Nicodemus' Question

Matthew 5:20 - 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. 

I was listening to James Robison, a televangelist and inspirational leader. He was explaining righteousness and how it is attained. It is not earned but it is a gift God gives. It comes through our daily walk with Christ.

Robison talked about the account of the Nicodemus, an extreme religious leader. Jesus tells us by His own words above that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. That is a hard word! One that can be difficult to understand.

Righteousness only comes from being born again, spiritually. It means going beyond what some religious leaders even today claim gets us to heaven. Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above' (John 3:7). Period.

Jesus was teaching this to Nicodemus, who went at night to search out Jesus so as not to be seen by his counterparts, the Pharisees and Sadducees. Pharisees, according to Webster's were members of a Jewish sect noted for strict observance of rites and ceremonies of the written law and for insistence on the validity of their own oral traditions concerning the law. Sadducees were similar being a member of a Jewish party  consisting of a traditional ruling class of priests and rejecting doctrines not in the Law (as resurrection, retribution in a future life, and the existence of angels).

Nicodemus would have been chewed to pieces had they known he was consulting Jesus whose doctrines were different than theirs.  They were actually jealous and perhaps fearful of because their status as religious leaders might have been at stake if everyone stopped believing what they taught...doctrines not in the law.

We cannot work or buy our way into heaven; we are told our works really are no more than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  If by works or payment we could secure a place in Heaven, then what was the point of Christ dying on the cross? He did not buy or work His way out of His crucifixion. He did not walk away from His death on the cross...for us. He embraced it.

It's strictly by His blood, His sacrifice for us that brings righteousness. So we, in turn, must sacrifice ourselves (Romans 12:1), die daily to ourselves and carry our own cross (Mark 8:34-35). By His example... And He tells us Himself, as He told Nicodemus, that it's by being born again...born of the Spirit...not of the flesh. Oh, flesh comes first... We are born once in the flesh only to die in the flesh but we can be born of the Spirit.

Salvation and then righteousness is by grace alone...unmerited favor. That grace transforms us as we live our new lives in Christ. Man may squawk at the concept, thinking it arrogant, but God does not...and His approval is more important than man's. Oh, it takes a lifetime of "cleaning up." We are human and live in this flesh which fights daily against the things of God...our will versus His. But I believe He is in the process today of working harder than ever before to get our minds off the world and focused on Him.

Robison suggested that if you do not have a desire within to bear the fruit of the Kingdom to live in this life as an overcomer not overcome, you have every legitimate reason to question your religious experience because if you have been born from above and born of grace you will have a desire to please your Father in Heaven. You don't just stop and say 'I have a ticket to Heaven.' You are not satisfied with just being a member of the local congregation. Some of the meanest people on planet earth go to churches on weekends! They have a religious label but they're as mean as a snake...and the Pharisees were among these people...

A friend has said several times, it's time we live like we have and know truth is in us. It must become part of our lives. Every step we take. It's obedience... His truth is becoming a part of of who I am, as Robison said. And it starts with forgiveness, just as Jesus forgave everyone who ever did or said anything against Him just before He died. That is part of what makes us righteous, that we are able to forgive those who slander us or accuse us. That's dying to self. That's taking up our cross daily. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. Robison called this Kingdom presence and not something that comes just like that. A work in progress......chipping away at the root of bitterness. Living every moment with Jesus on our minds.

Righteousness comes from our yielding to God and allowing Him to do a work in us. We will never be perfect. But being born again, covered by the blood of Jesus, we will be seen by our Heavenly Father as who He created us to be. He sees beyond our imperfections, as only a Father can. Through a spiritual rebirth...

It is Robison's belief, as I know it is with those I know, that God isn't interested in denominations. God's words should go beyond the limits them. It's not about one religion over another but coming into a relationship with Jesus and allowing the power of the Holy Spirit, which comes to reside in us upon this transforming conversion, this act of being born again by the Spirit, that will show us what truth is...according to God as related through Jesus' words of life during His ministry...and written in the Bible. He is the Way, TRUTH and Life.

The final outcome is as easy as the decision Nicodemus made that night he asked Jesus how a man can be born again when he is old. Nothing in Jesus' answer tells us to work or buy our way. We must get beyond the religious teachings and rituals and seek Jesus alone to become born again. True righteousness comes when we let go of man made ideas and let God take control of our lives to bring purification...not by works but by grace.

John 3:5-6 - Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."