The Doorpost: Know the God of the Word

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20

This statement by Jesus must have shocked those who heard Him that day. The Pharisees were considered to be the spiritual pillars of that society. They diligently studied the Scriptures (John 5:39). They prayed and fasted regularly. They diligently kept the Sabbath. They were careful in their giving (Matthew 23:23).

But in spite of all their study of the Word of God, and their painstaking efforts to apply it, they didn’t know the God of the Word. They didn’t hear His voice. His Word was not abiding in them. They did not believe the One He sent (John 5:37-38), and in the end they demanded His crucifixion.

We need to be careful we do not fall into a similar trap. Even after we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our human nature is there telling us that there are still things we can and must do to earn God’s favor (Galatians 3:3). But the only way our righteousness will ever exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees is when we seek not to have our own righteousness based on our own works, but instead we depend on and live by the righteousness of Christ (Philippians 3:2-11).