The immediate audience of the King was not unfamiliar with false prophets. They had plagued Israel for centuries and were one of the reasons why they were now practically country-less. For their own prestige and power, these people posed as the messengers of God conning an entire country into thinking they were spiritual okay. (See […]

The immediate audience of the King was not unfamiliar with false prophets. They had plagued Israel for centuries and were one of the reasons why they were now practically country-less. For their own prestige and power, these people posed as the messengers of God conning an entire country into thinking they were spiritual okay. (See […]

Kingdom living, a life lived in the exclusivity of God’s grace, is not an easy path. It will be awkward, feel weird, and often misunderstood. Still, it is the only way to fully experience the benefits of the kingdom. How will you engage in the kingdom? Kingdom citizen, will you choose to return to the […]

When it comes to confronting the issues in the lives of others, our goal as citizens of the kingdom is not to bring an accusation but to be helpful and encouraging—motivating people to walk in the light. (See Romans 14:19)

Your body craves food and water after a hard day's work or extreme physical exertion. In the same manner that your body craves the nutrients our spiritual lives should crave righteousness.

What is important to you? What is your primary pursuit in life? What is the chief priority of your life? We all like nice things. We all dream of owning that house, driving that car, having that family, being that influencer or whatever. But are those to be our chief priority as citizens of the kingdom? Are those things to be our primary pursuit of life? Jesus calls His citizens to look at life with a different priority in mind by which everything else in life is governed. The word translated as “seek” in verse 33 is a command to a disciplined lifestyle of passionate pursuit, and of course, the word translated “first” ensures its primacy. The priority in the life of a kingdom citizen is kingdom living. As citizens of the kingdom, our priority is to be upon those things that are from above. (See Colossians 3:1) All other pursuits and passions are to fall under this one priority.

What is important to you? What is your primary pursuit in life? What is the chief priority of your life? We all like nice things. We all dream of owning that house, driving that car, having that family, being that influencer or whatever. But are those to ...

Like the principle of righteousness, Jesus compares the religion of the scribes and Pharisees with the religion of the Kingdom. In short, religion is not someone’s faith, but rather, the outward expression of someone’s faith. It is the practice that comes from your faith. Now religion is more giving, praying, and fasting. These are just some elements Jesus chose to highlight. Things like attending and being part of a church, singing hymns and worship songs, participating in the Lord’s Table, practising water baptism by immersion, and reading my Bible are all things I do as the expression of my faith. They are, therefore, elements of religion.

Through this section, Jesus shows us the stark contrast between a fake religion (that which was done and practised by the scribes and Pharisees) with genuine, or as James describes it, “pure” religion. (See James 1:27)

Kingdom life calls us to a genuine, real, and authentic expression of our faith. We are to have a religion that springs from a changed heart. A heart that has been recreated by the King. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17)

Righteousness is best understood in light of relationships, particularly covenantal relationships. When you fulfil your obligations in such a relationship, you could be considered righteous.[i]

You are acting rightly and justly by faithfully fulfilling your role as husband or wife, parent or child, employer or employee, merchant or customer. Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible states further:

Thus, righteousness is a state of integrity in relation to God and one’s fellowman, expressing itself in one’s acts and speech.[ii]

God is the epitome of righteousness, for it is part of His character. He is holy and faithful, and therefore has, is, and always will fulfil His requirements of relationships. (See 1 Corinthians 1:9)

His righteousness is ultimately seen through His work of redemption through Christ Jesus. (See Romans 3:25–26) By the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ God has shown, in a very personal way, to what extent He will go to fulfil His requirements so that He could have a relationship with us.

Now the immediate audience to whom Jesus was addressing and to whom Matthew originally wrote, understood this relational facet of righteousness. The Mosaic covenant was rehearsed regularly within the synagogues and the temple. It is something they memorized from a child. God had promised blessings upon them if they would be faithful to His ways.

To them, their obligation as Israelite's in this covenantal relationship with God was to keep the law. As they had come to understand it, the more of the law you kept, the more righteous you were. By this definition, the most righteous individuals in Jewish society were the scribes and Pharisees. These men would go through great lengths to ensure they kept the law, and they would make sure you saw them doing it. So imagine the shock when Jesus points out the key to entering the Kingdom of Heaven. (See Matthew 5:20)

Kingdom life is a humble life. Kingdom life is a testifying life. But kingdom life is also a righteous life. Now a charge such as this would take the wind out of anybody's sails, but remember Jesus is raising the bar. Kingdom life is of a different calibre than normal earthly life, for it is a heavenly life. A life governed by wisdom from above. (See James 3:17)

[i] Kelly, R. A. (1979–1988). Righteousness. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 4, p. 193). Wm. B. Eerdmans.

[ii] Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Righteousness. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1861). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Kingdom life is a straight and narrow way, but the straight and narrow way is not for controlling the unruly or a means for someone to earn God’s favour. We are to live selflessly, blamelessly, and compassionately for the cause of our great God, and the sake of the world. (See Philippians 2:15)