Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 5:19-20
In verse 19, Lord Jesus says that greatness in God’s kingdom is measured by the degree of our obedience to the law of God, and in verse 20, He says that unless our righteousness surpass the scribes and Pharisees, we will not enter into the Kingdom of God.
In Greek text, “Surpass” means to be emphatically much, much, much better- than the scribes and Pharisees. Our righteousness must be greater not by quantity but by our attitude.
It is not in the number of commandments that we can obey, but it is the attitude we go about obeying the commandments. The righteousness of the Pharisees was an outward obedience, a rigid conformity to the law, but what Lord Jesus wants is an inward righteousness of the heart, mind and motives towards the law. Only such attitude enables us the entry into God’s Kingdom.
So dear friends, let our righteousness surpass all scribes and Pharisees today!
God Bless
:)
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