Latest / Reformed Thinking / Your Righteousness Must Exceed That of the Pharisees, for Every Healthy Tree Bears Good Fruit | John Piper

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Your Righteousness Must Exceed That of the Pharisees, for Every Healthy Tree Bears Good Fruit | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to the deep dive from Reformed thinking.
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This is the place where we take rich source material and really
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try to distill it, seeking out those foundational truths that
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shape our understanding of God's Word and, well, our walk with
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Him. And today we're looking at
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something absolutely central to the Christian life the nature of
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true righteousness. We'll be examining what it
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really means to follow Christ in a way that goes beyond, you
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know, just the outward display, right?
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We'll be drawing quite a bit from insights by John Piper,
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especially his reflections on passages from Matthew's Gospel.
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Our mission really is to uncover what it means for our hearts to
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be truly pure before God. And how that pure heart then
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produces a life that points to him.
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Exactly. You know, when I first used to
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think about righteousness, my mind often went straight to,
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well, a checklist do's and don'ts.
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Or maybe those famous figures, the Pharisees, they seem to have
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every external religious box ticked, didn't they?
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And I think many of us, maybe you listening, have felt that
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pressure of trying to be good, trying to achieve some kind of
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uprightness, often measuring it by, you know, visible actions or
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avoiding certain public sins. But Jesus, his standard is just,
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well, it's so much higher than that.
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It really challenges our assumptions.
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So what was the problem with the righteousness of the scribes and
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Pharisees? Why did Jesus insist on
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something more? That's really the starting
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point, isn't it? Because Jesus's words in
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Matthew, they directly confront the common understanding of
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righteousness in his day. I mean the Pharisees.
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By all outward measures, they look like paragons of religious
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devotions. They meticulously observed the
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law, added loads of traditions, fasted, prayed publicly, tithed
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on the tiniest herbs, mint, dill, cumin, you know the
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details. From a distance, it was an
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almost flawless picture of piety.
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They were admired, respected, maybe even feared by some for
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their strictness. They were the religious elite.
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The example. The gold standard, you might
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say. Right.
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But Jesus, he saw straight through that polished exterior.
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He described their approach in Matthew 23.26 as cleaning the
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outside of the cup and of the plate.
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But inside they're full of greed and self indulgence.
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Wow, that's quite an image. It is, think about it, a
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beautiful ornate cup gleaning on the outside, polished perfectly,
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but inside caked with grime. Maybe something disgusting.
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That was the spiritual reality Jesus saw outward show covering
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inner corruption. So it was all about appearance.
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Almost entirely visible conformity to rules, getting
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human praise, maintaining the reputation.
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They were doing the right things technically, but for all the
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wrong reasons. Their hearts weren't really
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devoted to God. What were they devoted to then?
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Well. Their own self righteousness,
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their status, their influence. And it's against that backdrop
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that Jesus drops His bombshell in Matthew 5.20.
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He tells his disciples, I tell you, unless your righteousness
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exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter
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the Kingdom of heaven. Exceeds theirs.
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For the people hearing that first, that must have been.
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Shocking. Absolutely shocking.
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Like saying unless you're better than the best, you won't make
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it. It meant the conventional path,
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the path everyone thought was right, was totally insufficient.
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So it wasn't just about doing more rules or being slightly
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better externally. No, it signals that a surface
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level adherence, no matter how strict, just isn't what God is
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looking for. And the stakes?
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Jesus makes it plain, the eternal entry into his Kingdom.
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That statement really is a game changer for you listening.
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Maybe you felt like I have trying to live a good life
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thinking if you just follow enough rules, avoid enough big
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sins, do enough religious stuff, you'll be okay.
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Yeah, calming feeling. But Jesus just pulls the rug out
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from under that kind of thinking here.
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He's not calling for like Phariseism 2 point O.
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He wants something fundamentally different.
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So if it's not about external performance, what is this
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exceeding righteousness really about?
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What kind of purity is Jesus actually looking for?
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Well, the absolute core of this surpassing righteousness is what
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Jesus calls purity of heart. He lays it out so clearly in the
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Beatitudes Matthew 5.8. Blessed are the pure in heart,
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for they shall see God. See God?
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What does that mean exactly? Like literally seeing him.
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It's probably more than just a visual thing, though that might
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be part of it. Ultimately, it speaks more to a
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deep, intimate fellowship with God, being truly acceptable in
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His presence, able to behold Him, understand Him, and joy Him
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in His glory and character. OK, So what defines this purity
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of heart? Is it just not doing bad things?
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It's definitely more than that, although bad actions often
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spring from an impure heart. Of course, the source material
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we looked at defines impurity as anything that takes God's place
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or lessens the degree of our faith in and our love for God.
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Anything that takes God's place, huh?
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Think about that. It broadens the scope way beyond
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just, you know, obvious sins. It gets into subtle idolatry.
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It means anything, even good things, things that seem
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virtuous if they start capturing our ultimate allegiance, our
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deepest affections, our primary trust.
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They become impurities. Yeah, so they start siphoning
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off the trust and love that are meant entirely for God.
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Take someone really driven in their career, ambition,
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providing for family, passion for their work.
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Those can be good things, but if that career becomes the ultimate
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source of their worth, their security, their joy, if it
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starts to surpass their reliance on God?
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Then it's taken God's place. Exactly.
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The heart, by its design, is meant to be singularly focused
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on God, to put its complete trust in Him, to love Him
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supremely above everything else. This inner orientation, this
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undivided devotion of our deepest desires and trust, that
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is the true purity Jesus is looking for.
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It's about where our ultimate affections lie.
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Not just where our actions are pointed outwardly.
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Wow, that is a piercing distinction, isn't it?
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It really challenges us to look past what we do and examine what
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we treasure, what our heart genuinely values above all else,
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and that inner reality that leads us to this interesting
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idea from Surin Kierkegaard you mentioned earlier.
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It does. Kierkegaard, the Danish
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philosopher and theologian, wrote a famous book called
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Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing.
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The title itself points to the singular focus, this unity of
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purpose. To will one thing right now,
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John Piper, in his reflections, takes that idea and adapts it
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slightly. He prefers to change the word
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will to treasure. Why that change from will to
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treasure? Well, Piker suggests that
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willing can sometimes sound like just an act of willpower, a
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forced choice, maybe even something that goes against our
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true desires. You know, if we're just willing
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ourselves to obey God out of sheer duty, but our heart is
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secretly longing for something else.
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That's not really purity, is it? Exactly as Piper puts it,
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Willing to have God that way, like a course choice against our
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real affections. That wouldn't be purity of
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heart. True purity instead rises to the
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degree that God is treasured supremely in Jesus.
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Treasured. So it's about desire, affection,
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yes. It means genuinely seeing Jesus
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as more to be desired than any other reality.
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Our deepest affections are actually aligned with our will.
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It's not just doing what's right, but loving what's right
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and loving the one who is right. And that's the key difference
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from the Pharisees. That's the core difference.
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Yes, they might have willed to obey outwardly, very
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meticulously even, but their hearts weren't supremely
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captivated by God himself. Their real treasures were
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elsewhere. Oh, perhaps their reputation
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among people, their pride in keeping the law perfectly for
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its own sake. Maybe their social standing,
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their will, might have aimed at external performance, but their
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inner treasury was full of other things they valued more.
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When you think about what you truly treasure, what your heart
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genuinely prizes above all others, yeah, that really does
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reveal so much about us. It shapes our choices, sets our
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priorities, frames our whole outlook.
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For you listening, maybe take a moment right now.
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What does your heart truly prize?
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Is it God supremely? Is he the one thing your heart
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is fixed on? Or are there other things
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competing for that top spot, this inner posture, the supreme
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treasuring of God? That's where true righteousness
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begins. It separates it from just going
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through the motions. A really vital question.
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And this kind of radical change of heart, this new way of
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treasuring Jesus supremely, it's not something we could just work
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up ourselves through effort or discipline.
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It's crucial to grasp that it is first and foremost explicitly
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called a gift of God. A gift.
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Yes, Jesus talks about it as new birth.
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Remember John 3.7? You must be born again.
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He also links it closely with repentance.
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Now these are commands. Jesus tells us to repent, to be
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born again. Right, it sounds like something
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we have to do. It does.
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But here's the paradox. He also grants what he commands.
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It's like an assume summons behind all his other
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instructions. When he commands us to live
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righteously, he's implicitly calling us to have the kind of
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heart that can live that way, heart that genuinely treasures
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him. OK, so he commands it, but he
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also enables it. Precisely.
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And there's this fascinating, almost mysterious element to it.
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Jesus describes the spirits work in John 3.8.
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The wind blows where it wishes. You hear it sound, but you do
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not know where it comes from or where it goes.
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So it is with everyone who was born of the Spirit.
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The wind unpredictable. Exactly.
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It shows that while we're called to respond, the source of this
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new spiritual life, this new desire for God, is ultimately
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God himself through his Spirit. So God commands the new heart,
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and God by his Spirit grants the new heart freely, often
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unpredictably, according to his sovereign will.
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It means the ability to treasure him supremely isn't a human
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achievement, it's a divine impartation.
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So there's this incredible dynamic here, God's clear
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command, have a pure heart, His gracious gift giving us that
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heart through the Spirit. And then our part, it's not like
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we just sit back passively, right?
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It feels like an interaction. What is our corresponding part
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in this divine work? Our part is essentially to
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respond to what God is revealing and offering.
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It's summed up as to see the Jesus who is really there and
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trust him for all that he is. See him and trust him.
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Yes, it's an invitation to respond to a God is already
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doing, both in revealing Christ and working by His Spirit.
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It means recognizing the truth about Jesus, His perfection, His
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worth, His saving work, and then placing our complete trust, our
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reliance, our hope in Him for everything we need.
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It's an act of receiving what God freely offers and has
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already begun. Receiving.
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But even with this new heart as a gift you mentioned it's not
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passive. The source material describes
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maintaining purity as wow, something quite intense.
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Yes, it's described as a life and death battle.
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It's not a one time decision followed by this automatic easy
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existence of purity. No, it's a struggle.
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No, Jesus provides the crucial help.
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John 15.5 is clear. Apart from me you can do
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nothing. We absolutely depend on him,
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right? But we access, we encounter that
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divine strength through our willingness to engage in radical
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and persistent attacks on our own sinfulness, this pursuit of
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purity. It's meant to be relentless, not
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just a casual hobby. Radical and persistent attacks?
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That sounds serious. It is.
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Think about how Jesus puts it in Matthew 5.6.
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He says the blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
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righteousness, and he promises they shall be satisfied.
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Hunger and thirst. Yeah, think about real hunger
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and thirst. They aren't just fleeting
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desires, are they? They're fundamental signs of
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life, deep gnawing needs. When you're genuinely starving
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or parched, you don't just think, oh, maybe I'll eat later.
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You stop everything. You Orient your whole day around
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finding food or water. Exactly.
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That's the intensity. That's the urgency with which
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we're called to pursue purity of heart.
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It's not like a casual craving for a chocolate bar.
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It's that deep, driving need. It motivates us to act
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decisively against anything that compromises our hearts singular
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devotion to God. It's a continual, urgent effort.
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That really clarifies things. The Christian life isn't some
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relaxed stroll after you make a decision for Christ.
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It's an active daily engagement, a dynamic struggle really
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happening inside. It demands constant vigilance, a
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constant effort against our own sinful desires.
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Not just the big obvious ones, but those subtle inner impulses,
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those affections that try to pull our hearts away from
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treasuring God supremely. A constant realignment.
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And when Jesus talks about this battle, he uses some of the
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most, well, snortling images in all of scripture to drive home
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how serious this fight is. He says Matthew 5.2930 If your
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right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.
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Better to lose one part than your whole body be thrown into
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hell. And if your right hand causes
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you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
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Stark words. They really are.
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These aren't gentle suggestions, are they?
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They're designed to shake us out of any casual view of sin, to
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grab our attention and show us just how serious this is, urging
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us to think about the radical steps needed to avoid eternal
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consequences. Absolutely, and it's really
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crucial to be clear here, Jesus is not advocating literal self
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mutilation. Right, that's important.
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The source material points this out Well.
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Even if you did pluck out your right eye, your left eye would
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still be there, still capable of looking and stirring up lust.
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The problem isn't the physical organ itself.
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It's the heart behind it. Precisely.
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It's the internal inclination, the heart's desire, that misuses
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the organ. So the core battle, the source
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says, is for purity of heart before the purity of the bed,
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Meaning the inner state of our desires has to be pure before
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our outward actions can be truly pure.
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Without that inner purity, everything in the bed is impure.
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So even seemingly OK actions could be tainted.
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Yes, if driven by impure motives or desires.
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The imagery, the tearing out the eye, cutting off the hand, it
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simply stresses how enormous the stakes are and that we must do
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what we have to do to defeat the bondage of sinful desire.
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Do what we have to do a spiritual amputation then.
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That's a good way to put it, a radical, decisive action against
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our sin, addressing the root, the inner desire, the corrupting
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affections, not just trying to manage the outward expression.
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You know, so many people approach their sin casually,
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like it's a minor flaw, a bad habit.
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Yeah. Oh that's just me or everyone
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struggles with this. Right.
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But Jesus commands something far more drastic.
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Fight for a pure heart with the same urgency, the same
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ruthlessness you'd use to save your physical life.
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The severity of the image points directly to the severity of the
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spiritual danger. That's such a stark contrast to
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how we often trivialize our inner struggles, isn't it?
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We might tolerate certain desires or thoughts, thinking
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well, this is I don't act on them.
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But Jesus makes it clear this is a fight for the soul itself.
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If he uses such violent, urgent language, the consequences of
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not fighting, of being complacent about heart purity,
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they must be truly dire. So what is at stake if we fail
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in this fight? What's at stake is truly
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immense. It's eternal separation from
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God, What the Bible often calls hell, The text state it plainly.
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If we forsake the battle for purity, we will perish.
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Perish. Not just have a bad life, but
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perish eternally. These warnings from Jesus are
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meant to be taken face value. This isn't just hyperbole to
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make a point. He's talking about eternal
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consequences for those who persist in a heart that doesn't
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treasure God and doesn't actively fight against sin and
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this intense fight against our own sin.
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It's also described, maybe drawing from Matthew 11.12 as
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taking the Kingdom by force, but crucially, it's force against
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your sin, not force against God. OK, explain that difference.
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Force against sin, not God. It's not about trying to force
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our way into God's presence through our own strength or
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merit, like battering down heaven's gates.
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No, it's about violently attacking the sin within us that
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would prevent us from inheriting the Kingdom.
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So it's an internal violence against the things that keep us
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out. Exactly.
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A fierce internal battle for our eternal lives.
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It demands a kind of spiritual self crucifixion, putting sin to
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death within us. It's a necessary struggle to
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ensure we're truly aligned with God's Kingdom, not the Kingdom
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of self and sin. This really does under score the
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seriousness of our struggle with sin and just how critical
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pursuing heart purity is. It's a matter of eternal
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consequence for you listening, for all of us who named Christ,
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it's a sobering warning against any casual or passive attitude
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toward inward sin. But hearing all this, hearing
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about the high standard, the intense battle, the dire stakes,
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it naturally raises A crucial question.
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Where does a believer find any security?
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How can we live with this demanding call?
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That is the crucial question, isn't it?
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Because without a solid answer here, these commands could
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easily lead to despair or constant anxiety.
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And the answer is that our sense of security rests most
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decisively on our location and God's invincible favor.
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Our location. What does that mean?
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Think of it like having citizenship in a Kingdom, or
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maybe owning a piece of property outright.
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It's an objective reality, a status that isn't based on your
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daily performance or feelings. It's something established
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outside of you. This location is described as
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the decisive rock of our security and assurance, and it's
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objective, outside of us and unchanging.
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Unchanging so it doesn't fluctuate with our ups and
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downs. Not at all.
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It's complete and perfect because it's based entirely on
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God's character and Christ's finished work, not on our own
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shaky merits. And this location includes some
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truly glorious truths for everyone who trusts in Jesus.
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OK. Like what?
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Well, first we belong to God before we belong to Jesus.
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That's from John 17.6. It speaks to God's sovereign
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choice, His grace that chose us even before we chose Him.
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Wow. Predestination election.
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Yes. Second, our names are written in
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heaven. Luke 10.20.
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That's our spiritual citizenship.
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A permanent record and unchangeable identity is his.
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Written in heaven, OK. 3rd We are justified, declared
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righteous by faith in God's free mercy because of Christ.
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That's based on passages like Luke 18.14.
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God declares us righteous not based on our deeds, but solely
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on Christ's perfect righteousness credited to us
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through faith. So our legal standing is perfect
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in Christ. Absolutely. 4th we are ransomed
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from every enemy that would destroy our souls as Mark 10.45
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speaks about Ransom. Christ paid the price to free us
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from sin, death, the devil. Ransomed, Freed, 5th.
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We are forgiven all our sins to the blood of Christ.
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Matthew 26.28 points to this. Every sin, past, present,
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future, covered by His sacrifice.
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All of them. All of them forgiven in terms of
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our judicial standing before God.
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And 6th we possess now the new life of the Spirit, which is
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eternal. John 5.24 talks about passing
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from death to life. This spiritual life we receive
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now is indestructible. It's eternal.
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So belonging to God, names written, justified, ransom
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forgiven, possessing eternal life.
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That's our location. Those truths together constitute
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our perfect, unchanging location in God's favor.
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That's the rock solid foundation of our security.
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It's entirely outside of us and utterly reliable.
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That is a truly liberating truth.
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Our standing, our security, it's all based on his work, not our
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efforts. It's fixed, done.
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You're either in that location by faith or you're not.
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It doesn't wobble based on how good your week was.
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But I can hear some listeners thinking, OK, if it's that
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secure, why bother striving for purity?
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Doesn't that just lead to complacency?
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Maybe even thinking the rules don't matter anymore.
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How does this objective location connect with the very real, very
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demanding call to live righteously?
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Is it just an invisible status or does it show up somehow?
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That's a vital tension, and it brings us straight to the second
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part of our security. It's outward expression.
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It's demonstration. While God establishes our
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location purely by grace through faith alone, it's a gift.
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He's also ordained that it be fitting for the location to have
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a demonstration in the world. Fitting for it to have a
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demonstration explain that OK. Think of it like this.
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If you inherit a beautiful estate, the legal deed is your
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objective location as the owner. That deed secures your ownership
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completely. Right, the paperwork.
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But it would be fitting, It would make sense that this
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ownership would also be demonstrated by you living there
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maybe, or caring for the grounds, planting an orchard,
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showing signs of life and ownership.
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The demonstration doesn't create the ownership, but it shows it
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exists. Exactly in the same way the way
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we live shows our location, it does not create the location.
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This demonstration is that righteousness, Jesus said, must
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exceed the Pharisees. It's the outward evidence of the
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inner reality. And is this demonstration
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optional like a bonus? No, the source material is
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clear. It is necessary, not optional,
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for final salvation. Not as the basis of salvation,
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but is the indispensable evidence of it.
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It's the fruit that proves the tree is alive and healthy.
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Necessary, but not the basis. That's a fine line.
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It is, and it's crucial. There's a very sobering
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statement in the source that clarify this.
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If there is no demonstration of our location in God's favor,
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then the location does not exist.
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So a complete lack of demonstration implies the
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location itself isn't real. That's the implication.
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Again, this isn't about achieving perfection day by day.
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It's about an observable, consistent pattern of life that
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reflects A genuinely changed heart, a heart that treasures
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Christ. The external actions become a
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vital mirror reflecting the inner reality of being truly
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located in God's favor. So just to be clear, our
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behavior doesn't earn our salvation.
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That's secured by Christ's work, our location.
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But our behavior is essential confirmation that we actually
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have that salvation. It's the visible proof that the
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invisible spiritual reality is present and active.
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OK, are you listening? That's worth considering.
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What outward signs, what demonstration exists in your
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life that points to being located in God's favor?
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What shows the reality of that interchange?
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Which leads us to the next question.
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If this demonstration is necessary and we still struggle
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so much, how does God actually enable it to happen?
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Right, because if he just demanded it and left us to
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ourselves, we'd fail. But the assurances that this
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necessary demonstration will indeed occur because it is
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infallibly enabled by God. Infallibly enabled so God
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guarantees it will happen in His true children.
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Yes. He doesn't just command it and
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walk away. He doesn't expect us to produce
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this fruit by sheer willpower. He actively provides everything
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we need. This assurance rests on several
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key truths. OK, let's hear them.
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One Jesus promises that nothing, absolute nothing, can snatch us
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out of his hand. John 10.2829 That's his
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preserving power over us. He holds us secure.
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Two, he promises a helper, the Holy Spirit will come and stay
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with us, not leave us alone in this battle.
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John 14/15/16 are full of this. The Spirit and powers, guides,
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convicts, strengthens. We're not.
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Alone in the fight. Three, Jesus himself promises
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his own presence. I am with you always to the end
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of the age. Matthew 28.20.
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His constant companionship provides sustenance.
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His presence got it. For war, Jesus actively prays
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for us. He pray that Peter's faith
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wouldn't fail. He prays for the Father to keep
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us. Luke 22.
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John 17. His ongoing intercession
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guarantees our preservation. Christ is praying for us.
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That's amazing. 5 Jesus assumes we will be imperfect and makes
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provision for it. He teaches us to pray, forgive
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us our debts. In Matthew 6, he acknowledges
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our ongoing struggle and provides the path for
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forgiveness and restoration within that secure location.
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So failure doesn't mean we're out, no.
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Six. What is required of us, even
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when it feels impossible from our side, like radical purity of
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heart, is not impossible with God.
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Matthew 19.26 His power enables what we cannot do alone.
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God's power makes it possible. And finally, 7 What's required
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in our demonstration is evidence of God-given life, not
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flawlessness. This is so critical.
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God isn't looking for perfection.
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He's looking for the discernible signs of genuine spirit given
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life, which will manifest in good fruit over time.
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Evidence of life, not flawlessness.
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OK, these truths together give us solid confidence God's
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working us will produce the necessary grace exalting
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demonstration. He starts it, He sustains it,
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and He will bring it to completion.
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Those promises really do highlight God's faithfulness,
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His incredible provision. He not only establishes our
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standing by grace, our location, but He also enables us by that
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same grace to live in a way that visibly shows that standing.
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It truly is His work from start to finish.
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He doesn't just demand we cross the ocean.
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He provides the boat, the fuel, the navigation, everything.
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And this brings us perfectly to one of Jesus's most helpful
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analogies for this exact idea, the inner reality leading to
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outward demonstration. That's right.
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Jesus uses a very simple, earthy yet profound analogy, the
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picture of a tree and its fruit in Matthew 7 verses 17 to 19.
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He says every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the disease tree
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bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad
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fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
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Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and throw
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into the fire. Tree and fruit.
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Simple enough. Simple, but it establishes this
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direct, undeniable link between the inherent nature of the tree,
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is it healthy or diseased, and the fruit it produces.
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You don't expect to get good apples from a thorny Bush,
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right? No, of course not.
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Nor would you expect delicious ripe Peaches from a tree that's
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obviously sick, withered and barren.
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The fruit, or the lack of it, becomes the clear external proof
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of the tree's internal condition.
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It's a natural organic outcome. For you listening, that analogy
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really poses a direct question, doesn't it?
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What kind of fruit is your life consistently producing?
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Is it mostly good fruit, or is there an overwhelming pattern of
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bad fruit? And remember, as we just heard,
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this isn't about achieving perfection in every single
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action, but about the general nature.
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The consistent pattern that reveals the health of the tree
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is the overall pattern of your life, your actions, attitudes,
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desires, aligning with a pure heart that truly treasures God
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supremely. And when Jesus says a healthy
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tree cannot bear bad fruit, it's really crucial to understand
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what that doesn't mean. It does not mean that no
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follower of his ever sins. OK, that's a relief.
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Because if it meant absolute sinlessness.
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Then none of us would qualify as a healthy tree.
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We all stumble, we all fail. We all have moments, even
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seasons sometimes, of falling short even after we have new
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life in Christ. The understanding, rather, is
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that a healthy tree cannot go on bearing bad fruit as its
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continuous, overwhelming, unrepentant pattern.
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Cannot go on bearing it like it's not the defining
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characteristic. Exactly.
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The Greek tense suggests a sustained action, a life
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characterized by bad fruit. The tree is cut down, Jesus
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warns, for producing so much bad fruit that there is no evidence
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that the tree is good. It's not about the occasional
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wormy apple or a branch that has a bad year.
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It's about a consistent overall production that reveals the
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fundamental nature of the tree itself.
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So it's about a life that lacks any genuine, consistent evidence
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of that divine life within. Yes, the absence of good fruit
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or the overwhelming dominance of bad fruit is the main
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characteristic indicates a fundamental problem with the
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tree's identity and health. It's a warning against hypocrisy
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or indifference or persistent rebellion against God's ways,
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even if someone makes outward religious claims.
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That clarifies it. So genuine spiritual life, the
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kind that flows from a pure heart treasuring God, will
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consistently produce good fruit over all, even amidst struggles
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and imperfections. It means a life that is
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generally characterized by righteousness, even if it's not
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flawless. There'll be a discernible
27:13
pattern, a trajectory of seeking God, fighting sin, living for
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Him, even if progress feels slow or includes setbacks.
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That's right, and ultimately what God will require.
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The judgment is not our perfection, but sufficient fruit
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to show that the tree had life, in our case divine life.
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Sufficient fruit to show life, not flawlessness.
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Not flawlessness, but tangible evidence that the new birth
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really happened, that God's Spirit is genuinely at work
27:38
inside, that the heart has truly been changed to treasure Him
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supremely. This sufficient fruit is the
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visible manifestation of that inner reality.
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And the purpose of all this demonstration, this fruit
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bearing? The ultimate purpose is for God
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to be glorified. He gets the glory both for His
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Amazing Grace in establishing our secure location in His favor
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through Christ, and for His ongoing grace and supplying all
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the help we need to actually demonstrate this location
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through our conduct through our fruit.
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So our good fruit doesn't point to how good we are.
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It points back to him. Exactly.
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It points back to him as the source of all goodness, the one
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who initiated, sustained and will complete the work in us.
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So this fruit is the natural outward overflow of an inner
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spirit given spiritual life. It's the visible confirmation of
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that invisible reality. Fitting demonstration that the
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tree is indeed healthy because its roots are drawing life from
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Christ himself. We come back then to Jesus's
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powerful words from the Sermon on the Mount.
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Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
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Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.
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This deep dive, I hope, is really highlighted that the
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succeeding righteousness isn't rooted in external showmanship.
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It's rooted in a pure heart, a heart that supremely treasures
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God. It's a fundamental shift from
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just outward appearance to inner affection and allegiance.
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And critically, it's a heart given by God, then nurtured
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through that life and death struggle against sin we talked
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about and then demonstrated through good fruit.
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And all of this is enabled by God's ongoing help and his
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preserving grace. So our counsel for you, the
29:13
listener, is really twofold. Trust Christ alone for the
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absolute security of your location in God's invincible
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favor. Rest there.
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Rest in that objective. Truth and also trust Him for the
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abundant help He promises to actually change your heart more
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and more and to lead you in those demonstrable acts of love
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and righteousness. Remember, God both commands and
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equips. He provides what He requires.
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So maybe consider this as you go about your week.
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How does this understanding of a righteousness rooted in a God
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giving God enabled God treasuring heart?
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How does that reshape your perspective on what it truly
29:47
means to live a righteous life? What might this shift from
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focusing manly on external performance to focusing on inner
29:54
affection and trust? What might that mean for your
29:56
own daily pursuit of purity? We really encourage you to seek
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Him and His truth in His Word. Thank you for joining us for
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this deep dive. You've been listening to the
30:04
deep dive from Reformed Thinking.