The Righteousness of Works and the Righteousness of Faith

Trinity 6| Matthew 5:17-26| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| July 12, 2026

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus is the friend of sinners. He receives them. He eats with them. He forgives them. And since Jesus is a friend to sinners, some think that Jesus is not offended by sin, or that He doesn’t think sin is a big deal. But that is not true. Jesus is very offended by sin. He recognizes the severity of sin more than anyone. Jesus hates sin. He hates disobedience, lawlessness, murder, envy, lust, pride, and every vice. Jesus does not have a lenient interpretation of the Law, but He has the strictest interpretation of the Law, much stricter than the scribes and Pharisees, because Jesus is the author of the Law. Jesus is God. The Law is the immutable will of God. It is what God desires us to think, say, and do now and forever. As little as Jesus can stop being God, so little can He stop hating sin.

And Jesus makes this clear when He says, “I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them.” Jesus says that not even the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is good enough to get into heaven. Of all the people on earth, the scribes and Pharisees were known to keep the Law with the utmost devotion. St. Paul, in describing his righteousness under the Law, wrote in Philippians 3, “as to the law, a Pharisee; … as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” And that is how anyone would consider the Pharisees. They not only knew the Law better than anyone, but they seemed to keep it. They did not commit crimes. They did not murder or commit adultery. They paid their taxes, they tithed, they didn’t skip worship. They were exemplary citizens and members of the church. Yet, Jesus says not even their righteousness is good enough to get into heaven.

Because Jesus and His Law are not interested in outward observances, but of the activity of the heart. The Law does not say, “Your hand shall not commit murder,” but “You shall not murder,” and so Jesus points out that a person commits murder in the heart long before he does so with his hands. And so, he who is angry with his brother without a righteous cause has already committed murder in his heart. And before you justify yourself and claim that your anger is righteous, remember what Scripture says, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20) Likewise, Jesus says that one commits adultery in his heart even when he looks at a woman with lustful intent. So, the Law, as Jesus teaches, governs the heart. And so, you must be obedient from the heart.

Now, God created the heart to be good. He created man, male and female, in His own image and called them very good. But we are not good. St. Paul describes us as, “by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:3) This is because of the fall of our first father Adam. We have inherited original sin, that is, a corruption of our nature, so that we must confess that nothing good dwells in us, that is, in our flesh (Romans 7:18). This is why Jesus says, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) We are, all of us, corrupt from the heart, born in sin. So, while the Pharisees did a good job of whitewashing the outside of tombs, inside remained the uncleanness of death (Matthew 23:27). They could fool their neighbor. They could even fool themselves. But they could not fool God.

And so, Jesus teaches us that we will not justify ourselves by doing our best. We will not make ourselves righteous by being better than others. Most people reason that they are good people, because they think their sins are not as bad as the sins of others. Yet, Scripture reminds us, “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (James 2:10) So, you cannot pit other people’s sins against your own sins. The Law is like a pearl necklace. If you break the cord, all the pearls come dashing to the ground. Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

And so, we learn that the righteousness of works fails to give us entrance into the kingdom of heaven, because we are all sinners. The Law does not help us become righteous, but only shows our unrighteousness. This is why St. Paul writes in Romans 3, “For by works of the Law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin.” And “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (vss. 20, 23)

Yet, we are not left to despair, although we should certainly despair of our own righteousness. For St. Paul also writes, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” (Romans 3:21) While the righteousness of works fails to save us, because our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), the righteousness of faith succeeds in granting us everlasting life in the kingdom of heaven. This is why St. Paul, after recounting his righteous credentials according to his works under the Law, concludes, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” (Philippians 3:8-9)

Why does the righteousness of faith save while the righteousness of works fails to save? Because the righteousness of faith is Christ’s righteousness. And while our righteousness is polluted with sin, Christ’s righteousness is perfect and complete. This is why St. Paul writes in Romans 10, “Christ is the fulfillment of the Law for righteousness for everyone who believes.” (vs. 4) This was foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah in chapter 33, “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’” (vss. 15-16)

Christ Jesus is the Branch for David, that is, He is descended from David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3), and yet He is also the Son of God (Romans 1:4), true God from eternity (Romans 9:5). In our human flesh, Christ fulfilled the Law for us. He was not merely outwardly righteous, but He was righteous from the heart. He did not have a sinful thought. He was never unrighteously angry. Even when He was reviled, He did not revile in return, but entrusted Himself to God who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:23) He never lusted either sexually or for material wealth. He only spoke the truth. He only thought the truth. He was perfectly obedient to His Father in heaven and He loved His neighbor to the end, even laying down His life for His enemies. He even forgave those who murdered Him.

Christ fulfilled the Law not for His own sake. He is God from eternity. What need does He have to submit Himself to the Law? To Him already belongs the Kingdom of Heaven. He is by nature eternally righteous. But Jesus fulfilled the Law in human flesh for our sake, so that He may pay our debt and give us His righteousness as a gift. All our sins were laid upon Him and He died for them all. This means that your sins are forgiven. This means that your unrighteousness is washed away. And what’s more, God has given Christ’s righteousness to you as a gift. The righteousness you receive through faith is Christ’s righteousness. This righteousness was given to you in Holy Baptism, when you put on Christ. This righteousness is given to you whenever you hear and believe the forgiveness of sins (Romans 4:6-8). You receive this righteousness when you in faith eat the body and drink the blood of the Lord Jesus, which were given and shed for you on the cross. Faith is the beggar’s hand that receives the perfect gift.

This means that the righteousness of faith by which you enter heaven is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. You may have “good days.” And you may have “bad days.” Perhaps, sins that you thought you overcame have overcome you again. Perhaps you feel like you are a bad Christian, an imposter, a hypocrite. But through faith in Christ, your righteousness is always the same, always perfect, and grants you eternal life. This is why we can have certainty of our salvation.

Yet, if we are justified apart from our works through faith in Christ as a pure gift, why not go on sinning? We like to sin. God likes to forgive. Why don’t we go on sinning? What a foolish question! “How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:2-4) If you receive Christ’s righteousness through faith, then you are born again. Christ’s righteousness causes you to be born again. Only those born again can receive Christ’s righteousness. This means that we have died with Christ to sin, and have risen with Him to new life.

Christ’s righteousness in us, which we have through faith produces righteousness from the heart, something the Law could never accomplish. This righteousness we do does not save us. Only Christ’s righteousness does. And this is of great comfort, because as long as we live in this life, our sinful flesh will war against our new self and seek to make us obey its desires. Yet, Christ’s righteousness remains the same. However, to go on sinning and obeying the desires of the sinful flesh is to deny Christ who bought us. It is to reject the faith and His righteousness.

If you were stuck in a tarpit, so that the more you moved your legs and arms the deeper you sunk, until eventually the tar would go over your mouth and nose and suffocate you like the woolly mammoth, but then Christ pulled you out, and washed the tar off you, would you then jump back into the pit and say, “Since my works did not save me, I might as well go back. I’m sure Christ will save me again before it’s too late.”? If you were a slave on a plantation, working hard labor under the sun, and Christ rescued you, dressed you in splendid clothing, gave you a large bedroom and bed to sleep in and a seat at His table to dine, would you then sneak off, take off your royal garments, put on your rags, and labor for your old master for stale bread and watery soup? Of course not! Yet, that is what you do when you indulge your sinful flesh. Whoever sins is a slave to sin. Sin is a harsh master, which demands obedience, just so that it can put you to shame, kill you, and send you to hell. But Christ has made you alive with Him and set you free! Walk in that freedom!

This is why Jesus tells us that if we are to offer our gift to God, but remember that our brother has something against us, we should leave our gift and go and be reconciled to our brother. Jesus teaches us to repent when we do wrong, even before we are confronted, and to forgive those who do us wrong, even before they apologize. In other words, love your brother, for you cannot love God if you do not love your neighbor. God loved you. He forgave you. He gave you Christ’s righteousness as a gift. If you believe this, how can you not willingly forgive your brother and be reconciled to him. Christ has forgiven you much more than you are asked to forgive others.

And this love toward your brother is produced by the righteousness of faith. It is imperfect now, because your flesh continues to urge you to do the shameful things you hate, which is why you should constantly return to Christ’s means of grace for forgiveness. Yet, as long as you hold Christ’s righteousness through faith, you will produce this righteous love within you. And the time will come when you will finally put off the old self and its desires once and for all, and you will continue to live in Christ’s righteousness forever. God grant this to us all for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Lord, I believe, were sinners more

Than sand upon the ocean shore,

Thou hast for all a ransom paid,

For all a full atonement made.

When from the dust of death I rise

To claim my mansion in the skies,

This then shall be my only plea:

Jesus hath lived and died for me.

Amen.