My Pulpit Message Notes: Grow in Righteousness

Grow in Righteousness.

My Pulpit Message Notes are extracted from the sermon preached at the Nairobi Baptist Church (NBC) Ngong Road on Sunday 13th February 2022. Preacher: Reverend Munengi Mulandi, NBC Senior Pastor.

Scripture - Matthew 5:17- 48

1. Confirmation : Matthew 5:17-202.

2. Complication : Matthew 5:21-48

3. Completion:

Verse 17 - Fulfil

Verse 20 - Surpass

Verse 48 - Perfect

1. Confirmation : Matthew 5:17-20

- Jesus makes it abundantly clear, confirming the legitimacy, veracity authority of the law and the prophets.

- Jesus had no place for antinomianism. He was not anti law. He illustrates this by quoting two of the ten commandments in Exodus 20:21, commandment number six about murder, and verse Exodus 20:27 about adultery.He expands their legitimacy, veracity and authority in the following ways; He says he is not here to abolish the law and the prophets.

- Later Luke 24:27 Jesus’ walk - the Road to Emmaus, with the two disciples who were wondering what is happening, the Messiah who will thought will save Israel has been put to death. As Jesus is walking with them and they do not recognise Him, the Bible tells us and He began to explain to them about Himself and what the Scripture said about Himself in all the law, beginning with the law and the prophets.

So Jesus was not against the law and says in verse 17 He is not here to abolish the law.

- In verse 18 Jesus says, even the smallest detail, ‘the smallest accent/ mark that changes the intonation of a word, even those will not be overlooked.

- Verser 19 - He gives a warning to those who disregard or ignore the law.

- Verse 20 - He says, this righteousness that is followed by the Pharisees, we must get to a place where we surpass it.

2. Complication : Matthew 5:21-48

Six references, Jesus says,

“It was said before, In the past it was said, but now I say.”

- They have this mindset of a Messiah who was coming, but Jesus comes and is interacting with the locals and He is so ‘kawaida’ (common), does He have respect for the law? And He confirms that this law shall not be abolished, but he also complicates it by giving these six statements that it was said this way in the law, but he escalates it even higher.

- It was said in the past, do not murder, but now (verse 21) even hatred is an issue.

- It was said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ (verse 27), but now even the lustful look is an issue. - It was said, ‘Do not divorce’ (Verse 31)

- Verse 33, it was said, ‘Do not make this oath.’

- Verse 38, it was said, ‘Do not revenge.’ - Verse 43, Love for the unloveable.’

Verse 21-26 - The law stated that ‘You shall not murder and difficult as that law was, there many in the crowd who looked at themselves and justified themselves because they had shed not blood. But not only does Jesus confirm that law that you shall not murder, He complicates it by escalating it to a high level where, not only shall you not murder in the physical shedding of blood, He goes deeper to the core, to the spring where murder rises from and He says, ‘If you hate, then you have broken the law.

- When Jesus goes to the inward attitude, then all of us are guilty. All of us have murdered if murder begins from the place of that hatred. Many of us have never murdered and this is because we never had the chance. If the opportunities were made right, you would have done it.

- We had began to measure the law by the externals, but Jesus says, let’s complicate it a little further because the externals are only what is visible, but the heart there is fullness of dark festering wounds of hurt, hatred, murder. It’s just that we don’t have the chance.

- The same thing He says with regard to adultery (verse 27-30). Like you and I many of the people at that time had not committed adultery, because the law had been reduced to the external, the outward appearance / action, but Jesus complicates it by taking it to the heart / inward attitude and says, if any of you looks with lust, then you have committed adultery.

- If many of us were brought before a court of law and accused of adultery, they would find no evidence, but when God with His Word has that spotlight/x-ray/CT scan into our hearts, we are all guilty.

- The law was not wrong, it was given, and the Pharisees had so perfected this observance of the law that they have given crafted many other rules to help them move back, as one getting ready to jump a higher hurdle, so that they could come and cross over it. Externally it looked like they could just clear the hurdle and go over to the other side.

- Jesus comes and says and confirms, this law, but as if it is not enough, he complicates it with a new higher hurdle that cannot be cleared with the external action because it needs internal motivation / propulsion.

- So Jesus gives three important words:

3. Completion

Verse 17 - Fulfil

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.

- Jesus is saying that He has come to be the One to complete this righteousness that is required.

- This righteous standard given by the law He has come to make sure that not only are we able to do the externals of observing it, but we are able to fulfil this law because of the completed Sacrifice from the inside.

- So, spirituality moves from being anthropocentric (focused on man), to being theocentric.

Verse 20 - Surpass

“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.”

- The Pharisees were so meticulous in their outward observance

of the law that in their tithe, they even tithed the spices. Imagine being in the crowd and you know that even financially even the ten per cent you have not given? - Jesus is saying, your righteousness must surpass those of the Pharisees.

Verse 48 - Perfect

- Only one person could do this and only person did, by fulfilling the law, Jesus Christ gave a righteousness that surpasses that of the law that in verse 48 when He would say,

‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect’,

it became possible.

- We get to a point where we realise the hurdle / standard is so high, I cannot scale it, that brings a to a point of surrender, brokenness, giving up and being overwhelmed, that I cannot because the end of ourselves is the threshold of God, because only One person did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it.

- Small wonder when speaking to those on the Road to Emmaus, He tells them beginning with the prophets and the law, explaining how those Scriptures were talking about Him. Because He is the centre of Scripture and it is only His righteousness that can make us to scale the high hurdle.

- When the Bible tells us, ‘Make every effort’, ‘Work out your salvation with fear and trembling’ it is telling us to make deep effort in surrender.

- It is not wrong to desire to pray more, but in the desire to pray more, the effort, is not meritorious, but throwing yourself on the ground /surrender / brokenness.

- We ought to put effort in surrender because One and only One, came to fulfil the law, to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. One and only One was perfect.

- When we surrender to Him, the He picks us up and gives us the righteousness that exceeds the Pharisees.

This is the thesis on the Sermon on the Mount;

that our righteousness and those of Pharisees is insufficient, because it is only external action. We must reach the point of surrender, then we will have the One Who has fulfilled the law, has surpassed the righteousness of the Pharisees, the One Who is perfect and will make us that way.

- I plead with you, read the Bible regularly, often, daily, for it says, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to my path.”