The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 5 Part 10 Jesus Fulfilled God's Holy Law For Us!

Jesus the Son of God fulfilled the law's righteous demands for us.

Matthew 5:17-18  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18)  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 

Jesus' declaration is most important to His church and to the Jewish people.

He said clearly that He came to fulfill the law not to destroy it.

This means that the perfect life of Jesus Christ the Son of God, fully satisfied and fulfilled all righteous requirements of God's holy law.

Jesus fulfilled all it's obligations down to the smallest jot or tittle (small Hebrew punctuation marks).

God's law is the moral standard by which sinners will be judged. 

However, in the greatest display of love for mankind, God sacrificed His only Son for us.

Jesus was born to be the second Adam, in order to undo the first Adam's sin.

Jesus was God manifest in the flesh and He offers eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Jesus came to die for us and to be raised from the dead for us.

Thus, repentant faith in Christ brings eternal life to a repentant heart and a brand new life with a new spirit and heart from God.

Jesus ended the Levitical sacrifices and offers rest to the Jewish people.

Hebrews 9:11-15  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12)  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13)  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14)  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15)  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 

Hebrews 10:10-13  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11)  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12)  But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13)  From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 

The entire book of Hebrews explains to the Jewish people how all their animal sacrifices and religious ceremonies pointed to Christ. 

This book explains how Jesus made a once for all, perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity for all time. 

Thus, Christ is now our great high priest ever interceding for us and able to save us to the uttermost.

This means that the Old Testament priesthood connected to Aaron is now done away with.

Christ is the eternal High Priest and King after the order of Melchizedek.

For a Jew, this means that animal sacrifices are no longer required because Jesus' sacrifice of Himself was for all sins of all humanity for all time. 

It also means that Judaism is abolished because it placed man made works and traditions higher than the authority of the scriptures.

What about the New Testament church?

Jesus Christ has freed both Jew and Gentile from more than 600 commandments contained in the law of Moses, because He perfectly fulfilled it for us.

True worship of God today is worshipping the Father in Spirit and in truth.

However, it is equally clear that all ten commandments that compose God's moral law are binding upon Christians.

God's moral law will never change and remains binding upon all believers. 

Romans 6:12-15  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13)  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15)  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 

The apostles include many references to God's holy, moral standard and explain their application for believer's lives.

Christians are not to steal, not to commit sexual sin, not to lie, not to murder or covet.

Christians are not to be idolaters. 

They are to have no higher priority than God, and are expected to honor the Lord's day.

The only distinction is that the Sabbath day command is altered to reflect the Spirit of God leading Christ's church to worship on Sunday, the first day of the week.

Loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves is the law of Christ. 

Galatians 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 

Paul tells us that we must bear one another's burdens, coming alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering hardship and affliction.

In doing this, the apostle says that we are fulfilling the law of Christ, which is to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Jesus summarized the two great aspects of God's moral law. 

Mark 12:28-34  And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29)  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30)  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31)  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32)  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33)  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34)  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. 

One of the scribes asked Jesus what commandment was the greatest of all and Jesus' reply is what Paul calls the law of Christ.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Then, Jesus said the second commandment carries equal weight, which is to love your neighbor as yourself.

Thus, Jesus opened the scribe's heart such that he could say that living according to those two great commandments is more significant than all the burnt offerings and religious ceremonies. 

There are many professing believers who essentially say that the law does not matter, but since Christ's words are true, they are dead wrong.

The moral law of God is His unchanging standard of holiness. 

His moral commands are the standard of perfect righteousness which will judge every person at judgment day.

If you are a born again child of God, then Christ has received your judgment and the wages of your sin, which is death (See Romans 6:23).

Thus, in fulfilling the law for us, Jesus suffered and died in our place, as God's perfect Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. 

Eternal life and forgiveness of sins is received by faith in Jesus Christ. 

John 3:16-18  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17)  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18)  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

When I heard the gospel and repented of my sins, I called upon Jesus. 

There is an application to us in that all Old Testament sacrifices required by the law point to Christ and His cross.

The application is hearing and heeding the gospel of Christ.

Through His perfect life, suffering, death, burial and resurrection, Jesus Christ fulfilled the law for us and His righteousness under the law is given to us when we believe on him.

Thus, all who believe will not perish but receive eternal life. 

Abraham's faith was rewarded with imputed righteousness from God.

Romans 4:19-25  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20)  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21)  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22)  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23)  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24)  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25)  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. 

The greatest example of faith is Abraham who is rightly called the father of faith.

He and Sarah were both well past the time of being able to procreate an son. Yet, God promised that this was what He would do.

Abraham was 100 years of age and Sarah's womb was dead, yet they believed God's promises.

They took God at His Word and did not look at the obstacles but at His promises.

Because of his faith, God imputed righteousness to Abraham and Paul connects this to what the Father does for each person who believes on His Son, Jesus Christ. 

If we believe or put our full trust in the saving work of Christ on the cross, then the Father imputes His Son's perfect, infinite righteousness to us.

Thus, as John says, we shall not perish in our sins, but shall receive everlasting life. 

Our Savior, Jesus Christ is glorious, compassionate and wonderful.

Only Jesus could do for us what we could never do for ourselves.

He is our Lord, King, Master, Savior, Prince of Peace, and He gives us eternal life.

Let us praise God for His all glorious provision of salvation.

Bob