Salvation Summaries

I would guess that a number of professing Christians believe that all one needs to do to be saved, or become a Christian, is to believe in Jesus. Is this true? Actually no, at least not according to Jesus.

“Well, well…” you say. “That’s not something I’ve heard before. What else is required, if you don’t mind me asking?” Not at all. I’m glad you did.

I know this may sound surprising, but there are at least ten things Jesus said, or were said by others on behalf of Him (e.g., “Teacher, what must I do…”), for a person must do to be saved. Keep in mind that this excludes what Mark, Luke, James, John, Paul and Peter said about salvation. However, all ten are closely related, and I believe one well summarizes what is required for a person to become a Christian. If a person simply does this (which is not easy to do), they will be saved (And, if you don’t want to wait until my 10th post to know what this one thing is, feel free to email me and I’ll tell you: ssosborne5@gmail.com).

In this post, I’ll discuss the the first thing a person must do, or requirement that must be met, to be saved according to Jesus and as recorded in the book of Matthew. By first, I don’t mean the most important or difficult, but rather the first one mentioned. It is found in Matthew 5:20 and has to do with righteousness:

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (NKJ)

So, here we see that your righteousness – not just the righteousness of the the people to whom Jesus was speaking – must be greater than that of the Pharisees and scribes for you to be saved. The Pharisees and scribes knew the various Jewish laws inside and out – just like a priest, minister or professor of religion would – so at first glance the chances of you being more righteous than them might seem like a tall hurdle to clear. However, let’s not jump to conclusions just yet and approach this issue by answering a few basic questions.

Who were the Pharisees and scribes, and how righteous were they?

The Pharisees were religious and political leaders that imposed religious laws on the Jews. The scribes recorded and interpreted these laws.

Matthew and a few other gospel writers record a number of comments about the scribes and Pharisees, and Jesus had more than a few choice words for them, as summarized below.

Pharisees

• Considered themselves to be righteous. (Mt 9:11-13)
• Determined who would be part of the synagogues. (John 12:42)
• Sought to obey letter of the law but not the spirit of the law; led to wrongful actions. (Mt 12:2-7)
• Valued their own tradition above the commandments of God. Jesus called them hypocrites.  (Mt 15:1-9)
• Loved praise from men more than from God. (Jn 12:42-43)
• Took pride in their Jewish lineage, but did not produce fruit in their lives. (Mt 3:7-10)
• Looked down upon people who sinned in contrast to Jesus who sought these people out to save them.  (Mt 9:11-13)
• Did not believe that Jesus came from God. (Jn 9:16)
• Did not like Jesus. Said he had demons within him. (Mt 9:34)
• Believed Jesus deceived people. (Mt 27:62-63)
• Sought to trap Jesus into saying something that was wrong. (Mt 22:15-18)
• Were viewed by Jesus as wicked and adulterous. (Mt 12:38-39)  He warned his disciples to be on guard against the teaching of the Pharisees. (Mt 16:12)
• Sought to arrest Jesus as not like being criticized by him. (Mt 21:45-46)
• Were not all bad; Nicodemus is an example. (John 3:1-2; 9:16; Acts 23:5)

Scribes

• Were a sect of the Pharisees. (Acts 2:39)
• Knew Scripture and were seen a reliable source of it. (Mt 2:4-6)
• Valued their traditions more highly than the commandments of God. (Mt 15:1-3)
• Did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah or deity. (Mt 9:1-6)
• Did not like Jesus. (Mt 21:15) 
• Sought to test and trap Him with His words. (Jn 8:3-9)
• Played a role in Jesus’ crucifixion. (Mt 16:21; 20:18)

From the above, we can see that the Pharisees and scribes were no “fans” of Jesus. The verses below show how Jesus viewed them.

Jesus’ comments regarding the Scribes (teachers of the law) and Pharisees

Matthew 23  Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  ³ So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  ⁴ They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.  ⁵ “Everything they do is done for men to see… ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ 

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices– mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law– justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.  ²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.  ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

In summary, we see that the scribes and Pharisees considered themselves to be righteous and wanted to appear that way before others, but in reality they were far from it. Their righteousness consisted of the appearance of strict adherence to many traditions and laws in order to benefit themselves in front of others. It was a fake, external righteousness that did not result in justice and mercy toward others or salvation. Jesus harshly but rightly criticized them for their unrighteous behavior and for leading other Jews astray. This angered the Pharisees and scribes to the point they sought to have Jesus killed.

How can our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees?

Now, if we were to simply compare ourselves to the Pharisees and scribes, it might be tempting to conclude that – although we sin – we certainly are not as bad as they were, and as such, we likely meet Jesus’ requirement to be more righteous than them. Right?

Not so fast. I believe there are many professing Christians who also seek to become right with God by performing more “good” deeds than bad, or from “being a good person.” Even if these people sin less than some of the unrighteous scribes and Pharisees, that does not mean they are righteous in God’s sight. Not only does our righteousness need to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, it must also meet whatever minimum Jesus requires. To determine this, we first need to understand what righteousness means, and then how we become righteous.

Righteousness defined

Strong’s Concordance defines righteousness in two ways.

The first is “the state of him who is as he ought to be, the condition acceptable to God. The doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God.”

The second refers to the way in which one acts and lives, such as with integrity, virtue, purity, uprightness, and justice. The word righteous, which is similar to righteousness, can mean blameless.  

Let’s turn to some Bible verses now to add more color to these definitions and determine which one Jesus may have had in mind.

1. HOW TO BECOME RIGHTEOUS

1A. How the Jews sought to become righteous

The Jews sought to get right with God by obeying OT laws. However, a person cannot become righteous by obeying laws, commandments and traditions, or from seeking to be “a good person” because – according to God – we are inherently sinful and unrighteous. 

• “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.  ¹⁰ As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;  ¹¹ There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.  ¹² They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:9-12  

Similarly, the 10 commandments are good standards for us to live by, but they were also intended to reveal how sinful we really are and our need for a Savior (for example, taking God’s name in vain violates the 10 commandments as does looking at a person with lust).

• We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers– and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. 1 Tim 1:9-11

Also, if you continue reading in Matthew 5:21- 6:18, Jesus addresses a number of topics – including murder, adultery, marriage/divorce, swearing, responding to evil people, how treat enemies, charity, prayer and fasting – and starts nearly every one with a criticism of how each has been (wrongly) understood. The criticism usually begins with “You have heard it said…” or a reference to “hypocrites.” In both cases, He appears to be referring to the Pharisees and likely scribes too, and illustrating how their expected righteousness was not righteous after all.

For example, when He talks about performing charitable deeds in Matthew 6:1-4, He says “do not do your charitable deeds before me to be seen by them…do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do…that they may have glory from men.” Thus, the Pharisees likely performed good deeds in their effort to be righteous, but they did it with the wrong motives and an impure heart, for what they really sought was attention from others. People today can fall into the same trap.

Finally, Jesus used the term “righteous” to describe people, like the Pharisees, who considered themselves to be righteous but were too proud to see their sinfulness and need for repentance. As we learned from recent posts, becoming “poor in spirit” and mourning over one’s sinfulness against a holy God – the first two beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount – are steps a person needs to take before they see any need to repent.

•  “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:32   

I believe too many well-meaning Christians who witness to others may focus too much on the need to “believe in Jesus” and too little on the sinfulness of that person and their desperate need for God. It’s easy to intellectually accept that Jesus died for our sins including yours; it’s harder to admit that you are a sinner deserving of hell, that it’s impossible for you to make it to heaven by being good enough, and that you are totally dependent upon God’s grace to save you.

1b. How we are to become righteous

Both the OT and NT reveal what true righteousness is and how one becomes righteous.

In Genesis 15:6, we read that Abraham believed or had faith in God (I’ll note here, even though space does not permit a sufficient discussion of this, that the “faith” of Abraham and required for salvation goes far beyond what people understand faith to mean today. In short, Abraham believed that God could do the humanly impossible, he made God more important than anything and everyone else – including his wife and son, and was willing to completely obey God even if it meant death. In contrast, our “faith” today is better viewed as an intellectual agreement that God and Jesus exist but which does not translate into a change of heart and lifestyle. As such, it is a dead faith as described in James, and a dead faith does not save. True righteousness, or God’s righteousness, is by His grace and given to those who believe (or have genuine faith) in God or Jesus and then live by faith.

The following verses from Romans 10 summarize the type of righteousness that does not save (based upon the law) and the one that does (based on genuine faith).

Romans 10:1-11 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, ” ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

2. RIGHTEOUSNESS AS A REFERENCE TO HOW ONE SHOULD LIVE

As mentioned above, the second definition of righteousness refers to how one acts and lives, and is summarized below.

• Righteous refers to the high standard to which one lives: specifically, obedience to God’s commands, blameless, pure, upright, with honesty and integrity. It thus refers to righteous living. (Deut 9:5; Ps 15:2, 18:20-26; 2 Sam 22:21-22; Prov 11:5-6).   

• A person of righteousness, or who is righteous, is to live blamelessly. (Phil 1:9-11; 1 Tim 6:11; 1 Jn 3:7-8)

• Blameless refers to how one acts/behaves/lives towards God; it is similar to holy and includes upright, fearing God, living in obedience to God’s word and turning away from evil. (Gen 17:1; Job 1:1; Phil 2:14-15; 2 Sam 22:24; Ps. 119:3; Rev 14:5)

Here are some other points about righteousness:

• To practice righteousness, you have to first be righteous (1 Jn 3:7).
• We are to seek God’s righteousness. (Mt 6:33)
• Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. (Mt 5:6)
• God loves righteousness or those who are upright, where upright means honest, just, follows correct moral principles. (Ps 11:7)
• God delights in those whose walk is blameless. (Prov 11:20)

Summary

The Pharisees and scribes considered themselves to be righteous based upon their efforts to comply with many Jewish laws and traditions, but in reality were not because they lacked genuine faith in God and in Jesus. Their righteousness was fake and external, and was based upon impure motives rather than from the heart.

The righteousness that Jesus refers to appears to be the first definition, which is a condition of approval that is based upon faith in Him. Without being saved by faith, there is no way a person’s righteousness could exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes. However, it’s possible he had the second definition in mind if He were addressing this message primarily to believing disciples.

I believe Jesus had the second definition in mind (living blamelessly, holy) in Matthew 5:6, which says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” This should be the goal of every Christian.