The Dependability Of God's Words

The Dependability 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 languages. 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 around. 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.

-Some would say that diamonds are forever, but guess what they’re selling. Nothing that you see with your physical eyes will last forever. The Bible reminds us that it is the invisible things that are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

-Well, 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 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.”

-God’s words can be trusted! But it’s hard to trust them if you don’t read them. The camp speaker this past week gave us 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.”