I grew up in a wonderful Christian home and attended a fabulous church where it was abundantly clear as to what behavior was pleasing to the Lord and what was not. I went to church multiple times a week, said all of my Bible verses, served wherever needed, and obeyed those in authority. My outward compliance would have likely been deemed as righteous. But I don’t think that outward compliance always reflected my internal attitude. I probably often looked a bit like a Pharisee; with righteousness glowing for everyone to see.
Being called a Pharisee is rarely a positive thing. In Matthew 23 and Luke 11, amongst other passages, Jesus flat-out calls the Pharisees hypocrites! They knew and obeyed the Law, but were their hearts fully committed to God, or did they just work really hard to look like they were? Matthew 5:20 says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This has been a troubling verse for me. I spent many years working on looking righteous – and now Jesus is saying that I have to “exceed” that righteousness? So what does that mean?
Jesus’ death and resurrection provided for righteousness in us that we could not accomplish on our own. That righteousness comes from a relinquished heart, fully surrendered, admitting that our works and obedience could never accomplish what Christ’s flawless obedience could. Paul, who calls himself a Pharisee in Philippians 3:5, goes on in vs. 9 to share about his longing to “be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” As believers in Jesus Christ, our righteousness is not of our own doing. It comes from a perfect God and therefore it exceeds the Law because it is perfect righteousness.
My guess is that most of us have looked like a Pharisee at times. That’s natural – we tend to be self-seeking and we live in a fallen world that drives us to prove ourselves. But praise be to God that this is not his design. We are who our Creator has designed us to be – a royal priesthood, justified by faith, forgiven, redeemed and sanctified. We are free to live surrendered to our Lord not out of duty but with the hope of Paul’s words in Romans 10:4; “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”
So let’s go freely live as righteous children of God!
Lynette Fuson
Care & Counseling Director