Matthew 5:17-18 "Living out the Law"

Marc Transparenti
Calvary Chapel Lake City
Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago • Presented 4 years ago • 47:31
Matthew 5:17–18
Law in the NT
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The Sermon on the Mount: Living out the Law
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﻿Good Morning CCLC! Turn in your Bibles to Matthew Chapter 5. We will pick up in verse 17 today, as we continue to look at the greatest Sermon ever given- The Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon of the King. 

Last week, in this Sermon on the Mount...Jesus used the metaphor of Salt and Light as to how we should be living our lives. If you are living out the Beatitudes, then you will be salt and light in the world. To not be salt and light would be foolish as a kingdom citizen because we are so blessed, as we saw in the Beatitudes, thus Jesus commands, "Let your light so shine before men [and here's why]...that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Our good works are a demonstration of our faith, and when unbelievers observe us living out our faith, they will glorify God...either in this lifetime or when face to face with God. 

Jesus continues in His sermon next addressing the law and true righteousness. The audience to this sermon, the disciples and whomever from the multitudes who wandered over to listen (though Jesus specifically addresses the disciples), all of these people were very familiar with the law. They were Jews...Israelites...and they knew it was impossible to live out the law. Jesus just taught the disciples they should live out the Beatitudes...in their witness to the world, they should be salt and light. Now He will address something impossible for them to live out- the law. The bulk of the Sermon on the Mount is about the Law. Jesus will clarify what it is, what it is not, and it's true intent....very important teachings and clarifications to His audience of Jewish disciples who had been burdened by what the Pharisees had turned the law into. 

Today's teaching may feel a little like an introduction to a new book of the Bible, because I am going to expound on the law to help us better understand what it is...and how it applies to us. Just 2 Verses today. Matt 5:17-18. Today's theme..."Living out the Law." 

Let's pray, and then we will get into the word!

Matt 5:17-18 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."

Jesus transitions from talking about salt and light, now to the law. It is difficult to see the connection between the two topics. As I have thought about the connection, I imagine as the Disciples heard the Beatitudes and how they were to live them out...to be salt and light that men may see their good works (especially when Jesus mentioned good works) that the minds of the disciples must have be drawn to think about the law...for the law had been presented to them by the Scribes and Pharisees as a massive list of do's and don'ts...all works. 
When you read Matt 5:17 Jesus addresses the disciples and states, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets." 
Jesus had a supernatural ability to know the thoughts of those around Him. We will see this several times in His confrontations with the Pharisees (He tells them exactly what they are thinking). And, here in this verse, Jesus begins, "Do no think..." which seems to indicate His disciples were thinking that Jesus came to destroy the law...which He did not. Thus, Jesus addresses the law. 
He did not come to destroy (meaning to overthrow or abolish).
The Law or the Prophets, or as it is often worded in the NT..."the Law and the Prophets" or in Lk 24:44 "...the Law of Moses, and the Prophets and the Psalms..." and sometimes simply as "the Law..." any of these phrases can be a general term for the entirety of what Christians call the OT. 
Or, they may refer to the specific divisions of writings in the OT. 
Jesus is clarifying to His disciples, He is not abolishing any of the OT. He came to fulfill or "make complete" the Law and the Prophets. 
And, to provide greater emphasis of His approval for the law, and the inspiration of Scripture, Jesus states (verse 18)... "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." 
This is a very strong statement of Jesus. 
"Assuredly, I say to you..." In King James... "...verily I say unto you..." (meaning "I tell you the truth")...a phrase only appearing in the 4 Gospels...30x in Matthew; 14x in Mark; 7x in Luke; 25x in John
Assuredly Gk. am-ane´amēn, which is of Heb. origen; meaning truly or trustworthy; 
At the end of our prayers we close with "Amen," meaning so be it, truth. 
The first part of this truth that Jesus exclaims is that "...heaven and earth pass away..."...it is a certainty. 
2 Pet 3:7 tells us "But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (3 verses later...verse 10) "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up."
Heaven (our atmosphere and possibly the stellar universe, but not the dwelling place of God) and earth will pass away by fire at the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus. Rev. 20 discusses the millennial reign of Christ and the Great White Throne judgment, and in Rev. 21 we see a picture of eternity. Rev 21:1 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away." 
So, until that time "...not one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." 
A jot was the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet (Yodh), and a tittle was the smallest stroke in a letter...the little horn on many of the Hebrew letters. The English alphabet equivalent might render this verse, "not one crossing of a 'T' or one dotting of an 'I' will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." 
This speaks about the permanence of the law down to the smallest detail of a letter, until all is fulfilled...notice Jesus does not say the law would not pass, but that it would not pass until all is fulfilled or "until its purpose is achieved" which we will discuss. 
The Law, the Law's relevance to believers today, and Jesus' fulfillment of the Law are big topics. So, we are going to devote today to understand these 3 topics before we move to the next verse...which will be next week. And even if you do not want to talk about the Law today, I have the mic, so you don't have a choice. Let me warn you that scholars, even within Calvary Chapel, are very divided on how Jesus fulfilled the law and the relevance of the law for believers today. I have looked at these topics exhaustively and will present what I think, but Be a Berean...don't trust what I say...go and search the scriptures to find out whether these things are so. I'm not going to spend much time specifically on the Prophets, because it's easier to understand. Most of us understand that the OT is filled from Genesis to Malachi with prophecies, types and shadows all pointing to Jesus...hundreds of which He fulfilled in His 1st coming. But, the Law is a more difficult topic, conceptually, so this will be our focus for today. 
Topic 1: The Law
It's important that we understand the Law because the phrase "the law or the prophets" appears in Matt 5:17 and Matt 7:12 forming an inclusio. All the content in between, which is the major body of the Sermon on the Mount, relates to the law or the prophets...the OT. 
Jews call their Hebrew Bible the "Tanakh." They only recognize what we call the OT, no NT...they rejected Jesus' 1st coming as their Messiah...and they reject the NT. 
The Hebrew Bible is divided into the Torah (meaning the 'Teaching'...the Five Books of Moses...or the Mosaic Law), Nevi'im (the 'Prophets'), and Ketuvim (the 'Writings'- what we call the Historical and Poetic books or writings). 
Within the Torah (the first five books) is the Law -or- the Mosaic Law. Christians sometimes call this the Pentateuch meaning "Five Books" or "Five Scrolls." In Hebrew, the totality of all the Jewish Laws is called the "Halakha" (literally meaning "The Way" as in 'the way to behave' or 'the way of walking'). This was first given to Moses in Exo 20 (the Ten Commandments), and expounded upon in the Books of Moses. 
Last division, stick with me...The Law was divided into the Moral laws, Ceremonial Laws, and Judicial or Civil Laws. And, pay attention to this because we will come back to these divisions when I talk about how Jesus fulfilled the Law. 
The Moral law or "Ordinances" encompass the Ten Commandments, and extends to the laws that reflect morals and God's Holy Character. The Ten Commandments address man's relationship with God (the vertical- the first four commandments); and man's relationship with man (the horizontal- the final six commandments). 
The Moral law largely reflects those duties we still have today to love God and to love love our neighbors, and many of the moral laws are reiterated in the NT (idolatry, murder, adultery, and so forth). At least 9 out of 10 of the Ten Commandments are reiterated in the NT. 
Keeping the Sabbath is not specifically listed, but Hebrews 10:25 encourages "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" and Rom 14:5 encourages us to follow our convictions whether Sabbath/Saturday specifically is sacred or everyday is sacred... "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind." And Acts 20:7 tells us the early church assembled on the "first day of the week" which is our Sunday (the day Jesus rose from the dead), so while Sabbath is not specifically reiterated, assembling is.
And, as we will see in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will lay down a higher standard in the NT for keeping the law, then the OT law commanded. Jews kept the OT laws strictly by outside observance and appearance, but Jesus will get to the heart of the matter, which is the matter of the heart...keeping the law internally in our hearts...our minds...and with our motives. This is much stricter and real than just an outside observance. We will look at this next week.
Of the Moral, Ceremonial and Judicial laws, the moral laws have the greatest re-occurence of mention in the NT, and thus many Christians view the moral laws as relevant until eternity, especially in light of verses like Matt 5:18. And, because Jesus and the writers of the Epistles reiterate that we should not worship idols, and not take the name of the Lord in vain, and we should Honor our father and mother, and not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or covet...there is good support that while we are not technically under the law...the law is still good...and relevant for us in many ways. 
Ceremonial laws or "Statutes" involve laws on having a right standing with God (such as the sacrifices and ceremonies regarding "uncleanness"), remembering God's work in Israel (through feasts and festivals), observing specific regulations of holiness or being set apart from the world (such as dietary and clothing restrictions), and signs that pointed to the coming Messiah (such as the Sabbath, circumcision, Passover, and the redemption of the firstborn).
The ceremonial law was given to the Jews, and pointed to Christ as Col 2:16-17 explains...
"...let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."
The ceremonial laws...the sacrificial system, the feasts, etc. were for the Jews, not for the Christians, and we do not see these laws reiterated in the NT as we do the Moral laws. 
Lastly are the Judicial/Civil laws, also known as "Judgments". These were the laws given to the nation of Israel instructing them on appropriate judicial judgments for various situations like murder with intent, involuntary manslaughter, when death penalties apply, damage to property...the restitution thereof, and so forth. 
Much of the Judicial law has influenced our judicial system, but, again, it was given to the Jews and not to Christians. We do not see widespread reiteration of these Judicial laws in the NT, and thus modern Christians are not bound to the judicial laws. 
For the Jew, over time, there came to be 613 Jewish Laws or Commandments (Mitzvot in Hebrew); (365 commandments in the negative or 'Don'ts' and 248 commandments in the positive or 'Do's'). 
These 613 Commandments were taken from:
The Written Torah (The written law- the first 5 books of the OT). 
The Oral Torah. What is supposed to have been laws given by God and later ascribed in writings such as the Mishnah, Talmud, and Rabbinic codes. 
And, various Laws derived from human origin, including Jewish customs or traditions, decrees and interpretations from Rabbis. 
And, while the law was good, as laid out by God, the Religious leaders expounded upon the law and made it a burden for everyone. The religious leader would take a law and put a hedge around it a mile out with additional rules to ensure they didn't come close to breaking the law. 
A modern illustration is....if they had a speed limit of 55 mph, they would drive 40 mph in the 55 mph zone, just to ensure they didn't come close to breaking the law. Imagine driving behind that guy. 
Right Jesus was when He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! [who were Religious leaders who were experts in the Jewish Law]. For you load men with burdens hard to bear..." 
The religious leaders had many strange laws...especially the laws that defined and prohibited work on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. The 4th Commandment is to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD you God. In it you shall do no work..." 
So, the Jews thought..."what is work?" And, they developed 39 prohibited categories of work on Sabbath called the 39 Melachot or "39 forms of work." 
For ex., you cannot reap a crop on Sabbath. Certainly that is work, so that understandable. But, what if you were climbing a tree on Sabbath and accidentally tore off a branch? So, climbing a tree was Rabbinically forbidden on Sabbath. Or, what if you wanted to ride a horse on Sabbath and unthinkingly you broke a branch off a tree to use as a riding prop...that would be considered reaping...thus, riding an animal was forbidden. Better safe than sorry....a mile wide hedge of protection. 
Extinguishing a fire was prohibited...it's work!...(except in the case where someone's life was in danger). So, if your house was on fire, too bad...no work... even if the fire resulted in great property loss...forbidden to extinguish a fire. 
And, I could go on and on...it's overwhelming. It's overwhelming just hearing about it...imagine if that was the expectation for your life?
If the Disciples were thinking Jesus came to destroy the Law...it's not surprising...they were burdened by what it had become.
They were under a system that taught you could achieve righteousness...a right standing with God by your works. And this is what every world religion and cult teaches today...works based salvation, which is false. Only Christianity teaches that it is not what you do, but what Jesus did on the cross. What God did for you. All you have to do is believe. All other religious systems teach you have to climb the ladder up to heaven...Christianity teaches God climbed down to us... "by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Eph 2:8 
Topic 2: The Relevance of the Law for Believers Today
Let's start this topic with the question... what is the purpose of the Law?
Was it to serve as a burden?
No... 1 John 5:3 states "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."
Is the law bad? Absolutely not! 
1 Tim 1:8 tells us "...the law is good if one uses it lawfully..." 
Rom 7:12 states "...the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good..."
Rom 7:13 says "...the law is spiritual..."
In it's pure sense, as given by God, most of us would agree that the law is good...even some of the laws we may not understand...still are good. Because God is good and the law came from God. We would not want to live in a society without law...a society where every man does what is right in their own eyes, because most people do what is right by them at the disregard for others...even if that means defamation of character, violence and aggression, thievery, murder, and so forth. 
Law brings order and shows us how to live in right relationship with God and right relationship with fellow man. 
The Law had purpose...and a good purpose...
Before we look at this purpose, it's important to understand what it's purpose was not. The Law was NOT intended to save. The law does not justify a person before God. Even to this day, Jews think that keeping the law/ good works will allow them to obtain a righteous standing before God, but it does not. 
Gal 2:16 "...a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ..."
Acts 13:39 "...by Him [Jesus] everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses."
Rom 8:2-4 "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
So, if we cannot be saved by the law, then what is it's purpose...especially for us today? Turn to Gal 3:19...Gal 3:19... 
Gal 3:19 tells us that the law "...was added because of transgressions..." It helps us to understand God's standard, and what He considers sin, and to bring us to realization that we cannot keep that law, thus pointing us to salvation by faith in Christ.
Gal 3:19-25 "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."
A tutor was a slave who took the male children to school and impressed upon them morals, protected them from the evils of society and disciplined them. The law served in the same way...as a disciplinarian until Christ came. 
For Jews who grew up under the law,...the coming of Christ was the end of the law, and even more for gentiles who did not grow up under the law. 
Now I don't know about you, but even though I did not grow up under the law of Moses, I still had a moral code that was shaped by the laws of the land, my upbringing, and personal convictions. I was convicted in my heart when I violated these standards. And for many people today, they come to a place where they know they are living wrong, and they get tired of living wrong, and at this point they often become open to a new way, to live better...but, that desire to live good will only be satisfied if they are brought to Christ and justified by faith. 
A major reason for you to be salt and light. 
So, it's established that the law helped us to understand right and wrong, and to discipline us when wrong. But, after Christ, Jews and Gentiles are no longer under the OT law.
Rom 10:4 reiterates this "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." 
Christians today are not under the law...at least not the law of the OT,...BUT we are under the Law of Christ...
And, the Law of Christ is the major point of relevance for you and I today...
Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
When a Christian brother or sister is under the weight of the burden of a temptation or spiritual failure, you fulfill the law of Christ by running to their side in love to help them with the burden...it's an act of love...
James 2:8 states, "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well..."
William MacDonald stated, "The law of Christ is far different from that of Moses. Moses' Law promised life for obedience, but gave no power to obey, and could only encourage obedience by the fear of punishment. The law of Christ, on the other hand, is loving instruction for those who already have life. Believers are enabled to keep its precepts by the power of the Holy Spirit, and their motivation is love to Christ."
The law we are under today is the Law of Christ which many scholars believe is summed up by love...the Great Commandment "to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." And "...to love you neighbor as yourself." Jesus said "There is no commandment greater than these." Love God, and Love others. 
How many of the Ten Commandments are fulfilled if we truly love God, and love others? All of them. 
It is important to note that not being under the law is NOT a license to sin, and unfortunately there are Christians today who think this way.
They say things like, "Yeah, I'm living with my girlfriend, but it's alright...we are married in God's eyes." No you're not. 
The Bible does not permit sin, teach sin, or advocate for sin...God is Holy and all sin is against God. 
Eph 5:5, and several other verses in the New and Old testament state things like, "For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."
And, if you are living with your girlfriend or boyfriend, 99.9% of the time you are guilty of fornication. 
Some foolish Christians say, "The Bible says, we're not under the law, but under grace." 
That justification is a contextual nightmare. The only place in the bible that uses that phrase is Rom 6:14-15, and if you bothered to read Rom Chap 6, it's all about not sinning. 
It begins stating "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!" Rom 6:1-2 
And the verses surrounding the phrase "not under law but under grace" state...
"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!"
Certainly not indeed. The next time someone abuses "not under law but under grace"...as their grace card to sin, just open Rom 6 and read the whole chapter to them. It's a short chapter...just 23 verses...and they will be red in the face by the end of the chapter.
On "not under the law but under grace," MacDonald states, "We are free from the law but not lawless. Grace means freedom to serve the Lord, not to sin against Him."
And, some foolish Christian (that is living in open sin) would object... "i have a relationship with God, and God forgives me because God is love..." or whatever they want to say to justify their sinful lifestyle...
But, the Bible says, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 Jn 2:3-4
We are free of the Mosaic Law, but now we are under the Law of Christ...love.
The freedoms and liberty we now have in Christ is not a license to sin. Gal 5:13 states "...do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." 
Avoidance of sin demonstrates we love God and love others, and we accomplish this by His Holy Spirit in us. 
Well, let's come to the 3rd big topic...Topic 3: How did Jesus fulfill the Law?
In verse 17 here in Matthew, Jesus instructs and clarifies, "I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
So, how did Jesus fulfill the law and the prophets? 
Scholars are all over the place on this. Some say it is by how Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life (which He did), and this is how He fulfilled the law. Others say it is not by His life, but by His teachings. Others say He fulfilled it by Love because Rom 13:10 states, "...love is the fulfillment of the law." 
I think they all may be right. Jesus was a teacher and a doer of the law, and epitomized the essence of the Law- love.
Carson states, "The best interpretation of these difficult verses says that Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets in that they point to him, and he is their fulfillment."
Earlier, we established "the Law and the Prophets" is the entire OT...and Jesus states He came to fulfill...to fulfill the law (the Mosaic Law), and the Prophets (and there are prophecies, types, and shadows in about every book of the OT). 
As we discussed earlier...the Law was divided into the Moral, Ceremonial, and Judicial Law....Jesus fulfilled all of these. 
Jesus fulfilled the Moral Law not only by full obedience to the Law, but also by love. 
In Matthew 22, "...a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Matt 22:35-40 
Love in the verse is agapaō - root word for agapē - that unconditional, selfless love...the love of God. 
Love God, is the first commandment as in the foremost in importance, and Love others (who are made in the image of God). The entire OT hangs (lit. 'is suspended from') these two commandments. 
The fulfillment of the law is reiterated in several other scriptures...
Romans 13:8-10 states "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
Of the Ten Commandments, Paul just listed commandments 6-10, all which deal with man's relationship with man, and specifically all that would apply to a neighbor. 
Galatians 5:14 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 
So how did Jesus fulfill the Moral Law? By love. And who is Jesus...He is God. And what is God? 1 Jn 4:8 "God is love."
For you and I today, this is the key application, the key take away from all we will look at today...We are under Christ's Law. That's the law we are to obey. To Love God, and to Love others. When we live this out, we are fulfilling the law...we are being salt and light...we are living out the Beatitudes. 
Wrapping up...Jesus also fulfilled the Ceremonial Law
The ceremonial law was filled with types and pictures all pointing to Christ. In His obedient and sinless life, and His death Jesus became the Passover Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." Heb 10:4 But, Jesus' perfect sinless sacrifice took away my sins and your sins, and now, there is no need for a sacrificial system. The Ceremonial Law is fulfilled. 
Jesus also fulfilled the Judicial Law. 
The penalty of the law required death. "For the wages of sin is death..." 
And Jesus death on the cross propitiated or satisfied God's wrath on sin.
And Jesus fulfilled this law, also in love. John 15:12-13 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
If you have faith in Jesus Christ, He calls you His friend. Your His friend. And, in love He gave His life so you may live now without the bondage of sin, and live eternally with Him.
Finally, Jesus fulfilled the Prophets. 
In Jesus' 1st Coming, He fulfilled hundreds of prophecies that spoke about the Messiah...the Christ...the Coming One...Immanuel.
The phrase "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet" is mentioned 9x in the Gospel of Matthew...and all point to how Jesus fulfilled various OT prophecies in His birth, His life, His teachings, His miracles, and His death. 
Jesus indeed fulfilled the Prophets. 

Worship Team Come.

In these 2 verses today, Jesus taught that He views all scripture down to the smallest stroke of a letter as inspired by God. It all has purpose and meaning. Sometimes, we want to shy away from hard sections of scripture, but...it's all about Jesus. It all points to Him, and therefore it is good. 

As you leave today, know that while you are not technically bound to the OT law, you are under the Law of Christ- to love God, and to love your neighbor as yourself. 

If you love God- you won't worship anything more than Him, there won't be material objects that you worship, you won't abuse His Holy name, You will in some form remember the Sabbath, such as not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. 

If you love your others- you will honor your parents, and you won't do anything harmful to others (murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, or coveting what they have and you don't). 

Love is the overarching theme in living out the law. By our own efforts, we are incapable of doing these things. On our own, we would reach Paul's conclusion, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" 

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Co 15:57.

So, this week live it out...Love God, and Love others as you live out the Law. 

Let's Pray.
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