DAY SIX - Monday, March 10
Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV) [17] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. [19] Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [20] For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The further I get into this reading on the Kingdom of Heaven I'm getting the distinct feeling that I am the Kingdom of Heaven, you are the Kingdom of Heaven and once we have confessed, repented and been baptised we MUST bear fruit. Enjoying the daily readings but thought they might be a little more indepth. Then I realized the indepth was up to me!! Thanks
ReplyDeleteenjoyed your comments Sylvia
DeleteDave Fox
Very interesting. So why is it that we believe that Jesus Abolished the old law? I was always under the impression that this is how we got around things from the Old Testament that we no longer follow?
ReplyDeleteMike Rogers: Jesus didn't abolish the law, He fulfilled it which, to me, means that He met all those requirements of the law for us. When he died on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice demanded by the law he set us free from the law and that changed our relationship with Him. Now by our believing in Him and having the Holy Spirit within us, we also have fulfilled the law because His righteousness is now ours.
ReplyDeleteDale Caines
ReplyDeleteRomans 3:10-There is none righteous, not even one. And then in Rom.3:24, we are told that our justification is a gift, through Christ Jesus.
It's through His great sacrifice that we are made "Righteous"
Yes, and in vs. 18, Jesus said '...nothing will dissappear from the Law, until everything is accomplished', - When He was on the cross, He said in John 19:30 'It is finished' NIV ; 'It is accomplished' Complete Jewish Bible ; 'It's done...complete' The Message So I believe He accomplished it all - on our behalf! Thank you Jesus!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike, makes more sense now then I read it. I knew I was reading it wrong or not seeing the whole picture
ReplyDeleteWhen Jesus says that our righteousness is supposed to surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, I find a lot of hope. Their righteousness was only a rule-keeping one. We have an advantage over them. The laws of God have been written on our hearts. So, we not only do not kill but we can't even hate. As soon as we begin to sense hatred in our hearts, we know that something is wrong and we feel it in our spirit. This moves us to forgive and to love if we are walking in close fellowship with the Lord. It is not that we can't sin but we can't sin and get away with it. We have to deal with our sin. This new life we have in Christ is not capable of continuing in sin without feeling the loss of fellowship. Hallelujah!!!
ReplyDeleteThe new life we have in Christ Jesus is found in His new covenant that He has made with us. We have a connection with the Law, but to the point where we see that Jesus, as it has been said, fulfilled those requirements. We are no longer bound to God by rules and rituals, We are His because of His grace!
ReplyDeleteFound it interesting we often talk about abolishing the Law. I noticed the verse didn't just say Jesus did not come to abolish the Law......but neither the Prophets!
ReplyDelete