The Pharisee ‘fasts twice every week’! This is apart from other strict fasts declared over them. (Luke 18:12)… But you are still trying to see if fasting once a week can work for you.
The Pharisees pay TITHES of ALL they possess including PLANTS! (Luke 18:12, 11:42)… You only pay tithe of your NET salary instead of your GROSS salary.
The Pharisees will do ANYTHING to ensure that sexual immorality is not tolerated among them! (John 8:1-4). You are still asking if hugging or kissing is a sin.
The proper Pharisee does not EXTORT or collect bribes! (Luke 18:11,Eccl 7:7)… But you call it appreciation or tip.
The Pharisees would not even dare to eat a fruit without washing their hands! It is an unholy act! (Mark 7:1-4)… But you will pluck orange or mango, or throw some grains of garri into your mouth and start enjoying without washing your hands first.
Why am I saying all these??? It’s simply because Jesus said: ‘…Except your RIGHTEOUSNESS EXCEEDS THAT OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, you shall IN NO CASE enter the kingdom of heaven! (Matt 5:20)
Wow! I love the words: ‘…IN NO CASE enter the kingdom of Heaven! The Good News Bible Version will assist better on this:
‘…I tell you, then, that you will be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven ONLY IF YOU ARE MORE FAITHFUL than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees IN DOING WHAT GOD REQUIRES…’ (Matt 5:20 GNB)
Oh! At times it seems to me that people find it easy to forget the above verse! Listen carefully: when it comes to an outward display of Righteousness, you can NEVER beat a Pharisee to it!
This religious sect had it ‘on point’ when it comes to outward show of righteousness! Now Jesus is telling you that you MUST BEAT the righteousness of the Pharisees…. if at all you plan to enter the kingdom of heaven!!! I tell you the truth: that is outrightly IMPOSSIBLE! Anybody who says it takes a good behavior and strict morality to enter heaven MUST first prove how he has been able to EXCEED the righteousness of the Pharisees in his outward display of conduct!
If you have ever read Philippians chapter 3, you will never join anybody to say it takes a good behavior on earth to enter heaven! Follow Paul’s story patiently:
3:5-6 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as TOUCHING THE LAW, A PHARISEE; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; TOUCHING THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS IN THE LAW, BLAMELESS
Wow! When it came to the righteousness of the Law, as a devoted Pharisee, Paul was blameless! That means his outward show of righteousness was sufficient to convince ANY MAN that he was heaven certified! But remember the rule of the game: you must SURPASS the righteousness of the Law before you can think of ENTERING the kingdom of heaven! Look at what Paul declared in the very next verse:
3:7 But what things were GAIN to me, THOSE I COUNTED LOSS FOR CHRIST
Oh! It is very easy to read the above verse out of context and imply that what Paul meant here was that all his achievement and ‘gains’ in life, business and career was what he counted as LOSS in order to have Christ! NO! He was saying ALL HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH HE ACQUIRED BY THE LAW had to be dropped — else he will not have Christ! I love how the message version puts that verse:
‘…The VERY CREDENTIALS these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of CHRIST…’ (Phil 3:9 MSG)
This is a serious matter! See the next verse:
3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count ALL THINGS but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of ALL THINGS, and do count them but DUNG, that I may WIN CHRIST…’
What are the ‘ALL THINGS’ Paul counted but loss…and do count them as DUNG…for him to win Christ??? He was referring to the Righteousness of the LAW! He was considered BLAMELESS living in this righteousness, yet that BLAMELESS living must be counted as loss, in fact as DUNG (animal faeces)…or else, he can never ‘enter the kingdom of Heaven’! Before I read the next verse, let me remind you of the rule of the game again:
‘…Except your RIGHTEOUSNESS EXCEEDS THAT OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, you shall IN NO CASE enter the kingdom of heaven! (Matt 5:20)
This was what Paul was doing! He was looking for the kind of Righteousness that EXCEEDS that of the Pharisees which he was…else, his life will end in a total loss! So what kind of righteousness will exceed this super type of righteousness displayed by the Pharisees??? Read the next verse and see what Paul was going for:
‘…And be found in him, NOT HAVING MINE OWN righteousness, WHICH IS OF THE LAW, but that which is through THE FAITH OF CHRIST, the righteousness which is of God BY FAITH…’ (Phil 3:9)
Wow! So there are two kinds of righteousness! You are either righteous by ‘doing right’ or you are righteous by ‘believing right’! Doing right seems to be the best kind of righteousness….but Jesus said…except you possess a kind of righteousness that EXCEEDS ‘doing right’, your eternity is not guaranteed! BELIEVING RIGHT is the only kind of righteousness that guarantees your salvation and redemption!
‘…And be found in him, NOT HAVING MINE OWN righteousness, WHICH IS OF THE LAW, but that which is through THE FAITH OF CHRIST, the righteousness which is of God BY FAITH…’ (Phil 3:9)
Your OWN righteousness fails …while the righteousness of Christ which comes by faith will always prevail! Until you consider ALL your display of righteousness as DUNG (animal waste) before God, you can never WIN Christ! Your holiness must never be a product of an OBLIGATION to please God. Rather, it must always be a product of an APPRECIATION of what Christ has done for you! You are saved UNTO good works…but you were not saved BY good works! (Eph. 2:8-10) Your GOOD WORKS in life becomes DEAD WORKS before God at the very moment the FINISHED WORK of Christ is removed from the equation!
Which one will you choose? The righteousness of the Law? Or the Righteousness that EXCEEDS that of the Law which only comes by faith in Jesus?
Remember:
‘…Except your RIGHTEOUSNESS EXCEEDS THAT OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, you shall IN NO CASE enter the kingdom of heaven! (Matt 5:20)
The choice is yours! Amen.
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