2. The Permanence
of Scripture (Matthew 5:18)
"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest
letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the
Law until everything is accomplished."
The second step to sainthood is to recognise not only what Jesus has done in
our place but also to acknowledge that what he says is true and authoritative.
When we use terms like Christian or saint we should ask by what authority. On
what basis is someone declared a saint? By a majority vote? By a Church Synod?
By a Pope or Archbishop? or by the Bible?
2.1 The Inspiration of God's Son
By introducing His statement with the words "truly I say to you",
Jesus confirmed the special importance of what He was about to say. Ameµn
(truly) was a term of strong, intense affirmation. Jesus was saying, "I say
this to you absolutely, without qualification and with the fullest authority."
His teaching was not only absolute but also permanent. Our faith rests on the
authority of Jesus.
2.2 The Inerrancy of God's Word
Many people today are very much turned off by the Bible. But that is hardly
a new phenomenon. Just as in Jesus' day or in the days of Moses and of the prophets
people would much rather hear new ideas than the Word of God. But opinions that
do not square with Scripture leave people superficially contented, but also
leave them in darkness and sin. Jesus said, "Not the smallest letter
or stroke shall pass away from the Law" The smallest letter translates
the word ioµta, the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. To Jesus' Jewish
hearers it would have represented the yodh, the smallest letter of the Hebrew
alphabet, which looks something like an apostrophe. Jesus is saying not only
will the smallest letter not be erased, but even the smallest part of a letter
will not be erased from God's word until all is accomplished.
No other statement made by our Lord more clearly states His absolute contention
that Scripture is verbally inerrant, totally without error in the original form
in which God gave it. "Until heaven and earth pass away" represents
the end of time as we know it, the end of earthly history. As God's Word, the
law will outlast the universe, which someday will cease to exist. I want to
stress the logical deduction of this fact. It is quite impossible to accept
Christ's authority without accepting Scripture's authority, and vice versa.
They stand together. To accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is to accept
what He taught about Scripture as binding. To be a saint then is to accept what
the King says about saintliness. Scripture's authority is Christ's authority,
and to obey the Lord is to obey His Word. The Inspiration of God's Son, the
Inerrancy of God's Word and,
2.3 The Immutability of God's Purposes
As I was putting Michael to bed a few years ago we had a discussion about tigers.
They featured prominently in his life before the age of dinosaurs took over.
Tigers eat people. Correct but there were no tigers in our house. They are in
the television. Yes. They are on the video. Yes. Then they are down stairs....
At three and a half year old his logic was impeccable. It is just that he had
yet to distinguish between fact and fantasy, between the real world and the
recorded world. There's a sense in which life is a little like that. People
think the world of the Bible and Church is irrelevant. A load of myths while
they are living in the real world.
The fact is we and this world were created by God, to know him and serve him.
His purposes for us are scripted here in His Word. But we are not actors, we
are free, the plot is interactive, we are responsible for our choices and our
actions. At the end of the day His perfect will shall be accomplished, with
or without our cooperation. God is in control in a world that appears out of
control. His purposes are certain in a world full of uncertainty. What He has
promised will happen. What he says is true.
And what does God say about saints? Saint = hagios = holy. It is simply a word
used to describe a Christian. Someone who trusts and believes in Jesus. (Philippians
4:21; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; Jude 14; Revelation 15:3; 18:20).
Sainthood therefore is reserved for those who recognise first of all that although
they can never be right with God in themselves, Jesus has fulfilled the conditions
of the law on their behalf. Secondly, they believe this is so on the basis of
the authority of God's Word which is inspired, inerrant, immutable. The third
step to sainthood is found in verses 5:19-20.
3. The
Practice of Scripture (Matthew 5:19-20)
"Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others
to do the same 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. 20
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."
Our status as saints in God's kingdom is determined by our practice. Jesus reveals
here that there are different kinds of righteousness.
3.1 There is a Righteousness God Condemns
The consequence of practicing or teaching disobedience to any of God's Word
is to be called 'least' in the kingdom of heaven.
An External Righteousness
The religious leaders of Jesus day concerned themselves with what they wore,
what they ate, the external observation. They took little consideration of motives
or attitudes. (Luke 16:13-15)
A Partial Righteousness
They were meticulous, for example in tithing a tenth of their herbs and seeds,
something the law had not even required, while they had a total disregard for
showing justice and mercy (Matthew 23:23). They were concerned with long and
pretentious prayers but disregarded the poor. (Mark 7:7-8)
A Self-Centred Righteousness
It was practiced for their
own glory. They liked to give and receive approval and special titles and positions.
(Romans 10:3). This was the kind of righteousness Jesus condemned.
3.2 There is a
Righteousness God Requires
The righteousness God requires of His kingdom citizens far surpasses that of
the scribes and Pharisees. The term "surpasses" is used of a river
overflowing its banks. It emphasizes that which is far in excess of the normal.
So if you think it would be hard to gain sainthood in the Church, the righteousness
Jesus describes is far more exacting. "Therefore you are to be perfect, as
your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). To be qualified for God's
kingdom we must be as holy as the King Himself. That standard is so infinitely
high that the purpose of the Law was to show how impossible is it possess or
attain. That impossibility leads the sincere person to ask the question Jesus'
disciples one day asked Him, "Then who can be saved?" And the only answer
is the one Jesus gave on that occasion: "With men this is impossible, but
with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:25-26). The righteousness
God condemns and the righteousness God requires, should lead us to,
3.3 The Righteousness God Gives
The One who demands perfect
righteousness also gives perfect righteousness. The One who tells us of the
way into the kingdom is Himself that way. "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6), Jesus
said. The King not only sets the standard of perfect righteousness, but will
Himself bring anyone up to that standard who is willing to enter the kingdom
on the King's terms.
Martin Luther never feared men, but when he stood up to preach he often felt
his knees knock together under a sense of great responsibility to be true to
the Word of God. He said once, "The Bible is alive. It speaks to me;
it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me." When
George Friedrich Handel's servant brought him his morning refreshment, "he
often stood silent with astonishment to see his master's tears mixing with the
ink as he penned his divine compositions." And a friend calling upon
the musician when in the act of setting those pathetic words, "He was
despised and rejected of men" found him absolutely sobbing. Is that
how you feel when you realise all that Christ has achieved for you?
So greatness in God's kingdom is not determined by gifts, success, popularity,
reputation, or even canonization by the Church. We have considered two ways
to become a saint. The one lowers the standards to a level only some can fulfill.
These will be judged by God's law and excluded from God's grace. The other path
recognises the impossibility of obtaining the righteousness God requires and
so flees from the righteousness God condemns and clings to the righteousness
God gives. That is the path to true sainthood and it is open to all. Ultimately
it is only what we are called by God in eternity that is of any importance.
Lets pray.
An after thought from Charles Spurgeon,
"I cannot speak out my whole heart on this theme which is so dear to me,
but I would stir you all up to be instant in season and out of season in telling
out the gospel message, especially to repeat such a word as this: 'God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
shall not perish but have everlasting life.' Whisper it in the ear of the sick,
shout it in the corner of the streets, write it on your tablet, send it forth
from the press, but everywhere let this be your great motive and warrant. You
preach the gospel because the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
I am grateful to John MacArthur and his commentary on Matthew for some of the ideas used in this sermon