Perfection In Christ

Text: Matthew 5:38-48

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Last week we asked the question, “Just how much righteousness is needed in order to have entrance into the kingdom of heaven?”  From this question we learned from Jesus that an extreme amount of righteousness is needed.  In fact a righteousness that surpasses the religious super-heroes is needed; religious super-heroes like the Scribes, Pharisees, and the Monks. 

Today we have a continuation of the text from last week; we have a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  In this text, Jesus continues to unpack the Law and He unpacks several sections that are hard for us to hear.  He calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves and to love our enemies.  He calls us to avoid retaliation and to repay evil with good. 

I think it is safe to say that Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel reading from today is very relevant to us today.  It provides us with ability to see why there is so much conflict in today’s culture and in today’s churches.  Can you imagine how much nicer things would be in this world if people were actually to take Jesus’ words seriously?  If people were actually to take the commandments serious, think about all the broken marriages, all the lawsuits, all the wars, all the mistrust, all the retaliation, and so forth…. They would cease to exist if the commandments of God were followed.  Think about it for a moment.  If these principles and commandments of Jesus were to be followed there would be no more need for lawyers, divorce court, judges, police men, reconciliation principles, the military, locks on the door, security systems, and so forth.  Truly God’s Law is good and true! 

So, is this what Christ is getting at here in this text?  Is Christ merely advocating for the Law for a better society and a more peaceful culture?  Actually, Jesus is putting forth six authoritative teachings that would constitute what we would call ethics for the Christian.  Without a doubt He is showing forth what a Christian is not to do and what a Christian is to do.  He is showing that a Christian is to remain sexually pure in actions and thoughts; that a Christian is to withhold murder and hate; that a Christian is to repay evil with good; and that we are to love and pray for our enemies.  Indeed he lays forth a very high ethic for us to aspire to.  In fact, as we look over these 6 authoritative teachings we will discover just how hard it is to do the good works that God commands and that we can really spend the rest of our lives trying to practice these commands and follow this ethical guideline. 

With that said, I don’t know about you, but I’m really troubled by this whole section of Scripture though.  I know that this may sound odd to you that I am troubled by these verses, but I am.  As I look at the Gospel reading from last week and these ethical guidelines from the text this week, I am indeed troubled.  It isn’t that I think these commands are bad or that Jesus is incorrect.  For, I do agree that these commands and these ethical standards are good, pure, true, and certainly right.  However, I am troubled by the demands.  I was troubled from the sermon theme last week when I asked myself the question, “Do I have enough righteousness to enter the kingdom of heaven?”  I am also troubled by the words of Jesus at the end of our text today where He says, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Otherwise stated, you and I are called to have a righteousness that exceeds that of religious super-heroes and that we are to be perfect like God the Father.  That, my friends, is easier said than done. 

You see when we soberly look at the text from last week and the text from this week we can agree that the demands of the Law and the teaching of Jesus’ ethics are good and true.  However, as we look at the full demands of the Law we should be troubled knowing that no one can fulfill this Law; nobody can fulfill this ethical standard.  Seriously look at this text.  Are you perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect in Heaven?  Do you put Jesus and others first in your life?  Do you put yourself last?  There are only two responses to this high ethical standard and this very powerful Law, we can either lie and deceive ourselves thinking that we are actually pulling it off or we can admit that we are not pulling it off and that we have failed/sinned in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

So where do we go from here.  Last week we heard the Law and came to the conclusion that we did not possess in ourselves the righteousness that was needed to have admittance into the kingdom of heaven; however, we did hear the good news that we did have a righteousness that was not of ourselves, a righteousness that was given to you and me by Christ Jesus.  Yes, we heard the news that we do indeed possess a righteousness greater than the Scribes, Pharisees, and Monks; a righteousness that is not based off of our own worthiness and work.  Rather it is a righteousness of Christ that is given and credited to you and me. 

My friends, it is no different for us in today’s Gospel.  Jesus hammers us with the Law and the standard of perfection.  “You are to be PERFECT like your Heavenly Father is perfect.”  However, these high standards that Jesus sets for us are also set for Him.  When Jesus took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, He placed Himself under the authority of the Law and the same standard that we are placed under.  While you and I can never live up to this high standard, Jesus lived up to this high standard in every way.  Yes, Jesus lived up to perfection in thought, word, and deed.  Jesus totally submitted to the will of God the Father.  He constantly thought of others before He thought of Himself.  He lived this life of perfection and He did it so that His righteousness could be credited to you and me!

My friends, as I shared with you last week, let me share with you again. When you measure yourself with the demands of the Law and its demands of perfection, you will see nothing except your own sin and your past and present failures.  Looking to the Law you will rightly groan and anguish, realizing that you have not surpassed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees; that your righteousness fails to meet the standard of perfection externally and internally; and that you do not have admittance into the kingdom of heaven. 

Looking away from the Law, you may be tempted to look to yourself and believe the lie that you can amend your life if you could only live longer, try harder, and be more positive.  However, the blunt reality is that it is impossible for you to acquire enough righteousness and sufficient righteousness that will grant you access to the kingdom of heaven.  Rather, look away from yourself to the author and perfector of your salvation, Christ crucified.  Behold, in the rubble of your sin, Christ descends.  In Christ you take hold of perfect righteousness that is given to you as a gift. It is for you!  In Christ, you are given righteousness to receive, not perform.  It is righteousness that you wear as a robe.   And yes, this righteousness is enough for the kingdom of heaven, for Christ did not abolish the Law, but fulfilled it; He fulfilled it for you.

Now, at this point in the sermon, it would be nice to place a neat little bow here and say ‘Amen.’  However, all this contemplation on the text thus far brings up a good point that we simply must address.  If we are indeed unable, and we truly are, to be perfect and fulfill the Law; if we are indeed unable to have a righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees, Scribes, Monks, and Religious Super-heroes; if we indeed can’t fulfill the Law to complete perfection, then should we just throw the towel in and chalk it all up as impossible?  I mean, why try at all.  If we can’t do something right, why should we try to do it at all?  I mean, if we can’t fulfill the Law and act on it rightly, why bother trying to do it at all?  Why not just continue to sin in order that God may keep on forgiving!  Why not give up on the Law and righteousness, for Jesus does have us covered?  Is this what Jesus intending in this text? 

My friends, yes it is true that God’s Law is impossible to keep.  Yes, it is true that Jesus keeps the Law for you and me.  However, to then make the jump that Jesus somehow gives a license to sin, or that because He fulfills the Law that the Christian can somehow have a pass on the Law as if it doesn’t really matter, is not what this text is about.  Let me explain.  The key to understand all of this is Christ!  Let me explain.  God’s Holy Law, as expressed in the 10 Commandments, demands.  It makes strong demands to you and me ethically.  The Law is so strong that it kills you and me.  It leaves you and me bare.  It leaves you condemned.  It leaves you guilty, as it should.  It reveals our sin.  It shuts our mouths.  It reveals all the ways that you have not loved your neighbor as yourself.  It shows you how you are not perfect and how you do not possess enough righteousness to enter the kingdom of heaven.  It is a hammer that crushes and kills.  However, that is not the whole story, or the end of the story, for you also encounter the Gospel.  You receive baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In your baptism you partake of Christ and the fruits of his death.  You are crucified with Christ.  Death happened to you at your baptism; life happened to you at your baptism.  You were taken from death, unable to fulfill the Law by your own actions and abilities, and placed underneath the shadow of the cross where you are covered, clothed, washed, and forgiven by the one who kept the Law completely for you; you are given life and the name of God is placed upon you.  Thus, sin shall have no dominion over you since you are not under Law but under Grace my friends.  Sin does not have a say, nor does it have authority to condemn you, for you have been buried and resurrected with Christ in your baptism.  Therefore, this idea that a Christian could possibly support and promote sin so that grace and forgiveness should increase is totally and utterly absurd.  That would be like a lover desiring to return to the state of unloving in order to fall in love again.  That is impossible.  My friends, you have been baptized into Christ.  You have died and no longer live.  You have been resurrected anew in Jesus.  Yes, your sin has put you in the grave, but the Gospel puts you in Jesus’s grave and you are resurrected in Christ.  Therefore, to sin that grace may abound or to sin because we have grace is completely and utterly stupid.  This idea that I am saved, therefore, I have a license to sin is not the voice of the Gospel, nor the voice of the new man; it is the voice of the old flesh and the devil himself.  Therefore, because Christ is our life we live in Grace and we uphold God’s precious Law knowing that we don’t do good works to become a Christian but we do good works because we already are Christians.  This also means that when we do sin, for we certainly will, that we shall return to the waters of our baptism in repentance confessing boldly.  Indeed, when we sin daily we shall return to the waters of our baptism and begin again hearing that our sin has been put to death in Christ and drowned in the waters of our baptism.

My friends, it is all about Christ for you.  His forgiveness, His righteousness, His death, and His resurrection for you.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

How Much Righteousness Is Needed?

You have heard it said, that we are to read the Bible daily and to follow Jesus’ examples at all times.  You have heard it said that we are to choose to think positive thoughts and to be patient with people in our lives.  You have heard it said that we are to hold the door open for our elders and to give up parking spaces close to buildings for those who struggle with physical ailments.  You have heard it said that random acts of kindness will be paid forward and a smile goes along way.  However, I tell you today that unless these deeds are conducted with the purest of motives and unless your deeds exceed the deeds of Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther… you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

If this is true that a righteousness greater than Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther is needed, (and it is true), one might ask, “Just how much righteousness above and beyond is needed to enter the kingdom of heaven?”  That is indeed a profound and worthy question.  Just how much righteousness is necessary for the kingdom of heaven? 

In our day and age I do not believe that anyone has specified the exact amount of righteousness (i.e., good works or the absence of evil works) that is required for life after death, but I think that we all can admit that as Americans we are surely eager to accumulate righteousness.  We are certainly morally minded individuals and there is this ingrained tendency for all of us to mark down our deeds on our spiritual resumes.  In fact, a recent poll conducted by George Barna states that among ‘born again Christians in America’ that some 50% of them inadvertently believe that they can earn salvation based upon good works.[1]  Our natural tendency is to say, “Surely these good deeds must count for something!”

So, back to our question, how much righteousness is then needed?  The verse right before our Gospel reading from today, verse 20 of Matthew 5, says, “…unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Thus, Jesus shows us that a great deal of righteousness is required for the kingdom, for the Scribes and Pharisees were the most morally upright and spiritually polished people of the first-century.  Otherwise stated, they had righteousness down.  They were fulfilling the Law to the naked eye.  Make a checklist of virtues and they were satisfying these virtues.  They crossed their ‘T-s’ and dotted their ‘I-s’.  Simply looking at the life of these religious leaders, one would notice that they were indeed blameless.

Several hundred years later, Martin Luther found himself in the same category as the ancient Scribes and Pharisees.  He was a part of a monastery where he was considered among the godliest and most religious people of the day.  He once said of himself and his fellow monks, “   “We fought against evil thoughts by doing such things as fasting, staying awake, praying, saying Mass, wearing coarse garments and sleeping on hard beds.  According to our teaching, some monks were regarded as holy, without sin, and full of good works.  Also, since we had more good works than we needed to get to heaven, we could communicate and sell our good works to others.”[2]

So, is this the amount of righteousness that is needed for the kingdom of heaven, the same righteousness as the Scribes, Pharisees, and Monks?   Actually, the answer is no.  Jesus says that the bar for righteousness is higher; it is higher and needs to ‘exceed’ the works of these religious superheroes. 

You see, the problem that Jesus surfaces in our Gospel reading today is that people tend to judge righteousness on the basis of external actions, what is seen.  Thus, Christ is saying that righteousness for the kingdom of heaven is to be a righteousness that is not only ‘external’ but righteousness of thoughts and words also.  Yes, the righteousness that is demanded for the kingdom of heaven is a righteousness of deeds and thoughts and words; both good external actions and a good inner condition. 

To drive this point home further, Jesus takes 3 teachings from the Old Testament 10 Commandments and expounds on them to His hearers.  He takes the fifth, sixth, and second Commandment and reveals what true and perfect righteousness is; the righteousness that is needed for the kingdom; the righteousness that exceeds the Scribes and Pharisees. 

Let me take this opportunity to share with you these 3 commandments, not from a merely external perspective but from the perspective of righteousness in thought, word, and deed.

The fifth commandment states, “You shall not kill. What does this mean?  We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.”[3]  In other words, “Have I treated my neighbor’s body and life as gifts of God to him?  Have I injured my neighbor with violent actions, hitting and beating on my neighbor, spoken debasing and insulting words, using foul or dirty words to describe my neighbor, or murdered him with thoughts of anger, contempt, and hatred?  Have I injured my neighbor by ridicule, by neglecting to feed or clothe him, withholding compassion and comfort from him?  Have I avoided giving help to my neighbor, avoiding involvement with him in his difficulty? Do I abuse my own body with neglect of health, care, excess use of food, drink, tobacco, or drugs?”[4]

How about the 6^th Commandment?  It states, “You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean?  We should fear and love God that we may lead a chaste and decent life in words and deeds, and each love and honor his spouse.”[5]  In other words, “Have I used for my own pleasure my ears to hear stories or my eyes to incite cravings for the body of one who is not my spouse, or my mouth to speak such words and stories? Have I indulged my eyes with longing for my sexual satisfaction from a man or woman who is not my spouse? Have I dishonored marriage by ridicule, divorce, or neglecting to encourage others to be faithful to their spouses in the fear of God? Have I had intercourse with a man or woman who is not my spouse? Have I dishonored my spouse by neglecting to care for the body, mind, feeling, needs of the other, withdrawing faithfulness from the spouse? Have I failed to trust God to bless us in our marriage, even in times of trouble? Have I neglected to pray for my spouse, to worship together, and to live in the fear and love of God in times of sexual temptations? Have I practiced thoughts, words, or deeds, or given support of homosexual activity?”[6]

Finally, how about the 2^nd Commandment? It states, “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. What does this mean?  We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.”[7]  In other words, do I use God’s name cheaply for oaths that are frivolous or false? Do I stand up and swear by God’s Name when it is for the truth of the Gospel or for the benefit of my neighbor in need? Am I mouthing things while my heart is far away? Is my life, marked with the Name of God in Baptism, characterized by thanksgiving and praise?”[8]

My friends, this is the righteousness that is demanded for us to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.  My friends, this is what righteousness looks like that exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, the Scribes, the Monks, and so forth. Thus, as your pastor I need to ask you this sobering question, “Have you acquired enough righteousness or do you possess enough righteousness to enter the kingdom of heaven?” . . . The answer to this may surprise you.  Yes, you have acquired enough righteousness; yes, you do possess perfect righteousness that grants you an entrance into the kingdom of heaven! “But wait!” you may say, “I have not done this perfectly!”  Ah, yes, you have not and I have not either.  However, you do possess righteousness.  You possess righteousness that is not yours.  You possess righteousness that you have not produced.  You possess a righteousness that is not based on your own worthiness and work.  Rather it is the righteousness of Christ, given and credited to you!

My dear friends, when you measure yourself with the demands of the Law, you will see nothing except your own sin and your past and present failures.  Looking to the Law you will rightly groan and anguish, realizing that you have not surpassed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees; that your righteousness fails to meet the standard of perfection externally and internally; and that you do not have admittance into the kingdom of heaven.  Looking away from the Law, you may be tempted to look to yourself and believe the lie that you can amend your life if you could only live longer, try harder, and be more positive.  However, the blunt reality is that it is impossible for you to acquire enough righteousness and sufficient righteousness that will grant you access to the kingdom of heaven.  Rather, look away from yourself to the author and perfector of your salvation, Christ crucified.  Behold, in the rubble of your sin, Christ descends.  In Christ you take hold of perfect righteousness that is given to you as a gift. It is for you!  In Christ, you are given righteousness to receive, not perform.  It is righteousness that you wear as a robe.   And yes, this righteousness is enough for the kingdom of heaven, for Christ did not abolish the Law, but fulfilled it; He fulfilled it for you.
___________________________

[1] Barna Group, “Americans Describe Their Views About Life After Death” (Accessed, February 15, 2014) 
[2] Martin Luther, The Smalcald Articles: Concordia, The Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing, 2006), 275.

[3] Luther’s Small Catechism: With Explanation (St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing, 1986), 2.

[4] Kenneth Korby, Zion Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota, based on the Ten Commandments and Small Catechism.

[5] Luther’s Small Catechism, 2.

[6] Kenneth Korby.

[7] Luther’s Small Catechism, 2.

[8] Kenneth Korby.