12 Quotes that Touches the Heart

Greetings All,

Today's "thoughts" are a little different than most weeks.  Today, as I was glancing through my Bible, my eye focused on some of the quotes I had written into the side columns and empty page spaces over the last 30 years or so. They are thoughts that obviously touched my heart in some way or I would not have taken the time to pen them into those spaces. Thus I offer you 12 of the many I have written there. I do not know what books some of these came from, but in the cases where I do, I give the reference.  I trust one or two may touch your heart as well.  In fact, if one happens to do so, just out of curiosity, let me know!  Enjoy.

     "God, of your goodness give me yourself, for you are enough for me. If I ask anything less, I know I shall continue to want. Only in you, I have everything." 

Lady Julian of Norwich

     "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all." 

Isaac Watts, Celebration Hymnal

     "A loud cry in the ears of God is that burning love of the soul that cries out: "My God and my love, You are all mine, and I am all Yours." Deepen your love in me, O Lord. Let your love possess me and raise me above myself with a fervor and wonder beyond imagination.  Let me sing the song of love. Let my soul spend itself in your praise, rejoicing in your love."

Thomas A'Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

"Oh, Lord!  If I worship you from fear of hell, burn me in hell; 

and if I worship you form hope of paradise, exclude me from it.

But if I worship you for your own sake -- 

then withhold not from me your eternal beauty." 

Anonymous

     "There was once in man [before the Fall] a true happiness, of which there now remains to him only an empty trace which he vainly tries to fill with things from his environment. Yet all these efforts are inadequate, for the infinite abyss can only be filled with an infinite and immutable object, that is, by God Himself."

Blaise Pascal, Pensees

     "The saint has spiritual joy and pleasure by a kind of effusion of God upon the soul. In these things the redeemed have communion with God; that is, they partake with Him and of Him." 

Jonathan Edwards,  On Knowing God

     "We must return to New Testament Christianity, not in creed only, but in complete manner of life as well.  Holiness, obedience, humility, simplicity, earnestness, self-control, modesty and cross-bearing must again be made a living part of the total Christian concept and be carried out in everyday conduct. We must cleanse the temple of hucksters and moneychangers and come fully under the authority of our risen Lord once again."

A. W. Tozer

     "Prayer for revival will prevail when it is accompanied by a radical amendment of life and not before. All night prayer meetings that are not preceded by practical repentance may actually be displeasing to God -- to obey is better than sacrifice [I Samuel 15:22]...  God is not interested in increased church attendance unless those who attend amend their ways and begin to live a holy life [Isaiah 1:10-20]."

A. W. Tozer

     "As grace is at first from God, so it is continually from Him and is maintained by Him... Men are dependent on the power of God for every exercise of grace, for carrying on that work in the heart, for subduing sin and corruption, for increasing holy principles, and enabling us to bring forth fruit in every good work."

Jonathan Edwards, from the sermon, "God Glorified in Man's Dependence." 

     "Can one be spiritually content apart from the continual experience of the divine presence? Can one be a true Pilgrim without a passionate yearning for the Divine Reality?" 

Anonymous

     "Strength and struggle go together. The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things makes men weak. It is in following the path of least resistance that makes both rivers and men crooked."

Ralphe Parlette 

     "A leader is a person who, on a large scale, is able to rise above their own fears and anxieties and so succeed in changing the world. They can work for years at their purposes, but they also have to have something absolutely mold their vision. What is not before their eyes must be more real to them than what is. When people have a vision of what they want to do and are willing to accept torture, danger, difficulty, anxiety, instability, insecurity and even death, then they are leaders. And if they are successful, then that certifies it." 

Norman Mailer, TV Interview  (Mailer originally used the word "hero" in place of "leader.")

In the Service of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Sacred Pathways

Greetings All!

     This week's "thought" comes to you from Gary Thomas in a new book I just picked up the other day. It's called "Sacred Pathways" and is actually very beneficial in helping earnest Christians to understand each other.  He covers nine "sacred pathways" that Christians follow in their pursuit of God and worship of God.  There is the Naturalist, the Sensate, the Traditionalist, the Ascetic, the Activist, the Caregiver, the Enthusiast, the Contemplative, and the Intellectual. And as any good author should, he points out both the blessings, biblical grounds, and also dangers of each path.

     It's helpful in understanding your brothers and sisters in Christ who worship the same Jesus, but do so in various different (not wrong) ways.  In that sense, it not only offers a chance for greater understanding but greater unity among earnest believers in Jesus who differ in their approach to God and their service for Him. This excerpt is from the second chapter, before getting into the nine different pathways.  Enjoy.

Where is your Gethsemane?

     "The Garden of Gethsemane holds a sacred place in faith history. It is the hallowed piece of ground on which Jesus prayed just before he was arrested. Churches don't normally talk about Gethsemane apart from Passion Week, but the reason Gethsemane had such a monumental role in the famous week, is precisely because it had such a huge and formative role in Jesus' life prior to Passion Week.  John 18:2, in speaking of Gethsemane, says: "Now Judas, who betrayed Him, knew the place, because Jesus had OFTEN met there with the disciples."   Luke backs this up: "Jesus went out AS USUAL to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples followed Him."  It wasn't an accident that Judas found Jesus in the garden. The betrayer naturally thought, "Where is Jesus most likely to be found?" He felt certain that Jesus would seek solace in the Garden of Gethsemane, and he was right.

     Jesus had used the garden on numerous occasions to meet with his Father -- to gain spiritual strength and to receive his marching orders... That's why Jesus went there to prepare for what was about to take place...  In fact, Jesus went there every day of Passion Week: "Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night at the hill called the Mount of Olives" (Luke 21:37).  The experience of Gethsemane, of course, is unique to him. None of us will ever have a moment like that.  But in using this sacred space, Jesus leaves us an example to follow. When you need to hear from God, when you need to be strengthened by God, when you need to receive your marching orders from God, where do you go? ... Where is your Gethsemane?  (Is it a garden, a room, a forest, a sanctuary?)

     What I appreciate about using Gethsemane as a metaphor for meeting with God is that it portrays a vivid example of the balance between intimacy and mission, prayer and work. I can't think of Gethsemane without being moved by the intimate communion between Son and Father. On the other hand, this garden is also the scene of intense spiritual preparation for the most important work ever done.  In a healthy Christian life, prayer and ministry go hand in hand. As we build intimacy with God in prayer, he communicates his love for us, but he also gives us our marching orders. In this way, prayer feeds our sense of mission and renews the urgency behind that mission. Likewise, Christian work -- whether it is evangelism, administration, teaching, discipleship, or something else -- reminds us of our need for God's strength and thus drives us further into prayer.

     When we get too caught up in ministry and cut corners in our devotional time, the results can be disastrous. We begin to minister with the wrong motivations, risk losing our passion, and often are tempted to make it all about us instead of all about God.  Dr. Wayne Grudem experienced a glimpse of this while working on the final translation of the ESV (English Standard Version) of the Bible. A dozen scholars from around the world gathered in Cambridge, England, to do the final polish of the translation. They worked nine hour days discussing the remaining tricky passages, voting on final word choices, and completing the project. Informal discussions often stretched into the evening as scholars contemplated the next day's work. Wayne said he started getting up a little later each day, taking away time from prayer.

     Many people might not see the danger in this. After all, Wayne was spending the entire day studying and discussing the Bible! What was the big deal if, for a rather short season, he allowed his prayer life to drift a little?  According to Wayne, it became a very big deal.  After God convicted him for not giving prayer its due, Wayne wrote in his journal about the spiritual sickness that followed from not tending to his heart: "pride, talking about myself a lot, inwardly hoping people would praise me, lack of love for friends, irritability, a general inward feeling of unease, self-reliance, and no peace." These are the classic signs of drifting from God.

     Wayne was devoted to a very pleasing work -- translating the Bible -- but even the act of translating the Bible can leave us spiritually empty if we ignore building intimacy with God through prayer. The image of Gethsemane reminds me that I need to tend to my heart.  When I give God the opportunity to speak into my heart, he motivates me to work -- for the RIGHT reasons. Working diligently, I'm reminded of my need to receive acceptance, favor, and strength from God. In this way, prayer and ministry together become a spiraling upward staircase of devotion."

     In my time on the mission field in Honduras, I met with many missionaries who came to speak with me because they had lost all affectional connection to God. Call it burnout, call it depression, call it a phase, after speaking with them it became clear that for most, they were so busy serving God that they lost touch with God. They skipped their prayer time, devotional time, and other times of contemplation and private worship, and it resulted in the need to step back and set those things as a daily priority.

     As one of my professors at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary once told us in his class: "Don't ever think that as pastors, just because you are in the Bible, studying Scripture, and preparing lessons and sermons on Gospel truth, that you can count that as your personal time with God.  No, you need to nurture your own soul for you, and not in your time of preparing material for others."  I didn't understand the difference then.  I do now.  He was right.  As Corrie Ten Boom once rightly pointed out, "If the devil cannot make us bad, he will make us busy." Too busy to set aside personal quiet time with our God.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Three "thoughts" from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Greetings All!

     This week's "thoughts" (there are three of them) come once again from one of my favorite Christian authors - - Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Writing prior to and during WWII, and martyred by the Nazi's just one month before the war ended, he looked around him at the church-going Germans who claimed the Christian faith, and somewhat of a watered-down allegiance to Christ, but at the very same time endorsed (or turned a blind eye) to the policies and activities of Hitler and the Nazis.

     It was in this context that he wrote the quotes below. They are not the musings of an unaffected observer, but the writings of a man who knew that by placing his commitment to Christ above all else, and being critical of Hitler and Nazi policies (even taking steps to oppose them for Jesus' sake) it might cost him his life -- as it eventually did.  In this sense he stands as an example of a man who sought to live consistently and fully for Jesus.  Enjoy

     “If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” 

     “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared' (Luther).”  (Life Together)

     “Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheap wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits... Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate…

     Costly grace (on the other hand) is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price which the merchant will sell all his goods to attain. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him…  Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.

     It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”  (The Cost of Discipleship) 

     Cheap grace, we could say, is grace used to keep us from having to live as Jesus calls us to (it's grace used to excuse us from living the Christian life), whereas true grace (or as Bonhoeffer calls it, "costly grace") is grace we need, and must constantly rely upon, in order to even approach living as Jesus calls us to in this world.  Cheap grace is grace used to help us escape or excuse our Christian responsibility to seek to live out our faith in this fallen world that often opposes it, true grace is what we are forced to rely upon daily if we are ever to even approach living it out in this age.

     And lest we misunderstand, Bonhoeffer is not speaking of perfection in any sense of the word.  He is speaking of true faith, honesty and integrity.  A faith that truly seeks (by the grace God supplies) to live as Christ calls us to live in the Gospels -- which occasionally (no, often) puts us at odds with the values and priorities of this world.

     Which "grace" are you most familiar with?  The grace that empowers you to live out the difficult and impossible commands (humanly speaking) that Christ has laid before us, or the "grace" that let's you off the hook so you don't have to even try doing those things that are hard and stretch us far beyond our own human resources?  I ask because all of us (myself included) need to do an occasional self-evaluation, lest our cherishing of grace be for all the wrong reasons, and we learn to love it simply because we think it frees us from the need to listen to and obey Jesus (Matt. 7:21 / Luke 6:46). 

In the Service of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

(If you are interested, the four session DVD documentary "Bonhoeffer" by Eric Metaxas is a powerful and inspirational summary of Bonhoeffer's life and death.)

Three Prayers to Feed the Soul

Greetings All!

     I believe in spontaneous and heartfelt prayer.  I'm skeptical of pastors who only "pray" (or read) written prayers during a service of worship (as I witnessed every week in church in my childhood). It's not wrong if it's prayed in earnest and expresses what the heart craves, I simply prefer the more spontaneous type.
     Yet I must confess that God has also used written prayers to feed my soul.  Books like "C. H. Spurgeon's Prayers," or "Luther's Prayers," or "A Diary of Private Prayer" by John Baillee, "Prayers Ancient and Modern" (published in 1897!) and "Valley of Vision - A Collection of Puritan Prayers" by Arthur Bennett, have often been a great aid in my own prayer and devotional life.
     So today I offer you three prayers to consider. Two come from "Prayer's Ancient and Modern," and the third from, "Valley of Vision," by Arthur Bennett.  Enjoy.

"Father, calm the turbulence of our passions;

Quiet the throbbing of our hopes; 

Repress the waywardness of our wills; 

Direct the motions of our affections; 

and Sanctify the varied activities of our lives.

Be all in all to us; and may all things earthly, 

while we bend them to our growth in grace, 

and to the work of blessing, dwell lightly in our hearts -- so that we may readily, even joyfully, give up whatever you might ask.

May we seek first your kingdom and your righteousness; resting assured that then all things needful shall be added unto us.

Father, pardon our past ingratitude and disobedience; and purify us -- whether by your gentler or sterner dealings --till we have done your will on earth, and you take us into your own presence, with all the redeemed in heaven.

Amen."

Mary Carpenter

"O God our heavenly Father, renew in us the sense of Your gracious Presence,

and let it be a constant impulse within us to peace, truthfulness, and courage on our pilgrimage.

Let us hold You fast with a loving and adoring heart, and let our affections be so fixed on You, that unbroken communion in our hearts with You may accompany us in whatsoever we do, through life and in death.

Teach us to pray heartily;

To listen for Your voice within, 

And never to stifle it's warnings.

We bring our poor hearts as a sacrifice unto You, come and fill Your sanctuary...

O Thou who art Love, let Your divine Spirit flow like a river through our whole souls, 

And lead us in the right way till we pass, by a peaceful death, into the Land of Promise.

Amen."

Gerhard Tersteegen

"Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly, You have brought me to the Valley of Vision, 

where I live in the depths, but see You in the heights.  

Hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Your glory.

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, 

that to be low is to be high, 

that the broken heart is the healed heart,

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive, 

that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells, and the deeper the well, the brighter Your stars shine.

Let me find Your light in my darkness, 

Your life in my death,

Your joy in my sorrow,

Your grace in my sin,

Your riches in my poverty,

Your glory in my valley.

Amen."

May the blessings of renewed communion with Christ be yours, Pastor Jeff

The Glory of God's Sovereignty

Greetings All!

I trust you are well and encouraged through your time spent in communion with the Lord.  Today I would like to help facilitate deeper communion by offering a "thought" from Matt Papa, found in his book on worship entitled, "Look and Live."
It is helpful because it reminds us of truths about God that we can sometimes forget. It comes from a section entitled, "The Glory of God's Sovereignty."  A significant part of worship is allowing the soul to see, relish, and adore God for who He is and all He is. And when it comes to attributes or characteristics of God, one of the attributes mentioned most frequently in the Bible (especially in the Old Testament) is His Sovereignty.  I pray the truth of what Matt Papa shares will not only lead you into deeper communion, but greater adoration of our awesome God. Enjoy.

The Glory of God's Sovereignty

     "God's rule presides over every mega-star and every human cell. As R.C. Sproul says, there is not one maverick molecule in the universe. Since all things are "from Him" and are sustained "through Him," all things owe a debt of allegiance "to Him" (Romans 11:36). That which God makes God owns. As Abraham Kuyper famously said, "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!"   Amen.  God reigns.  Most would give a hearty "Amen" to that. The problem comes (for me included) when we see that God's reigning, according to the Bible, is not merely an overarching general control. Rather, God plans and determines every single thing that happens in His universe. I should repeat that. God plans and determines every single thing that happens in His universe -- just as a composer (putting together a symphony) strategically places every single note for every single measure for every single instrument for its designated duration.

     Not a meteor, molecule, or mouth moves without God's command. He is sovereign. Amen.  God reigns. Amen? The sovereignty of God is the happy, unchallenged, free exercise of His will. It is: God does what God wants. Period.  This doctrine is difficult. Its glory makes us squint, but I hope you'll look with me. Charles Spurgeon put it this way, "I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes." Every particle of dust?

     Have you considered this before? Well consider it again. God's sovereignty is a matchless sovereignty...  Consider the following verses. Sit with them. Read them. Pray them. Write about them if you like, and worship the great God they describe.

Job 42:2: "I know (LORD) that you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted."

Psalm 135:6: "I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths."

Proverbs 16:9: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." 

Isaiah 46:9-10: "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand and I will do all that I please." 

Jeremiah 32:27: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

Daniel 4:34-35: "Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified Him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand, or say to Him: "What have you done." 

Matthew 10:29: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father." 

John 10:28: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Ephesians 1:11: "In Him we also were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will..."

Ephesians 2:1 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

Colossians 2:9: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." 

Revelation 19:6: "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns!" 

May the knowledge of His sovereignty lead you into deeper communion and greater adoration, Pastor Jeff

The Cost of Discipleship

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" comes to you from what has become a Christian Classic for many people.  It was written by the World War II pastor, theologian and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- a German citizen who was killed for his outspoken opposition to Hitler and the Nazi regime.  It's called "The Cost of Discipleship."

Though the entire book is good, I chose this particular selection because it helps clarify a portion of Scripture that has tended to confuse many people.
     There are probably few issues more difficult to explain completely than the New Testament believers relationship to the Old Testament law.  One example (which is incorrect) was actually stated like this in an online post: "And if you ignore the laws of the Old Testament, which is what we are supposed to do since Jesus died..."   Another common way of saying it is: "In Jesus the OT law was done away with completely and has no place in the believers life."   Such statements abound in our day, making it clear how important it is to correctly understand Jesus words here.
     In this selection Bonhoeffer seeks to explain Jesus' statement from Matthew 5:17-20:  "Do not think I came to abolish the law or the prophets, I did not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter or stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks the least of these commandments or teachers others to do so, 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."

     Bonhoeffer does an admirable job explaining it.  I have had to shorten it drastically, and thus leave out some important sections of his argument.  Therefore, reading chapter 8 of his book is advised.  After all, it wouldn't hurt to have a copy of  such a classic on your bookshelf for easy reference!   Enjoy.

     Speaking of the above cited passage from Matthew 5, Bonhoeffer states:  "How is this to be understood?  We know that Jesus is speaking to his own followers, to men who owe an exclusive allegiance to himself...  Discipleship means adherence to Jesus Christ alone, and immediately.  But now comes the surprise -- the disciples are also bound to the Old Testament law. This has a double significance.  First, it means that adherence to the law is something quite different from the following of Christ, and secondly, it means that any adherence to his person that disregards the law is equally removed from the following of him.  Jesus himself points to the law those whom he has granted his whole promise and his whole fellowship.  And because it is their Lord who does this, they are bound to acknowledge the law.... To abandon the law would be to separate ourselves from him...  Every letter of it, every jot and tittle, must remain in force and be observed until the end of the world.

     But there is a "better righteousness" which is expected of Christians.  Without it none can enter into the kingdom of heaven, for it is the indisputable condition of discipleship.  None can have this better righteousness but those to whom Christ is speaking here, those whom he has called.  The call of Christ, in fact Christ himself, is the sine qua non of this better righteousness [He is the necessary condition without which it is impossible].   This is why up until now Jesus has said nothing about himself in the Sermon on the Mount.  Between the disciples and the better righteousness demanded of them stands the Person of Christ, who came to fulfill the law of the old covenant. This is the fundamental proposition of the whole Sermon on the Mount. Jesus manifests his perfect union with the will of God as revealed in the Old Testament law and prophets. He has, in fact, nothing to add to the commandments of God, except this, that he keeps them.  He fulfills the law... down to the last iota.... He alone understands the true nature of the law as God's law.   The law is not itself  God, nor is God the law.  It was the error of Israel put the law in God's place, making the law their God, and their God a law.  The disciples were confronted with the opposite danger -- of divorcing God from his law.  Both [are] errors....

     Jesus, the Son of God, who alone lives in perfect communion with [God],  vindicates the law of the old covenant by coming to fulfill it.  He was the only Man who ever fulfilled the law, and therefore he alone can teach the law and its fulfillment aright...  By pointing his disciples to the law which he alone fulfills, he forges a further bond between himself and them.  He rejects the notion that men can cleave to him and be free from the law, for that spells enthusiasm, and far from leading to adherence to Jesus, means libertarianism... (ie: the idea that the Christian can live any way he or she wants, or that Jesus fulfilled the law for us so that we could justify our sin, go on living immoral lives, and then get heaven thrown in on top of it all).

     Now we must ask, how exactly does the righteousness of the Pharisees differ from that of the disciples?... The Pharisees idea of righteousness was a direct, literal and practical fulfillment of the commandment.  Their ideal was to model their behavior exactly on the demands of the law.  Of course they knew they could never realize that ideal, there was bound to be an excess which needed forgiveness of sins to cover it.  Their obedience was never more than imperfect.... But the disciples [whose own righteous efforts could only take the form of obedience to the law as well] had an advantage over the Pharisee in that his doing of the law is in fact perfect.

     How is such a thing possible?  Because between the disciples and the law stands one who has perfectly fulfilled it,, one with whom they live in communion. They are not faced with a law which has never yet been fulfilled, but with one whose demands have already been satisfied. The righteousness it demands is already there -- the righteousness of Jesus...  This righteousness is therefore not a duty owed, but a perfect and truly personal communion with God, and Jesus not only possesses this righteousness, but is himself the personal embodiment of it.  He is the righteousness of the disciples. By calling them he has admitted them to partnership with himself, and made them partakers of his righteousness in its fullness.   That is what Jesus means when he prefaces his teaching on the "better righteousness" with reference to his own fulfillment of the law.

     Of course the righteousness of the disciples can never be a personal achievement.  It is always a gift, which they received when they were called to follow him.  In fact, their righteousness consists precisely in following him, and in the beatitudes the reward of the kingdom of heaven has been promised to it.   It is a righteousness under the cross.  It belongs only to the poor, the tempted, the hungry, the meek, the peacemakers, the persecuted -- who endure their lot for the sake of Jesus.  It is the visible righteousness of those who for the sake of Jesus are the light of the world and the city set on the hill.   This is where the righteousness of the disciple exceeds that of the Pharisees -- it is grounded solely upon the call to fellowship with him who alone fulfills the law.... In a word (the better righteousness) means following Christ.   It is the real and active faith in the righteousness of Christ.  It is the new law, the law of Christ." 

     In the modern day Church there are some who still do as the Pharisees did and essentially make the law a god, and their god the law.  They set it before people's eyes and suggest that obedience to it can save or put one right with God (what we call legalism).  It's an error the faithful need always oppose.  Yet far more commonly the contemporary Church has -- as Bonhoeffer says of the early disciples -- divorced or separated God from his law, often using Christ's fulfillment of it as the justification for doing exactly what it forbids.  This understanding is an equally distressing error, and in light of this passage, something Jesus would never advocate.

     God is not the law and the law is not God.  Obedience to it cannot save us, nor earn us God's favor.  Neither does it have the power to condemn those who are in Christ Jesus. But what we often fail to realize is that in growing in sanctification, or maturing in godliness, or Christ-likeness, we are coming to fulfill the law -- for what is the life of Jesus but a life lived in perfect obedience to it?  And the whole time that the fruit of spiritual growth is maturing in us, our shortcomings are covered by the righteousness of the One who perfectly fulfilled it in our place.

Yours in the Joy of Following Jesus, Pastor Jeff