Posted on by rschut1945

Fulfilling The Law Matt (5:17-20)

Matthew 5:17-20 (KJV) 
 17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 
 18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 
 19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 
 20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said that he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.  What does it mean to fulfill the law?  The word fulfill also means to complete with a purpose or design or to bring about its full meaning. All of these meanings are appropriate here.  Jesus fulfilled the law in that he not only lived out the law perfectly without sin, but that he himself was a perfect sacrifice required by the law to be a substitution for sin.  The law is not limited to only the moral code that was given to Moses as listed in the Ten Commandments, but is used of the entire Jewish system of worship including the temple system or worship and all the food and purity laws.  So Jesus’ fulfilling of the law extends beyond living a perfect moral life.  The entire structure of worship that was established by God with the Jews was done as a foreshadow of what was to come in the form of Christ.

But does verse 18 mean that we are still under the law?  The law is still in effect in that it continues to bring the sinner to repentance by making them aware of their sin.  Without the law man would not know what the moral will of God was.  Paul writes in Romans 7:7,

7What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

The law was the greatest expression of God’s morality until Christ.  So the law continues to be the law, but Christ has become an even better expression of God’s morality than the written law.   

What Paul taught us is so important to understand here: that if we try to keep the law, we are denying that Jesus fulfilled the law.  If we live as though we were under the law, we are no longer under the grace of God. 

The role of the law has caused a lot of confusion in Paul’s day and continues to today.  There is nothing wrong with the law and Jesus did not need to destroy it.  However, what Jesus did was to show us what it looks like when someone keeps the law perfectly.  Jesus expression of the law is the highest form of righteousness than could be expressed to mankind in that way Jesus is greater than the law (Matt 12:6-8).  So the law is still in effect, but it is now much better expressed through Christ.  We keep the law not by living it through our will to be righteous, but by the submission of our will to Jesus. If you truly want to be righteous than live by these sayings of Jesus in his Sermon and you will be obeying the law. 

Jesus told us that we must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees who were very religious and struggled to keep the law perfectly.  They fasted and prayed and offered sacrifices frequently as well as tenaciously kept the Sabbath.  How many of us could really be good Pharisees today?  The point that Jesus was making was that our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees not in that we are trying harder, but rather that we are loving the law of God more accurately as we love it as expressed by Christ.

If you still want to live by the law, then obey the Sermon on the Mount for by so doing you will live the law more perfectly.  There are some today that think they must keep the food laws given to Moses in order to keep their bodies clean. Paul taught very clearly here in Romans 7:1-6 that we died to the law through Christ (Baptism). 

4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.  

So we are now free from the law through our baptism into Christ. We did not earn salvation through our works or goodness.  It was gift given to us through the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus that we might die with him and receive the gift of eternal life. Let us be eternally grateful to him for our freedom rather than become bound to the law.
Posted on by rschut1945

The Salt of the Earth & Light of the World (Matthew 5:13-16)

SALT OF THE EARTH

Who are we as Christians? This is not a question of defending our doctrine and beliefs.  It is an existential question as to what is our purpose as “being” a Christian.  Jesus answers it by telling us that we are the “salt of the earth.”  We are supposed to be what the purpose of salt is to the earth.  This means that we are to be the ingredient that cleanses or makes things pure.  We are to be known by the reputation of being pure in character. Our word and reputation must be without spot. If we are not living a life of such purity than we have lost our purpose for which God has chosen us.  What do we do when salt no longer has the quality of purity?  We throw it away.  Jesus may sound harsh here, but I think that he truly and fully knows the hearts of men.  These verses are a sober reminder as to our true purpose in life.

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

How do we appear to the world?  Jesus says that we must appear as being lights in the sense of our works, goodness, and character shining over others.

What do we do as lights?  We must let it shine before men.  We cannot hide ourselves because of false humility or fear of judgment.  We don’t need to brag about ourselves, but we do need to let others see our works and character so that they can see how the Father works in us so that they might come to him and worship him because they see him in us.  It is by being lights in the world that we glorify our Heavenly Father.  So if you sing praises to God through songs on Sunday at church, sing those praises to him through your good works so that others beside those sitting next to you in church can see your Father’s glory. 

Posted on by rschut1945

The Importance of the Beatitudes

BEATITUDES (Taken from the Sermon on the Mount)

I always enjoy a lively debate over philosophical and theological points of the Bible, but there is one thing that makes such arguments seem very small and unimportant.  This one thing is what called me into service for the Lord over 50 years ago.  There are times that I drown out its quiet voice with what I think are more immediate concerns, but it is always there whispering to me and it is only when my spirit becomes quiet enough to listen that I once again here it plainly call me back.  It is the very words of Jesus which express who he was then and is now and the standard that he sets for us as his beloved.

There is no pastor or teacher who can teach a greater lesson than what comes to us in the Sermon on the Mount.  It is not just beautiful poetry that Jesus created to move us emotionally, nor is it a lesson in theology through which we can show off our knowledge of scripture.  It is a portrait of Jesus in perhaps the purest written form available to us today.

The Sermon is found in Matthew 5:1-7:29. The Sermon begins with what has been called the Beatitudes (Latin).  A beatitude is a great blessing of happiness.  Each blessing written is both poetic and inspiring, but it is not something that we should simply place on our walls so others might know we are Christians. It is something that we place in our hearts to give us strength as we go through life’s daily trials. 

In these blessings Jesus turns everything upside-down concerning what it means to be blessed. The Jews, much like many Christians today, believed that good health, wealth, prestige, and fame were the true blessings of God, but in the Beatitudes Jesus changed all that.  He taught that the blessed of God are those who are low in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek and mild.  They are the ones who have a hunger and thirst for doing what is right in God’s eyes no matter what the cost. It includes those who show mercy to others rather than retaliate when they are wronged. He promises that those who are pure in heart will see God. And those who seek to bring peace shall be known as children of God.  Finally, those who are persecuted, taunted, and reviled by others for being Christians will be greatly rewarded. 

This is not what most people think of when they think of the blessings of God.  Even though many have read these verses and perhaps even display them in their homes, few actually believe and practice them the way Jesus intended.

Within these verses lies the true personal power of God through his Holy Spirit.  These verses not only give us confidence in spite of worldly struggles, they give us a means to measure ourselves as to our spiritual maturity.  For what lies in these verses is the very character of the Holy Spirit of God.  Without this humble attitude we can never really see the world as Jesus did. 

So as you read these verses which follow don’t filter them out with reason and logic or whatever you think is impossible for you to accomplish. Read them with the intent of learning who Christ really is.  Then and only then can you decide if you really and truly love the real Jesus or some false Christ created by yourself or others.  Herein is the true Christ that saves.

Matthew 5:1-12 (KJV)
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.