2 Kinds of Righteousness

…the description of His disciples and the citizens of His Kingdom – a series of blessings for things that no one wants – poverty, grief, weakness, hunger – “Blessed are you when you do a moral inventory and find the cupboards bare – blessed are the poor in spirit because THEY know they NEED Me! They look outside themselves…outside this world!”

Last week we came to the theme of the whole Sermon on the Mount – v. 20: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the clergymen you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Pharisees and Scribes do their best but it’s synthetic/artificial/surface-level goodness. They obey God’s rules by external, merely behavioral compliance AND from the wrong motives.

Then, so as NOT to be misunderstood, Jesus gives six simple examples of what He has in mind followed by a seventh, final, compound illustration.

Today, we look at the first of these seven illustrations – how does Jesus Christ fulfill the Sixth Commandment AND equip His disciples to live the truly good life – not only an artificial, surface, counterfeit good life?

1. Murderous Machinations
2. Excellent Exposure
3. Following a Fool (and loving it!)