SECTION 3 In this section I would like to point out some of the amazing concepts of the kingdom that make it unlike any government, culture, kingdom or religion that has ever existed. Once again we will have to apply faith and believing to these special characteristics that make the kingdom so unique, because as you will see there is nothing like the invisible kingdom of God in this world. LESSON 44 The uniqueness of the kingdom – The high requirement of righteousness (part 2) Bible References: Matthew 7:21-23 (1) Galatians 3:24 (2) John 6:40 (3) John 17:3 (4) Matthew 25:34 (5) Colossians 1:15/Colossians 2:9 (6) Good morning and welcome to another Lesson From The Tent. This is part 2 of Jesus requiring a righteousness which exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. As we learned last week, Jesus became the very transgression, sin, and iniquity we all are guilty of that keeps us out of the kingdom. And then His Father punished Him and He died separated from His Father which was the ultimate condemnation. Because of what Christ accomplished on the cross we poor in spirit humans can be declared as righteous as Jesus. And His righteousness far exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. So, does that mean everyone on earth is automatically now in the kingdom? No, it does not as Jesus reveals at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Listen to what He said. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord.’ Will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons. And in Your name perform many miracles?’ And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew You; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (1) Here we have one of the most important truths taught in the Bible because what Jesus teaches defines the only way someone can be in the kingdom. When these great religious people are standing in front of Jesus at judgement and try to appeal to their great works of righteousness, it is obvious they were not poor in spirit because if they were they would never have thought of themselves as righteous. Jesus very quickly puts them in their place as He says, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” And here we see what makes the kingdom more unique than all other religions. Being known by Christ is the only thing that rescues someone from the domain of darkness and makes them more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees. As you can see, being in the kingdom does not happen because someone does great acts of righteousness; it only comes as the result of someone having an intimate relationship with Jesus. And that is only possible because of what Christ accomplished through His sacrificial death and resurrection. The Law was never meant as a way to become righteous. Listen to what the Bible says. “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so we may be justified by faith.” (2) The original word justified means to be declared as righteous as Christ. And now for the most important question that can ever be asked − how does someone have an intimate partnership with Jesus? That is obvious because He very clearly explained how to at the beginning of this passage; He said it is those who do His Father’s will. Then it is a must that we know what His Father’s will is. And of course, Jesus taught exactly what His Fathers will is. Here is what He said. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (3) If you remember how Jesus defined eternal life, He said it is an intimate relationship between God, Himself and His favored ones. (4) And as we see, this is what determines at the throne of judgement if Jesus says, “Come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, (5) or He says, “Depart from Me for I never knew you.” You have got to understand this – Jesus is the only one who determines if someone has an intimate partnership with Him. It doesn’t matter what we think. Jesus decides this, not us. Our part in this comes down to conforming to what Jesus said we must do and that is, do the will of His Father and He defines doing the will of His Father as, everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life. Then what does it mean to behold the Son? The original word for behold means to look closely; to view attentively; to contemplate, perceive and look with admiration. There was always an extremely large group of people listening to Jesus every time He taught but, how many of them were actually “beholding” Him in the way this word means? Jesus also very clearly said those who behold Him must “believe in Him” and this is where the relationship becomes real or it dies. If you remember, believing is the action of a person’s faith. What action does Jesus want if someone “beholds” Him and believes who He says He is? If we go back to the definition of the kingdom which is, a people willingly surrendered to the reign of God and actively participate in an intimate partnership with Him, then it is easy to see what the actions of believing are. To “behold” Christ properly your faith must be absolutely convinced He is God and then you would admire Him for being God. And when you do then your faith will automatically cause you to willingly surrender to Him – because you know He is God in a human body! (6) If you are absolutely convinced of this then willingly surrendering to His reign is the most natural thing you would do. And if you “behold” Christ in this manner; your believing actions will automatically cause you to actively participate in an intimate partnership with Him. He is to be your everything and the love of your life just as your spouse would be the day you are pronounced husband and wife. All this is as natural as breathing if you have the faith that beholds Jesus and doesn’t doubt who He says He is and what He has done for you. This is what Jesus is looking for to declare someone more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees. And with that kind of righteousness you are guaranteed to be in the kingdom just as Jesus said. Well, that’s it for today and once again there is just one thing – behold the Son and believe in Him, if you want a righteousness that surpasses the scribes and Pharisees. ------- Guitar by Cole Criske 2020 All rights reserved For great coffee order Cole's coffee here: https://colescoffeeco.com/ ------- Produced by Dereck Bradley Contact us at mike@lessonsfromthetent.com
