SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW
HOW RIGHTEOUS ARE YOU?
#1 - SERMON ON THE
MOUNT
God is
righteous! Whatever He does is right! Psalm
116:5, Psalm 129:4, Psalm 145:17, Psalm 119:12
God is righteous!
God wants men and women to be righteous.
Psalm
God is righteous!
God wants men and women to be righteous.
SO HOW RIGHTEOUS
ARE YOU?
THE PROBLEM
WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS
We have no
righteousness! We are unrighteous!
Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10-12
Matthew 5:20 - For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye
shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
That statement
would have really shocked Jesus' hearers.
The scribes and
Pharisees were known for being religious and for keeping the letter of the
law. The scribes and Pharisees added
laws to the law and expected men to keep them as well! Jesus is telling us that
the way we live should be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees if we
expect to see Heaven! Matthew 5:17-19, Revelation 21:7-8
THE PROVISION
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Romans 5:6-9 - For when we were yet without strength, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will
one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9]
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him.
2 Corinthians
Christ has provided
righteousness for those who have a problem with righteousness. That's all of
us!
Romans 5:1 - Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
When a person
comes to Christ, and admits his own unrighteousness and helplessness and
unworthiness and turns to Christ in faith as his or her only hope for
forgiveness and a place in Heaven, then salvation takes place.
That's when a
person is saved or justified. To be
justified is to be "declared righteous".
What does God
expect of you, Christian, once you have been declared righteous and looking
forward to Heaven?
HE EXPECTS YOU TO
LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY! 1 Peter 1:15-17
Christian,
although we do not fear condemnation, we must realize that we will give account
to God for our behavior as Christians. 2 Corinthians 5:10
We still have a
problem with righteousness.
We did not have
power within ourselves to live righteously before we came to Christ.
We do not have
power in our own strength to live righteously now!
The good news is
that Christ is providing power for living righteously.
Please look at Romans
5:17 - For if by one man's offence
death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
By one man's
offense death reigned.
Because of Adam's
sin, death entered the world.
And until Jesus
comes, nobody escapes death.
And this death is
not only a physical death, but a Spiritual one as well. Ephesians 2:1 tells us that before a person
is saved he is "dead in trespasses and sin". He has no hope of eternal life.
But God has
something better for those who receive "abundance of grace".
Grace is God's
unmerited favor.
Grace is God
giving me what I don't deserve.
Grace has been
called "God's Riches at Christ's Expense".
God's grace is
abundant, enough to save anyone who comes to Christ by faith. Ephesians 2:8-9
Not only have we
received abundance of grace, but the gift of righteousness.
When we accepted Christ
as our Savior, He justified us, or declared us righteous.
It, like grace,
was a gift we accepted when we put out faith in Christ.
This verse is
promising a reign in life.
And I believe that
reign in life starts now.
Instead of being
defeated, we can be victorious.
Instead of acting
in an unholy manner, I can act in a holy manner.
Instead of living
unrighteous lives, we can live righteous lives.
What's the
practical secret for living a holy life now?
The secret in this
verse is two fold.
First we have the
abundance grace. God continues to pour
out his favor upon us when we ask, trust, and obey. Romans 6:10-14
Going along with
abundant grace is the second thought, the gift of righteousness. Just as Christ provides the
gift of righteousness for eternal life.
He provides the gift of righteousness for daily living. All I have to do is accept it. Galatians 2:20
Galatians
2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me.
What are you doing
that's unrighteous?
First confess it.
1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
After you confess
the sin, forsake it by asking the Lord Jesus to be victorious over that sin
through you. Accept His gift of
righteousness to give us victory. Philippians 4:13
THE PRACTICE OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
You and I need to
have a continual appetite and thirst for righteousness.
It should be a
goal of our lives.
So where do we go to
satisfy our hunger and thirst for righteousness?
We need to go to
the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Jeremiah 15:16
Many of you live
on a starvation diet.
You hear the word
preached once a week at best.
And you don't
bother to read the Word of God at home.
With Christ's help
we need to follow his admonition found in Luke 11:28
When you hunger and thirst after righteousness
you will make every effort to be in Sunday School, Morning Service, Evening
Service and Prayer Meeting where the Word of God is taught.
The message is an
introduction to a series of messages is on the Sermon on the Mount, which we
have quoted a few times.
The Sermon on the
Mount shows us how to live more righteously than the Scribes and Pharisees of
Jesus' day.
The Sermon on the
Mount is a practical presentation of how to live righteously on a daily basis.
It is impossible
to obey the Sermon on the Mount perfectly, just as it is impossible to obey the
Ten Commandments perfectly.
As we learn what
the Sermon on the Mount means and as we trust Christ for the provision of
abundant grace and the gift of righteousness to obey, we will see ourselves
become more righteous than we are now.