Jesus looks at two extremes when it comes to keeping God's law and says 'Nope.' Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 62 Q. Why can’t the good we do make us right with God, or at least help make us right with him? A. Because the righteousness which can pass God’s scrutiny must be entirely perfect and must in every way measure up to the divine law. Even the very best we do in this life is imperfect and stained with sin. Summary The Sermon on the Mount comes near the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, and right out of the gate He seeks to squelch the two biggest misunderstandings that people would have about Him. He begins by stating that He in no way, shape or form will be an excuse for sinners who seek to abolish God's Law. The latest incarnation of this in our own society comes from those who seek to pit Jesus' love against God's law by claiming that it's unloving, and therefore un-Christlike, to uphold Biblical standards that come into conflict with people's personal choices. Jesus lays out a stern warning to those who set aside even the least of God's commands, stating that they will be "called least in the Kingdom of Heaven." Next Jesus calls out those on the opposite end of the spectrum: those who think they're so high and mighty and righteous that they can ride their own awesome law keeping efforts right into the Kingdom of Heaven. Not so fast, warns Jesus. If this is your plan, your righteousness better far exceed the pseudo-righteousness of the Pharisees. But these super-duper rule followers were so hung up in dotting the i's and crossing the t's that Jesus mentioned in v18 that they missed the righteousness of God standing right in front of them. Trying to make yourself right with God on your own is hopeless. If this were the extent of Jesus' ministry, the gospel would be hopeless! Thank God it's not! Dig Deeper Last week we focused on one of the pillars of Reformed theology known as Sola Fide, a Latin phrase that simply means Faith Alone. By this we mean that you are made right with God solely because your faith in Christ and not because of works or rule keeping. But this understanding, while good, needs to be nuanced a bit. You actually are saved by works. God will not set aside His holy, righteous and perfect standards. The nuance comes in that you are not saved by your own works, rather you are saved by Christ's perfect obedience which has been credited to you. God's law must be kept - down to the smallest letter and the least stroke of a pen. Nobody born in Adam had the ability to keep this law since we were all conceived and born in sin, but Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, could and did. We'll spend most of the second half of 2023 looking at how you, as one who "can pass God's scrutiny" because you've been included in Christ, now relate to God's law. But suffice it to say for now, that although you are certainly saved by faith alone, you are not saved by a faith that is alone. As we'll see on Friday, true faith and trust in Christ produces a strong desire to live according to all of God's good and perfect law. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who defines goodness, holiness and righteousness and communicates them in His law; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as your faith in Christ alone increases, that so will your desire to live according to God's law; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Ephesians 4

Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22— Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with From Matthew 22 we learn that this type of question was around during the time of Jesus. Dig Deeper Details matter.

Why do Protestants confess to believing in a holy catholic church? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 54 Q. What do you believe concerning “the holy catholic church”? A. I believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word, out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life and united in true faith. And of this community I am and always will be a living member. Summary Put yourself in the place of the disciples. Everything you've heard Jesus teach on has been mind blowing and has shattered nearly every preconceived notion that they had prior to meeting Him. So every time Jesus asked a question, they probably sweat bullets hoping that Jesus wouldn't pick them to answer, because chances are they'd get it wrong. But here Jesus asks a question that's easy to answer: "who do others say that I am?" It's always easy to report what others say, so the disciples are quick to give an answer to this first question. It's the second question that gets them. "Who do you say that I am?" You can imagine the awkward silence that followed the question. Finally the boldest of the group spoke up, and I don't think it was with a wavering voice. Peter finally gets it. "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus rewards Peter's bravery and correct answer with a new name: Petros - the Rock. What comes next has been the subject of oceans of ink: "on this rock - petra - I will build my church." You can see the slight difference in the Greek words. Does this mean that Simon Peter is the rock that the church is built on, or is 'this rock' that Jesus refers to a different rock - perhaps Himself? But focusing on the slight variation in wording misses the point of this passage. Don't miss Jesus' huge promise here: "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Peter plays an important role for sure in church history, but clearly the foundation, architect, builder and finisher of the Church is our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Dig Deeper The doctrine of the Church (known as ecclesiology) is one of the primary differences between the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) understands Jesus here to be appointing Peter as the head of the Church, and they then extrapolate from this other doctrines like apostolic succession and the papacy. Since those concepts lack Biblical support, the Reformers turned away from them. So it often seems odd to us in Protestant churches to recite the line from the Apostles' Creed stating that we "believe a holy catholic church." After all, the reason we're called protestants is because we're protesting the Catholic Church! But understand the Apostles' Creed far predates the formal RCC, so it's referring to something different when it uses the word catholic (small c). The Latin word it originally used is catholicus, a word that simply means 'universal.' So when you confess to "believe in the holy catholic church" you are confessing that Jesus Christ has been and still continues to build His church over all times and places and among every language, tribe, and people. He's making His Church holy, that is, He's separating you and every other member of His Church from the sinful world we live in. Praise God that the gates of hell will never overcome it! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who revealed to His elect that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for making you a member of His Church, and pray that it will be the biggest priority in your life. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Romans 5

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives the Christian Church our marching orders.

Mark 1:21–28 (NASB95) 21 They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere But you don't need to read much farther in Mark's gospel (or the others, for that matter) to see that

Hebrews 9:22-28 (NIV) CONTEXT: One of the key themes in the book of Hebrews is that 'Jesus is better sacrifice of himself. 27  Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 Today: Matthew 26

Joshua 24:14–28 14  “Now fear the L ORD  and serve him with all faithfulness. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” 28  Then Joshua dismissed the people

Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22— Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with In fact, Jesus' words in Matthew 22:39 appear to come as a direct quote of Leviticus 19:18. How you treat people matters.

Deuteronomy 28:15-20 (NIV) CONTEXT: The first fourteen verses of chapter 28 set out the blessings that Everybody deserves every one of the curses outlined in Deuteronomy 28, but God gracefully holds the full

Romans 2:28-29 (NIV) 28  A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely