Question:
Dear Mr. Albrecht,
I
have been seriously studying Scripture for the last three years.
I have found many scriptures that I cannot explain, and that go against
what I was taught in church and Sunday school.
One that really sticks out is Matthew 5:17-19, “Do not think that I
came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I
did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Then
verse 19 states, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.” Does fulfill
in Matthew 5:17 mean “to end, destroy or do away with” the Law?
Getting
back to Matthew 5:17-19, verse 18 assures us that not one jot or tittle will
pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away and until all is fulfilled.
Needless to say, heaven and earth are still with us, and all has not been
fulfilled. For example, the book of
Revelation has yet to be fulfilled as well as the Second Coming of our
Savior—just to mention some obvious ones.
Then we come to Matthew 5:19. Jesus
says, “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men
to do so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them
and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Since Jesus is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, wouldn’t he not
only have had to keep the Law himself, but also taught the Law?
In
conclusion, as children of the God of Israel, and believers in Jesus as the Son
of God, who died for our sins, should we be keeping the Law of Moses, not for
salvation, since salvation comes by the shed blood of Jesus, but out of
obedience to God?
Thank
you for your time. I look forward to
your response.
Yours
truly,
Kathy
Answer: Dear Kathy,
I
applaud the fact that you are really getting into the Bible.
Reading the Bible for yourself is an important part of Christianity.
So many people are content to let someone tell them what the Bible says,
and even worse, let them tell them what it means.
However,
one must take some care and prepare for Bible study.
Whether we know it or not, our study may be informed by questions that
have been placed in our mind, or passages that have been linked together in
order to prove a point—and, of course, when we examine them, they may seem to
do so. Above all, we need to read
the Scripture within the context God inspired, understanding the original type
of literature in which he inspired it (psalm, proverb, parable, history,
narrative, letter, etc.), and the original audience to whom it was directed, and
who read or heard it.
An
excellent resource to give you some background in this regard is “How to Read
the Bible for All Its Worth” by Fee and Stuart, available at Bible bookstores.
In addition, Plain Truth Ministries has published a booklet titled,
“Understanding the Bible”—a supplementary booklet that is part of our
“Experiencing the Word” Bible study/devotional.
Since you are engrossed in a study of the Bible I would be happy to send
you a copy of that booklet free of charge.
To
your question in Matthew 5:17-20. What
does this passage mean? Jesus is
clearly saying that we can’t be a Christian unless our righteousness exceeds
that achieved by the Scribes and Pharisees.
He then immediately follows this statement with six illustrations—each
one of them an “antithesis”—antithetical statements that set up a
proposition, and counters or opposes it.
Verse
21: “it was said to those long ago—do not murder—but I tell you anyone
who is angry with his brother…” Ensuring
we do not murder someone is
not enough, the real issue is hatred, bitterness and vindictiveness.
Verse
27: “You’ve heard it was said…but I tell you…” This pattern continues,
whatever the specific subject may be, throughout all six antithetical
statements. Jesus is bringing
us a new commandment. He is
proclaiming
a new definition of righteousness, a new way to be righteous.
He is, with
each of these antithetical statements, talking about what had been said,
the
standard that had been and was being used, and, of all things, setting
himself up as the new standard and judge of standards.
“But I say unto
you.” This is not both/and.
This is not, “do everything that you have
been taught, and add to it what I am saying.”
This
is, “I say unto you.” This is
and was radical—a central imperative of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
was a new definition of righteousness, contrasted with that of the Pharisees and
the teachers of the law—a definition that would “exceed” their
righteousness.
How
could this be true, his original listeners must have asked, and indeed many ask
today? This goal is humanly
impossible, for the Pharisees and the teachers of the law worked harder than
anyone ever has to be righteous by the law.
Few since have equaled their careful and zealous efforts at works
righteousness. How can any human
exceed the Pharisees, who performed righteous deeds better than virtually anyone
who ever lived?
Two
possible answers are given:
1.
Some say that God gave us the Holy Spirit for that
reason—to help us work
2.
God gives us, confers upon us, the righteousness of
Jesus Christ, by his grace.
That’s
how Christians “become perfect”—by the blood of the Lamb, given to us by
God’s grace. Not the “smallest
letter or stroke of a pen” (NIV) did perish from the law.
Jesus fulfilled it all, perfectly, as no human ever had or ever could.
He obeyed it all. He
fulfilled it all. He paid the debt
of sin we have all incurred. He did
it all. It is done.
It is finished. The debt has
been paid. Our salvation has been
won. Not by what we do, have done,
or will do—but by what he did.
God,
of course, does not force us to accept his grace—and many do not.
Many feel demeaned and diminished by grace.
Many feel like they would rather pay their own way, deal with their own
debt. They don’t like the idea of
accepting charity (grace) from anyone—even God.
They may say that they appreciate what Jesus did, but they still believe
that they need to add to what Jesus did in order to be saved.
They will piece passages together, from all over the Bible, out of
context, proof texting, script-torturing and abusing the Bible to try to find
some rationalization and justification that will give meaning and significance
to their performance, obedience and deeds.
God
is happy when we obey him, but let us not be fooled into thinking that we may
contribute something to our salvation. We
are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), and the reason we are saved is so that God
may make us into his workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).
Becoming his workmanship we are now his tool to use, a Spirit-filled new
creation in whom Jesus lives his resurrected life (Galatians 2:20) and in whom
God produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5).
We do not produce righteousness—he gives us the righteousness of Jesus
when he saves us, and then once we are saved he further produces righteousness
in us so that others might see Jesus in and through us.
No,
Kathy, the children of God are not to return to the old covenant any more than
the children of Israel were to return to Egypt.
As Christians we obey and follow the new covenant, not the old (see 2
Corinthians 3:1-18). Do not let
anyone deceive you into thinking otherwise—they are preaching another gospel
(Galatians 1:6-10). Thank you for
allowing PTM to be of service. May
God bless you.
In
Christ,