Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It Is To Men As They Are

















"Preach The Word"

Matthew 18:11 says, " For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."

In Matthew 5:17–Jesus says, " Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

Christ speaks here as a Jew, dedicated as other rabbis of the first century to a single task: to explain the true meaning of God’s words, and thus to "fulfill" them.

Yet Christ immediately sets Himself apart from other teachers. The Pharisees were zealous in keeping both the written and oral law. But in explaining the real meaning of God’s Word, Christ was about to reveal a righteousness that "surpassed" any righteousness the Pharisees imagined they possessed through keeping the commandments.

As citizens of Jesus’ kingdom, you and I are called to live a righteous life. But we must avoid the error of the Pharisees. We must not mistake true righteousness, or suppose that because we do certain things and refrain from others that we have reached spiritual heights. What we do is important, yes. But God is most concerned with what we are.

If Jesus did not come to abolish the law, does that mean all the Old Testament laws still apply to us today? In the Old Testament, there were three categories of law: ceremonial, civil, and moral.

(1) The ceremonial law related specifically to Israel’s worship (see Leviticus 1:2-3, for example). Its primary purpose was to point forward to Jesus Christ; these laws, therefore, were no longer necessary after Jesus’ death and resurrection. While we are no longer bound by ceremonial laws, the principles behind them—to worship and love a holy God—still apply. Jesus was often accused by the Pharisees of violating ceremonial law.

(2) The civil law applied to daily living in Israel (see Deut. 24:10-11, for example). Because modern society and culture are so radically different from that time and setting, all of these guidelines cannot be followed specifically. But the principles behind the commands are timeless and should guide our conduct. Jesus demonstrated these principles by example.

(3) The moral law (such as the Ten Commandments) is the direct command of God, and it requires strict obedience (see Exodus 20:13, for example). The moral law reveals the nature and will of God, and it still applies today. Jesus obeyed the moral law completely.

Some of those in the crowd were experts at telling others what to do, but they missed the central point of God’s laws themselves. Jesus made it clear, however, that obeying God’s law is more important than explaining it. It’s much easier to study God’s laws and tell others to obey them than to put them into practice. How are you doing at obeying God yourself

. Its primary purpose was to point forward to Jesus Christ; these laws, therefore, were no longer necessary after Jesus’ death and resurrection. While we are no longer bound by ceremonial laws, the principles behind them—to worship and love a holy God—still apply. Jesus was often accused by the Pharisees of violating ceremonial law.

Jesus was saying that his listeners needed a different kind of righteousness altogether (love and obedience), not just a more intense version of the Pharisees’ righteousness (legal compliance). Our righteousness must (1) come from what God does in us, not what we can do by ourselves, (2) be God-centered, not self-centered, (3) be based on reverence for God, not approval from people, and (4) go beyond keeping the law to living by the principles behind the law

"Abundant" life is an overflowing, extraordinary life.

SERMON FROM DR. TOM WALKER

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