What came into your mind when I just read that scripture, be ye perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect? I have heard people say, well, that means mature. No, it doesn't. He said, be ye perfect, even as your father, which is in heaven, is perfect. The only way you can be perfect is if you are perfect. Hebrews 10, 14 says, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. If you're a believer, you are perfect in Christ Jesus. Now that's only known by faith. It's only known because that's what the Word of God says. But think about this. You are perfect in Christ Jesus. You can't be imperfect and be perfect. That's impossible. Every believer is perfect in Christ Jesus. Jesus. That's a hard thing to get hold of, isn't it? I'm perfect. I'm aware of my sin, and yet I can say, I am perfect. When God looks at me, he sees one who is perfect.

Now, this is the conclusion to what the Lord said in verses 21 through 47. And verses 21 through 47 is an explanation and an expansion of what he said in verses 17 through 20. Look in verse 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, who's the only one that describes? I don't have to answer, do I? There's only one that that describes. the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one who did them and taught them. He's the one who is called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you that your righteousness, for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Now he explains to us what the fulfillment of the law and righteousness is. Let's read this together, this verse 21 through the concluding statement in verse 48. He names six laws from the scriptures. You've heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Rekha, you vain, worthless fellow, shall be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember'st that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time The adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto you, thou shalt by no means come out then, still thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Here's the second example he gives. You've heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, cast it from thee, for it's profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, cast it from thee, for it's profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

It has been said, here's the third example. It has been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. That's Deuteronomy 32.1, or somewhere in Deuteronomy. It's not 32, but that's a quotation of a scripture. But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, Saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery. And whosoever shall marry her that's divorced, commiteth adultery.

Again, here's the fourth thing, again you've heard it being said by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, for it's God's throne. Neither by earth, for it's his footstool. Neither by Jerusalem, for it's the city of the great king. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay. For whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

You've heard that it's been said an eye for an eye. And a tooth for a tooth, that's quoted three times in the Old Testament. But I say unto you, that you resist not evil. But whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that ask thee, and from him that would borrow thee, turn not thou away.

You've heard that it has been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. Once again, that is an Old Testament scripture. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father, which is in heaven, is perfect.

Now six times in that passage of scripture, I just read, he says, you've heard it said. And he quotes the scripture. And then he says, I say unto you. And he gives us six illustrations of what the righteousness is that every believer possesses. It's a whole lot better than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, but this is the righteousness that every believer possesses. And he speaks with the authority of God when he speaks.

I love the way he says, I say it to you. You've heard it being said, you've heard it said, I say it to you in our hearts before that just we bow. What he says is right. He speaks with the authority of God for this one singular reason, he is God. And he says, I the law giver and the one who determines what the law means. And he lets us know what the law means, unlike what the scribes and Pharisees thought.

I say unto you, absolute authority, immutable, irrevocable, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, independent authority. I say unto you, says the one who's meek and lowly in heart. Isn't he glorious? I say unto you. When the man Christ Jesus speaks, eternal God speaks.

Now the law, which the Pharisees thought they had kept, they thought that because they had no understanding of the law. And they thought they kept it in the letter, which they didn't even do that, although they said they did, but they had no clue as to what the spirit of the law meant. And you know, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3, the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Now he's talking about not only the 10 commandments, but all other 613 commandments in the Pentateuch. That's the law he came to fulfill.

Now, the first thing he mentions is thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. Now, I would say if there is a commandment that most people think they've probably obeyed, it's this one. I've never murdered anybody. I mean, I haven't. Well, that's the letter of the law, not the Spirit. But we did murder the Son of God, so yes, you have murdered somebody. God the Son.

And to not kill a man means more than you didn't murder, it means you've never been angry without a cause. That's what the Lord says. It is to not call or believe a man to be raker. A vain, worthless, empty fellow. How many times have you called a man, Rekha, vain, worthless, empty, somebody created in the image of God and you've called him that?

And what about a fool? He said, to be angry with your brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment, not just murder. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Rakeh, you vain, worthless person, shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Now, if that's what murder is, are you a murderer? Have you committed murder? How many times have you and I addressed people in this cold, heartless way.

Now look what he goes on to say. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there remembers that thy brother hath ought against thee. Maybe you thought he's a fool. He's a worthless man. Maybe if you even said it, you idiot, you numbskull, you're a fool. You're a vain and worthless fellow. Everybody in this room has thought that about somebody more than once, multiple times.

Now, if you did, And you remember that your brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift." Be reconciled to your brother before you even think about offering a gift. Agree, verse 25.

Now this is the advocate, the lawyer who has convicted you of murder. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him. Agree quickly. Well, I'm saying agree, murderer. I agree, I agree.

Lest the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison, verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out till thou hast paid the uttermost for the murder. The second example he gives is in verse 27. You've heard that was said by them of old time. thou shalt not commit adultery. Now, there are people who can honestly say, I have been faithful to my spouse. I have not committed adultery. I'm not guilty of that particular sin. Now look what the Lord says next. But I say unto you, there we have that again, that whosoever looketh on a woman, To lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. He didn't say it's as if he committed adultery. It says he hath committed adultery already in his heart. Are you an adulterer?

Now, if you want to go the law route, look what he says to do. Verse 29, if thy right eye is in thee, if it causes you to look after a woman to lust after in your heart, pluck it out, cast it from thee. If you want to go the law route, this is what you need to do. Pluck it out. If your hand causes you to offend, if you do something wrong with your hand, if you sin with your hand, cut it off. If you want to go the law route, cut it off. Cast it from thee. It's better to enter into life halt or maimed than to have two eyes, two hands, and two feet to be cast into hell fire.

Now, remember, the Lord had a whole lot more to say about hell than anybody else. He's the only one really who knew what it was. Anybody else, we're just speaking what we think, he knows. He knows. You know what's interesting? What's the first thing that's pointed out after Adam and Eve ate the fruit? Their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked. Now, before the fall, It says they were naked and not ashamed. They didn't have a sinful nature. If they saw naked people, it would mean meaningless to them because they had innocent natures that did not sin. But after the fall, the first thing that's pointed out, they knew they were naked. Now, everybody in this room and everybody outside of this room is an adulterer. You can't look down your nose at anybody. You have done the same thing.

Now look what he says about marriage. Verse 31, it's been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. Deuteronomy 24 one, that's in the law. Moses said, if you could put away your life, your wife, give her a bill of divorcement, get rid of her. Verse 32, you'll remember when the Pharisees asked him about this, he said, Moses said, if you want to divorce your wife for any reason, give her a bill of divorcement. And Lord said, he said, because the hardness of your hearts, but in the beginning, It was not so. And he speaks of a man cleaving to his wife, leaving his father and mother and cleaving to his wife throughout.

Now look what the Lord says in verse 32. What respect the Lord has for Mary. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ didn't divorce his bride, did he? Aren't you thankful? He said, I hate putting away. And he says, but I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery. And whosoever shall marry her that's divorced, commit adultery.

Again, you've heard it said by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath. If you make an oath to the Lord, keep it. If you make a promise to the Lord, keep it. But I say unto you, swear not at all. You ought to know yourself better than to make an oath. You ought to hold yourself suspect. Just the fact that you got to make an oath means you're a liar. Well, I usually lie, but I'm telling the truth this time. It doesn't work that way. He said, swear not at all. Neither by heaven, it's God's throne. He had no business making a promise in his name. Nor by the earth, for it's his footstool. Neither by Jerusalem, for it's the city of the great king. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair White or black, you don't have any ability. Let your communication be yay yay and nay nay, for whatsoever is more of these cometh of evil.

You've heard, here we go again. You've heard that it's been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That's found three times in the Old Testament. But I say unto you that you resist not evil. Now, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth makes sense. to us. You knock out my tooth, I want your tooth knocked out. You put out my eye, I want your eye put out. That's the way we think. Yet what does the Lord say? Resist not evil. Have you fared there? Resist not evil. But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him too. Give to him that ask thee, and from him that would borrow thee, turn not thou away.

Now that is the letter, I mean the spirit of the law. It's not the letter. The letter is an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. What goes around comes around. You hit me, I'll hit you back. That's the letter of the law. But here's the spirit of the law, of him who is the lawgiver. And somebody says, how can you bring those two things together? I don't know, but if the Lord says it, that's the way it is.

Verse 43. You have heard that it's been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. And pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father, which is in heaven. For he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Publicans do that. If you salute your brethren, what do you more than others? Now this lets me know that we are to do more than others. If you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the public and so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.

When Paul said touching the righteousness which was in the law, I was blameless. He obviously didn't know what the law meant when he said that, did he? He wouldn't have made a statement like that. Now, if this is what the law is, the Lord's statement with regard to God's holy law, If this is what the law is, there's two things I must conclude. Number one, I've never kept it. I've not kept one commandment one time. That is God's holy law. And for someone to think they have kept the commandment means they have no idea what the commandment is in the first place. You couldn't possibly hear this description the Lord gives of the law and think, well, I've done that. No, you haven't. If you think you have, you're deceived. You have not kept one commandment one time. Anybody who knows the law, must necessarily reach this conclusion about themselves. If I personally do not make this conclusion about myself, I'm just ignorant of the law. I have really no respect for God's law. I brought it down to my standard. I have a pretended righteousness like the scribes and Pharisees. I've never seen my sinfulness.

But that being said, this is the righteousness that I must have. I can't keep this commandment, but this is the righteousness I must personally have. This is that righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. And if I don't have this righteousness as my personal righteousness, I shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly kept this law. Not only did he never murder anyone while he walked in this flesh as a man, he was never angry without a cause. He was never jealous. He was never envious. He was never ill-tempered. He never viewed any son of Adam as a vain, worthless fellow like you and I have. He never had an unclean or lustful thought. He never put away his bride. His yea is yea. His nay, his nay. Here's two words when the Lord says it, it means it. Yes, it's yes. No, it's no. Hal, he resisted not evil. He's the only one who really has ever turned his cheek. Have you? He did. He gave his cloak also. He went the second mile. He gave to those who asked. He loved his enemies and prayed for them, which despitefully used him and persecuted him. He is the son of the father.

I love what he says in verse 45, that you may be the children of your father. which is in heaven, for he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth his reign on the just and the unjust. Now, those who are poor in spirit are perfect. They're the children of their father. Those who mourn before God over their sin. God says they're perfect. Those who are meek before God, whatever He brings my way is right. God says they're perfect. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, God says they're perfect. Be ye perfect, as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect.

Now how can that describe me? Well, the Lord kept the law perfectly. Amen. How beautiful he is in the perfection of his obedience. He kept the law perfectly. But do you know that he did it as an us? This is what I love. What did he say to John the Baptist when John came to be baptized of him? And he said, I have need to be baptized to thee. You're coming to me. He said, suffer to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. This is the same us as if God be for us, who can be against us? This is the same us. For he hath made him to be sin for us. who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God.

This perfect righteousness that I'm describing, or that the Lord is describing in the Sermon on the Mount. Every believer is made the righteousness of God in Him. Somebody says, are you saying in your flesh you do those things? You know better than that. You know better than that. But every believer is the righteousness of God. Now, I want you to think this righteousness of God, this perfect righteousness, the law keeping of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as truly as he was made sin, from that scripture I just quoted. For he hath made him to be sin. That's beyond anything me or you could ever understand. I hate it when people try to diminish it and say, well, he was condemned. He was charged with our guilt. It was a whole lot more than that. He never committed a sin, even when he was made sin, but who his own self bear our sins in his own body off the tree. When he was sweating great drops of blood, It was not because he was dreading the physical pain ahead of him. Oh, I'm sure he was. But it was the thought of being made sin.

But just as truly as he was made sin. It wasn't figurative, was it? He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. And all that sin is, He experienced of it except the commission of it. He was forsaken, He felt abandoned, He felt isolated, He felt alone, He felt separated from His Father, He felt the guilt, the shame, the humiliation, the embarrassment of sin. How would you feel if your thoughts that have gone through your mind during this service were put up on a screen here for everybody to see? Everybody in here run out of here. You wouldn't want anybody to see that. The Lord bore all of that before His Father.

Now just as truly as He was literally, this is not figurative, He was literally made sin. Just as truly as He was made sin, every believer is made the righteousness of God in Him.

Now, in 1 John chapter 4, when David was reading that passage of Scripture, my thought zeroed in on Here's how we have boldness on the day of judgment. And you know what the reason is? As he is. In all of his fullness, in all of his perfection, in all of his beauty, in all of his obedience, as he is, so are we in this world. The perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When He by Himself purged our sins. He did this by Himself. You didn't help. You made no contribution in any way. He did this by Himself. And guess what happened to my sins? They're no more. They've been purged away. I stand before God perfect, the righteousness of God.

You know what? I want to treat everybody well. I don't want to call my brother a wrack or a fool. I want to treat every human being with honor and with dignity. I want to be sexually pure. I want to honor the marriage covenant. I want my yay to be yay. And I want my nay to be nay. I want to turn my other cheek. I want to go the second mile. I want to love my enemies. I want to pray for them that persecute me and despitefully use me. From my heart, I want to pray for their good. I want to do more than others. I don't want to look for the minimum. I want to do more than others, not competitively. but because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And why do I wanna do this? Because I literally possess this perfect righteousness that the Lord sets forth for us in his holy law, the righteousness that exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees. Amen, let's pray.

Lord, truly, by your grace, we delight in your holy law, according to the inward man. And Lord, we thank you that by your grace, you've made us poor in spirit. You've made us to mourn over our sins. You've made us to be meat before you, hunger and thirst after your righteousness. You've made us merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and given us the privilege of being persecuted for righteousness. But Lord, we give thanks for that. And we ask that we might be perfect. Lord, we know we are perfect in thy son. We ask that we might be. perfect, that we would not be murderers in our heart, that we would not be adulterers in our heart, that we might honor the marriage covenant, that we might turn the other cheek, that our yea might be yea and our nay might be nay, that we would love our enemies. Lord, let us be your children. and how we thank you that the perfect righteousness you require, we have because we're united to thy son. Bless this message for Christ's sake, in his name we pray, amen.