“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.”‭

Matthew‬ ‭5:20‬

     This plainly tells us that the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees is not enough. Because in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, it plainly says one’s righteousness needs to EXCEED that of the scribes and Pharisees. Therefore, the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is a righteousness that is not adequate or sufficient.

     And it falls short of the glory and the requirements for an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. And the reason it falls short is because it is “a righteousness” that is not imputed by God, which is unto the heart, being a righteousness that is worn as a garment of white on “the inside”, but, rather, is a man-made garment of righteousness, worn on “the outside”, adorned through the idol of self-righteousness. Which is as a sin unto the eyes of God (Romans 2:1-5). For any idol is a sin in the sight of God. And, of itself, self-righteousness is equally damnable because it keeps the hearts of people from seeing their need for the Jesus of the gospel.

     Which are all those who subject themselves to their own version of righteousness. For do we not read further in Romans: “For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:3). Being those who justify themselves in the sight of men, yet God knows their hearts.

     “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:23-24).

     Which is an insufficiency of righteousness that whilst they kept some laws as were fitting for what was highly esteemed by men, having currency with men, they neglected the weightier provisions of the law, being what has currency with God. And for those who seek to earn righteousness through keeping the law, but who stumble on just one of the laws, are we not told: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10).

     So, for all those who pursue a righteousness imputed separate from and independent from Christ, separate from and independent from repentance, and the declaration of faith, who seek to earn their way into the kingdom of heaven by ascribing unto themselves the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees through being justified by the law, or their own laws of right and wrong, good and evil, are we not told: “You have been SEVERED from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have FALLEN from grace.” (Galatians 5:4).

     For, honestly, “Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin"? (Proverbs 20:9). And is it not decreed: “There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.” (Proverbs 30:12). For is it not written: “For it is NOT he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the “LORD” commends.” (2 Corinthians 10:18).

     And did Jesus not say unto them: “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15). Which is a righteousness in the sight of God as detestable as filthy rags. “Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.” (Isaiah 64:6).

     For if we truly desire righteousness, are we not told: “Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6). And if it is something that “fills us”, is this not something that happens on “the inside”? Which is not something we apportion on “the outside”, such as the “whitewashed tombs” and “bleached bones” of the scribes and Pharisees.

     For did Jesus not strongly reprove of a righteousness that only speaks to “appearances” rather than to a truly changed nature? Which is something that only happens on the inside? In the realm of the heart? Did He not say: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” (Matthew 23:27).

     For is the kingdom mandate not plain and clear? Is it not, “Seek ye first the “kingdom of God” and “HIS righteousness”? (Matthew 6:33). Which is not YOUR righteousness, or MY righteousness, being the righteousness of those who seek to establish their own, but it is HIS righteousness. And HIS alone. And then, and only then, for he who is thereby approved by the Lord, and not by his own commendation of himself, then “all these things shall be added unto you”. Beginning with an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. An entrance approved by God alone. Not man.