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What if no one can?
Reading the Sermon on the Mount reminded me of school sports. I always appreciated the cheerleaders who inspired us, but on occasion there were cheers that made me wonder. For example, one time I was on the wrestling mat and heard the cheer “Wayne, Wayne, he’s our man. If he can’t do it, no one can!”
And I immediately thought, “What if no one can?” [It was soon after that I developed the capacity to block out all sound while competing.] The point is worthy of consideration. What if no one can? Jesus’ calling in Matthew 5:20 is frankly unattainable. It is a bar set too high.
Thankfully, God doesn’t expect us to cross over that bar on our merits. Remember that Jesus is addressing His followers – people who have been reborn through trust in Him and chosen to follow Jesus. And that changes everything. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains:
It takes a new man to live this kind of life. This is no theory for the world or for non-Christians. No man can hope to live like this unless he is born again, unless he has received the Holy Spirit…It is to such that our Lord addresses this noble, exalted and divine teaching. It is not comfortable teaching to consider and I can assure you that it is not an easy thing to spend a week with a text like this. But this is the Word of God, and this is what Christ would have us be. It deals with our whole personality, down to the little practical details of life.
– D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
The bottom line is that no one can surpass the holiness of those first-century legalists. But God can. The Spirit of God dwelling in us leaves all Pharisees in the dust. Rely on Him, keep in step with the Spirit, and you will find victory in every wrestling match.
God bless,
Wayne