Good vs. Godly Christian (Matthew 5:17-20)

Jesus says that righteousness must exceed the scribes and Pharisees, the “goodest of the good,” or no one enters the kingdom of heaven. The law was never the problem, and Jesus did not come to throw it out because God’s first plan failed. Human hearts were the problem. The Pharisees could perform goodness on the outside while being puffed up with pride on the inside, looking down on everybody else and wanting the glory of man more than the glory of heaven.

Goodness can be performed, but goodness is not enough. The Pharisees looked for loopholes, majored on little visible things, and forgot the major things God desired: love, mercy, and forgiveness. Jesus calls that kind of righteousness a polished cup with filth on the inside. External rule keeping can make somebody look impressive while leaving the heart untouched.

Jesus pushes beneath the letter of the law into the heart of what God desires. Anger carries the seed of murder. Lust violates the covenant before physical adultery happens. Love for enemies and prayer for persecutors reveal a life that is not merely trying to stay close to the line without crossing it. Goodness asks, “What can I get away with?” Godliness asks what brings God glory, honor, and praise.

Godliness requires a changed heart because simply avoiding sin is not the same as becoming Christlike. Jesus did not hide in a bubble and avoid messy people. Jesus loved, served, healed, and moved toward those in need because he understood the spirit behind the Father’s law. Godliness looks like humility leading to service, meekness leading to love, and compassion leading to forgiveness.

God’s fatherhood changes the whole scorecard. God is Judge, but for those in Christ, God is also Father, the Father who runs toward wandering children, puts shoes on their feet, a ring on their hands, and a robe on their backs. God’s love does not depend on goodness. Goodness works for approval, but godliness works from approval.

Jesus fulfills the impossible standard that sinners could never meet. Christ takes the impossible debt into himself and gives his righteousness, perfection, and eternity with God to those joined to him. Grace fuels both salvation and sanctification. Godliness therefore does not deny sin or excuse failure, but it runs straight into grace after failure, secure that God’s pursuit and affection do not waver.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Goodness can be performed, but insufficient. The Pharisees show that religious behavior can be polished, disciplined, and admired while the heart remains full of pride. External obedience becomes dangerous when it turns into a platform for comparing, judging, and impressing others. God does not merely inspect actions; God desires hearts that love what he loves. [04:26]
• 2. Godliness seeks the spirit of the law. The letter of the law can become a hiding place for people determined to get as close to sin as possible without technically crossing the line. Jesus presses into anger, lust, hatred, and self-protective loopholes because God desires more than bare compliance. A surrendered heart stops asking what it can get away with and starts asking what honors God. [10:52]
• 3. God’s love is not earned by goodness. A scorecard view of salvation creates a roller coaster of good days and bad days, always hoping to die on a day that feels acceptable. God loves his children because they bear his image and because Christ has made them his own, not because they have finally performed well enough. Grace breaks the exhausting project of trying to earn what God freely gives. [14:45]
• 4. Christ meets the impossible standard. Jesus does not lower God’s perfect standard for broken people. Christ fulfills that standard, takes the debt sinners bring into the relationship, and gives his own righteousness in return. Salvation rests on the improbable Savior, not on a sinner’s improbable attempt to become flawless. [16:53]
• 5. Godliness works from approval, not for it. Failure can expose whether someone believes God’s love must be earned. Grace does not make sin small, but it gives sinners confidence to come immediately to God, broken over sin yet secure in his unchanging love. Godliness grows where believers live to honor God’s heart rather than build their own reputation.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:35] - The Pharisees and Performed Goodness
• [04:26] - Goodness Is Not Good Enough
• [04:51] - Loophole Theology and Filthy Cups
• [07:13] - Avoiding Sin Is Not Christlikeness
• [09:24] - Jesus Goes After the Heart
• [11:39] - Perfect as the Father Is Perfect
• [12:57] - The Judge Who Is Also Father
• [14:45] - God’s Love Does Not Depend on Goodness
• [16:06] - The Impossible Standard and Savior
• [17:19] - Christ Takes the Debt and Gives Righteousness
• [19:02] - Godliness Is Fueled by Grace
• [21:10] - What Failure Reveals About the Heart
• [23:51] - Looking Good or Becoming Godly
• [25:53] - Prayer for Grace and Secure Salvation

1. In Matthew 5:20, whose righteousness does Jesus compare with the righteousness required for entering the kingdom of heaven, and why would that comparison have surprised his first listeners? [01:44]
2. What outward practices made the scribes and Pharisees appear deeply religious, and what heart problem was hiding beneath those practices? [02:04]
3. According to Matthew 5:27–28, where does Jesus locate the beginning of adultery, even before an outward act takes place? [10:14]
4. What examples show the difference between merely avoiding wrongdoing and actively living with love, mercy, forgiveness, and service? [07:26]

1. Why does Jesus require a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees if they were known for strict religious obedience? What does this reveal about the kind of righteousness God desires? [04:26]
2. How do Jesus’ words about lust in Matthew 5:27–28 show that God cares about the heart’s desires, not only visible actions? [10:43]
3. Matthew 5:48 sets a perfect standard. Why is it important that God does not lower that standard, but that Christ fulfills it for sinners? [16:53]
4. How does seeing God as Father, as well as Judge, change the reason a Christian seeks to obey God? [12:54]

1. Where is the temptation strongest to look spiritually impressive—at church, online, at work, or at home? What might it look like to care more about becoming godly than looking good? [24:07]
2. Are there areas where the question has become, “What can I get away with?” rather than, “What honors God?” What is one concrete change that could move the heart away from loopholes and toward obedience? [10:52]
3. When anger, lust, resentment, or judgment shows up in the heart, what usual response follows—excusing it, hiding it, fighting it alone, or bringing it honestly to God? How could grace lead to a different response this week? [22:29]
4. Think of a person who is difficult to love, forgive, or pray for. What would it look like to take one small step toward Christlike love rather than simply avoiding that person? [10:31]
5. After a known failure, is there a tendency to pull away from God until things feel “good enough” again? What would it mean to confess the sin immediately while trusting that God’s grace and pursuit have not changed? [21:41]
6. Where is approval most often sought—from God, other people, personal achievement, or religious performance? How could living from God’s approval in Christ change one decision or relationship this week? [15:35]