Are you afraid? If you were listening carefully to Jesus’ closing words in today’s Gospel, you probably should be. I know am. There Jesus says, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” If that doesn’t frighten you, let me tell you something about the righteousness of those Pharisees and teachers Jesus is talking about, the righteousness that the Son of God says you and I must surpass to enter heaven.
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| James Tissot The Pharisee & Publican |
For one thing, the Pharisees and teachers of the law knew
their Bible cover to cover, backward and forward, inside and out. One of the
kids asked me if knew Psalm 83. I said,
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without
form and darkness hovered over the face of the deep.” A wise adult standing
nearby said, “That’s Genesis 1:1; she asked you for Psalm 83.” I said, “I
know…I’m getting there.” Pharisees needed no such running start. If asked for Habakkuk
chapter 4 verse 7, or 1 Kings chapter 5 verse 18, he could do it without having
to look it up. That’s how righteous the Pharisees and teachers were: righteous
enough to know their Bible that well. Jesus says that unless our righteousness
surpasses theirs, we cannot enter heaven. Does your righteousness surpass
theirs in the field of Bible knowledge? Mine neither.
Another example... the Pharisees and teachers of the law
gave a full ten percent of their income to their church, at a minimum. That’s
how righteous they were in their giving. Jesus says that unless our
righteousness surpasses theirs, we cannot enter heaven. Does your righteousness
surpass theirs in the area of generosity? Mine neither.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law would not be caught be
dead anywhere near any display of immorality. They would never set their eyes
on anything dirty or impure. Jesus says that unless our righteousness surpasses
theirs, we cannot enter heaven. Does your righteousness surpass theirs in the
area of purity? Mine neither. And that ought to make us afraid. And Jesus says
we have to be even better than that – we have to surpass their righteousness
and be perfect – to enter the kingdom of heaven.
But in this Gospel Jesus has more to say; and what else he
says takes away our fear and restores our hope of entering heaven. He says, “Do
not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them, but to fulfill them.” You and I are not perfectly righteous in
our knowledge of God’s Word, but Jesus was. He knew every command in the Word
of God. He knew exactly what it took to live a perfect life.
And while you and I are not perfectly righteous in our
generosity, Jesus was. He was so generous that he gave all of himself. He gave
himself completely by coming into this world to fulfill that Word of God, to do
all that his heavenly Father requires. While you and I have not been perfectly
pure, Jesus was. He kept every single one of God’s commands, and he did it for
us. He laid down his righteous life on the cross, and he did it for us.
Has our righteousness surpassed the Pharisees in the
knowledge of God’s Word, in generosity, and in purity? Have we been perfect in
those areas, so that we can enter the kingdom of God? Certainly not. But we
have a Savior who knew God’s Word perfectly. We have a Savior who showed
perfect generosity in giving himself for us. We have a Savior who lived a pure
life that he then sacrificed for our sake.
And because we do, we do not need to despair of our hope of
entering heaven. Because Jesus came knowing God’s Word, and in pure generosity
to us fulfilled every word of God’s commands, we know that heaven is ours.
Through faith in Jesus, we have righteousness before God. We have righteousness
that surpasses the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We have the holiness of
our Savior Jesus. And with it we have the promise of heaven.
Yes, Jesus has made you righteous through faith in him.
That’s what he tells you today. And he also tells you this: Since he has made
you righteous in God’s eyes, spend the time between now and the day you enter
heaven living in the righteousness Jesus has given you.
Jesus makes that command using two different pictures. First
he says: “You are the salt of the earth.” Later he says, “You are the light of
the world.” Notice, Jesus does not say, “You are like salt,” or “You are like
light.” You are the earth’s salt. You are the world’s light.” Jesus has made
you righteous; he has turned you into something special: the salt of the earth
and the light of the world. It’s what you are.
So, Jesus says, live like the righteous person he has made
you. Live as the salt that you are. Live as the light that you are.
Jesus has made you righteous; he has made you the salt of
the earth; so go out and be what you are. Do good things for whatever you touch
in the world, just as salt does good things. Add some flavor and preservation
to this world by walking in the Commandments. Make your world different. Give
it the flavor of righteousness. Your world is wasting away, rotting from sin.
Preserve it by showing others the God-pleasing way to live.
Be the righteous person Jesus has made you; be the salt of
the earth. Be the light of the world. Your world is a dark, dreary place full
of angst and anger. Be someone bright. Let the joy of your forgiveness show in
the way you speak to others. Respond to sarcasm with something genuinely nice.
Answer selfishness and self-centeredness with thoughtfulness and kindness.
Break the darkness of hate with the light of love.
You are different than the world around you. It is bland
with all the same flat and tasteless sin; it is wasting away with rebellion
against God. It is dark and mean and cruel. But you are not. You are righteous
in Christ. And when he made you righteous, he made you salt and light. Go out
and be what you are; the world will be better for it.
Today, we give thanks to God for the Lutheran Women’s in
Mission, the LWML. Since 1942, Lutheran women have been serving the Lord with
gladness, serving others in His name as salt and light. Although not chartered
nationally until the 40s, the first organized gathering of Lutheran women took
place right here in Oklahoma in 1928. For over 80 years, Lutheran Women in
Mission have been proclaiming Christ, supporting missions, equipping other women
in service, and in using their own, unique gifts to care for one another and
other Christians from our neighborhood to across the globe.
Today is LWML Sunday. The stereotype is that the Lutheran
Women’s Missionary League is nothing more than a group of women who sit around,
drink coffee, and chit-chat the time away. The LWML is much more than that. The
heart of the LWML is a love for Jesus and a desire to spread His message of
hope and life.
Several years ago, back in Victoria, we were hosting the
Zone rally. Unfortunately, our Zone president, who was also a member of my
church, was not in the hospital, unable to be with us. After doing the opening
devotion, I excused myself and went into town to see her. She was very
disappointed because she had helped with the planning, selecting the theme, and
the service project for the event. But, she wanted details – how many ladies
were there, how was it going, was there enough food, so on. Then she asked me
what my devotion was about. I smiled and said, “Jesus.” She grinned at me and,
after scolded me for being a smarty-pants, she nodded and said, “Well, that’s
what it’s supposed to be about, isn’t it?”
Her comment embodies the entire mission and ministry of the
LWML. We thank God for the faithfulness of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary
League in serving the Lord with gladness and sharing that word of Hope and
encouragement, to be salt and light to a saccharine, dark world.
Whether you are part of the Women in Mission League, or if
you have never heard of them until today, you live as the salt and light of the
world Jesus has made you to be. He will give you opportunities to tell others
about His love. If you want the world around you to be attracted to what you
believe, if you want your friends and neighbors to see something different in
you, be what Jesus has made you. If you want them finally to have to ask what
makes you different, live like the righteous person you are. If you want your
opportunity to tell someone, “It’s Jesus – he has won my forgiveness, he has
made me righteous. He’s for you, too. Trust in him,” then be salt and light.
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