How to Be Righteous (Matthew 7:7-12)
How To Be Righteous
Matthew 7:7-12
Here we are again at the Sermon on the Mount,
And it is extremely honest to say that this is a very convicting sermon.
I can’t imagine anyone being able to listen to this sermon
And walk away feeling good about themselves.
I have yet to find a single verse in the entire sermon
That made me feel good about myself.
For which of the beatitudes can I claim to have mastered?
– Poor in spirit?
– Mourning over sin?
– Meekness?
– Hungering for Righteousness?
– Pure in heart?
Which of the missionary endeavors can I claim to have mastered?
– Can I honestly claim to be light?
– Can I honestly claim to be salt?
Which of the heart conditions don’t effect me?
– Can I honestly claim to never struggle with anger?
– Or lust?
– Or deception?
– Or commitment?
– Or loving my enemy?
Which of the religious functions can I claim to do well all the time?
– Can I say my motives in giving are always pure?
– How about my prayer life?
– Can I even claim to fast, let alone do it correctly?
And how about my love for the world?
– Can I honestly claim to have fully crucified the world to myself?
– Can I honestly claim to be fully free of greed or worry?
– Can I honestly say I always seek first the kingdom of heaven?
And how about my self-righteousness?
– Is my sin always the first I notice?
– Have I never set myself up as judge over another?
And before long I realize that this sermon has nailed me to the floor.
If I set down at the feet of the Master hoping to hear a sermon
That told me how good I was, then I am severely disappointed.
Because all Jesus has done to this point is show me that
I am anything but righteous, and God is the last person I am like.
If I put it another way, I could simply say, by my own merit:
I AM NOT RIGHTEOUS
I have proven the statements:
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;”THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
And this fact grieves me even more
When I contemplate other truths of Scripture:
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
Isaiah 33:13-16 “You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.”
The fact that I am not righteous only grieves me further
When I come to grips with the fact that
Only the righteous will spend eternity with God.
And when I go looking for bible characters to compare myself to,
The only one I can find is the tax collector in the temple
Who beats his breast and says, “God be merciful to me the sinner.”
You see thus far all the Sermon on the Mount has done
Is unequivocally proven to us that we do not measure up to God.
We are not righteous.
Which brings us to our next and most obvious question.
HOW CAN I BE RIGHTEOUS?
• It is apparent that I have fallen short of God’s mark
• It is apparent that I have made a mockery of God’s commands
• It is apparent that I have offended God in every possible way
How can I possibly make it right?
How can I be righteous?
And this is the most mind-blowing fact in all of Scripture.
God listens to sinners asking how to be made righteous,
And the response of God is this: JUST ASK
If you want forgiveness, just ask for it.
If you want righteousness, just ask for it.
You see we have concluded the conviction portion of this sermon.
• God’s Righteousness Examined
• False Righteousness Exposed
• Self Righteousness Expelled
Now we get to the final point of Jesus sermon.
TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPLAINED
That is Jesus is now explaining to you and I
How to have the true righteousness of God in our lives.
And the answer is: JUST ASK
This is now the invitation portion of this great sermon,
And so let’s look at it together.
#1 THE PROMISE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matthew 7:7-8
It is truly an amazing truth that is here revealed to us.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Now obviously we know this is not
God promising to be a genie in a bottle.
For example:
We just finished talking about the danger of greed
And the warning not to seek wealth.
So we know Jesus us not saying “Ask for money and it will be given to you; seek, for money and you will find it; knock on the door of the vault, and it will be opened to you.”
Obviously Jesus has something specific in mind
That we are to ask for, seek, and knock to receive.
BUT WHAT IS IT?
This is where we find tremendous help from other portions of Scripture:
TURN TO: LUKE 11:5-13
And from that story we understand that Jesus is speaking about prayer,
But not just prayer for any and everything.
Jesus concludes with this statement:
(13) “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Jesus is not just talking about asking for anything,
He is talking about asking for “the Holy Spirit”
He is talking about asking for righteousness.
He is talking about asking for salvation.
And the point is obvious.
If you have come to grips with your sin and wickedness before God
But you now want to be righteous, then ask for it.
“Ask”, “Seek”, “Knock”
And focus on those for just a moment, because they indicate to us
The various degrees we may have to go to
“Ask”
This implies that the thing you want is right in front of you
And readily available.
And some have certainly found righteousness to be that easy.
Matthew was just sitting in his tax booth
When Jesus walked by and said, “Follow Me”
And this is the way it was for many of us.
Raised in a Christian home
Carried to church every possible opportunity
Taught Bible stories at a young age
We didn’t have to look far for righteousness
Our mommas were cramming it down our throats.
And for some it is really that easy.
Some have to “Seek”
This implies that the righteousness is available,
But it is not right in front of you.
You might have to go find it yourself.
I’m reminded here of Zaccheus climbing that sycamore tree to see Jesus.
I’m remind of the wise men traveling from the east.
And there are some like this today.
Maybe their parents aren’t Christians.
Maybe they never got taken to church.
It’s there, but to get it you have to seek it.
Some have to “Knock”
Righteousness is still readily available, but you may have to overcome a few obstacles in order to find it.
Like the four friends who had to tear a hole in a roof to get to Jesus.
Like the Canaanite woman who had to endure rejection.
And I think about people raised in Islamic nations
Or people raised in Hindu nations
Or people raised in atheist nations
For them the journey to righteousness will require
Pushing through some apparent barriers.
But the point is that even though we seek
Through varying degrees of difficulty and opposition,
Those who ask, seek, and knock are all successful.
(8) “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
You may indeed have to search a little harder than someone else,
But the promise is if you will seek, you will find.
“everyone who asks receives”
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
I know it sounds like a gimmick
I know it sounds like a trick
I know it sounds too good to be true
But straight from the mouth of Jesus,
If you have recognized your sinful state before God,
And yet desire to be righteous, then ask Him for it.
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Righteousness is promised to all who will ask.
The Promise of Righteousness
#2 THE PROVIDER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matthew 7:9-11
Now I don’t know about you, but I know that I am just enough of a pessimist to not yet be fully convinced.
I’ve often said I’m a little like Thomas
John 14:4-5 “And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
And sometimes when you hear a promise that is too good to be true,
Like the one we just read it brings out a little pessimism in us.
What if I ask in the wrong way?
What if I seek in the wrong place?
What if I knock on the wrong door?
I mean God, you don’t realize all the ways that I could mess this up
And still fail to get the righteousness I so desperately want.
Well, take courage dear pessimist, and notice WHY
Righteousness is guaranteed to those who ask, seek, and knock.
Jesus just said that if you ask you will receive it.
Here He explains why.
(9) “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Of if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?”
Now here we just exercise a little common sense.
We may like to aggravate our children a little,
But we would never feed them rocks instead of bread,
Or give them a snake instead of a fish.
We like to give good gifts to our children.
(11) “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
Did you catch that?
We are “evil” and yet even we know what is good.
And come on now, we know this is the case.
Suppose you are at home and one of your kids
Comes up and asks for a loaf of bread.
How might you respond?
You might say, “In a minute” (my time is more important than your hunger)
You might say, “Get it yourself” (I don’t care enough to get off the couch)
You might say, “Do without” (I don’t want to spend the money)
You might say, “Ask your mother” (which is a combination of all three)
Why do we respond like that?
Because we are selfish, and lazy, and greedy.
Face it, man is evil.
Yet even an evil man will eventually give what is good.
And if evil man will do it, how much further would God go?
You see, where man is evil, we also know that God is good.
(I miss Eldon, he always said that)
Psalms 86:5 “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.”
Psalms 100:5 “For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”
And the Bible promises that this good God
Gives what is good to those He loves.
James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
Psalms 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”
Psalms 84:11-12 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”
I mean you get the point.
God is good and so He gives.
AND HERE IS WHY THAT MATTERS
You receiving righteousness is not based upon your ability to ask for it.
You receiving righteousness is not based upon your ability to seek for it.
You receiving righteousness is not based upon your ability to knock for it.
If that were the case, then salvation would be more available to:
• Slick salesmen who know how to ask.
• Private detectives who know how to seek.
• Jehovah’s witnesses who know how to knock
But righteousness is not given based on your ability to do those things.
I mean you could ask the devil for righteousness, but he won’t give it.
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS GUARANTEED
BECAUSE THE GOD WHO GIVES IT IS GOOD.
Righteousness is guaranteed because God likes to give it.
Regardless of how good they are at asking.
And this is foundational stuff.
Romans 4:1-8 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
We don’t earn it
We don’t achieve it
We don’t deserve it
God gives it
We even have a fancy word for it, we call it grace.
(you getting what you don’t deserve)
Ephesians 2:1-10 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
God gives righteousness to those who want it.
He is able to give it because Jesus purchased it
Having paid the ransom for sin on the cross.
That is why everyone who asks receives.
The Promise of Righteousness The Provider of Righteousness
#3 THE PROOF OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matthew 7:12
We just read Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
What that reminded us of is that there is an expectation
That comes with the righteousness God gives.
He does not require you to earn righteousness,
But He does require you to practice righteousness.
Notice:
“In everything therefore…”
WHAT IS THE “therefore” THERE FOR?
It is there because Jesus is tying it back
To the previous statements on achieving righteousness.
He is pointing out that God expects you to display
And use the righteousness He freely gives.
And Jesus even explains what it should look like:
(12) “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you,”
You and I know it as “The Golden Rule”
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;”
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;”
It is the simple truth that you and I should love our neighbor as ourselves.
And not just in some things, but “In everything”
What you and I must realize is that
Selfishness is the opposite of godliness.
That is why in order to follow Jesus we are told to “deny self”
And that is precisely what God did in sending His Son to save us.
And that is what makes treating others
The way you want to be treated a fruit of genuine righteousness.
In fact Jesus says, “for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
All the righteousness that they command.
All the righteousness that they demonstrate.
All the righteousness that they describe.
Can be summed up in this phrase to consider others
More important than yourself.
Romans 13:8-10 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
That is the epitome of godliness, and that is the epitome of righteousness
And that is what God expects that you and I demonstrate.
AND WHAT A BLESSING THIS IS
God is willing to give righteousness to a thug sinner like me,
And the only thing He wants in return is for me to put it to use.
That is like someone giving a glass of water to a thirsty man,
Only if the thirsty man promises to drink it.
Or like giving a steak to a starving man,
Only if the starving man promises to eat it.
God will gladly give us righteousness if we ask,
He only desires that we put it to use.
And that is good news for all of us.
And let me say to you this morning.
If you have been condemned by the Sermon on the Mount…
If you have seen your sin and desired to be made new…
Then the solution is easy.
Ask God and He will give you righteousness.
David actually showed us a prayer to pray.
Psalms 25:8-11 “Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.”
Isn’t that the heart of it?
God is good.
God gives righteousness
Pardon me please
That is exactly what Jesus wants you to know as well.
In and of yourself, you are not pleasing to God
Because you are not righteous.
But the great God that we serve will gladly give you righteousness
If you will ask Him for it.
And all He asks is that you put it to use.
And this morning that is what I encourage you to do this.
Ask God
Seek God
Knock on God’s door
And let God give what you cannot receive anywhere else.
Let Him give you His perfect righteousness
Made possible through the death of His Son.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
