Righteousness, Scribes and Pharisees

Posted on August 4, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

#16 in the Sermon on the Mount Series

Rule keeping as religious observance

There is something in man that gravitates toward rule keeping as the means of religious observance. We think those who live an austere life are more holy or more deserving of God’s favor.

We see this tendency displayed by the Pharisees in the Gospels. We would be foolish to think that this tendency ended there. Christendom has had 2,000 years of experience of struggling with this the drive to keep rules. Whether they be monks, priests or televangelists, we have always had Pharisees among us.

In addition to organizational Pharisees, each of us has to deal with his own inner Pharisee. I believe it is because our our own tendency to become spiritually proud that the Gospel writers spend so much time cataloging the errors of the Pharisees. The lesson to learn is that we should not be like them even though we have the innate capability of doing so.

Rule keeping isn’t enough

If you take righteous to mean external compliance with a set of rules, Jesus comment in Matthew 5:20 is hard to understand:

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

If rule keeping is the means of obtaining righteousness, few would surpass the Pharisees in righteousness. As a group the Pharisees were committed to keeping the law, most of them with real intention to serve and please God. If rule keeping is the means of getting into Heaven and if we have to do it better than the Pharisees, then we have a problem because few of us would meet this standard.

It is exactly this problem that caused Martin Luther the distress that lead to the Reformation. If rule keeping is the means of satisfying God, how would any of us get in? We are doomed if we are dependent upon our own righteousness.

The real source of righteousness

In Habakkuk 2:4 (and quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38) we are told that the righteous will live by faith. Faith is the means by which we can surpass the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that the source of salvation comes from outside ourselves and is obtained by faith. We cannot manufacture this salvation or provide it for ourselves.

This is good news. If we are honest, even the best of us has doubts (legitimate doubts) about his worthiness for Heaven. Without the provision of Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, we would have no hope of gaining entrance to Heaven.

As the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 7:24 – 8:1:

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . . Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)

It is in Christ and only in Christ that we can surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. We don’t have to work ourselves to death in service, study and self denial.

Can we take a few moments to rest in our position and let go of our striving? What do you think?

Yes, that is a log in my eye, thank-you

Posted on August 2, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 8 Comments

The Illustration

Jesus was not opposed to using humor to get his point across. One of his funniest illustrations is the story of the beam and the speck. This illustration is found in Matthew 7:3-5.

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?’ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ‘You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.’ (Matthew 7:3–5, NASB)

The log-eye is me

We’ve all been the log-eye at one time or another. I think that Jesus gave us this story so that we can be reminded that we have the tendency to see others’ faults and ignore our own. We are reminded of this fault so that we can recognize it and take corrective action when it surfaces.

Those who seldom or never see themselves as the one with the log are a problem. They are dangerous and often used by Satan to sow confusion and disharmony wherever they go within the Church.

How do you know when you’re being a log-eye? I thought of three types of behavior that are indications that a log-eye is in operation. If one of these describes your behavior, then it is likely that you are a log-eye:

The inspector– These are the ones that are happy to do a “fruit inspection” on you and give a detailed analysis of where you are wrong. This is sometimes done under the guise of helping you toward spiritual maturity.
The lecturer– These are the ones that will use what ever shortcoming you might have as the pretext for a lecture. The lecture usually includes how the log-eye had your fault and overcame it.
The manager – These are the ones who find your problem before you do and give you detailed instructions on how to fix your problem. These instructions will sometimes include memorization of verses that speak to your fault. After all, how can Scripture memorization be a bad thing?

The Fix

The fix for being a log-eye is to ask forgiveness from the one whose speck we tried to remove. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:23 that if we are going to worship and remember that someone has something against us we are to stop everything and seek reconciliation.

As a preventive measure we need to follow the Apostle Paul’s advice in Philippians 2:3 where he presents humility as the means of building and preserving unity. When we are humble, we are more likely to see our log and be willing to have it dealt with before we go hunting for specks.

So before you try to remove your brother’s speck, read Philippians 2:3 and look in the mirror.

Care to add any types of log-eyes that I missed?

Toward a response to the moral chaos that surrounds us

Posted on July 28, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 10 Comments

The church is surrounded by moral chaos and we rightly feel the need to respond. It is this writer’s opinion that some of our response is not helpful. Calls for boycott and angry rhetoric about the moral decline seem to escalate the problem rather than help it. Too often we become two groups of people screaming at each other over a great divide.

Transformation of culture is not our job

In my reading of the New Testament, I see no commands to transform our culture. I believe that a transformed culture is a consequence of the church fulfilling her mission and not a primary goal.

The cultural context in which the Apostle Paul wrote his epistles had many similarities to today. Homosexuality, the breakdown of the family, materialism and philosophical confusion were prevalent.

In this context, Paul writes about personal transformation (Romans 12:1-2), but I cannot find any examples of where Paul encourages the church to participate in boycotts or any other behavior intended to force Christian morality on the society at large.

The church is called to make disciples. The miracle associated with disciple making is that God transforms the hearts of those who receive the Gospel. Those with transformed hearts then behave differently in society. It is this transformation of individual hearts and behavior that transforms culture.

We are called to teach the entirely of the Bible and allow God to operate through his word. But I do not see where we are to force others into accepting our beliefs.

Preaching to the deaf

Some will intentionally distort what we say. One example is the recent brouhaha over Dan Cathy’s remarks on traditional marriage. He said nothing against homosexuals or homosexual marriage, but did make statements in favor of traditional marriage. Those who were looking for an offense found it because an exclusive claim for marriage violates their sense of fairness.

Why is this the case? Isaiah 8:13-14 gives us a clue when Isaiah writes:

It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread,
Then He shall become a sanctuary

Similarly, John Newton penned these words in his song Amazing Grace:

T’was Grace that taught…
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear…
the hour I first believed.

The point is that until the Grace of God is operative in the people we are speaking with, they cannot understand much of what we say with regard to morality and social issues. It is grace that teaches hearts to respect a higher authority.

If you do not believe that God or anyone else has the authority to sanction a particular form of marriage, then “fairness” would seem to be in favor of not excluding homosexuals from the institution of marriage. It is not until someone has the recognition of authority that our statements about traditional marriage make any sense.

They cannot hear us because they are spiritually deaf.

Toward a proper response

Jesus left us with two Great Commands and one mission. The commands are to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). The mission is to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). The Great Commands and our mission should determine how we go about interacting with our culture.

There will be discussion and perhaps even argument, but in that discussion we need to keep in mind that we are called to a higher standard. We should reason with Christianity’s critics with the fruit of the Spirit in action. As a reminder, here is the list from Galatians 5:22-23:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

Paul tells us that against these traits there is no law. In other words, reasonable people will not take offense if we operate with these traits in action.

When we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) then we put ourselves in the position to be used by God to transform lives.

We must remember that God does the transformation and he does it at the level of the individual.

What do you think? When is the Church justified in taking social action such as a boycott or protest?

The LORD and the LORD alone is my shepherd

Posted on July 26, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 7 Comments

We need a shepherd

Because we live in a fallen world, we have disappointments. Others let us down and we sometimes let others down. It is especially troubling when we are disappointed by leaders. Too often we set them up for failure by having expectations that they cannot fill. To be human is to be tainted with the Fall; we are far from perfect. Perhaps this is why many of us find comfort in Psalm 23.

God is the shepherd

David begins by making a declaration that the LORD, Yahweh or Jehovah, is his shepherd. David is the king who is shepherded by God himself. In other words, David is acknowledging that he needs to be lead.

When David wrote this psalm, he was at the top of the food chain and arguably one of the most powerful men in the world. Even though he occupies such a lofty position, David knew he needed God. It is the LORD and the LORD alone who was David’s shepherd. Contrast this with current notions of self made men who need input from no-one.

A Lesson for Leaders

If David, arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history, needed God as his shepherd, as leaders we would do well to keep in mind our own need. Christian leaders, while filling the role of under-shepherds, need to remember that we are still sheep that are prone to wonder off and get lost.

Many Christian leaders have fallen into sin or error by believing their own press clippings and forgetting or ignoring their need for God. When this happens, it turns out badly for everyone involved.

The result of following

What is the result of looking to the LORD as my shepherd? David says, “I shall not want.” It is on the basis of acknowledging God as my shepherd that I can begin to experience contentment. Jesus said,

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

The rest of the psalm describe what “not wanting” looks like or foundation upon which David is content. The shepherd leads him. David understands that because of God’s character, David can expect good things from God such as green pastures and still waters. David knows that the shepherd has David’s best interest in mind.

Like David, our understanding and our practice can be two different things. David understood that his contentment comes from God, yet his affair with Bathsheba shows that, like us, he sought to find his contentment outside of God’s provision.

Without God we may at times find green pasture and still water. In a limited sense we may have some soul restoration through music and the arts. Yet it is only through the Good Shepherd, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, that we can be truly be guided into the paths of righteousness. It is only through that relationship with Jesus Christ that we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear. It is only a relationship with God through Jesus Christ that will allow us to dwell with God forever.

It is God and God alone that can provide all these benefits. The emphasis is on the character and nature of the shepherd. God is the only shepherd we can completely trust.

We let others down. We let ourselves down. Others let us down. Yet through it all God remains faithful as David reminds us in Psalm 23.