[HOW TO BE A BAD CHRISTIAN SERIES -- SERMON 1]
26 July 2015
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Matthew 5:17-20
Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV)
17 "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.
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means
disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of
heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great
in the kingdom of heaven.
20 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.
-- I read a story one time about a
teenager who was playing basketball in his driveway when he lost a contact lens
-- he got down on his hands and knees and he searched all over the driveway for
it, but he couldn't find it anywhere -- he finally went back inside and told
his mother that he had lost it
-- undaunted, his mother went
outside and in just a few minutes came back into the house with the contact
lens in her hand -- "How did you manage to find it, Mom?" the
teenager asked -- "We weren't looking for the same thing," she
replied -- "You were looking for a small piece of glass -- I was looking
for $150"
-- I've
always been amazed at how you can put two people in the same place, yet they
see different things -- they hear different things -- they experience different
things -- you put me and Kim in a park, and when I get back in the car, I'll
start talking about the different kind of birds that were there -- Kim won't
have seen a bird, but she'll know every breed of dog that was in the place
-- and
while diversity is good and we need to embrace the individualism that God has
given us, we have to recognize a common vision that should unite us and inform
our actions and our service as the church of Christ in this place
-- Proverbs
29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish" -- and so
Christ gave us in Scripture His vision of the church through the Great
Commandment and the Great Commission -- so that we would come together in unity
-- as one people -- called by His name -- empowered and indwelled by His Spirit
-- to become a holy army of Christians -- a royal priesthood -- who would go
forth in His name and His power to bring the people to Him
-- the Great Commandment and the Great
Commission were given to us to be our Great Vision -- motivating and driving us
to be more than we are -- to do more than we do -- to be God's people -- doing
God's work -- and growing His church
--
but just like the teenager playing basketball, the church seems to have lost
its ability to see -- we've lost our vision of who Christ wanted us to be and
what He wanted us to do -- you could say that we have, in a very real sense,
forgotten what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be part of the
body of Christ
--
Christ did not envision us hiding in our sanctuaries while the world around us
went to Hell -- He envisioned us going forth as His literal hands and feet --
carrying His message to the ends of the earth through the power of the Holy
Spirit
--
the problem is just like in my illustration about the contact lens -- we are
spending our time looking for a piece of glass while we should be looking for
something of greater value -- while we should be striving for something of
eternal worth
-- we need
to catch a new vision of church -- we need to catch a new vision of Christ -- we
need to catch a new vision of ourselves
-- Adrian
Rogers once said, "The me I see is the me I'll be" -- our problem is
that we have been limiting what Christ can do through us because we refuse to
see who we are and who we can be in Him
-- let me
remind you of who you are -- You are the people of God -- you are the people Christ
died for -- you are His church -- His hands and feet -- called and gifted and
empowered by the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth
-- you need
to claim this vision -- you need to live this vision -- you need to believe in
this vision
-- with
that in mind, we are going to start a new series of messages this morning on
recapturing the vision -- specifically, I want us to recapture Christ's vision
for us as His church and His people -- to look at what we should be and what we
should not be -- I'm calling this series, "How to be a Bad Christian"
-- but another title might be, "How not to be a Pharisee"
II. Scripture Lesson (Matthew 5:17-20)
-- let's
begin this series here in Matthew 5 -- look back with me at Matthew 5:17 and
let's read this passage again
Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV)
17 "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.
18 I tell you the
truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least
stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is
accomplished.
19 Anyone who breaks
one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will
be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches
these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 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.
-- these
verses are part of the passage of Scripture that we call "The Sermon on
the Mount" -- it is the most extensive teaching directly from Jesus that
we see in the Bible -- and in this passage, Jesus begins to challenge the
practices and the beliefs of His Israelite followers as He teaches them the
real meaning of the Law and begins to move them more towards a relational
experience with God instead of a legalistic experience with God
-- the
Sermon on the Mount would have been shocking to Jesus' followers, especially to
the Pharisees that were there listening to the message that day because it
questioned everything they were doing and how they were teaching others to
follow God
-- in our
day, we tend to give Pharisees bad rap -- we see them as the bad guys of the
New Testament, but you've got to understand, they didn't themselves in that way
at all
-- in fact, if the Pharisees
were in our churches today, we would esteem them and consider them the ideal
Christian -- think about it -- they practiced all the spiritual disciples daily
-- they read and knew the Bible -- they attended worship services
"religiously" -- they had quiet times with God -- they prayed -- they
did all the things we tell new Christians they should do
-- on top
of all that, they were the epitome of Godly living -- they not only knew God's
law, but they followed it -- if God said it, they did it -- they were
fastidious in their obedience -- in fact, in order to make sure they did things
right, they even clarified what God meant when He said something -- for
instance, when God told the Israelites in the Old Testament to offer up their
tithes to Him, just like today, people asked, "what does this mean? -- do
I tithe on my gross salary or just my net? -- if I get a gift, do I have to
tithe on this?" -- good, honest questions that I've had people ask me
-- and so
the Pharisees tried to help -- they dove into the Scriptures and came up with
guidance on how to do what God commanded when He said to tithe -- "you
should tithe on everything -- even the spices in your kitchen -- you should
offer up a tenth of your mint and anise and cumin (Mt 23:23)" -- they were
really trying to help people do what was right
-- and we
all know what Jesus said about obeying God's law, right? -- John 14:15 -- "If
you love me, keep My commands" -- isn't that what the Pharisees were doing
-- and, honestly, doing better than any else in their day? -- for that matter,
doing better than we are doing today?
-- and up
to this point in Jesus' message in the Sermon on the Mount, the Pharisees are
probably right there with Him -- they've probably been shouting out
"Amen," the whole time -- Jesus has been pointing out the
characteristics of the people that God calls blessed in the Beatitudes -- He's
told them they are the salt of the earth -- the light of the world -- and to
let their light shine
-- and
then, even here in verses 17-19, Jesus confirms the value of the Law -- He
tells His listeners, "I'm not here to abolish the Law -- the Law is good
-- and if you break one of these commands and teach others to do that, then you
will be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven -- if you follow the Law and
keep it and teach others to do the same, you will be called great in the
Kingdom of Heaven"
-- when the
Pharisees heard that, who do you think they thought Jesus was talking about? --
had to be talking about them, right? -- they're the ones who are keeping the
Law and teaching others to do so -- they have to be the ones He's calling
"great" -- so you can imagine their shock when Jesus then spoke out
what we call Matthew 5:20
Matthew 5:20 (NIV)
20 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.
20 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.
-- all of a
sudden, things take a turn -- Jesus calls the Pharisees out by name -- it's
almost like as Jesus was speaking the whole Sermon on the Mount up to this
point, the Pharisees are stepping forward and puffing themselves up and everyone
is looking at them and knowing they're the ones Jesus is talking about, and
then He points over to them and says, "If you really want to do right, don't
be like them -- your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees" -- which
probably really confused His listeners -- it's confusing to us -- how do you do
better than complete obedience?
-- we can
talk about legalism versus grace and say, "Well, we don't have to follow
the law" -- but, don't we? -- Jesus never said we didn't have to follow
the law -- remember John 14:15? -- "If you love Me, keep My commands"
-- He said that to His disciples in the Upper Room -- one of the last things He
told them before the cross -- and this entire passage from Matthew 5:17-20 is
pretty clear -- we are to follow the law
-- so what
was Jesus getting at? -- what weren't the Pharisees doing with their noteworthy
obedience to the law that we should be doing? -- how can we not be a Pharisee?
-- the
Bible's pretty clear -- Jesus wants us to be obedient to Him -- He expects us
to be obedient to Him -- He wants us to fulfill the law -- but what does Jesus
want us to do different than what the Pharisees were doing? -- in other words,
what were they doing wrong and how can we get it right?
-- I think
the key to understanding what Jesus is saying hinges on one word used here in
verse 20 -- Righteousness
-- what
does "righteousness" mean? -- if you go back to the original Greek
and look up the actual word that is used here, it means observing the divine
laws, keeping the commands of God, being virtuous and upright -- look that up
in the dictionary, and you'll see a picture of the Pharisees -- that's what the
Pharisees were so good at
-- but the
Greek word lends itself to another definition that goes along with one --
righteousness means more than just outward obedience and right action -- this
word is used to describe someone whose entire way of being -- their way of
thinking and feeling and acting -- are fully conformed to the will of God -- in
other words, they're right, not just on the outside, but also on the inside
-- what
Jesus was talking about here in Matthew 5:20 was a righteousness that means a
right relationship with God that is then demonstrated through a right character
and action -- and here, I think, we get to the heart of the matter that Jesus
is talking about in Matthew 5:20
-- what is
the foundation of relationship? -- think about it -- what is it that binds two
people together in a relationship? -- it's love
-- that's
where the Pharisees were failing -- they obeyed the letter of the law, but they
missed the heart of the law -- it all comes down to motives -- to motivation
-- what is
it that compels us to obey God's word? -- what is it that compels us to do what
Jesus commands?
-- for the
Pharisees, it was fear -- fear of the consequences of disobedience -- fear of
being alienated from God and not being able to come before His presence because
of their disobedience
-- let me
share with you a story from Lauren Larkin that speaks to this -- Lauren writes
about an argument she had with here little boy one day -- he had done something
wrong and been punished for it, so he stomped upstairs and slammed the door and
threw his toys and shouted "You're the meanest mommy ever! -- I will never
snuggle with you again! I don't like
you! I wish you weren't my mommy!"
-- Lauren
said she listened to his little fit and waited for him to calm down -- that's
what they would do -- in fact, she had sent him to his room and told him to
come back when he had calmed down and was ready to be sweet -- but as she sat
there listening to his rants, she realized what she had really told him -- she
had told him to leave her and to make himself better before she would be with
him again -- in other words, if you want to be with me, you have to act right1
-- that's exactly where the Pharisees
lived -- they were just like Lauren's little boy -- their obedience was
motivated by their desire to be with God -- they thought God wouldn't love them
unless they were perfect -- and they lived in fear that God would cast them
away until they were better, so they did everything they could to obey His law
to the letter -- even to the point of making clarifying laws to help them
comply with what the Law of Moses said -- they made their behavior the
determination as to whether God loved them or not
-- A lot of
us today still live with that fear, and we mentally check ourselves every
morning when we wake up and every night when we go to bed and we say, "I
did okay today, so God must still love me" or "I didn't do so good
today, but I'm going to do better tomorrow, and so tomorrow God will be with me
again"
-- let's
finish Lauren's story and see what happens
-- Lauren
got up and went to her son's room and sat on his bed and told him to come sit
with her -- he crawled up in her lap and she wrapped her arms around him and
whispered to him over and over again “I love you…I love you, I love you, I love
you…” -- she said he relaxed further and further into her embrace and finally
quit crying -- after a short while he whispered, “I love you, too, mommy.”
-- and as
she held him, she thought about the conviction that caused her to go to him --
she said she had become freshly aware of something -- that God had never asked
her -- asked us -- to be better before He would dwell with us -- in fact, while
we were at our worst, He came -- while we were busy denying his very existence
by our lack of belief, he made his presence known to us and pursued us -- we
earned none of his coming -- we didn't have to get right before He came -- He
came because He loved us and He said, "I'll help you become right -- I'll make
you right -- just love Me like I love you"1
-- the
point that Jesus is making here in verse 20 is that our righteousness is not
based on our external behaviors, but the condition of our heart
-- our
motives -- our motivation -- for obedience should come from our relationship
with Him -- not from our fear of not being loved
-- as Tozer
wrote, "The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things,
but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural
grace of God -- The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being -- Jesus
is saying, “If you are My disciple, you must be right not only in your actions,
but also in your motives, your aspirations, and in the deep recesses of the
thoughts of your mind.”2
-- if you
would, turn over to Romans 13:8-10 and let me bring this home
Romans 13:8-10 (NIV)
8 Let no debt remain
outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves
his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
9 The commandments,
"Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not
steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may
be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
10 Love does no harm
to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
-- pay
attention to the last words of Paul in that passage, for I think that gets us
to the place where Jesus wanted us to go in Matthew 5:20 -- "love is the
fulfilling of the law"
-- our
righteousness only exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees when our motives
are right -- when our relationship with God is right -- when obedience is not
performed for merit, because we think right living is the path to heaven -- but
when obedience is instead a loving response to the salvation that has come through
Christ
-- what
Jesus is saying is that why we do what we do is more
important than what we do -- motives matter
-- this
reminds me of a little boy and his father who were on a long car trip -- the
little boy was in the back seat, and he kept standing up -- his father kept
telling him to sit down -- the little boy would sit down for a few seconds but
then he'd stand back up -- this went on time and time again -- finally, the
father said, "If you don't sit down, I'm going to stop this car and give
you a spanking and make you sit down."
-- the little boy sat down and was quiet for a few minutes and then
announced, "I may be sitting down, but I'm standing up in my heart."
-- what a
picture of the Pharisees we see in that little boy -- their hearts were far
from God, and Jesus pointed that out to them in the sermon on the mount
-- "The
Maker of heaven and earth isn’t just concerned with our service; he’s concerned
with our intentions. Our motivations. Our hearts."3
-- let me
leave you with this final thought -- our Christian life is kind of like an
airplane -- you have to have two wings for a plane to fly -- the Pharisees were
trying to fly to heaven with only one wing -- the wing of right behavior
-- but a
plane can't fly with just one wing -- the other wing is the wing of
righteousness -- of a right relationship with God -- we need both in order to
fly and be who God has called us to be
-- His
people, doing His work, motivated by His love for us -- this is the
righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees -- this is the vision that
Christ had for His church -- for you -- for me
-- so this
morning, as we close, let me ask you to reflect on these questions -- why do I
do the things I do? -- am I trying to earn God's love through my actions? -- or
am I showing God I love Him by what I do for Him?
-- let us
pray
----------------------------------------------
1 He Loved First By: Lauren R.E. Larkin on Thursday July 9, 2015, Key Life
Ministries Website [http://www.keylife.org/]
2 A.W. Tozer, My Utmost for His Highest
3 Matt Smethurst, [http://www.christianity.com/church/missions-and-evangelism/one-thing-god-values-more-than-your-heart.html?p=0]
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