Honor God's Word Series

Honor Scripture | Matthew 5:17-19

Introduction:

• Jesus’ popularity is increasing with his messages and miracles.

• Jesus just told the people who they already are (identity) because of the kingdom of God in the Beatitudes. In essence, he told them who they are in light of who God is. The Pharisees on the other hand, teachings center on how we obtain a proper identity through strict obedience to God’s law. These ideas look like opposites of one another.

• Pharisees say obedience comes first, then we receive the right standing/right identity from God. Jesus says we receive identity first (as in the beatitudes) and then the expression of our identity is reflected in our obedience.

• So, now there is an attack on Jesus’ teachings because the religious leaders feel that his teachings are new and different, and the focus was accepting sin/sinners as they are without requiring repentance.

“Do not misunderstand why I came”

• He did not come to abolish/eliminate the law. He had no intention of getting rid of the law of Moses (1st five books of the OT) and the prophets (Joshua – Malachi).

• If Jesus came to abolish/eliminate the law then why would he spend so much time upholding the Law and pointing to the Law?

• The Rich young ruler asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus’ response was to fulfill the commandments.

• People went to the Pharisees and hung off their words / traditions / interpretations.

• Jesus did go after bad theology (bad interpretations) and man-made traditions.

“I came to fulfill them.”

Jesus explains his own attitude towards the Word / Law of God by describing two possible relationships:

(1) We can seek to destroy the Law (v17)

a. This is exactly what the Pharisees were doing. They were concerned with outward obedience but their hearts were far from God.

b. Jesus did not teach from authority (he had no theological training) but rather he taught with authority. He understood the Law and could explain the Law.

(2) We can seek to fulfill the law (which Jesus did).

• Two Types of fulfillment

o 1st is to abide by something. (So Jesus fulfilled the Law through perfect obedience). If he did come to abolish the law, why obey it? The Pharisees had more of an issue with Jesus not upholding their traditions than his obedience towards the law.

o 2nd dimension of the word, fulfill, is completing purpose. We love eating avocados in my family but often when we purchase them, they aren’t ready to eat. The outer portion of the avocado is hard and we have to wait for that outer portion to soften before we can enjoy them.

“Not even the smallest aspect of the Law will pass until all is accomplished.”

The OT contained

1. Doctrinal Teachings about God & salvation - which Christ fulfilled by continuing those teachings and brought it to completion through his death and resurrection.

2. Predictive Prophecy – which Christ fulfilled as the prophecies were about him. Jesus continually indicated that the Scriptures pointed to him.

3. Ethical Precepts / Moral Law – Christ fulfilled the moral law through absolute / perfect obedience.

2 Timothy 3:16 - The Reliability of Scripture:

(1) Most people tend to think of scripture as inaccurate simply because it’s an old, old book. Antiquity and inaccuracy have nothing to do with one another.

(2) Reliability measures accuracy and truthfulness.

(3) Ways to view the OT (History, Law, Promise).

(4) Remember: A.C.T.S

Archeology

(1) Archeological finds in the 1920’s confirmed the presences of cities like Ur (where Abram was from), as described in Genesis 11.

(2) Clay tablets dating to 2300 BC have been found in Syria strongly supporting Old Testament stories, vocabularies, and geography.

(3) Ancient Babylonian records describe a confusion of language as described in Genesis (the Tower of Babel).

(4) In almost every culture in the known world, has a recorded flood account because it indicates why the planet is the way it is.

(5) Various cities, political officers, leaders and events as described in the Bible have been confirmed by archeologists and historians.

(6) The Bible itself points to specific days, dates, times and events that can be verified.

Canon of Scripture

(1) The word canon means “standard.”

(2) The canon of scripture refers to councils that were held which verified the writings of both the Old and New Testament.

(3) These councils prayed and debated and discussed at length what writings were going to be included in the Holy Bible.

(4) The requirements for these writings included:

a. Was it from a (OT) prophet? If so, it is considered God’s word.

b. Was the writer confirmed by acts (miracles) by God? This separated true and false prophets.