WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:06.240 Well, uh first of all, I want to thank you for the opportunity uh to be here to minister the word of God uh to you this morning. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:17.359 I've had the opportunity to get to know a number of your uh uh pastors and elders and uh some of the men who serve here, and it's a tremendous blessing to have the godly and uh have godly and faithful servants uh right here at this church. 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:24.640 Um Pastor Jesse and uh Pastor Jordan have uh both been particular uh gifts to me, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:31.839 And I think you'll find it an encouragement uh to know that uh this church is part of our regular uh prayer rotation on Sunday mornings. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:38.560 We uh make it a habit to pray for area churches, and uh, this is uh one of the churches that we pray for uh regularly uh that's on our list. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:42.159 And um also want to bring you greetings from Baltimore Bible Church. 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:44.560 All the news out of Baltimore isn't bad. 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:51.439 Uh there's uh good news in Baltimore, and the good news is that the gospel is being preached there, like uh Jordan already uh mentioned. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:58.159 Uh, you know, we do preach out preach out on the streets and in neighborhoods, and uh I'm just very thankful for uh the opportunity uh to do that. 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:08.959 And uh we celebrate uh six years of God's faithfulness uh this uh July uh to our church, and um just very exciting things that are happening there that I'm uh just just so uh thrilled about. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.879 And uh finally I'd like to bring you greetings from my wife Jennifer. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:16.239 Uh we celebrate 21 years of uh of marriage this year. 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:26.319 Um my son uh uh is uh 18 years old, graduating from college, my daughter's uh 20, uh still in college, and my my youngest daughter, Car, is uh 16 and an artist. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:31.760 Uh she's at uh Carver Center for Technology and Arts, and uh I'd appreciate your prayers for uh for all of them. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:42.799 So uh this morning I have the uh assignment of delivering a message about the law, and I only have about 40 minutes to do that, but that's okay because uh I'm from upstate New York and I talk fast. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.599 Uh some people try to figure out where my accent is from. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:56.719 I grew up in upstate uh New York, Albany, New York, uh lived in Maryland, California, Arkansas, so don't try to figure out where where the accent comes from, but the speed never left. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:01.680 So uh uh I I do talk fast, but if you listen a little bit faster, you should be able to catch up. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.840 So uh this morning I have the assignment of preaching about the law. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:12.560 And uh when you heard that there was going to be an entire conference on the law, maybe you had the same response that I did. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:13.919 Like, why, right? 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:18.159 Like, why have an entire conference on the law of God? 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:22.639 Doesn't the Bible say that we're no longer under the law, but under what? 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:23.759 Under grace, right? 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:25.120 Romans 6, 14. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:26.879 And and haven't we died to the law? 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:34.800 According to Romans chapter 7, Romans chapter 7, verse 6, but now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:41.199 And hasn't the law itself been made obsolete according to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 8, verse 13? 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:44.879 Uh when he said a new covenant, he has made the first obsolete. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:55.039 And while Christians would all acknowledge that we have some kind of relationship to the Old Testament, many of us might prefer to have a distant relationship to the Old Testament. 00:02:55.199 --> 00:03:00.800 Some of us treat the Old Testament like the crazy cousin or uncle that we hope doesn't show up at the party. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:02.960 Anyone have a cousin or an uncle like that? 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:04.639 Uh I know I had one growing up. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:17.120 I had this uh this cousin who used to dress in the most bizarre and eccentric clothing he could find, you know, different colored scarves, hats, jackets, these pointed boots, and nothing seemed to match with anything else that he wore. 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:20.960 And uh the kinds of things that he would say would make absolutely no sense. 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:22.879 You know, he's just so unpredictable. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:28.639 Uh he was still my cousin, I still loved him, but there were some places I just hoped he wouldn't show up, right? 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:31.599 You know, like at a graduation or at a wedding. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:34.240 You know, just, you know, please, just, you know, I hope you stay home. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:36.719 I'll give you the invitation, but don't come, right? 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.439 And that's how some people treat the Old Testament. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:43.840 It's it's there's certain sections of the Old Testament that everybody loves, like Psalm 23. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.439 You know, I don't know anybody who's ashamed of Psalm 23. 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:49.759 You know, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:58.080 You know, and and and we just universally extol the majestic beauty and the poetic genius and the vivid imagery that's contained in Psalm 23. 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:06.560 But then there's those other psalms that we hope don't show up at the party, like like those imprecatory psalms, you know, like who invited those psalms here? 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:08.240 You know, please don't show up. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:09.599 Who invited them? 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:14.639 You know, maybe for you it's the the six-day creation account and a talking snake. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.480 Like, like, who invited that to the party? 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:18.879 You know, a talking snake, I've got to defend that. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:20.639 Do we really have to go there? 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.680 Is there like some other option, you know, some other way that we can explain what's going on in the Old Testament? 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:37.839 Or maybe for you it's the instances where God commanded destruction on the enemies of God, you know, in Deuteronomy chapter 20, but surely, Deuteronomy chapter 20, verse 17, but surely you shall utterly destroy them. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:47.839 The Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, the Dynamite, the Oticite, you know, that's all the ites, you know, kill all the ice. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:55.439 How in the world are we supposed to reconcile that with the gracious and merciful God of the New Testament scriptures? 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:01.519 Or maybe for you it's some of the positions God took, like on things like sexual immorality. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:10.240 You know, do I really have to accept that God rained down fire and brimstone on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in part because of their practice of homosexuality? 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:12.959 Is this the version of God that I need to embrace? 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:16.160 Isn't there a kinder and gentler alternative? 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:21.600 I mean, why wouldn't we get rid of these and hitch these from the New Testament? 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:26.560 Wouldn't Christianity be better off if we didn't have to defend texts like these? 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.959 And that seems to be the approach that a number of current authors have taken. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:33.839 For example, Rob Bell in his book, What is the Bible? 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:36.480 He says this don't drag God into it. 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:41.439 The Bible is a library of books reflecting how human beings have understood the divine. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.160 So what you're reading is someone else's perspective that reflects the time and place they lived in. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.560 It's not God's perspective, it's theirs. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:50.160 Don't confuse the two. 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:56.639 In another chapter, he says, the problem with the word inerrant when it comes to the Bible is that it's the wrong category. 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:02.800 To argue for inerrancy is arguing for a different kind of library of books that we don't have. 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:17.360 To fully appreciate the Bible, you have to let it be what it is: a fascinating, messy, unpredictable, sometimes breathtakingly beautiful, other times viscerally repulsive collection of stories and poems and letters and accounts and gospels. 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:24.000 Gregory Boyd, who is a well-known theologian and author, writes this about the inspiration of the Old Testament scriptures. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:40.000 He says, We believe that we must read the scripture with the understanding that some of what we find may reflect God humbly bearing the sin of the people he breathes his written revelation through, thereby taking on an appearance that mirrors their sin. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:52.480 We thus ought not to be surprised when we find certain Old Testament authors depicting God with a character that falls short of the loving, self-sacrificial character revealed on the cross. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:07:07.759 These sub-Christ-like portraits bear witness not to the manner in which God acted toward humanity on the cross, but to the manner in which God humbly allowed humanity to act toward him as he bore their sin and thus took on an appearance that mirrored the ugliness of their sin. 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:16.079 And then Andy Stanley, in his book Irresistible, he says the Old Testament is one of the primary stumbling blocks for the non- and post-Christians. 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:21.920 The Old Testament is used far more than the New Testament to create doubt in the minds of the undergrad and graduate students. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:31.199 The church has communicated for centuries that our faith rises and falls on the defensibility of a collection of documents that include the Hebrew scriptures. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:33.279 For the record, it doesn't. 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:41.839 Once you accept the Old Testament for what it is, you'll feel less pressure to tidy it up, sand off the rough edges, or just ignore certain portions altogether. 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:43.120 Listen to what he says. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:46.959 All the gods of the ancient world were human rights violators. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:48.560 That's just the way the world was. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:59.120 If the God of the Jews was going to establish a nation for himself, he would have to wade into the fray and play by the rules of his day, which is exactly what he did. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:07.680 Which is the same kind of critique of the scriptures that a well-known liberal scholar by the name of Harry Emerson Fostic had concerning the scriptures. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:08.240 Dr. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:32.480 Moller writes about Fostic, and he says this, that to the young preachers of his day, Fostic argued the Old Testament exhibits many attitudes indulged in by men and ascribed to God, which represent early stages in a great development, and it is alike intellectually ruinous and morally debilitating to endeavor to harmonize these early ideals with the revelations of the great prophets and the gospels. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:43.919 And the common opinion of each of these authors is that the Old Testament is gritty, it's dirty, it falls short of the loving self-sacrificial character revealed on the cross. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.440 It's messy, it's repulsive, it's even barbaric. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:51.919 And the idea that you walk away with is that there's no need to try to sanitize it. 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:53.679 Because it's just too messy. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:58.240 Don't bother trying to defend it, because it's indefensible by today's standards. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:08.080 It's hopelessly tainted by the culture of its time, the thinking of its day, and the best solution is just to unhitch it from the teaching of the New Testament and the gospel message. 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:22.720 We may not be ashamed of the gospel, but it definitely seems like some are ashamed of the law, and we're desperately hoping that the law doesn't show up at the party because we have no idea what it might be dressed like and what it might say. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:26.559 But that's a far cry from what David said about the words of the law, isn't it? 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:33.600 Psalm 12, verse 6, the words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace on the earth refined seven times. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:38.480 Psalm 19, 7, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:44.480 Psalm 119, verse 97, Oh, how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:54.480 Or Paul in Romans chapter 7, verse 12, who said, So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and righteous, and good, and even spiritual, he says in verse 14. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:10:03.759 Or Peter, who said in 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 25, but the word of the Lord endures forever, and this is the word which was preached to you. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:16.080 Or even Jesus, who quotes Deuteronomy and said in Matthew chapter 4 and verse 4, it is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:22.080 Jesus held to a high view of every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:29.679 And if it's our goal as believers to be Christ-like, we can't have a weak and deficient view of the scriptures, a low view of the scriptures. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:34.480 And even though this is a crippled gate conference, we're not to live as crippled Christians. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:40.399 We're not to live as Christian amputees who've cut themselves off from the law of God. 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:46.559 And to help us with that, why don't you turn to Matthew chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount, and we'll see what Jesus had to say about the law of God. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:49.360 Matthew chapter 5, and I'll start at verse 17. 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:51.519 Why don't you follow with me as I read? 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.879 Jesus says, Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:59.840 I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:06.960 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. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:13.600 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. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.840 But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:25.759 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.159 Why don't you bow your heads with me for a word of prayer? 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:35.519 Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning once again, our Father, we pray that you would open up to us wonderful things in your word. 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:46.720 And I pray that you would allow this sufficient and authoritative word to speak to us, to pierce our hearts, and that you would use me as a weak instrument to be a blessing to your people. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:48.480 In Jesus' name I praise you and give you thanks. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:49.279 Amen. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:57.679 One commentator observed that no sermon ever preached has been more significant to the Christian church than the Sermon on the Mount. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:06.799 Christian writings from the close of the New Testament up until the fourth century quote Matthew 5 more frequently and more extensively than any single chapter of the Bible. 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:12.720 And Matthew 5 through 7 more frequently and extensively than any other three chapters of the Bible. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:19.279 Which means that when people are thinking about the words of Christ, they're most likely thinking about the words of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:24.399 And I would think we could all agree that you can't get more Christian than the Sermon on the Mount. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:33.360 John Stott says it's the nearest thing to a manifesto that Jesus ever uttered, for it is his own description of what he wanted his followers to be and to do. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:44.080 Another commentator remarks that even philosophers and activists from many non-Christian perspectives who have refused to worship Jesus nevertheless have admired the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:45.759 So we're in one of those passages. 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:49.120 This is one of those passages that everybody likes to bring to the party. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:51.440 Everybody likes to bring the Sermon on the Mount to the party. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:58.639 You know, praying for those who persecute you, doing good to those who despise you, turning the other cheek, doing to others what you would have them to do unto you. 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:01.519 I mean, all that's found right here in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:08.159 And all of the same virtues that people typically point out as being radically different from the Old Testament. 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:15.360 But right here, near the beginning of the sermon, Jesus says in verse 17, Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:17.440 I did not come to abolish, but to what? 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:18.559 To fulfill. 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:25.039 So if you read the Sermon on the Mount as some radical departure from the Old Testament law, Jesus would say, Don't think that. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.919 And he uses some of the strongest language to make his point. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:33.120 The phrase, do not think, is in the subjunctive mood in the Greek, which is the mood of possibility. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:41.759 And what Jesus says here when he states it in the negative is that it shouldn't even be possible for you to think that I've departed from the law and the prophets. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:43.600 You can't even begin to think that. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:56.240 And then later Jesus uses a double negative, which is one of the strongest forms of negation in the Greek language, to say that the law will by no means, no, no, it will not pass away until all is accomplished in verse 18. 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:59.279 So this is not a radical departure from the law of God. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:01.919 It is a radical commitment to the law of God. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.120 And Jesus did not come to abolish the law or the prophets. 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:08.000 That word abolish is the Greek word katoluo. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:18.639 It's the same word that Jesus uses over in Matthew 24 and verse 2 when he says about the Jewish temple in Matthew chapter 24, verse 2, he said, Do you not see all these things? 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:24.240 Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down. 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:26.639 That word torn down is the Greek word kataluo. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:31.039 It's a word that means to be utterly destroyed, picked apart piece by piece. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:36.720 And Jesus says when it comes to the Old Testament law and the prophets, I have not come to pick them apart piece by piece. 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:47.200 It's not this mangled mess that's so hopelessly contaminated, the Old Testament, so hopelessly contaminated, so sub-Christian, that I just have to scrap it all together, start over. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:50.000 He says, don't even begin to think that that's what I'm doing. 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:54.960 Jesus says, what I'm teaching, how I'm living, is in complete fulfillment of the law. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:56.720 And just think about that for a moment. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:03.120 If if Christ lived in complete fulfillment of the law, how could the law be sub-Christian? 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:05.200 How could the law be sub-Christ-like? 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:10.159 If Christ lived in complete fulfillment of it and were to be like Christ, how could Christ be sub-Christ? 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:12.480 If he's living in fulfillment of the law. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:18.480 So far from being a mirror of human sin, the law was a reflection of divine holiness. 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:20.159 And that applies to all of it. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:28.240 When Jesus speaks about the law of the prophets, he speaks about the law of the prophets, it's in a way where he talks about the Old Testament in its entirety. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:32.240 He's speaking about the entire Old Testament scriptures, not just a part of it, all of it. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:40.480 Over in Matthew chapter 22, Jesus said in uh in verse 37, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:42.320 This is the great and foremost commandment. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:45.039 The second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:49.440 On these two commandments, depend the whole law and prophets. 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.320 That was a way to speak about the entire Old Testament. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:16:04.559 Another example is over in Luke chapter 24, where he's on the road to Emmaus and catches up with these two disciples, and beginning with Moses, who wrote the law and the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:10.799 Listen to this, in all the scriptures, Moses and the prophets was a synonym for all of the scriptures. 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:15.600 Again, the law and the prophets are a way to refer to all the scriptures, not just the Mosaic covenant, to all of it. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:21.679 And Jesus is clearly saying that I have come to fulfill the Old Testament scriptures, which is the first point. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:24.960 Christ's purpose is affirmed by the scriptures. 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:29.679 So what do we mean when we say that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures? 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:31.919 Do not think that I came to abolish, but to fulfill. 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:33.519 What do we mean by that? 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:39.679 First of all, it would have to mean that Jesus at least understood what the Old Testament law and the prophets meant. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:43.840 If he's come to fulfill, if he says I'm the fulfillment of it, he at least has to know what it means. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:49.120 So what we understand from this is that Jesus himself is the perfect interpreter of the law of God. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:52.399 And as a teacher, Jesus was absolutely astonishing. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:54.159 Matthew chapter 7, verse 28. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.919 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:00.720 Literally, literally struck out of themselves. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:09.039 But Jesus says in the beginning of the sermon, what you're about to hear is completely consistent with Old Testament revelation. 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:12.799 It's nothing that you haven't been instructed about in the law and the prophets. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:20.240 Six times in chapter 5 alone, Jesus says, You've heard it said, but I say to you, you know, he talks about turning the other cheek, loving your enemies, obeying God from the heart. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:24.240 But he says, absolutely none of those things are radical departures from the Old Testament. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:26.720 That would be the wrong way to read the Sermon on the Mount. 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:32.640 He's not saying, you know, the Old Testament law says this, but let me tear that stone down and put a better one in its place. 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:33.839 I say to you this. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:34.960 That's not what he's saying. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:42.000 Jesus is not contradicting the scriptures, he is contradicting the incorrect interpretation of the scriptures. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:50.000 It was the scribes and Pharisees who were tearing down the scriptures with their traditions, which is what Jesus pointed out in Matthew chapter 15. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:54.079 The disciples were accused of breaking the traditions of the elders. 00:17:54.160 --> 00:18:01.440 And Jesus turned to the elders and said in Matthew 15 and verse 6, you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your traditions. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:03.359 We're not breaking the word of God. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:06.799 You're the ones who are breaking the word of God for the sake of your traditions. 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:10.480 And what Jesus opposed was their misinterpretation of the law. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:18.079 And what Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount is he's taking that law which has been torn down and he's putting it back up into the place where it belonged in the first place. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.400 So he's the perfect interpreter of the law. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:28.559 But in addition to that, he's also the not only the perfect interpreter, but he's also the perfect keeper of the law, perfect keeper of the law. 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:33.599 The religious leaders desperately wanted to find something that they could charge Jesus with. 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:35.759 They constantly came up empty every time they tried. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:42.480 Matthew 26, chief priests and the whole council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Christ because they couldn't find anything. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:43.680 Nothing stuck. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:45.599 They couldn't find a charge against Jesus. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.680 On one occasion, Jesus said in John 8, uh, 46, Who convicts you? 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:51.839 Which one of you convicts me of sin? 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:55.680 Which is an incredible statement to make in the face of your enemies. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:57.440 Like which one of you, I'm just totally open. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:18:59.599 Which one of you says, I've done anything that's wrong? 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.039 They couldn't come up with anything because Jesus was absolutely perfect. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:07.920 Any violation of the law of God would have been grounds for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:13.119 According to James chapter 2, verse 10, if Jesus broke any part of the law, he would have been guilty of what? 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:14.559 All of the law? 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:17.200 But in him there was no sin. 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:19.759 That's why Christ alone can be your substitute. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:21.680 1 John chapter 3, verse 5. 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:26.559 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:34.720 Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15, we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:37.759 Which leads us to the fullest meaning of that word fulfillment. 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:43.680 The Greek word fulfill is the word plurato, which means to make fold, to make complete, to fill up, to fill out. 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:51.759 And when we talk about Jesus being the fulfillment of the scriptures, we mean that Jesus is the perfect completion of the law, the perfect completion of the law. 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.400 And this is really just such a rich concept. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.160 It could have been made a series in itself. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:59.039 It's a concept that's brought up a number of times in the book of Matthew. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.720 Matthew's really a book about fulfillment all throughout the gospel of Matthew. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:08.640 He's arguing that the specific events and details of Jesus' life were predicted by Old Testament prophecy. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:27.279 Jesus brought predictions to pass, like being born of a virgin, being born in Bethlehem, having a ministry in Galilee, miracles of healing, speaking in parables, riding to Jerusalem on a donkey, rejected by the religious leaders, abandoned by the disciples, his crucifixion, his resurrection, all fulfillments, all bringing scripture to pass. 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:32.400 But not only did Jesus bring scripture to pass, he also brought the scripture to their completion. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:41.599 Jesus doesn't just make scripture come to pass, he also brings the God-ordained offices and symbols and types and pictures to their final resting place. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:44.640 He's the embodiment of the entire revelation of God. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:50.960 So for example, in Hebrews 1, uh, so for instance, we wouldn't call a prophet a prediction. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:52.640 You know, a prophet makes a prediction. 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:55.119 We don't wouldn't call the prophet himself a prediction. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:57.920 But Jesus is the fullest expression of a prophet. 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:05.680 Hebrews chapter 1, God after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in his son. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:08.160 He is the perfect fulfillment of the prophet. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:13.519 We wouldn't call a high priest a prediction, but Jesus is the fullest expression of the high priest. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:27.680 Therefore, Hebrews 4.14, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, we wouldn't call a sacrificial lamb a prediction, but Jesus is the fullest completion, the fullest expression of the sacrificial system. 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:32.640 John chapter 1, verse 29, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:39.680 Which helps us understand passages like Hosea 11:1 when Hosea says it about Israel, out of Egypt I've called my son. 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:43.680 And then Matthew picks it up in Matthew 2 15 and says that Christ is the fulfillment of that. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:44.720 What does he mean by that? 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:50.319 He means that Christ is the fullest expression, the most complete picture of a son of God. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:59.279 And throughout the book of Hebrews, the author continues to point out that Jesus Christ is the greater prophet, the greater Moses, the greater Joshua, the greater high priest, the greater sacrifice. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:21:59.839 I don't have enough. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.440 Fingers to keep pointing them out. 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:07.359 He offers a better hope, a better covenant, a better promise, better blood, better possession, a better country, better resurrection. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:11.440 So why would we return to the shadows when we have the substance in Christ? 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:13.279 He's the completion, the fulfillment. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:18.319 All the Old Testament offices, symbols, and types find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:20.319 My daughter's an art student. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.920 I mentioned that before at a Carver uh Center in uh in Towson. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:32.240 And uh sometimes I'll watch her, you know, sketch a picture out, and you know, she'll draw like an oval and some sticks coming out the side, and it's like you're looking at it, it's like, what is that? 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:38.960 But then she'll fill it in, fill in the complete picture, and it's like a perfect image of whatever she's she's drawing. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:41.599 It's it's amazing uh to see how she's been gifted in that way. 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:47.119 But what we have in Christ is like he fills in what's been sketched out in the Old Testament. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:52.319 He's the master artist that fills in the picture of what we see in the Old Testament. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:56.079 So Old Testament had a king, but we have the king who is Jesus Christ. 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:59.359 Old Testament had prophets, we have a prophet who is Jesus Christ. 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.799 Old Testament had the priest, but we have a high priest who is Jesus Christ. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:06.559 He completely fills out the picture of all these Old Testament images. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:12.559 So that's why Jesus can say in John 5.39, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:15.119 It is these that testify about me. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:21.119 John 24, verse 27, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:27.039 So we're not ashamed of the law because Jesus is the greatest expression of the law. 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:30.640 He's the completion of the law, of the Old Testament scriptures. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:38.720 But not only is Jesus the one that fulfills Scripture, God's plan will also be accomplished by the Scripture in verse 18. 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:49.440 If you look at that again, verse 18, for truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest stroke, smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:53.759 Not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:57.440 We're not ashamed of the law because God's plan will be accomplished in the scriptures. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:00.559 And there's there's a number of ways that Jesus makes his point. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:03.599 First of all, he begins by this statement, Amen, amen. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.880 Truly, truly. 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:09.119 No other ancient scribe or prophet would ever begin with that kind of formula. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:13.680 If anything, they'd wait until after they finished what they had to say and wait for the affirmation. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:14.799 You know, do you believe that's true? 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:16.960 You know, truly, truly, like this is what I said. 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:20.400 Or, you know, like you don't start a prayer by saying, hey guys, let's pray. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:20.960 Amen. 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:22.880 You know, you don't start a prayer with the end. 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:24.240 Like this is what Jesus did. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:25.119 He started at the end. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:26.960 I don't have to wait for an affirmation. 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:29.759 Everything that I'm saying is absolute truth. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:35.599 Second, he also illustrates his point by these two humanly unchangeable features of creation. 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:37.599 He talks about the heavens and the earth. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:49.440 And I won't get into your views on global warming and what mankind is capable of doing to the heavens and the earth, but I will let you know that the scriptures describe the heavens and the earth as being something that we can't change. 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:51.759 There are pictures of permanence in the scripture. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.720 Psalm 93, verse 1 says, indeed the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:03.519 Psalm 104, verse 5 says, He established the earth upon its foundation so that it will not tithe forever and ever. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:08.960 And Ecclesiastes 1, verse 4 says, A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:11.920 You know, the earth remains what my microphone wants to move from me. 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:18.160 But the idea here is that the earth, heaven and the earth remain unaffected by the passing generations. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:25.119 And just in case you're concerned about, you know, isn't there a time in the scripture where it says that the heavens will melt and the earth or whatever? 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:30.240 Jesus says in Matthew 24, 35, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:33.119 His words are even more permanent than the heavens and the earth. 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:39.440 And then thirdly, Jesus illustrates his point with the most minute details of Scripture that won't pass away. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:46.480 He talks about these uh smallest strokes of smallest letters or smallest strokes of the pen. 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:47.920 Shall not pass from the law. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:50.960 King James says jots and tittles, you know, bits and pieces. 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:54.079 In the Greek, those uh those words are yoda and kariah. 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:57.359 Uh the word yoda was the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew letter yod. 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:00.640 Uh it was uh a small letter that looked like an apostrophe. 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:07.519 In many cases, you don't even need the yod to figure out what the word is, but he says, not even the smallest, smallest letter is going to be removed. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:13.680 And then he uses this word uh kariah, which was a small stroke of a pen that would distinguish one letter from another. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:21.200 So it's kind of like when you think about the uppercase uh uh O and the uppercase Q, you know, what's the difference between an O and a Q? 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:23.119 It's just that little stroke, right? 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:23.920 The little stroke. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:26.480 And he says, not even a little stroke is going to pass. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:32.000 I remember uh uh back in in middle school, you know, sometimes we'd have these true and false quizzes. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:46.880 And uh sometimes when I wasn't really sure about an answer, I'd I'd I'd write a T, a lowercase T, but then I'd just like draw a little like kind of hook at the top, hoping that my teacher would like, like, oh, I don't know if that's an F or a T, and just give me the benefit of the doubt and give it to me. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:54.480 And uh eventually my teacher caught on and she told me I had to make all of my letters uppercase just so there was a distinction between the two. 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:58.640 But there's not going to be even the little stroke, it's not going to be missed. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:01.440 Every little stroke is going to be accomplished. 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:02.960 So let me ask you a question. 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:06.720 What kind of confidence do you have in this book? 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.440 What kind of confidence do you have in this book? 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:14.240 Is it just a library of books reflecting man's perspective? 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:18.799 Does it just reflect the perspective of the time and place that the authors lived in? 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:24.240 Should we not try to drag God into it because it's not God's perspective, it's just theirs? 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:29.519 Is it too much to call every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God inerrant? 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:34.000 Listen, you don't have to be ashamed of this book because every word is true. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.079 Every prophecy will come to pass. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.039 There is not one letter, there is not one stroke of a pen that will pass until all is accomplished. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:43.119 We can have confidence in the word of God. 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.359 So tell that to your undergraduate student. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:46.799 Tell that to your graduate student. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:48.559 Let them chew on that one for a while. 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:53.599 And we we might say, but you know, isn't that kind of view of inerrancy like scoffed at? 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:56.960 You know, the Old Testament is one of those primary stumbling blocks. 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:58.400 I mean, I read that in a book somewhere. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.160 That the Old Testament is a stumbling block. 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.240 Why try to defend the Old Testament? 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:03.759 Won't it be mocked? 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:13.599 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 3 says, know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:15.839 People are going to mock the scriptures. 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:20.160 People mocked, probably mocked Noah, but then the flood came, didn't it? 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:23.680 I mean, we don't have to be ashamed of the words of God. 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:26.079 We expect unbelievers to mock it. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:32.319 We expect unbelievers to scoff, but that has nothing about the truthfulness of what we find on these pages. 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:36.480 Do we tell people, you know, pay no attention to that, to that book behind the curtain? 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:38.319 You know, you remember uh Wizard of Oz? 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:41.920 You know, Dorothy finally figures out that the the Wizard of Oz is no grand wizard. 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:50.400 He's like this man behind the curtain with the controls, and it's like, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, pay no attention, I'm the great eyes. 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:52.480 And that's how people treat the Old Testament. 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:55.039 It's like, pay no attention to that Old Testament. 00:28:55.200 --> 00:29:02.000 You know, you might find something in there that like there's somebody working the controls, and something might not be true, and it'll all come crumbling down. 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:04.720 I have utter confidence in the Old Testament. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:07.680 A hundred percent confidence because it is the word of God. 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.119 I don't have to be ashamed of it. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:12.160 There's never gonna come a time when I'm like, oh, don't look behind that curtain. 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:16.000 Something might pop out that's that's that's that's embarrassing for us. 00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:18.240 We don't need to have that kind of fear. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:19.759 Is that how you treat the Bible? 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:25.279 Because you're afraid that somebody might find something somewhere, sometime that's gonna be proven to be untrue. 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:29.920 Every letter and every stroke of God's pen is going to be accomplished. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:31.279 We don't have to be ashamed of it. 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:40.000 Christ's purpose will be fulfilled through the scriptures, God's plan will be accomplished by the scriptures, and then finally God's priorities are announced in the scriptures. 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:41.920 Look at verses 19 and 20. 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:48.480 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commands, commandments, and teaches others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:52.000 But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:58.720 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:06.400 And that's that's a challenging text, but with everything that we've learned this weekend about the law, all of the pieces just should fall beautifully into place. 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:09.759 So think about the context of the Sermon on the Mount with me for a moment. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:13.920 At this time, Jesus is speaking to a Jewish audience still under the law. 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:19.920 They've largely been instructed by a group of scribes and Pharisees who've attempted to pick apart the commands of God. 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:26.640 So when the law says thou shalt not murder, they said, Hey, you know, as long as you haven't stabbed anybody, like, you're good on that one. 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:28.559 The law says you shouldn't commit adultery. 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:39.279 Hey, but as long as you're not sleeping with your neighbor's wife, I mean, you might have to get rid of your wife unlawfully first to get your neighbor's wife, but like whatever you have to do, but as long as you're not sleeping with your neighbor's wife, like everything's okay. 00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:40.720 You're good on that one. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:44.480 As long as uh, you know, the law says you shall not make false vows. 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:52.319 Hey, you know, I know that the law says don't make false vows, but as long as you don't use the name of God when you make a false vow, then you're okay on that one. 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:56.720 So what the scribes and the Pharisees doing, they were annulling the commands of God. 00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:58.079 They're trying to tear it apart. 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:06.559 And basically what they found is they're looking for is some kind of relief, some kind of relief from the from the weight of Scripture, the weight of God's commands. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:11.359 But, you know, hey, the the law is kind of too strict, it's too demanding, it's too restrictive. 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:16.799 But you know, if we loosen it up a little bit, if we kind of change some things, then we can, you know, we've got some more breathing room. 00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:18.240 Like we're okay under here. 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:20.319 Like the law does not slay us. 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:24.960 We're not slain by the law anymore because we've we've kind of like, you know, widen it out a little bit. 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:26.160 Like I can I can handle it. 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:32.079 The same is true for the Gentiles who have the law of God in their conscience according to Romans chapter uh uh two. 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:36.000 Uh Gentiles who do not have the law show the work of the law written in their hearts. 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.160 They seek a refuge from the law as well. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:43.839 And you'll hear things like this when you talk to people, you know, hey, as long as I'm not hurting anybody, you know, I'm okay. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:45.440 You know, I haven't hurt anybody. 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:47.839 You know, I'm just as good as everybody else. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.599 You know, we just need to live and let live. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:50.480 You know, what's what's wrong with that? 00:31:50.640 --> 00:31:54.079 You know, if I if I stand before God, I'll be able to give them some kind of an answer for that. 00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:58.000 It's their desperate attempt not to be crushed by the law. 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:01.200 And what about you as a new covenant believer? 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:05.599 Are you secretly seeking to be free from all restraint? 00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:12.720 You know, there's that old saying, uh, free from the law, O blessed condition, I can sin all I want and still have remission. 00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:14.720 Is that what you look forward to? 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:16.240 No, I just want to be free. 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:17.680 I just want to be free. 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:24.240 To be free to sin, to be free to serve myself, to be free to gratify my sinful desires. 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:26.480