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 28″What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

 29″ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

 30″Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

 31″Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
      ”The first,” they answered.

   Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the …

 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be filled. 
 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
It’s interesting reading the righteousness verses of this chapter without context.  It tells a story.  However, before going there, I would like to add at least some context to verse 20:
 17″Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. …

 1 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty.

 …

I realize the following scriptures are specifically to Israel and Judah, but God Himself is unchanging, and the United States, with the largest Jewish and Christian population anywhere in the world, is in some ways an extenstion of them.  Therefore, I believe that the attitudes and concerns expressed by God in Malachi apply to us in this day as much as to Israel and Judah back in biblical times:
 2:17 You have wearied the LORD with your words.
      ”How have we wearied him?” you ask.
      By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
Today, as Americans, we make excuses for those who …

Again I turn to the topic of God’s earthly judgement of man, an aspect of mankind that many non-Christians are critical of, and many Christians ignore.  The reasons modern Christians ignore the idea of God judging men on earth is because our earthly rewards have appeared increasingly disconnected from a person’s faith.  Why is that?  Well first, let me assure you that God’s judgment of us is quite intact, and that he deals with us all in good time, showing judgement, mercy, and grace in appropriate measure.  However, we appear unaware, as unsaved philanthropists improve the conditions of the poor and prosper for it, unsaved murderers get let off on technicalities or get fed and sheltered for the rest of …

 1 Gather together, gather together,
       O shameful nation,

 2 before the appointed time arrives
       and that day sweeps on like chaff,
       before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you,
       before the day of the LORD’s wrath comes upon you.

 3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
       you who do what he commands.
       Seek righteousness, seek humility;
       perhaps you will be sheltered
       on the day of the LORD’s anger.
How does one seek righteousness?  This is such an interesting question to me when asked in this context.  Why?  Because nearly of the minor prophets were consumed with Israel’s redemption.  We’ve been seeing scriptures where this meant seeking out God’s justice, …

 18 Woe to you who long
       for the day of the LORD!
       Why do you long for the day of the LORD ?
       That day will be darkness, not light.

 19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
       only to meet a bear,
       as though he entered his house
       and rested his hand on the wall
       only to have a snake bite him.

 20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light—
       pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?

 21 “I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
       I cannot stand your assemblies.

 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
       …

 7 You who turn justice into bitterness
       and cast righteousness to the ground

 8 (he who made the Pleiades and Orion,
       who turns blackness into dawn
       and darkens day into night,
       who calls for the waters of the sea
       and pours them out over the face of the land—
       the LORD is his name-

 9 he flashes destruction on the stronghold
       and brings the fortified city to ruin)
Amos is calling Israel to repent of their sins, describing them as casting righteousness to the ground… and he goes on to describe righteousness, it turns out that it is God whom they have casted to the ground.

God is the embodiment of righteousness.

When God is crediting …

 12 Sow for yourselves righteousness,
       reap the fruit of unfailing love,
       and break up your unplowed ground;
       for it is time to seek the LORD,
       until he comes
       and showers righteousness on you.
This gets back to Ezekiel 18 - The Fruits of Righteousness. It lists a bunch of actions show a man to be righteous.  However, we then went to Ezekiel 33 - Grace is by faith, not works, in the OT, which basically says that a man living in wickedness, who then lives out his remaining life in righteousness …

 18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
       with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
       and the creatures that move along the ground.
       Bow and sword and battle
       I will abolish from the land,
       so that all may lie down in safety.

 19 I will betroth you to me forever;
       I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
       in love and compassion.

 20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
       and you will acknowledge the LORD.

 21 “In that day I will respond,”
       declares the LORD—
       “I will respond to the skies,
       and they will respond to the earth;

 22 and the …