The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 5:17,
"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."
I think it rather disappointing that so many believers who should know better, do not have a clue as to what Jesus meant in his comments about the law in his sermon on the mount. "The law", Jesus refers to is contained in the first five books of our Bibles. It includes the ten commands as well as all the laws God gave Israel through Moses. In his sermon here, Jesus spoke of some of these: murder, adultery, divorce, etc.
The purpose of the law is to show us we need saving. The law reflects the very character and nature of God. We have a sinful nature, unlike God, that makes us incompatible with him. This sinful nature renders us ill-equipped to keep the law given by God. None of us are able to keep the law, and just one infraction leaves us subject to God's judgment.
Were it not for the law, we would not be aware we need a savior, the very role Jesus came to fulfill for those of us who seek God. This is why Jesus said he came to fulfill the law. That is, those of us who have embraced him in faith have the requirements of the law fully met in us and we will not be subject to God's judgment at the end of the age.
Paul observes, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh [that sinful nature I mentioned above], God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4.
In the previous chapter of Romans Paul pointed out, "For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:5-6.
The do-gooders, those given to religious zeal, would have us all focused on an obsessive obedience to law-keeping. They have simply missed the memo that those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith have been "released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."
As Paul says elsewhere, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:19-22.
"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."
I think it rather disappointing that so many believers who should know better, do not have a clue as to what Jesus meant in his comments about the law in his sermon on the mount. "The law", Jesus refers to is contained in the first five books of our Bibles. It includes the ten commands as well as all the laws God gave Israel through Moses. In his sermon here, Jesus spoke of some of these: murder, adultery, divorce, etc.
The purpose of the law is to show us we need saving. The law reflects the very character and nature of God. We have a sinful nature, unlike God, that makes us incompatible with him. This sinful nature renders us ill-equipped to keep the law given by God. None of us are able to keep the law, and just one infraction leaves us subject to God's judgment.
Were it not for the law, we would not be aware we need a savior, the very role Jesus came to fulfill for those of us who seek God. This is why Jesus said he came to fulfill the law. That is, those of us who have embraced him in faith have the requirements of the law fully met in us and we will not be subject to God's judgment at the end of the age.
Paul observes, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh [that sinful nature I mentioned above], God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4.
In the previous chapter of Romans Paul pointed out, "For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:5-6.
The do-gooders, those given to religious zeal, would have us all focused on an obsessive obedience to law-keeping. They have simply missed the memo that those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith have been "released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."
As Paul says elsewhere, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:19-22.
I don't know about you, but I certainly could not keep the requirements of the law. Were it not for Jesus Christ my Savior, where would I be?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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