Thursday, December
17, 2015, 1:00 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “No Less.” Speak, Lord, your words to my
heart. I read Matthew 5:17-20
(NASB).
“Do
not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to
abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass
away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is
accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and
teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of
heaven.
“For
I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The Confusion
I believe this passage of scripture can be confusing to us
who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, because we know
the New Testament teachings on the subject of Law and Grace. We learn in Romans 7, for instance, that we died to
the law through the body of Christ so that we might belong to Christ, in order
that we might bear fruit for God. We who are in Christ Jesus by faith have been
released from the law so that we serve God in the new way of the Spirit, and
not in the old way of the written code (See: Ro. 7:4-6).
So, what does this all mean? Does it mean we no longer have
to obey the Ten Commandments? If this is so, then why would Jesus be teaching
us that we must? Was this meant just for his disciples who, at that time, were
still under the Law? I don’t believe so. What did it mean to be under the Law? Were
people of that time actually saved by keeping the Law? No! That is real clear
in the apostles’ teachings about Abraham where it says that Abraham was
considered righteous before God because of his faith, but it was faith
actualized through obedience to what God told him to do. It is also clear in
what we read about the Israelites who were rescued from Egypt and who wandered
in the wilderness for 40 years, most of whom did not get to go into the
Promised Land, that it was because of unbelief that they did not enter, and
that unbelief was realized through their disobedience.
So, how do we reconcile Jesus’ words here against the
teachings on Law and Grace? I think we have to first define “Law,” for it meant
several things. The first five books of the Bible are considered to be the
books of the Law. When the Law and the Prophets are mentioned, they are sometimes
in reference to the books of the Bible considered to be such. The Law is also
the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God to give to the people. As well, the
Law is comprised of ceremonial laws, many of which were added to by the
religious leaders. Clearly the teachings of the apostles tell us we don’t have
to keep these O.T. ceremonial laws, i.e. that keeping them does not affect
salvation. And, then there is the “Law of sin and death,” which we were rescued
from through faith in Jesus Christ. This law of sin and death has to do with
the controlling influence of sin and its subsequent condemnation and spiritual
death – death which is required by the law for those who do not obey the law
fully.
Ok, so what can we conclude from all this? For one, no one
has ever been saved by keeping the law, because no one could keep it perfectly.
People in the Old Testament and New Testament were both saved by faith in
God/Jesus. The law was added because of people’s sins until Jesus Christ came,
yet the law was powerless to impart life. The law was put in charge to lead us
to Christ so we might be justified by faith, but no one was ever declared
righteous by observing the law. Yet, we don’t nullify the law by our faith.
Rather we uphold it (See: Rom. 3), which is what I believe Jesus is referring
to here. Jesus often taught the spirit of the law over the letter of the law, yet
not ever permitting us, though, to break God’s moral laws, i.e. it is never ok
to murder, to commit adultery, to steal, etc.
In other words, the Law is good in that it makes us
conscious of sin (it defines sin for us). The definition of moral sin (immorality)
did not change with Jesus Christ, though here in Matthew 5 he more clearly
defines sin as not just the act of murder or the act of committing of adultery,
but that hatred is the same as murder, and lust is the same as adultery. Sin begins
in our hearts and minds before it ever gets to our actions, in other words. Jesus
and his NT apostles continued to teach the commandments of God for us to keep,
only Jesus summarized them into two commandments: 1) To love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul and mind, and 2) To love your neighbor as yourself. He
said that “the Law and the Prophets” hang on these two commandments (See: Matt.
22:37-40).
Jesus as the
Fulfillment
Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets, but he came to fulfill them. The Law and the Prophets testified to
Jesus Christ and to the righteousness that was to be ours through him and his
blood shed on the cross for our sins. So, he literally is the fulfillment of
the Law and the Prophets. So, maybe the understanding of this passage has more
to do with interpretation of the Law and the commandments. If Jesus is the
fulfillment of the Law, perhaps the rest of this paragraph is to be understood
in that context. In that case, this would be saying that all prophecy of
scripture related to Jesus Christ must happen, and not a single component of
what was written that looked forward to Jesus Christ would disappear until all
things have reached their fulfillment. In other words, everything in scripture
has its purpose, and those purposes which were realized in Jesus Christ will
continue to be realized until all things have reached their completion.
So, what are these commandments we must obey and we must
teach others to obey? If Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law, and the
Law’s purpose was to point to Jesus Christ until he came, then the commandments
must be those of Jesus Christ. And, we obey them when we obey Christ’s
teachings and those of his NT apostles who carried on his work on the earth in
the power and strength of the Holy Spirit of God within them. We know these
teachings as the New Testament Scriptures, although the Bible also teaches that
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work” (1 Tim. 3:16-17 NIV ’84). Yet, the teachings of
the OT must always be taught in the context of the New Testament and our New
Covenant relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ.
Our Righteousness
So, how are we made righteous? It is not by keeping the law,
but by faith in Jesus Christ. We read in Romans 8 that the law was powerless to
save us, because it was weakened by the sinful nature. So, God the Father sent
his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, and to condemn sin in
sinful man, so that the righteous requirement of the law (sinless perfection)
might be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but
according to the Spirit (Ro. 8:1-14). So, is this more confusion? I don’t think
so. Faith in Jesus Christ does not mean we can now continue in sin without
guilt or remorse. God’s grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly
passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for
Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14). Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24). If we say we have fellowship with God, but we
continue to conduct our lives in darkness (sin), we are liars (1 Jn. 1:6).
Yet, faith in Christ is not just following a set of rules we
can check off. We are not made righteous in our own human strength and
will-power. We don’t obey Jesus to try to earn our way into heaven. When we
believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, the Holy Spirit of
God, who has transformed us from death to life, comes into our lives to dwell
within us (Christ within us). His job is to counsel, instruct, teach,
encourage, convict, warn, correct, nurture, and comfort us; to direct us in the
way we should go, and to empower and strengthen us to walk in Christ’s
righteousness and holiness. Our job is to submit to his work of grace in our
lives and to cooperate with him in his work of purifying our hearts and in
making us holy vessels for God’s use. Obedience is not just keeping a set of
rules. Obedience is a heart surrendered to God in full submission to him and to
his word and will.
In other words, what Jesus said here (in Matthew 5) is that,
although not one of us is made righteous by keeping the law, because not one of
us could ever keep the law perfectly, it does not do away with God’s moral
laws, which were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It is also saying that we can’t be
made righteous by following a set of ritualistic ceremonial laws which the
Jews, under the Old Covenant, were required to follow, and which many were
teaching that righteousness could be attained through keeping them. The
Pharisees thought that if they followed all the ritualistic requirements of the
law that it made them better than other people, but it did not. The worst part
of their hypocrisy, though, was that they lacked love and compassion and true
obedience to God. They were clean on the outside, but were full of wickedness
inside. So, if anything, this is teaching that the outward appearance (show) of
following a set of rules is not what makes one righteous in God’s sight.
The other part of this, and this is really important that we
understand this, is that faith in Jesus Christ does not nullify God’s
commandments. If anything, faith in Jesus Christ and his Spirit within us is
what gives us the ability and strength to obey. Obedience is a necessary
component of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, for without it faith ceases to
exist. Yet, since not one of us can keep the law perfectly, our obedience is
not what saves us. It is the blood of Christ shed on the cross for our sins
which has given us salvation. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are made
righteous, i.e. Christ’s righteousness is credited to our accounts. Yet, the
righteous requirement of the law is not fulfilled in those who merely claim to
have faith, but in those whose faith is actualized by them walking no longer
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Those who are led by the
Spirit are the children of God. If Christ is in us, by faith, we will want to
obey him. If we are truly set free from sin, sin will no longer have mastery
over us. So, obedience to Christ’s commands is evidence that true faith exists.
True faith in Christ results in obedience to Christ’s teachings, because we love
him.
No Less / An
Original Work / March 19, 2012
I can do no less than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve done for me.
You died for my sins to save me,
So I would be set free.
I adore You! Lord, I praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has pardoned me.
I can do no less than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I would be,
Telling others of Your love,
And why You died on that tree.
Tell of how You gave of Your life,
So from sin we’d be set free,
So we could worship You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less than love You,
Lord, for You have first loved me.
You gave of Your life so willing,
Because You cared for me.
Turn from my sin! Obey freely!
Live for You each passing day.
Read Your word, and follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly pray.
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