(14-06-2024, 01:23 AM)S I M T A N Wrote: That the pharisees were strict adherents of religious laws and were in full compliance with the rules is basically true, as a general statement. However, the other side of the coin - the literal truth - is that they fell short of the glory of God. The problem with the pharisees is that they had God and
their own sets of rules, and they considered themselves righteous when they kept those rules, condemning others who didn't keep them.
The pharisees also had an air of superiority - holding others in contempt among other things. They believed all was right between them and God since they were physical descendants of Abraham. Jesus burst their bubble, saying that one must be a spiritual descendant of Abraham by showing the same obedience to God that Abraham did. His good works and rituals weren't enough to make him right with God. The Bible says Abraham's faith was "reckoned to him as righteousness." (Gal 3; Rom 4) The term 'righteous' means a right standing with God. For people like Abraham, faith plus obedience to God's commands put them in a right standing with God.
As for the pharisees of old and in this day and age, if they want to change the trajectory of their earthly life and eternal destiny, they'll need to set themselves right with God through faith. If keeping the law could make people right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Surpass the Pharisees.
That's what Jesus said. He did not say "...like the Pharisee"
If a righteousness that's "like that of the Pharisee" could enable us to enter the Kingdom of God, then all we need to do is to adhere to the Law and we are good to go.
But Jesus said "surpass", not "like".
It also means that even the Pharisees weren't entering God's Kingdom even though they had "works" and adhered to the Laws. The Pharisees needed to do better than themselves ie surpass themselves which was by definition not possible. And if the Pharisees could not enter God's Kingdom, the rest of the Jews wouldn't stand a chance lorh.
So what went wrong? What happened? Why adhering to the Laws like the Pharisees did was still not good enough? God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, we followed it, obeyed it, and now God says "No man, not good enough, go away! go away" or as Abdul put it earlier, in that mocking and taunting tone of his, we are"
unceremoniously" told to get lost.
Hey! was that meant to be a divine joke?
No, it was not a divine joke. The Pharisees, the Jews who wanted Jesus killed did not understand why He came. He wasn't their Messiah. He had no business to be here on Earth! So, they thought.
Now, with the revelation which Paul received from the Holy Spirt, we know that it was non-negotiable for Jesus to die so that the penalty of Adam's Sin is paid once and for all time, that through one man, Adam, Sin came into the world, and through one Man, Christ, the redemption...the penalty of Sin is paid once and for all time. Unless that is done, the righteousness of a man is like filthy rags. Unless that is done, nobody can surpass the righteousness of a Pharisee.
The only Person who could surpass it was the One rebuking the Pharisees and teaching the people, but they knew Him not. Jesus was not born of the seed of a sinful man, Adam. Jesus was born Sinless, without Adam's Sin and till the hour of His Death, He did not sin. The blood of goats and sheep was not worthy to pay in exchange for a man Adam. Only that of a Sinless Man for a man could, and that Man was our Lord Jesus. Abdul still sacrifices an animal annually wor.
Jesus is our role model, and in His Life, we read of no sexual perversion or lust, of going into battle and slaughtering people, no 911, only riding a donkey around town, not a warhorse, of no greed for worldly possessions (Satan's temptation in the wilderness reminds...), looting the enemies' possessions, or selling their women and chewren for money....
God did not tempt us with promises of women and riches in His Kingdom. All we are told is that eyes hath not seen, neither hath ears heard the things which God hath prepared for them that loveth Him. If the righteousness of Christ surpassed that of the Pharisees, the things which God hath prepared for us would surely surpass that offered by the god of this world. Hallelujah!