Matthew 5:20 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.
In reading the verses before this one, Jesus is telling his mission in coming to us. He did not come to get rid of the law. He came to fulfill it; to shed truth on God's expectations of us. The law is not irrelevant once Jesus comes. The law is completely revealed when Jesus comes. He tells us that the law is more than controlling the physical action. Even our thoughts can break the commandments. This was why Jesus said you would have to have righteousness that surpassed the Pharisees, because the Pharisees only kept the law outwardly. The law is meant to be kept inwardly as well. You begin to see the necessity of having someone outside of yourself to help you keep the law. In order to follow the law as Jesus describes, our hearts have to be changed, because our heart is the originator of our thoughts and actions. Only God can change the heart and He does so through Jesus Christ. How great to have the one who was the fulfillment of the law living inside me! That is why there is freedom from the law through Jesus Christ. I don't worry about keeping the law, because Jesus is changing my heart causing me to live the law, not just keep it. The law becomes an outpouring of the Spirit through Jesus in me. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!" (The exclamation point is my addition. :-D) John 8:36
In reading the verses before this one, Jesus is telling his mission in coming to us. He did not come to get rid of the law. He came to fulfill it; to shed truth on God's expectations of us. The law is not irrelevant once Jesus comes. The law is completely revealed when Jesus comes. He tells us that the law is more than controlling the physical action. Even our thoughts can break the commandments. This was why Jesus said you would have to have righteousness that surpassed the Pharisees, because the Pharisees only kept the law outwardly. The law is meant to be kept inwardly as well. You begin to see the necessity of having someone outside of yourself to help you keep the law. In order to follow the law as Jesus describes, our hearts have to be changed, because our heart is the originator of our thoughts and actions. Only God can change the heart and He does so through Jesus Christ. How great to have the one who was the fulfillment of the law living inside me! That is why there is freedom from the law through Jesus Christ. I don't worry about keeping the law, because Jesus is changing my heart causing me to live the law, not just keep it. The law becomes an outpouring of the Spirit through Jesus in me. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!" (The exclamation point is my addition. :-D) John 8:36
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