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The Bible Study – Our readings for Monday, Sept 29, are Deuteronomy 1:19-36 & Matthew 5:21-48. Moses recounts the people’s rebellion against God when they refused to enter the Promised Land. The penalty was that their entire generation, except for faithful Joshua and Caleb, would be forbidden from entering the land the Lord provided. As God’s rebellious people, we can’t enter the promised land of Heaven without Jesus, our Saviour. We continue reading Christ’s Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Jesus calls for an obedience to God’s Law that is not only external, but internal. God’s standard of moral purity is 100 percent, 24/7. If you’re not already feeling under the pile, Christ ends these verses by saying, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Jesus has reassured us that He came to earth for the sake of sinners, not the self-righteous. For human beings who are not perfect, and this includes all of us, we have a Redeemer who reconciles sinners to our Holy God. The broken condition from which we could never free ourselves is the reason Christ went to the cross: to pay for the sins of the world. Jesus is our righteousness and salvation. Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church http://christlutherantoronto.org/sermons/bible-verses-showing-justification-by-faith-alone