Fulfilling the Law

We have finished the Beatitudes and the salt and light.

We have seen that here Jesus is preparing the disciple for the future giving of the Great Commission

How the principle of being salt and light will require their dependance on the Beatitudes

Now we get to this portion that again might seem out of place if it were not for the fact that we know to look for the connection

In verse 17 it is repeated twice that Jesus has not come to destroy the Law

Remember that the Law is central to all of Jewish life.

Everything about their life revolved around the Law

So Jesus is cautious to reassure them that he is not destroying the Law

One of the keys to this understanding is the word “destroy”

In the Jewish mind, any attempt to void the Law would have been viewed in horror and shock.

The word here for destroy carries the idea of tearing down or dismantling

I think the best way to understand this word is to think back to two fairly recent events.

1- When Sadam Hussein was overthrown, especially the pulling down of his statue and removing of any pictures of him

2- The systematic dismantling of the oppressive governments in the middle east, especially Afghanistan

These two events picture what the Jews were fearful of.

Jesus reassures them that that is not his purpose, why?

In the rest of the Sermon on the Mount He will be challenging various aspects of Jewish life that is based on their understanding and interpretation of the Law.

Anger equating murder

Lust equating to adultery

Divorce going against God’s plan for mankind

Looking good on the outside is not good enough

And so on

Jesus came to “fulfill” the Law…He came to bring the Law to its completeness

-The Jews did not have the understanding of progressive revelation

They seemed to think that the Law was the end of revelation as far as God’s commands for humankind

The reality is that the Law was insufficient to save and it was insufficiently understood

-As Jesus will show us later…even the partial revelation of the Law was not something a human could keep

-Much less the fullness of the Law

…not just loving your neighbor but loving all is the fulness of the Law

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-There seems to be a sense that the Law that was given, that the Jews idolized, was not even the fulness of the Law

-Jesus represents the fulness of love

Jesus declares that true love goes beyond the Law

-Therefore I would conclude that the Jews were idolizing and defending an deficient Law

What does this have to do with us?

I think that the heart attitude that we see in the Jews is the same we see in:

-The debate over separation

Over music

the version issue

-I think this even happens with our church buildings

-We get something…a level of separation, a version, a building, a hymn and we conclude that anything that comes afterward is deficient

-Then we become overly focused on things like separation, music, versions, and buildings

-And all the while we are neglecting the most important thing to the church…the Gospel…evangelism

You are free to disagree or confront me later with your opinion but I believe that if the Gospel is being neglected none of the other things matter.

That as our culture and society change we had better be ready, at some level, to change as well

If we get overly focused on the building we will just have a really nice building to sell when the church dies

Same with music, we can sing some great old hymns on our final service as a church

I believe that there are many things within the Independent Baptist church movement that are more of a hinderance to the furtherance of the Gospel than they are helpful

The problem is that, like the Jews held the Law in higher esteem than Jahweh, we esteem our standards, music, and version higher than the Gospel

So answer this, the last time a modern version was used before you…what was your response?

Horror

What about newer music?

Was there a long discussion on the ride home

What about the last time a visitor left without hearing the Gospel or the last time you passed up a witnessing opportunity…did you respond with the same frustration and horror?

GK Chesterton once said “Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils. By making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.”

We need to once again put the Gospel back in its rightful place

We need to have a love for the gospel that supersedes our love for our Baptist traditions

Is it good to be Baptist…Praise the Lord yes!

Is it ok for that to eclipse the Gospel…God forbid that that should ever happen in this church

Lets commit to being a Gospel centered church

A church that is in love with God and others