Grace to You Weekend

John MacArthur: It is the spirit of the law that is the priority, not the letter. The law, beloved, is not mechanical. That's what Jesus is saying. It is not simply functional. It is the inside that God is concerned about. God is not looking for externals. He's looking for changed hearts.

Phil Johnson: Welcome to Grace to You Weekend, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson.

Consider these two people. One of them is committed to his wife. He's a diligent worker and he's always ready to serve others. Person number two, well, he has lustful thoughts, he thinks evil of his boss, and he wishes that people would just stop pestering him.

Now consider this, those two people, they are actually the same person. He looks great on the outside, but his inward attitudes are anything but lovely to God. That gets to the core of John MacArthur's current study titled The Sinfulness of Sin. Simply put, it's a call to examine your heart attitudes, the breeding ground for sin.

So, to help you make sure you're honoring Christ on the outside and on the inside, here's John with today's lesson.

John MacArthur: In Matthew chapter 5, verses 21 to 48, as our Lord gives standards for living in His kingdom, as He redefines and reemphasizes the divine standard given in the law of God, what He wants to say here is, the inside is infinitely more revealing, infinitely more important than the outside. What you are on the inside is what God is concerned with.

Jesus emphasized here in the Sermon on the Mount, and frankly throughout His whole ministry, that external ceremonies, that external religious rites, that certain works are not the whole issue.

That God is concerned with the heart. And that is precisely the thrust of verse 20. Look at it. "I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Now the scribes and the Pharisees had a righteousness that was external. And what Jesus is saying is, you must have one that exceeds that, which is internal. God is concerned about what you really are, not what you appear to be.

It is the internal that is infinitely more important than the external. That is essentially what verse 20 means. The righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees was an external, ceremonial, ritualistic, hypocritical legalism.

And the righteousness that God demands is something internal. Look at verse 21. "You have heard that it was said by them of old, you shall not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of judgment." Stop right there.

The key statement that we saw, and we'll see it all the way through, is, "You have heard that it was said by them of old," verse 21. Now there is a slight variation in the form, but that's basically the way it is in each of the six incidents. In a couple of them, it is abbreviated, but it essentially says the same thing.

Now, there are two possibilities with this. I want you to notice this, give a little Bible study here, it'll be helpful. It could read, "You have heard that it was said to them of old." Or, "by them of old." Could be either way. If it was to, it probably would refer to the Bible, the Law of Moses, the Old Testament. "You have heard that it was said to them of old."

But, "You have heard that it was said by them of old," indicates that it isn't the Bible speaking to the people, but some antiquity, some ancient people speaking. "By them of old." Frankly, I think "by them" is the proper rendering. I think the authorized is right in using that for several reasons.

I don't think that we should make it the Law of Moses. Jesus isn't saying, "You have heard that it was said to them of old by Moses or by God, but I'm saying this," or He'd be contradicting God. He'd be contradicting Moses. He'd be contradicting the Old Testament. Set aside the law, set aside the prophets. And that would be ridiculous because in verse 17, He just said He wouldn't do that.

So it isn't Moses and the Law that He's referring to. By the way, if it was Moses, I think He would have said, "You have heard that Moses commanded," or, "You have heard that it is written," because that's what He said in chapter 4, three times when He referred to the Old Testament. And in chapter 8 of Matthew, when He refers to the Old Testament, He says, "Moses commanded." So His way of referring to the Old Testament in the first eight chapters of Matthew is, "Moses said," or, "it is written." This statement is not used to refer to the Old Testament.

And by the way, rabbis were called "fathers of antiquity" or "men of long ago." That was a common term for rabbis. And that is what our Lord is referring to. "You have heard that it was said by the rabbis of old." In other words, this is a designation related to their oral teaching, that glossed over the true Law of God, that added their own thoughts to the revelation of the Old Testament.

And so Jesus is not contrasting the New Testament with the Old Testament, not contrasting His word with God's word, but with the word of the rabbis and their traditional interpretation, which had been given to the people. When Israel had gone into captivity in Babylon. When they went into the Babylonian captivity, they remained there 70 years. And during that time, historians tell us for the most part, they lost the Hebrew language. They ceased to speak Hebrew.

They picked up a language known as Aramaic. And so when they came back from captivity, they spoke Aramaic. In Jesus' time, they spoke Aramaic. Jesus taught probably in Aramaic. And of course, the New Testament was written down in Greek. But the people, the Jewish people spoke Aramaic. They were for the most part completely unfamiliar with Hebrew. As Jewish people are for the most part today.

So, the rabbis would come along. The rabbis would read the Hebrew, which the people didn't understand. The rabbis would interpret it. The people couldn't argue because they didn't know what it said either. And so they began to build an entire system based upon the ignorance of the people regarding the Hebrew text.

And so when the Lord says, "You have heard that it was said by them of old," He is saying, "The religion you have is the oral tradition of the rabbis, not the written word of God." You see, the embellishments and traditions and interpretations and deletions and additions, which became the Mishna, the codification of oral law, the Talmud, and all of that other stuff, which padded the truth of God into obscurity. Jesus says, "That's what you've been hearing."

And because they couldn't speak Hebrew, they couldn't verify what they were getting. And so our Lord comes along and says, "I am here to loose the law of God from the shackles of rabbinic mishmash."

And most significantly He attacks their emphasis on external works righteousness. And He strips all of the garbage off and lifts God's law back where it belongs. Now let me close this introduction by summarizing the key principles He's teaching in the passage.

Principle one, and I want you to remember. These are the things that are in the mind of Jesus in this whole section. Number one. It is the spirit of the law that is the priority, not the letter. It is the spirit of the law that is the priority, not the letter. The law, beloved, is not mechanical. That's what Jesus is saying. It is not simply functional. It is the inside that God is concerned about. You can be all white on the outside and a wretched, vile grave on the inside.

It is not the letter. The letter kills. It is the spirit that gives life. God is not looking for externals. He's looking for changed hearts. In Luke 16:15, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." Men and God judge differently about you.

You can play the game, talk the talk, do the works in the energy of the flesh, and justify yourself in your own eyes and in the eyes of others, and be an abomination to God because your heart is full of corruption. That's what He's saying. It is the spirit of the law that is the priority, not the letter. Second principle.

The law is not just negative, it is also positive. The Law of God is not just to prevent us from doing certain things. Its real object is to lead us to right attitudes. It is a positive thing. You're not justified by not doing certain things, but you are justified by thinking certain ways, positive righteousness.

They were concerned with what they didn't do. God was concerned with what they did do inside. Did they hunger after righteousness? Did they thirst after righteousness? Did they seek to be merciful? Were they pure in heart? Did they mourn over their sin? Were they poor in terms of of spirit? Were they peacemakers?

That's what God was concerned with. This is spiritual character, positive, not just negative. Third principle. The law is not an end in itself. Get it? The law is not an end in itself. It has a purpose.

What is the goal of the law? It isn't just an end in itself. Listen, the Pharisees said, "The goal of the law is to glorify me! When I keep the law, look at me! See how righteous I am!" But the end of the law was to glorify God.

Don't ask yourself, "Have I kept all the laws today?" Ask yourself, "Have I glorified God in my spirit today? Have I glorified God in my desires today? Have I glorified God in my wants and wishes today? Have I been free from phoniness? Have I had a pure heart that had no thought of evil or anger or hatred or bitterness or lust or unrighteousness to the glory of God?" The end of the law is not to justify me. That's the way the Pharisees saw it, it's to glorify God.

John Calvin in his Institutes makes this tremendous statement. "Let us agree that through the law, man's life is molded not only to outward honesty, but to inward and spiritual righteousness. Although no one can deny this, very few duly note it. This happens because they do not look to the lawgiver by whose character the nature of the law is to be appraised. Listen, if some king by edict forbids fornication, murder or theft, I admit," says Calvin, "that a man who doesn't commit such acts will not be bound by the penalty. That is because the mortal lawgiver's jurisdiction extends only to the outward political order. But God, whose eye nothing escapes, and who is concerned not so much with outward appearance as with purity of heart, forbids not only fornication, murder and theft, but lust, anger, hatred, coveting and deceit. For since He is a spiritual lawgiver, He speaks no less to the soul than He does to the body." End quote.

What Calvin means is if you think God's laws are only external, then you don't know the character of God. A fourth principle. God alone can judge men. Listen, He alone sees the secrets of the heart. He knows you. He knows if you're really a Christian or if you're playing a game. He knows if you're really carnal or spiritual as a believer. He knows. He knows whether it's just a matter of acts or attitudes. He knows whether the heart matches the outside.

Only God knows the secrets of the heart. In Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, "The Word of God is alive and powerful, and it says it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature not manifest in His sight. All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." God knows everything, but oh the next verse says, "We have a faithful, sympathetic, high priest, and let us come boldly before the throne of grace to seek mercy in time of need." Isn't it great? God knows our hearts. He knows if they're rotten, but He stands with His arms open as a sympathetic high priest, ready to give us grace and mercy.

God alone can judge the heart. And tell me this, isn't it true? Many a man and a woman can stand the judgment of men, but will fall before the discerning eye of God. And you better examine your own heart.

A final principle. Every person is commanded to live up to divine standards. That's right. Every person. Every person is commanded to live up to divine standards. "I say unto you, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will in no case enter the kingdom of heaven."

Chapter 5 closes with this, "Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect." Every person in the world is required to live up to that standard. You say, "You've got to be kidding." I'm not kidding.

"You mean I have to live to that standard with a pure inside as well as a right outside?" Yes. You say, "But I can't." You're right. You are absolutely right. And that's why the Apostle Paul gave us the solution in Romans chapter 3. Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous." What's the rest of the verse? "No, not one." You say, "John, Christ set a standard I can't attain."

And so says Paul in verse 21, "The righteousness of God is apart from the law manifested." How? "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe." Did you get it? You can't be that righteous, but listen, Christ is that righteous, and He gives His righteousness to those who believe. Is that great?

God sets a standard. You can't live up to it. And God says, "My son is not only the lawgiver, but He is the redeemer," who makes it possible for you to live on that level. Beloved, it's a fantastic thing. The standard is so high. We can't attain it. Christ met the standard and imputes to us His righteousness.

Apart from the law, we couldn't keep the law. Oh, what a blessed thing. You look at your heart and you say, "The outside's not bad." The inside is rotten. And if God did what was right, He would consume you in a blast of His fury. But because He's a merciful and gracious God, He makes His lawgiver not just a lawgiver, but a redeemer. And Jesus perfectly kept the law, and He imputes His righteousness to us, so that when God looks at a believer, He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ covering that person.

And I stand before God as righteous as Christ. But, beloved, you can't even have that gift of righteousness unless you recognize that what you need is that gift of righteousness. As long as you live your life justifying yourself on your external behavior, you'll never come to the desperation that reaches out and accepts the gift of righteousness. The great preacher of many years ago, Henry Ward Beecher, had a clock in this church that didn't keep good time.

It was always too fast or too slow. And he fiddled with it month after month after month trying to get it right. And it became kind of a standard topic of conversation in the church. And finally, in desperation, he put a sign over the clock that said, "Don't blame the hands, the trouble lies deeper." That's how it is in life, isn't it? Don't blame the hands. The trouble lies deeper. And until you deal with the deeper trouble, you're not going to change the hands. Let's pray.

Father, we know that only the righteousness of Jesus Christ can grant us the power to fulfill the Law of God. Only the righteousness of Jesus Christ can grant to us what we could never gain, what we could never earn. The standard is so high, which makes the gift so wonderful. Lord Jesus, help us to take that gift. And then, Lord, as Christians, help us to live without hypocrisy, being on the inside what we feign to be on the outside. And doing it all for Your glory, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Phil Johnson: You're listening to Grace to You Weekend, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. John's lesson today is part of his series titled The Sinfulness of Sin. Now earlier, John talked about how people in Jesus' day depended on their leaders to explain God's word to them. Of course, we still rely on Bible teachers, and certainly the Grace Community Church congregation and the Grace to You family relied on John MacArthur's teaching for more than five decades. But John's goal was always to help people interpret the scriptures for themselves. Here are some thoughts John shared along those lines.

John MacArthur: Yeah, as teachers, God has raised us up and He's given to the church pastors and teachers and we understand that calling and that gifting, and we understand the responsibility to rightly divide the word of truth because that's critical to the life of the church. But I've always believed from the very beginning that it wasn't for me to tell people what the Bible meant, it was always for me to show them why it had to mean that. It's different. I could say, well, this verse means this, and this verse means this and you can just believe me because I'm the expert. Or I can say, look at this verse this way. Look at how this compares to other verses. Look at the context of this, and you can see that this is exactly what it means yourself. So the right kind of expository preaching makes the hearer part of the process.

So, if you, if you teach them what the process is, then they can dig into the word of God on their own. But just having your Bible there, you may say, boy, I wish I had a little more information about this or a little more information about that. And that's why I wrote the MacArthur Study Bible. 25,000 notes on every page of the Bible, explaining some of the most important aspects of a given passage, kind of a get you started with a right interpretation of that passage. The MacArthur Study Bible has been going on now in multiple translations, multiple styles, hardbound, leatherbound, all kinds of choices.

It's a biblical library in one volume. And if you want to know what the Bible means by what it says, this is an initial resource.

Phil Johnson: That's right, friend. The MacArthur Study Bible can help you understand practically any passage in God's word and apply its truth to your life. It's a great Bible to have with you as you follow your pastor's sermons. To purchase a copy, contact us today. The MacArthur Study Bible comes in the New American Standard, New King James, English Standard and Legacy Standard versions. To find the one that's best for you, go to gty.org, or call us at 800-55-GRACE. Our phone number again, 800-55-GRACE. And our website, gty.org. When you visit the website, gty.org, check out the many ways you can take in John's verse-by-verse teaching. You can download 3,600 of his sermons free of charge in audio or transcript format. Just search by topic or book of the Bible, and if you're not sure where to start, log on to Grace Stream. It's a continual broadcast of John's teaching. We begin in Matthew and go all the way through Revelation. So, whether you have a few minutes or a couple of hours, you'll benefit from being in the flow of God's word. The sermon archive, Grace Stream, and much more is available at gty.org. Now for our entire staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for making this broadcast part of your day. Remember to watch Grace to You Television Sundays on Direct TV, Channel 378. Then be here next week for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on Grace to You Weekend.