-- { Matthew 5:17-20 }  ¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  -- NRSV

Dear Friend, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

This sermon series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is about learning who we are, as children of God and followers of Jesus. In knowing who we are, we are enabled by God's grace to make godly decisions and know what to do to live God's Kingdom now.

Today we are on the wrong mountain. This is Transfiguration Sunday so we should, as most scholars believe, be with Jesus on Mount Hermon with His disciples Peter, James and John, and also Moses and Elijah. Yet, the mount we are on for this "Sermon on the Mount" series, in the northern plain of Galilee, was a place of transfiguration also. Jesus truly revealed Himself there.

There are those who feel that Jesus emphasized love and de-emphasized the Law. Many have felt that the focus of Jesus' ministry was only love and forgiveness, and they give little thought to Jesus take on the Law. In the Lutheran Church we try to keep the Law and the Gospel in balance, like Jesus did. They are both gifts of God and have their own unique purpose. Jesus makes some very clear statements to you and me in this text.

You must know that Jesus came to fulfill the Law for you.

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law. When I use the word Law in this message I will be referring to the Ten Commandments - even though Jesus is referring to the first 5 books of the Old Testament. The Ten Commandments we can understand. God revealed in the "Ten" what living His Kingdom now and in our future life would be like and what we should desire to live in our lifetime.

1. The Law describes how God wants you and me to live His Kingdom now. They go beyond revealing who you are, to instructing you on what to do.

2. The Law is only words and rules. The Ten Commandments can only tell you how to live. They have no power to enable you to do so. Jesus was, however, both spirit and life, and was able to put the words into action and empower His followers to live them.

3. The Law only states the rule and principle of behavior. It does not explain the spirit behind the rule. Jesus has given us the real meaning and purpose of living out the Law - to glorify God.

4. The Law demands that you have perfect righteousness - rightness with God - a perfect life. You and I fail to meet this standard. Jesus succeeded.

5. The Law demands that you and I be punished for our not being able to live the perfect life God wants us to live. We have broken the Ten Commandments. We are guilty and deserve God's punishment. Jesus, however, took all that punishment on the cross. He became the perfect person for you and me, and when He died He said, "It is finished!" 

A marvelous exchange took place on the Cross for us. Paul explains it, "God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) 

You must do and teach the Law in order to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Here is where we can have a misunderstanding. We are to understand who we are and desire the grace of God to enable us to live God's Kingdom now. This is not something we can do on our own - by pulling up our own bootstraps - or working harder. Yet, this is not something we will ever be able to do if we don't try to be obedient to God's will. God gets all the credit as we work to live God's Kingdom now, but we must work.

There is an effort that you and I must put into living God's Kingdom now. There is a responsibility to go beyond knowing who we are, to living who we are. If you are serious about living God's Kingdom now you will work at it. Remember the words of James, "…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17)

We will fall short, never live God's Kingdom perfectly and will continually need to confess our falling short. But we must never think that simply by our confessing our sins that we can then go ahead and commit them again and again because we can always come back to confession. You and I must confess our sins sincerely. To do that we must desire not to commit those sins again but strive to do better in living God's Kingdom now.

You must have more righteousness than a religious person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Understand this, religion will get you nowhere with God. You will not get into heaven because you are religious. There are thousands of religions around the world that can get you somewhere in this life but nowhere in the next.

Tom Cruise is big into Scientology. Is it getting him somewhere in this life? Of course it is or he wouldn't be the second highest authority in that religion. But Jesus is about more than just this life. Many people don't realize that. Paul put it this way, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15:19)

Our Scripture today is talking about living God's Kingdom now. Only Jesus can enable you to do that and only Jesus can make it your eternal destiny. 

1. Perfect righteousness - rightness with God - is necessary to enter Heaven. You and I will not get in without it.

2. The religious person has some righteousness but they are far from perfect. They work to obey thousands of rules and regulations thinking they will be gaining favor with God. They are terribly mistaken.

3. You and I must have more righteousness than the strictest religious person to enter heaven. We are in deep trouble because that is not possible on our own.

You and I need to constantly remind ourselves of how we must approach God.

1. We dare not seek acceptance from God by giving Him formal worship instead of a confession of unworthiness and of our need for Him in a real way.

2. We dare not seek acceptance from God by giving Him good works instead of our heart and mind.

3. We dare not seek acceptance from God by trusting our self rather than Jesus.

Follow any of these paths and we are in for an eternity of disappointment. You cannot do enough to earn God's pleasure. You cannot do enough to become good enough for God. You cannot do anything to meet God's standard of perfection for Him to let you into His Heaven.

What you can do is trust Him by trusting your life to His Son, Jesus. By allowing Jesus to take your sin and give you his robe of righteousness. Once you put on Jesus, you are not only transformed to better live God's Kingdom now, His Law, but transformed to live with God in eternity.

Stake your life on Jesus and He will be with you for eternity. That is where you want to be.

In Jesus Name,