Righteousness

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Righteousness

Matthew 5:17-20
Righteousness = a right relationship with God.
The Law is like the bud of a rose-- it's the beginning. Complete righteousness is the rose, but many people end up emphasizing the beginning and get hung up.
To fulfill means to bring to completion.
There were 2 kinds of religious folks in Jesus' day-- the ones who wanted to throw the law out because it was impossible to keep and those who wanted to ignore it and stay right where they were.
We tend to externalize the Law, but Jesus came to internalize it within us.
v.20 - Jesus basically said that their goodness must be "perfect" which is an impossibility. In other words, our goodness or righteousness is never good enough. It can't be.
The Lord is concerned more about our relationship with Him.
Romans 4:22-25 - Jesus became our righteousness.
John 13:34-35 - Love each other as I love you.
Our righteousness usually revolves around keeping rules and looking good. God's righteousness revolves around love.
Much of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7) reflects our righteousness vs. God's righteousness.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 –