I am a Jesus Pusher! “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). How do you calibrate or measure “righteousness.” To determine that our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, we must discover this, highlighting one of the major pitfalls of legalism. When we measure “righteousness” by the letter of the law, the spirit of the law is quickly lost, meaning our measurement becomes inadequate and partial. Immediately we begin to focus on what we can easily accomplish and disregard or excuse those things more difficult.
Jesus clearly said this in His final preached message. “For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone” (Matthew 23:23). Indeed, they were meticulous concerning tithing, even in more significant measure than the Old Testament Scriptures stated. Yet, those issues of concern to the heart of God, they ignored. The concerns of God’s heart are not issues we can discipline ourselves to do. They must flow from a changed nature, the Kingdom person. Jesus must fill me. I am a Jesus Pusher!