Do You Measure Up To the Perfect Standard God Has Set Forth? There Is A Way You Could.

““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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.” Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In this post, we continue to look at the Sermon on the Mount, the greatest Sermon ever preached.

Here are the links to the previous posts:

“”Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

When Jesus came onto the scene, there were a lot of reactions to Him. The religious leaders, who had all the power over the people, sought to kill Him. The people were looking for Him to fill their physical needs for healing and food. At one point, they wanted to force Him to be their King.

I’m guessing they were looking for Him to change their unfavorable circumstances. They were under Roman rule; their religious leaders had them living under insufferable rules and regulations. They wanted a conquering King to set them free.

Jesus was there to set them free, but He was there to set them free from their sinful hearts. He was sent to be the suffering servant—the Holy sacrifice for our sins. There is a price for our sins, and we cannot pay that price. Jesus became that sacrifice for our sins.

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is a lot of confusion concerning the “Law.” God’s intent for the Law was to make us aware of our need for the Savior.

“So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Holy Law and Holy Commandments from a Holy God. And expects nothing but perfection from us. And the only way that we can attain that perfection is through Jesus Christ.

This is a lifelong process for the believer as Jesus does His work in us.

‘In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ‘ Philippians 1:4-6

When the day of Christ Jesus arrives, those who are His chosen will be perfect in Him.

Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we will give an account to God for what we did with the Word He gave us. We are called to revere the whole council of His Word from beginning to end.

The Bible says He has provided us His complete revelation from the Garden to His restored Kingdom with the New Earth and Heaven.

Some tend to look at the Bible buffet-style; they lean on certain things but give no credence to the hard stuff. Jesus experienced this in His ministry when He had a sizeable following leave Him because the teachings were too hard.

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” John‬ ‭6‬:‭60‬-‭66‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you are a practicing believer, I’m guessing you can put your mind on a person you know who you thought was a very solid Christian who no longer attends church. For some reason, it got hard for them, and they gave up the hope that they once had.

When the event, recorded in John 6, happened, Jesus turned to His inner group of disciples and said:

““You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)” John‬ ‭6‬:‭67‬-‭71‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“We are called to persevere and stand firm in our faith. It is for those who stand on the foundation of Jesus until the end who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. As Peter answered,”“Lord, to whom shall we go?” This is what our response should be, especially when it gets hard. And I believe it is even more important when things are going well for us.”We are called to persevere and stand firm in our faith. It is for those who stand on the foundation of Jesus until the end who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. As Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” This is what our response should be, especially when it gets hard. And I believe it is even more important when things are going well for us.

“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.””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.”

This is a warning for us. I remember how arrogant I was in my thinking when I thought I first started to have this thing figured out. I’m embarrassed even to put this in this post, but it is crucial to come to terms with it.

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is a warning about comparing ourselves to those around us. Comparing is a two-edged sword that cuts both ways, and both paths lead to no spiritual growth. Here’s how this works:

1. You start to look at someone that you feel is not at your level of spiritual growth, and you think to yourself, “At least I’m not like that person.”
2. You look at a person you feel is spiritually superior to you and think, “I can never reach that level of growth.”

In both cases, your spiritual growth is stunted at best.

The only place we can rightly compare our spiritual growth to is the Holy standard outlined in the Sermon on the Mount.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the atoning work of Jesus. Thank You for the sacrifice made on behalf of those who believe.

I pray that You continue working on my heart daily, making it more Christ-like.

I pray that You give me the strength to continue working out my salvation and bringing before You every sinful thought and action that is holding me back from being closer to You.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️