The Reliability of God’s Words
Matthew 5:17-20
Intro: Talk can be cheap, but it is how we communicate. We use words to give and receive information. We use words to communicate thoughts and feelings. We even use words to convey our wishes and desires, and at times to impose our will on others.
-God uses words as well. He is the one who invented language. He is the one who created us with the capacity to formulate words, as well as to comprehend them.
-For as long as man has been on this earth, God’s words have been available to us. Whether in story form, oral tradition, or in writing, God’s message to us has always been accessible to mankind. It amazes me (sometimes even in my own life) how the greatest message ever spoken or written can be so neglected and overlooked.
-Today I’d like to look at what Jesus had to say about God’s words in Matthew 5. The main thing I’d like you to receive today is this:
Prop: If we will join ourselves to God’s words, our future will be secure.
I. God’s words are forever (5:17-18)
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.
-After Jesus had ministered to multitudes of people in Matt. 4, and after teaching the beatitudes, showing how blessed the lowly, rejected, and overlooked are b/c the kingdom of heaven is wide open to them, it is natural for these Jewish people to begin to believe that Jesus is bringing something totally new. This isn’t the old way. This isn’t what the current religious leaders have led them to believe. Listen to what Dallas Willard writes in The Divine Conspiracy: “The Law and the Prophets had been twisted around to authorize an oppressive, though religious, social order that put glittering humans – the rich, the educated, the “well-born,” the popular, the powerful, and so on – in possession of God. Jesus’ proclamation [the beatitudes] clearly dumped them out of their privileged position and raised ordinary people with no human qualifications into the divine fellowship by faith in Jesus” (127). The powerful message that Jesus brought also brought some confusion. So Jesus assures them that the Torah is still to be respected. After all, it is what God spoke in the past. It is reality! Do this and you will live. Blessings and curses. Jesus was bringing a new order, a new way of living called Kingdom of heaven living. It sounded like He was replacing the Old Testament by which they had been living. Jesus assured them that the law was still good and to be honored. The disclaimer Jesus gives is also for what is to follow. “You have heard that it has been said” is replaced with what Jesus says. But what He is doing is getting to the heart issues behind the law. He is not simply after better behavior. He is after a better heart that is fully surrendered to the King!
-Every word that God speaks is strong and true, and it will last forever. Jesus is making reference to the OT in these verses. He is saying that the words God spoke over the period of a few thousand years still stand. Sometimes we get the idea that God changes His mind depending on the situation and the state of the world. However, if we view God’s revelation of Himself as progressive, then we understand that He gave us as much as we could receive throughout the various time periods of the world. Paul called the Law a tutor that helped people see their need for God and His grace.
-How reliable are God’s words from the past? Jesus said not even the smallest stroke of a pen would be changed or taken away. Some believe He is literally talking about serifs – the fancy tails on the letters. Some type styles have feet on the letters – those are serifs and some don’t - they are called sans serifs. Jesus says God’s rules are so unchanging that even the serifs won’t be taken away. The smallest letter of the Greek alphabet is the iota, and the smallest Hebrew letter is the yod. Not one letter or stroke of the pen will remain unfulfilled from what God has said.
-Isaiah 55:10-11 10 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
-At the church conference Robin and I attended, Pastor Phil Carney spoke to us about the need to hear from the Lord. He emphasized the point that God speaks to us. He has spoken to us through the prophets of old, through His Son Jesus, and He still speaks today through His Holy Spirit. Did you know that God has never had an idea? Nothing ever occurred to Him. He does not have random thoughts like we do. He lives outside of time. He is not bound by it. When God speaks, He does not speak an idea or a theory, or a probability. When God speaks, He speaks reality! Being outside of time God is able to speak reality, move forward and see the finished product, and come back and take delight in you as you walk in the reality He has already created by the word of His mouth! Nobody truly knows to what extent God sets things up in advance and how open He leaves things. We do believe that man has a free will to choose or reject God, but we also understand that God already knows the end from the beginning. One thing we can be sure of today… When God speaks, it is reality! It is as good as done! Our time zone just hasn’t caught up with it yet.
-God’s words can be trusted! But it’s hard to trust them if you don’t read them. Someone shared an acronym for WORD (Want it, Open it, Read it, and Do it). If you’ll read it, you’ll find out for yourself what this next point is all about.
II. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that God has said (5:17)
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.
-Jesus fulfilled every predictive prophecy from the OT about the coming Messiah, he fulfilled the doctrinal teaching of the OT, especially concerning the doctrine of God, and he fulfills the ethical precepts of the law – not the least of which is the OT sacrificial system where He himself became the sacrifice for our sins when He died on the cross. Jesus’ fulfilled the law and the prophets in a variety of ways.
-Just to mention a few, Jesus is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.” Isaiah 49:6 “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
-God’s plan doesn’t change – only our understanding of it. His plan will continue to unfold until everything that He has said has happened.
-TS: If His words are that reliable, then obedience is the appropriate response.
III. Obedience brings a double reward (5:19)
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.
A. Honor & Esteem- those who do what God has said will be called great in His kingdom. Some might say it doesn’t matter how greatly they are rewarded in heaven, but that seems a bit contrary to Christ’s teachings. It will matter, and it will be worth every effort and every pain taken to follow the words of God in this life. Paul quoted from Isaiah in 1 Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Jesus also said that those who love Him would obey Him, keeping His commands. All we know is that there will be a great reward in store for those who honor God through obedience.
B. Paves the way for others- Not only do we obey, but we teach others what God has said, helping them know God and follow His word. That is the double reward. We are honored for faithful obedience, and others come to know God- which is a reward for them and for us.
-TS: Finally, it helps us to realize that God doesn’t talk to strangers. His words are intended for those who will get to know Him and respond to His love.
IV. Getting it right requires relationship (5:20)
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.
-What did the religious leaders seem to lack in their approach to God? Pharisees identified 613 rules in the OT Scriptures (248 commands to do something; 365 prohibitions). They knew the rules and they seemed to follow them very carefully; however, they did not appear to have a close relationship with God, or a caring relationship with others.
-Look at what Jesus said about them in Matthew 23:2-5 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 Everything they do is done for men to see.”
-They thought they were getting it right because they seemed to do a pretty good job of obeying the rules. However, obedience without relationship is mechanical and incomplete. It does not result in honor, nor does it help anyone else along the way.
-So Jesus says in v.20 that something more is needed, not just to be effective, but even to enter the kingdom of heaven- really living under God’s rule. What more could be needed? If a person is doing all the right things, shouldn’t they be accepted?
-The answer is NO and here’s the reason why: We don’t gain God’s approval and acceptance based on our works. We only gain His approval and acceptance based on how we respond to Jesus- the fulfillment of the Law. Again, Jesus was after heart change, not simply behavior modification. And hearts only change when they are surrendered to Jesus!
-A while back, a young man visited a local church. After the service, he asked the pastor, “What do I have to do to be saved?”
The minister replied, “Young man, you are too late.”
“What do you mean I’m too late? Am I really too late to be saved?”
The minister replied, “I didn’t mean that you were too late to BE saved. I meant that you were too late TO DO ANYTHING to be saved. Jesus did everything that needed to be done 2000 years ago when He died on the cross for your sins. All you have to do is repent of your sins and ask Him to save you.” [Marc Axelrod, SC]
Conclusion: As we wrap this up, God’s words are reliable and require our full attention. We can never hope to measure up on our own, which is why Jesus came to this earth and provided the way for us. He put obedience within our reach. We can honor God with our lives because Jesus lives in us and the HS is changing us so we can live according to God’s standards and enjoy close relationship with Him. New heart, new life! New creation in Christ!
-If your relationship with God is not what it should be, I hope that you will take steps to remedy that. What steps should you take? To start with, why not be honest with God and with yourself. “God, I’m missing You in my life. I haven’t done very well without You. Please become my leader and my forgiver. I want to have a close relationship with You. Heal my hurts and help me to see how much You love me so I can love and honor you and love and deal honorably with the people in my life.”
-God is waiting to hear from you. A 2nd step might be to get to know what God has said. Read your Bible (Want it, Open it, Read it, Do it).
-Let’s pray.
