Mere Morality Does not Go Far Enough
Matthew 5:20
For I say to you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees…


A man builds him a house two stories high; but money fails, and he does not put on any roof. What is he going to do now? Live in it? He cannot live in it. It is good as far as it goes, but good for what? Until somebody can put a roof on it, and close it in, it is not good to live in. Honesty is a good thing. Kindness and neighbourliness are good things. Care for the laws of life is a very good thing. If this was all of our life, if these external and bodily relationships represented the sum total of all our existence, all that we should want would be morality. But we live again.

(H. W. Beecher.)A shipmaster wants to anchor. He throws out his anchor, and puts out his cable, and comes within about. twenty feet of the bottom. It is not any longer. What is it good for? It is good as far as it goes; but it does not go far enough to touch the bottom, and therefore it is not good for anything.

(H. W. Beecher.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

WEB: For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.




Love More than Regard for a Mere Rule
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