Matthew 5:13-20 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 5:13-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. Verse 14"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. Verse 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Verse 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Verse 17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Verse 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Verse 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Verse 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Devotion
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer long ago reminded the world in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is about costly grace. Costly grace is the antithesis of "cheap grace," that is, "the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." In contrast, "costly grace" is a life of obedience to the call and teaching of Jesus. We hear Jesus' offer of costly grace in the claim that our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. Pharisees, according to Jesus, are obedient to the formalities of God's demand, but not to its heart (see Matthew 23). This means, of course, that separating the "religious" part of our lives from the "secular" is impossible. All of our lives are subject to the judgment of God--and the dear grace of God.
Prayer
Jesus, my righteousness is rags apart from you. Help me to obey your calling, serve you in all that I do, and thereby hold your grace dear. Amen.