Righteousness?

Together with a group of people who attend CBC Sunday Nite, I've been thinking through an incredible concept from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.  It is pretty obvious that as Jesus preached this message, and as Matthew, directed by the Holy Spirit, gave his report of it, they had the Scribes and Pharisees in mind.  The Scribes were experts on the Old Testament law.  The Pharisees were totally devoted to living out that law, as they saw it.  Every aspect of the Pharisee's life was marked by attempts to gain or maintain righteousness.  The Apostle Paul, who, in his pre-conversion days, was a leading Pharisee, gives a glimpse into this way of life in Philippians 3.  The Apostles word "Blameless" was the goal of every good Pharisee, but Jesus said that's not good enough.  "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven"  (Matthew 5:20).  They needed, and we need, a new kind of righteousness.   The second half of Matthew 5 describes this new kind of righteousness.  One aspect of it is that it is focused on the welfare of people--other people.  The righteousness of the S & Ps was often based on using others, and/or making others look bad so that the righteousness-seeker could look better.  The kind of righteousness that Jesus puts forth in the Sermon on the Mount is a way of life that respects and elevates others. If my "righteousness" somehow depends making others look bad, I'm not righteous at all.  If you find that to be a problem, or find yourself lacking, I'd encourage you to consult with the One Who preached this message.  (See the link at the end of this email.) It's STTA. God's Story in His Own Words. our Easter message that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find out more our lack of righteousness and how to obtain the kind of righteousness of which Jesus spoke here.