#2 Sept 9 2009 The Faith of Christ No 110

Curt Crist www.welcometograce.com    / graceaboundedmore   Matthew 5:48 where Christ summed up the words very nicely: "Be ye therefore..." (What's the next word?) "...perfect..." (He's telling them: "Be ye therefore perfect. You think that you are righteous") "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:20: "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,..." (Who were the Pharisees. Why, they were the strictest of the law keepers in Israel. Now here, these folks are being told that unless their righteousness exceeded the righteousness of the Pharisees) "...ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Again, this is not heaven. This is the kingdom of heaven. This is the kingdom being set up on earth that these folks were anticipating. This was the land, the kingdom that would be set up here on earth in that very land promised to the nation Israel. This is Israel's mail. This is not your mail here. Israel failed to understand their lack of righteousness; and the source, the only source of righteousness that God can recognize. Christ's parable in Luke 18:9 pictured Israel when he said: "...unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised (or, looked down their noses at) others." Paul described his kinsmen after the flesh this way in Romans 9:31-32: "But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore?. (or why not?) Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone." Israel supposed they were producing sufficient righteousness through their performance for God to recognize their performance and call them just in his eyes. They thought they were measuring up to God's standard. How many folks think they're measuring up to God's standard today? The religious folk across the land are doing that very thing. Israel wore their self righteousness like a badge of honor. The apostle of the gentiles (the apostle Paul) made two statements concerning all mankind that pretty much covers the dispensational spectrum. Galatians 2:16: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,..." (Notice, it doesn't say faith in Jesus Christ in this statement) "...not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ." (His faithfulness) "...even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith." (belonging to Christ) "...the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:" (Not by law-keeping, not by performance in any way, shape, or form) "...for" (here it is) "...by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." We might as well add Galatians 3:10 for it's equally condemning: "For as many as are of the works of the law..." (Of course, the context here is for a righteous standing before God) "...are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in" (Now this next little word is a very important three-letter word) "...that continueth not in" (every single thing, in every aspect, in every detail) "...in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Paul's other statement is found in Romans 3:10: "As it is written, There is..." (how many?) "...none righteous," (Of course, the idea here is that perfect righteousness that only God can accept) "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not (a single) one:" Deuteronomy 6:25 where the people said together: "And it shall be our righteousness,..." (in other words, you can consider us righteous) "...if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us." Jeremiah 33:14-16 What a contrast in Deuteronomy 6:25 and Jeremiah 33:16. The LORD our righteousness. At the outset of Israel's history it was: Our performance will be our righteousness. When they come to learn the lesson that their prophetic history and the curses of Leviticus 26 were designed to teach them, what will their response be?—The LORD our righteousness!—a complete change in direction, a complete change in thinking. And, that change in thinking is called repentance in the bible. Israel would have to change their minds about who they were and really begin to cast themselves upon who only God is. That's the repentance, that's the change of mind that God was seeking from the nation Israel. This is the confession called for in Leviticus 26:40-42. God wanted Israel to say: "We've failed the contract. Not only have we failed the contract, our fathers before us have failed the contract."