The Law Keeper
Matt. 5:17-20
4/29/07
PSCOC
Introduction: Holier Than Thou
When I was a freshman in High School, I was referred to in this way. It wasn’t intended as a compliment. I made some of my peers uncomfortable. I didn’t cuss, drink, smoke, or any of that bad boy stuff. I would later go through some of those, but at this time in my life I still felt pretty good about myself. I excelled in external righteousness. IOW, I looked like a pretty good Christian. That was after all what I had perceived Christianity to be all about. He who kept the rules the best was the best Christian. Who came to church the most? Who could recite the correct doctrinal positions on every issue? Who could say they had not drank, smoked, or cussed? Who could claim they had last prayed for forgiveness since their last sin?
I was pretty good at all that, but there were problems with pride. That pride blinded me from my own motivations for my “holier than thou” life, which was more about appearances than devotion to Jesus. This would lead to my downfall.
Why do I tell you all of this? Because we all still fall into the trap of pride based on external law keeping, but we need to remember that to keep the law is to do so perfectly or to be in violation of the entire law. So, is that what we want our relationship with God to be based on? But Jesus teaches us that the Law must be fulfilled. How is that going to take place in our life? How can I fulfill the law in a way that goes beyond superficial law keeping and do so perfectly? That’s not only an important question, but it is crucial to issue of my salvation. For I simply cannot go before God with the law unfulfilled in my life. Here’s what Jesus had to say about the Law (Read Text).
Move 1: Jesus came to fulfill the law.
Jesus wanted to head off any misunderstanding about the things he had to say about following him. He didn’t want anyone to think that he was there to do away with the Law. Jesus said some radical things and he often did not observe the law the way the Pharisees wanted. So, this led to some to think that Jesus didn’t regard the law. But Jesus knew and taught that the law pointed to someone beyond itself. It pointed to his coming and to his fulfilling or completing of the law. Most importantly he sought to fulfill the law in his death. For since no one had ever kept it perfectly it required the death of the one who had kept it perfectly on behalf of all of us who had not.
Jesus fulfills the law! That is good news to us, since it has already been done, maybe we don’t have to worry about the law anymore. Maybe it can be set aside and we can live our lives without regard to law. After all, we’ve always emphasized that we are NT Christians, so what do we want with that OT Law anyway?! But not so fast Jesus says!
Move 2: The law remains.
Jesus again does not want to be misunderstood. He is not saying that because he fulfills the law that it will no longer have any relevance to the disciple. In fact, he is saying just the opposite. He tells us in no uncertain terms that the law is not going anywhere. Not even the smallest dot of a letter will go away as long as heaven and earth remain!
Now this is challenging to what we have often taught. We’ve said that the Old Law was done away with and that it was no longer binding on us. Really? Have heaven and earth passed away? Then it is safe to assume that the law is still in effect. It is an extreme position to say that the law has been done away with. Another extreme is to say that it applies to all people of all time in exactly the same way. Both reflect a misunderstanding of the law.
The LOM is not the fullest revelation of God’s Law, but simply an expression of God’s Law given to a specific people, for a specific purpose in time. Therefore, it is foolish to insist that we must keep the covenant of circumcision, the Sabbath, and animal sacrifice for all time. That brings the focus back to the externals and not the eternal principles behind the LOM. We no longer need animal sacrifices because those sacrifices pointed to the need for a once for all sacrifice through Jesus. But that doesn’t invalidate the principle that sacrifice was needed to deal with sin, rather it affirms it. This extreme leaves us trapped in legalism.
But the other extreme can lead to antinomianism, which is to be anti-law. It leads us to attitudes that Paul encountered like, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound more?” No the law is valid and based on eternal principles. For example, murder is not a violation of God’s law because it is in the LOM, but rather it is in the LOM because it is a violation of God’s law. It is always wrong. God’s law does not change. You cannot dispense of those principles and living by them and be faithful to Christ. In fact, Jesus says greatness in the kingdom of heaven is relative to how a person upholds those laws and teaches others to do the same. Again, the exact application may differ, but the principles are binding.
Being great or least in the kingdom is not addressing reward and punishment, but rather the quality of a disciple. V. 19 is not the best translation in the NIV. Jesus isn’t teaching the necessity of perfect adherence to be great in the kingdom, but is warning against “relaxing” the standard. Jesus is saying his disciples have no authority to teach that any aspect of the law is not important. But it is Jesus (as we shall see) that redefines what it means to live faithfully to the law.
Move 3: Our righteousness must exceed superficial external law-keeping.
No one appeared more righteous than the Pharisees and Scribes. When Jesus first says that the disciple’s righteousness must exceed the Pharisees there were concerned murmurs throughout the disciples. The Pharisees were well known tithers and fasted twice a week. They were sticklers for observance of regulations. What could be missing in their righteousness and how could it be exceeded? It’s a crucial statement because Jesus says that we will not enter the kingdom of heaven if we don’t exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees.
Every time Jesus confronted the Pharisees over the law it was clear they had two differing views of what it meant to be faithful to the law. The classic example is in Lk. 11:42 (and Matt. 23)…read Luke text. For the Jews living in this time, Jesus doesn’t advocate neglecting any aspect of the law, but the Pharisees were so focused on the external that they did not have a heart that was committed to God and therefore did not practice “justice and the love of God.” When Jesus was asked to sum up the law he said it was to love God with your entire being and to love others as yourself. The Pharisees failed miserably here. Therefore, their righteousness was not the standard, though it was popularly perceived that way.
Jesus would expand upon the commandments in the following verses. At the heart of each discussion is that it matters not only externally but what’s in the heart. It isn’t enough not to murder, you must not have anger in your heart. It isn’t enough not to commit adultery; you must not lust. It isn’t enough not to break an oath; you word should be so good you don’t even have to make one. It isn’t enough not to take revenge; you must practice love even to those that mistreat you. It isn’t enough to simply love your neighbor; you must love your enemies.
Jesus doesn’t relax a single standard of God’s law; he raises the standard. The only way to have a righteousness that Jesus desires is by following the law not only in external practices, but in complete devotion of heart. But this brings us full circle. How can the law be fulfilled in our lives, if Jesus raised the standard, and that standard is perfection?
Move 4: We fulfill the law through Jesus.
I heard a story about two duck hunters who saw some smoke in the distances and realized too late that it was an approaching wild fire. They could not outrun the flames, so they actually started a fire all around them believing that the fire would not burn what was already burnt. They were right. They survived by lying low, covering their mouths with handkerchiefs, and waiting it out.
The law is a lot like that fire. You can run as hard as you want to trying to fulfill it and sooner or later it’s going to burn you. We cannot fulfill the law ourselves. We are not law keepers, but law breakers. Jesus is the law keeper. He’s the only one that has ever kept the law. That is why he is the one who fulfills the law. He’s burned the path before us, so that we can’t be overcome by the flames ourselves.
See, Jesus didn’t ask us to fulfill the law. He just asked us to have righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees. We fulfill the law only if Christ has fulfilled it for us. So, what does Jesus really ask of us? He calls us to be disciples. He calls us to have hearts that are absolutely devoted to him. This then is a righteousness that surpasses any that focuses merely on external rule keeping. As Dietrich Bonhoffer said, “There is no fulfillment of the law apart from communion with God and no communion with God apart from fulfillment of the law,” which is exactly why we need Jesus. Jesus fulfills the law and through him we have communion with God.
So, you want to know how you can live in fulfillment of the law? It’s simple. Be devoted to the law keeper. The externals will follow. His righteousness will be imputed to you. He died to fulfill the law, so that we could live forever. He fulfilled the law perfectly so that we could share his perfection. It is the law that demands death for failure to comply. Its Jesus’ death that was given on our behalf because of that failure. It is the grace of God that offers Jesus’ death for ours. It is grace that offers us his perfection and the law fulfilled. Read Rom. 8:1-4.
Invitation: Perfect condition.
On e-bay you often list something to sell as “perfect condition” or “like new.” You know that’s not really true though. As soon as something is touched it never has its original condition. Being like new is not (song: Make me New) going to cut it with God. The moment we broke his law we could never be the same. But indeed he does offer to make you new through Jesus. When you give your life to Jesus you are better than new! You have a new life and one that will never end. Without Jesus we will always be law breakers and always outside the kingdom of heaven. Today, take the opportunity to give your life to Christ and forever be new.
