Unless...

[mukk_in]

Matthew 5:20

For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now, that's a pretty tall order. The Pharisees and religious teachers were the moral pillars of the Jewish society. For us to try and be holier than them is asking a lot. But, such are the Lord's standards. His requirements seem impossible until we realize that such holiness is only possible by being in a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[dayhiker]

The way I'd speak about that verse is to say the NT/Bible only speaks of one way to fulfill the law and that is to love God and to love people. So if we set out to obey some list of rules/laws as a way to be righteous we will fail as the Pharisees did. If we love one another we will succeed.

 

[iamchance]

The Pharisees were self-righteous and that prevented them from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. The teachings in the bible warn us from being like the pharisees and one key go-to scripture to remember is Ephesians 2:9. The NLT states "Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." -- Salvation comes solely from Jesus. It's not because of any good we've done but because of our belief in Jesus alone.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

The way I'd speak about that verse is to say the NT/Bible only ways of one way to fulfill the law and that is to love God and to love people. So if we set out to obey some list of rules/laws as a way to be righteous we will fail as the Pharisees did. If we love one another we will succeed.

A lot of people, multitudes even, love one another, and never see heaven.
This is mentioned by Jesus a few times at least in Scripture.

(partly this is realizing the trouble with the English language, but only partly)

 

[lismore]

His requirements seem impossible until we realize that such holiness is only possible by being in a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well said mukk.

The pharisees were outwardly pious, but inwardly wicked.

 

[Tigger45]

Its the righteousness of Christ given to us by faith.

Romans 1:17

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."


Romans 3:22

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

2 Corinthians 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

[St Sebastian]

The pharisees were outwardly pious, but inwardly wicked.

This is interesting. What particular things, in your opinion, bring forth their inward wickedness?

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

The light came into the world, and the world hated the light, because its deeds were evil.

 

[lismore]

This is interesting. What particular things, in your opinion, bring forth their inward wickedness?

Hello St Sebastian. These two passages from Matthew 23 shed some light on the subject:

"Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by others.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

God Bless

 

[St Sebastian]

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

I'm thinking this last part is what constitutes the issue. After all, Jesus knew what was in their hearts.
There are two things that we could highlight here:
"Devour widows' houses."
"For a pretense you make long prayers."
Taking advantage of those who suffer, and pretending to have a good relationship with God through public acts of prayer (and by public I mean done in public, not necessarily corporate prayer, although it's a more modern term).
I would speculate, did all the scribes and Pharisees did the same thing, or was it only those who were most seen to the people who partook in these "wicked" practice?
At the same time, this looks more like a critique on people who were in a position of power according to the social/ecclesiastical culture of the times. How would we translate this to the present times and down to the "lay" level? After all, we are all called to self-examination (2 Co 13:5).

 

[lismore]

I'm thinking this last part is what constitutes the issue. After all, Jesus knew what was in their hearts.
There are two things that we could highlight here:
"Devour widows' houses."
"For a pretense you make long prayers."
Taking advantage of those who suffer, and pretending to have a good relationship with God through public acts of prayer (and by public I mean done in public, not necessarily corporate prayer, although it's a more modern term).
I would speculate, did all the scribes and Pharisees did the same thing, or was it only those who were most seen to the people who partook in these "wicked" practice?
At the same time, this looks more like a critique on people who were in a position of power according to the social/ecclesiastical culture of the times. How would we translate this to the present times and down to the "lay" level? After all, we are all called to self-examination (2 Co 13:5).

Hello Sebastian. I don't believe all pharisees were in the same boat, Nicodemus for example.

I am reminded of the scripture 'Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you' (Matthew 6:6). When our heart is right we know that the Lord sees what we do for the Kingdom and will one day reward us. There is a temptations within all of us to do things for the wrong motives and we must keep our first love. God Bless