Entering Christ’s Righteousness

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Sermon on the Mount” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, August 30, 1987.

Sermon transcript

This morning, our scripture reading is taken from Isaiah chapter 51, and then we will turn to the Sermon on the Mount for a couple of passages. But first of all, we are looking at Isaiah 51, verses 4 through 8. This is what the prophet writes. Hearken unto me, my people, and give ear unto me, O my nation.

For a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light to the people. My righteousness is near. My salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people. the isle shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath, for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment.

And they that dwell therein shall die in like manner, but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law. Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilements. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness shall be forever. and my salvation from generation to generation. Turning to Matthew 5 and reading verse 20.

For I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Father, it is your word and you send it out to the ends of the earth and today in all the nations there are those who have gathered to hear it. O Father, glorify yourself by your word and may your servants who have been chosen to Proclaim that word admirably, in keeping with your commandment, in keeping with Christ Jesus, the one whom they declare.

We pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our subject is the themes of Jesus preaching. The themes of Jesus preaching. This is a three-part series, and this is our second message. Our first dealt with that primary thing, the kingdom of heaven. Our second deals with righteousness. Our third next week will deal with the Father, the Father in heaven. So this morning, This morning we are concerned with this theme, righteousness. I dare say that we cannot overemphasize its importance. You can think, you can think of what it has meant to us as confessing Christians that whole matter of righteousness. We, for instance, who have taken a stand with the Protestant Reformation.

You have heard of the trembling monk who, as he was about to serve, administer His first Mass became overwhelmed because, because he, troubled in soul, was not confident at all with regard to his own righteousness before the righteousness of the awesome God. That monk plagued With that question, how then can a man be righteous before God? That’s setting the tone for our lives. We, as confessing Protestant Christians, how might a man be righteous How might a man be righteous before a holy God?

You remember the resolution as it came to Martin Luther, him perusing the Psalms, him perusing the book of Galatians and the book of Romans. And finally, understanding that in the gospel, that is, in the word of grace, in the good news about Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God has been revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. That is our heritage. But though the question about the righteousness of man may well have been forgotten during the dark ages, it was certainly evident in the life of Jesus, and it was prominent upon his lips.

If you just take stock of the Gospel of Matthew to this point, through the sixth chapter, you may think back to chapter three and the story of Jesus’ baptism. It is here that we have the first recorded words of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, and upon what do they center? They center upon the theme of righteousness. You remember how John the Baptist protested? Oh, no, I rather should be baptized than you. But Jesus said, Permit it at this time, for in this way it is fitting that all righteousness might be fulfilled. The message, the importance of righteousness to Jesus.

And can we forget the fourth Beatitude? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled. Can we avoid that last blessed given by Jesus in verse ten of chapter five, concerning the life of those who identify themselves with you. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We have the message concerning righteousness given us in verse twenty. We read that this morning. For those identifying themselves with Jesus, indeed, their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. If it doesn’t, they can’t enter the kingdom of heaven. So he said.

He expounds upon the theme of righteousness, beginning with the opening verse of chapter six. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men, to be noticed by them, he says. And then you have that incomparable test, the thirty-third verse of the sixth chapter.

But seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, We cannot then deny the importance of the theme of righteousness. Practically speaking, for us as confessing Protestant Christians, but also because we see that that theme of righteousness is prominent for Jesus.

But what did Jesus mean by righteousness? What did he mean when he spoke about righteousness? Well, you will note that he speaks about it in two ways. First of all, he speaks about your life. Specifically, in verse twenty of chapter five, verse one of chapter six, your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. He will practice in your righteous In this vein, Jesus is calling our attention to the fact that righteousness refers to the qualities that demonstrate that we are right and just before God.

That which is commended by God because God has demanded it In view, specifically, is our behavior. In view, specifically, is our conduct. In view, specifically, is how we act. The theme of righteousness, therefore, is supercharged with ethics. The whole matter of our behavior.

But Jesus also speaks about righteousness in another way. Not only does he talk about your righteousness, our righteousness, he also speaks about his righteousness, that is, the righteousness of the Father. Seeking first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness. But when Jesus speaks about righteousness in relationship to the Father, the righteousness of God, does he simply mean to bring before us the ethical qualities of the Father above, of God in heaven? Does he mean simply to bring before us those qualities of our God which prove him right and just? as if he were taking apart the character of God by this message of righteousness. The righteousness of God does Jesus simply put before us the character of God.

That is why I read for you this morning from Isaiah 51. And if you look at Isaiah 51 and those verses 8, 4 through 8, you will be faced there with a different concept of righteousness, one that we’re not familiar with, one that doesn’t come naturally to us. For you see, when Jesus speaks about the righteousness of the Father, the righteousness of God, He is speaking of more than just the Father’s character.

He is speaking about the Father’s activity and His actions, those things by which He makes Himself known. Informing Jesus in his vocabulary is the hope of Israel that God will reveal his righteousness and by his righteousness prove faithful to his promise, delivering his people. So yes, my righteousness is near, says Isaiah. My salvation is coming, writes the prophet. There is an event yet to take place that will make known the righteousness of God, that brings in view His activity as much as His character. And you see, it is that then that is informing Jesus as He speaks, as He does, about the righteousness of God.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. What does Jesus want you to desire when He says that to you? He wants you to desire the coming of God. That God would appear and set everything right. And that is to be your chief desire. What do you think Jesus is speaking about when he says, blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness? Does he have in mind just simply cozying up to the character of God? Not that that is anything to be laughed at, anything that is to be diminished in our estimation, but yet he has something much more in view. When you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, you are hungering and thirsting for God’s righteous reign.

When everything is put right, and He is vindicated as glorious, and you are exalted and filled Well, having said that, we say more. For you see, we ordinarily think of the righteous reign of God as something that is holy future. Oh, someday it’ll come. When the world ends, God will reveal himself and everything will be made right.

And surely we anxiously await that day when God will come triumphantly, finally. and reveal his righteousness and there will be left no opposition to him but you see when Jesus preaches he tells you that the righteous reign of God is not just something future he tells you It’s here. And where might it be found? It might be found in that one who says to John the Baptist that in him all righteousness is fulfilled. Where might it be found? It is found in him.

And that one who, when he goes on from the tenth verse of the fifth chapter, speaking about that righteousness for whose sake we are persecuted, then adds that in being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, you’re being persecuted for my sake, identifying himself with righteousness.

For in Christ’s coming, God has come, and the righteous reign of God has appeared, and you, by your faith have now entered into that righteousness. The righteousness that you may hope for, a present reality, yes, present in Christ, who is after all, as the apostle describes him, our righteousness. It is trust in Him, then. It is holding fast to Him, our righteousness that sets us right at the time when God, in the end, finally reveals the fullness of the righteous brain that belongs to Him.

It is not a small thing, it is not a small thing to contemplate righteousness, the righteousness of the kingdom, the righteousness of God. And surely it is no small thing that you be counted righteous because you have trusted that one in whom all righteousness is fulfilled. Need you fear? Need you be terrified now in light of the coming day of the Lord? Not at all. You are secure in the righteousness of God.

Let us pray. O Lord, if righteousness means to have that quality whereby we are right and just, where might we look but to Jesus Christ, the one in whom righteousness has been fulfilled? We ask our Father that we, your children, may be well clothed in the righteousness that has given us and we have received by faith. And as we walk in your presence, may we be sure to give all glory to you, the one to whom it belongs. We pray these things through Christ our righteousness.

Amen. As we come to the table of the Lord, I would ask that we sing together hymn 362. 362. Let’s stand and sing together hymn 362. Left thy words in mercy pure, Left thy sweetest body for man, He will be your gracious Lord, For thy foundless Fatherland. Now I give myself to Thee. Thou this Lord that art mine true, blessed Lord, thou cam’st to save me. O that Lord of God would give me love for Thee, in sorrow may be. Thou didst give thyself for me, now I need thyself.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.