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Have you ever heard someone say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere?”  This expression affirms self-righteousness.  It rejects God’s righteousness (Rom. 1:16-17).  God’s righteousness is the way God makes men righteous through the gospel of Christ.  If we reject God’s way of making men righteous, then, we are left with some form of self-righteousness.  Self-righteousness cannot save.
Self-Righteousness Fails to Obtain the Goal of Salvation
Consider Romans 10:1-3.  Paul addresses the brethren at Rome.  New Testament Christians constitute the true spiritual Israel.  Paul addresses, “Israel” which refers to physical Israel or Paul’s own countrymen (Paul was a Jew, but He had become a Christian (Acts 9).  Paul’s desire or his heartfelt longing was for them to be saved.  Paul’s prayer was also for their salvation.  The greatest expression of love for another person is to desire, work and pray for his/her salvation.  This indicates that Paul did not believe that many of his own countrymen were saved.  They were “under the Law of Moses” but, they were not saved.  The law (covenant) had changed when Jesus died on the cross (Col. 2:14, Rom. 7:1-4).  Salvation is in Christ and results when one follows Jesus not Moses.
They were zealous and sincere, but, they were not saved.  When Paul persecuted the Lord’s church, he was zealous for the Law of Moses and sincere (lived in all good conscience, Acts 23:1).  Later, he admits that he was in ignorance and unbelief when he persecuted the Lord’s church and was injurious and blasphemed (I Tim. 1:13-14).  Ignorance, unbelief, and disobedience to God adds up to being eternally lost rather than saved.  Paul was acting self-righteously when he rejected God’s righteousness.  The phrase, “it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere” is a false concept and must be rejected.
The Righteousness of God
Jesus Christ is the end (aim) of the law of Moses.  Jesus fulfills the law (Matt. 5:17).  When the law changed from the Mosaical law to the Law of Christ, the details of how God makes men righteous also changed.  Under the Law of Moses, thousands upon thousands of animal sacrifices were made and none of them provided for absolute atonement for sin (Heb. 10:4).  The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin.  Under the law of Christ, we have absolute atonement (forgiveness of sin) through the power of the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7; I Pet. 1:18-19).  Through the blood of Jesus was have justification.  To be justified is to be pronounced not guilty and so we stand before God as if we have never sinned.  We are justified by faith in Christ Jesus (Rom. 5:1) when we obey the commands the Lord has given to us in the gospel (Rom. 10:16).  God’s word was nigh unto Paul’s countrymen.  It was in their ears and hearts through the preaching of the gospel.  But, it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it (Rom. 10:6-8; 16-17).  If they would confess the Lord Jesus and believe in their heart that God had raised Him from the dead, they could be saved (Rom. 10:9-10).  This confession is a verbal statement of the faith that is in the heart.  When faith is absent, no confession is made and the result is a lost condition.  Faith, confession and baptism (Rom. 6:3-4) are involved in the salvation of the human soul under the law of Christ.  The gospel was and is a universal message that all people must hear and obey (Rom. 10:13).  Calling on the name of the Lord is illustrated in Paul’s own obedience.  Paul’s sins were washed away in baptism (Acts 22:16).  “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”  Paul’s desire for his countrymen was that they would obey the gospel just as he had done and be saved from past sins.  This is God’s righteousness as it is revealed in the law of Christ.
All people are saved in the same way.  They are saved by faith in Jesus Christ.  They are saved by loving God supremely (Mark 12:29-31).  They are saved by repenting of all sin and making the great confession that Jesus is God’s Son.  Finally, they are saved by being baptized into Christ.  When they undergo the New Birth (John 3:3-5), they become the children of God.  The New Testament redefines what constitutes a child of God (Gal. 3:26-29).  The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of Christ.  By following Jesus and His teaching, we can be saved.  If we reject God’s righteousness, we are left with some form of self-righteousness which cannot save.

Is everyone awake?  The apostle Paul used the word awake in a metaphorical sense in I Cor. 15:33-34.  “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”  Paul used the Greek word eknēphō which refers to a return to soberness of mind from the stupor consequent upon the influence of false doctrine.  The context shows that the false doctrine being taught at Corinth was that there was no resurrection from the dead (I Cor. 15:12).  Paul thoroughly answers this false doctrine in I Corinthians 15 showing the disastrous spiritual consequences of such a doctrine.
Stop Being Seduced
In I Cor. 15:33, Paul issues a negative imperative.  The KJV translates this phrase, “be not deceived.”  Paul commands that they cease to err, no longer be led astray, or stop being seduced. False doctrine seduces and deceives.  Evil communications is a direct reference to the associations, intercourse, or company that is kept with false teachers with whom they have become closely bound.  The warning is against allowing false teachers to influence their thought and their actions.  False doctrine corrupts godly character.  When truth is corrupted, character is corrupted (sin abounds).  The doctrine of the resurrection affirms life after death.  At death, the soul is separated from the body (James 2:26). When Jesus died, His body was placed in a tomb and His spirit/soul went to paradise (Luke 23:43; 23:53).  When He was resurrected, His soul and body were reunited (a miracle).  The doctrine of the resurrection implies the intermediate state of the soul.  This also indicates that human beings are a duality–body and soul.  Consequently, the doctrine of the resurrection proves that we have a soul.  The soul of man never dies.  To deny the resurrection, is to affirm a materialistic view of human anthropology.  It is the view of the atheist who affirms, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”  An atheist does not believe that there is any life beyond the grave and so advances a philosophy of hedonism.  This belief produces a spiritual stupor from which we must awake if we are going to be right with God.
Awake to Righteousness
Awake is a positive imperative.  The Greek word translated awake is found only here in the New Testament.  The word means to become sober.  It is used metaphorically in this context.  False doctrine inebriates the mind and causes a spiritual stupor or intoxication that puts us to sleep (unaware, ignorant, vulnerable).  The knowledge of God enlightens the mind and arouses us out of this stupor.  Awaking to righteousness is accomplished by turning to God and the truth.  Righteousness is truth lived out in godly conduct.  Righteous conduct is defined by God through the moral and religious precepts given in His Word.  Truth produces moral power and godly character.  Paul rebukes the brethren at Corinth because some did not have the knowledge of God.  This reminds us of a similar rebuke that Jesus gave to the Sadducees because they denied the resurrection from the dead (Matt. 22:29).  Jesus told them that they erred not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  Ignorance of God and His truth contributes to spiritual stupor.  The knowledge of God is essential to awaken us to righteousness.  Paul states, “I speak this to your shame.”  They permitted false teachers to deceive them.  All false teachers and those who follow them are ignorant.  They rejected the doctrine of the resurrection thus denying the fact that they had a soul and their own salvation.  They corrupted themselves in ungodly living.
Awake to righteousness is a positive imperative that powerfully leads to overcoming false doctrine by adhering to the truth of God’s Word.  False doctrine seduces the soul and corrupts the whole person.  The knowledge of God is essential to righteousness living.  This is a message that all people need to hear and heed.

The greatest sermon ever delivered was given by Jesus Christ and recorded in Matthew 5-7.  The sermon is often designated, “The Sermon on the Mount.”  In this sermon, Jesus reveals the identifying traits of true discipleship.  A study of this sermon will help anyone differentiate between the authentic disciple of Jesus who possesses integrity and the hypocrite who makes claims to be a follower of Jesus, but whose heart is far from Him.  Please consider some of the qualities that belong to that authentic disciple who walks with integrity as given in Matthew 5.
Godly Character Counts in Discipleship
In Matt. 5:1-12, Jesus lists eight beatitudes.  Each of these beatitudes reflects part of the godly character that must be evident in the life of a disciple.  They are:  the poor in spirit (humble), those that mourn (godly sorrow), the meek (inner strength), those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (a passion for right living and to be like Christ), the merciful (lovingkindness), the pure in heart (free from the admixture of evil), the peacemakers (seek oneness with God and man), and the persecuted (willingness to suffer for righteousness sake).  Those who possess this righteous character are truly blessed.  The word blessed indicates that they stand in the grace of God and will receive the rewards that are associated with each beatitude. The word describes the spiritual standing in Christ that brings all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3).
Salt and Light
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?  It is therefore good for nothing, but  to be cast out, and to be trodden under the foot of men” (Matt. 5:13).  Salt retains its value only if it maintains its distinctive character.  Jesus desires that His followers maintain righteousness as a distinctive aspect of discipleship.  Faithfulness in pursuing and displaying Christlikeness is a mark of discipleship.  “Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid” (Matt. 5:14).  Jesus’ disciples must “burn as lamps lit from His fire” (He is the light of the world, John 8:12).  Light pierces the darkness and makes sight possible.  The world lies in sin and ignorance.  Enlightenment comes through truth taught and practiced.  Light must not be hidden.  Let your light shine!  Through moral purity, moral integrity and good works our lives exert a positive influence in the world.  When we act like Christ, God is glorified (Matt. 5:16).
Obedience to the Commands of Christ
A disciple of Jesus Christ is not a disciple of Moses.  Jesus came to fulfill the law and to establish a new covenant that would permit all people to have access to God’s redemptive power. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied of this transition to a new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34.  The new covenant was necessary because the old covenant (the Mosaical Law) was not faultless (Heb. 8:8).  The old covenant was weak because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin (Heb. 10:3-4).  The blood of Christ does provide complete atonement for sin (Heb. 9:14-15) even for the sins under the first testament.  The New Testament is a universal law that gives access to God for all people through Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20; John 14:6).  Later, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphasizes that His commandments must be obeyed (Matt. 7:24-27).  A true disciple of Jesus Christ respects His authority and heeds His commands.
Six Areas of Focus in Righteous Living
The righteousness of Jesus’ followers must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5:20).  Righteousness is conduct approved by God and in harmony with His Word.  Jesus lists six areas of concern and contrasts His teaching with that of the Mosaical Law.  The first is murder (Matt. 5:21-26).  Murder is the premeditated killing of a human life. Murder is often preceded by uncontrolled anger.  Such anger was present in Cain when he killed his brother Abel in the first recorded murder in the Bible (Gen. 4:6-12).  Jesus teaches that we must seek reconciliation with our brother before anger gets the best of us.  Anger can be an obstacle to worship.  Anger can backfire on us and lead to self-destruction.  Second, Jesus addresses adultery (Matt. 5:27-30).  Jesus commands His disciples to walk in sexual purity.  Sexual purity involves both the mind and the body.  Remember, Jesus had taught in the Beatitudes that the pure in heart shall see God.  Third, Jesus mentions divorce (Matt. 5:31-32).  Jesus sanctioned the sanctity of marriage against powerful cultural forces in His day.  Jesus prohibited indiscriminate divorce (divorce for any and every cause) and allowed divorce only for fornication.  Jesus taught that entering into a marriage after unjustified divorce constitutes adultery.  Fourth, Jesus addresses oaths (Matt. 5:33-37).  Oaths are often attempts to mask deception.  Oaths are irreverent and blasphemous.  Oaths are unnecessary for those who are completely honest.  An honest person cannot improve on the veracity of their speech by an oath.  Fifth, Jesus teaches against retaliation (Matt. 5:38-42).  An “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” was given in order to protect the rights of persons and property by an equitable judicial settlement.  The Lord’s way involves non-retaliation in personal relations.  Christians do not render vengeance through acts of violence.  Nor do they render vengeance through withholding acts of kindness (absence of love).  Finally, Jesus teaches about the detrimental aspect of hate (Matt. 5:43-48).  Hate is malicious and unjustifiable feelings toward others including one’s enemies.  Loving others is essential to God’s Will. Loving others demonstrates God’s character in practical ways by doing good.  Loving others is important to being wholly consecrated to God.
A true disciple of Jesus Christ disciplines his/her life according to the teachings of Jesus and conforms to those instructions.  A true disciple of Jesus Christ exhibits Christlikeness.  A true disciple of Jesus Christ pursues, both in knowledge and conduct, all of the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Anything less is hypocrisy.