​Most people think the way to attain eternal life is by being good. This line of thinking evaluates righteousness as a point system, concluding that someone will get into heaven if their good works outnumber their bad deeds. 

But this is nonsense! The law was never intended to be a means to earn righteousness. It was given to guard us, to bless us, and to show us our unrighteousness so that we would be led to Jesus, who will provide us with His righteousness. 

Jesus confronts this current understanding repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount with this simple statement: “You have heard that it was said to those of old…but I say to you…”  

Watch our study of Matthew 5:21-48 as we listen to the words of Jesus and re-evaluate the current understanding of righteousness.

​The scribes and the Pharisees thought they were righteous because they followed and endeavored to fulfill the law. But righteousness can’t be acquired by following and fulfilling the law unless you follow and fulfill all of the law perfectly. Jesus is the only person who will ever live a life of perfect righteousness.

The Bible says that we all fall short of following or fulfilling all of the laws all of the time. But right after that, it says that “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (see Romans 3:21-26). In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it says, “God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” This verse helps us to understand what Jesus was talking about when He said our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. 

The entirety of the Bible is about God loving the world that He gave His one and only Son to live a perfect life to fulfill the law and the prophets and then to be the sinless substitutionary sacrifice for those who repent from sin and turn towards Him to receive from Him His righteousness. 

​The people listening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount weren’t “religious professionals”. They were common, everyday, ordinary people—all of them sinners. And yet, Jesus called them the salt of the earth and the light of the world. 

But He was just getting started. Soon after, He told them, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

Just how were these ordinary people supposed to exceed the righteous “religious professionals” who centered their entire lives around following the law—especially if Jesus wasn’t going to abolish the law? There must be another way!

Watch our study of Matthew 5:17-20 as we consider Jesus’ words in light of His fulfillment of the Laws and Prophets.

​In Acts 8, we read that Philip preached Jesus to an Ethiopian official. Does that mean that Philip stood behind a wooden box and raised the volume of his voice? No—but it does mean that he opened his mouth and, from the Word of God, talked to this man about Jesus.

Erase in your mind the cultural definition of a preacher because all that this word means is someone willing to open their mouth and talk to someone about Jesus.

When God sends a person by the power of the Holy Spirit to preach Jesus, you never know when or where that will happen—but God does! That’s the best part! He knows who He has been prompting and preparing—and then He sends YOU. And before you know it, you are speaking and telling others about Jesus. And just like that, another life is eternally altered and can be sent by God to preach Jesus to someone else.

​The preaching of the word of God is mentioned seven times in Acts 8. At the center of most of those mentions was a man named Philip. He was one of seven men who were appointed by the apostles to serve physical food so that the apostles could continue to serve spiritual food.

While Philip served, God was teaching, training, and forming him in preparation for what was next. Philip didn’t know it, but God was training him not only to be the first great missionary in the church but also to be the first great evangelist in the church.

Watch our study from Sunday as we consider this man Philip and how the Lord works through His willing servants.

​Before refrigeration, salt was the primary means of preservation. The use of salt stalled the process of deterioration or decomposition. This use of salt allowed society to grow and expand as it provided a way to transport food on long journeys. Salt was considered valuable because it was powerful.

Just as powerful is light. Light drives out darkness. You can go into a dark room and beat the darkness with a baseball bat—but despite all that effort, the darkness will remain. But if you simply turn on a light switch, strike a match, or light a lamp, the darkness is eliminated. 

When you live out the Beatitudes, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. You live in such a way that the watching world takes notice as you influence the people around you for the glory of God.

​Light and salt were two sermon illustrations Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount. But He didn’t use them at random. He chose these because they illustrate the Beatitudes and help us see what our attitudes must be if we continue in this beautiful, worthy difficulty called ‘ministry’ and what kind of influence these attitudes have on those around us.

That influence may come in one of two ways: first, we may slow down the sinful deterioration of others or society, and second, we may be used to see God transform a person or society to drive out the darkness.

Watch our study of Matthew 5:13-16 as we consider what could happen if we intentionally lived out what we learned at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.

​Ministry can only be a work of the Holy Spirit and not of the human will. If it were up to the human will, we would be in a constant state of victim mentality. If ministry depended upon our skills, abilities, or strength, happiness would evaporate the moment persecution comes along. 

And yet, Jesus told us that these things would happen. He said that persecution is part and parcel of ministry—and He said that we can be really happy when they inevitably do occur.

So when we are persecuted for righteousness sake, we are not victims. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). We can face persecution and be blessed through it. We can survive it with the help of the Holy Spirit—for ministry can only be a work of the Holy Spirit.