/sin-is-lawlessness-and-lawlessness-is-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":3037,"position":4},"title":"Sin is Lawlessness and Lawlessness is Sin","author":"Robert","date":"January 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/SaF1f8QqGCQ 1-John-3Sin-is-Lawlessness-and-Lawlessness-is-Sin-3vs4-pt-1Download 4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 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