JESUS teaches all of us a great eternal truth in *Matthew 5:20* (For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven) is the absolute bankruptcy of human religious self-effort and the absolute necessity of the *divine, imputed Righteousness of Christ Jesus.
The scribes and Pharisees were the most outwardly moral, strictly religious, and meticulous conviction-followers of their day. They fasted, tithed, prayed publicly, and prided themselves on keeping every jot and tittle of the law. To the average Jew, they appeared outwardly to be the closest to God. Yet, Jesus drops these words on them to shatter their fatal illusion: their kind of righteousness will never get anyone into Heaven. Absolutely NONE of your righteousness will ever be accepted by God or allowed into heaven; forsake it ASAP.
Here is the deeper spiritual meaning of what Jesus was preaching:
* External Conformity vs. Internal Corruption
The Pharisees were trying their hardest to master outward religion, but their hearts remained filled with hypocrisy, pride, greed, deadness, and extortion. Their righteousness was merely skin-deep—polished on the outside, but full of dead men's bones on the inside. Jesus was preaching that God looks far beyond external religious performance; God looks on the heart. Human nature can clean the outside of the cup, but if the soul is still covered in the "spotted skin" of unrepented sins, you remain entirely unfit for the kingdom of heaven.
* The Impossibility of Self-Salvation
By setting the standard higher than the strictest religious men on earth, Jesus slammed the door shut on all human merit. JESUS is telling every Soul: If you think you can get to heaven by being good enough, keeping enough rules/convictions, or being more moral than your neighbor, your standard is way too low anyway—and even if you could match the Pharisees, it wouldn't be enough. Human righteousness is an utterly counterfeit currency in God's bank.
The scribes and Pharisees were the most outwardly moral, strictly religious, and meticulous conviction-followers of their day. They fasted, tithed, prayed publicly, and prided themselves on keeping every jot and tittle of the law. To the average Jew, they appeared outwardly to be the closest to God. Yet, Jesus drops these words on them to shatter their fatal illusion: their kind of righteousness will never get anyone into Heaven. Absolutely NONE of your righteousness will ever be accepted by God or allowed into heaven; forsake it ASAP.
Here is the deeper spiritual meaning of what Jesus was preaching:
* External Conformity vs. Internal Corruption
The Pharisees were trying their hardest to master outward religion, but their hearts remained filled with hypocrisy, pride, greed, deadness, and extortion. Their righteousness was merely skin-deep—polished on the outside, but full of dead men's bones on the inside. Jesus was preaching that God looks far beyond external religious performance; God looks on the heart. Human nature can clean the outside of the cup, but if the soul is still covered in the "spotted skin" of unrepented sins, you remain entirely unfit for the kingdom of heaven.
* The Impossibility of Self-Salvation
By setting the standard higher than the strictest religious men on earth, Jesus slammed the door shut on all human merit. JESUS is telling every Soul: If you think you can get to heaven by being good enough, keeping enough rules/convictions, or being more moral than your neighbor, your standard is way too low anyway—and even if you could match the Pharisees, it wouldn't be enough. Human righteousness is an utterly counterfeit currency in God's bank.
You can never merit Salvation; you can never earn Eternal Life; you can never purchase the remission of your sins. You need a renewed heart deep within, not a renewed wardrobe; You need a regenerated Soul from the Holy Spirit, not just water baptism from your elder. If you try to help save yourself, you will lose your Soul forever. THE CROSS is the end of Me, Myself, and I; The LAMB OF GOD sacrificed Himself to remit your guilt - cancel your sins' deadly debt - take away your sins forever. God Almighty as the Supreme Judge of the universe takes the record of your crimes against Him, He expunges and blots them all out, and sends them completely away, so they can never be charged against your Soul again. Remission is the absolute lifting of your death penalty, the removal of the legal guilt from your Soul's criminal record, and the dismissal of your eternal death penalty case forever in Heaven's court of Law. Your Soul's Eternal Salvation must be freely obtained exclusively through the Person, Atoning Work, and Precious Blood Christ of THE LAMB OF GOD.
* The Need for Christ's Righteousness
Matthew 5:20 points us directly back to the ultimate Exchange of the Gospel of Christ. To enter the kingdom of heaven, every sinner needs a righteousness that does not originate from themselves at all. They need a real Righteousness that infinitely exceeds all human capability—*the very righteousness of God in Christ* (*2 Corinthians 5:21*).
When a sinner is brought to his senses by the Holy Spirit (quickened), and abandons his own self-righteousness, repents of his sins, and trusts solely in Christ Himself, that very moment, God clothes that guilty Soul in the spotless, perfect RIGHTEOUSNESS of His dear Son. CHRIST JESUS Himself is the only Righteousness that can satisfy divine justice, silence the law's condemnation, and freely open the door to the kingdom of heaven forever.
Matthew 5:20 points us directly back to the ultimate Exchange of the Gospel of Christ. To enter the kingdom of heaven, every sinner needs a righteousness that does not originate from themselves at all. They need a real Righteousness that infinitely exceeds all human capability—*the very righteousness of God in Christ* (*2 Corinthians 5:21*).
When a sinner is brought to his senses by the Holy Spirit (quickened), and abandons his own self-righteousness, repents of his sins, and trusts solely in Christ Himself, that very moment, God clothes that guilty Soul in the spotless, perfect RIGHTEOUSNESS of His dear Son. CHRIST JESUS Himself is the only Righteousness that can satisfy divine justice, silence the law's condemnation, and freely open the door to the kingdom of heaven forever.
