The Law, Righteousness and the Kingdom – Matthew 5:17-20

Download MP3

(If you would like to receive Pastor Harris’ weekly sermons via e-mail, Click Here)

(For the PowerPoint file for this sermon, Click Here)

Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
March 30, 2014

The Law, Righteousness and the Kingdom
Matthew 5:17-20

Introduction

The issue of righteousness should be of great concern to all people. It was certainly the concern of the Jews of Jesus’ time. They knew from both the Mosaic Law and their own history that there were blessings in being obedient to the Lord and curses for disobedience. Even on the personal level, they understood that any expectation they could have to be treated favorably by God was directly tied to living in a righteous manner. The Pharisees believed that they could achieve personal righteousness by carefully keeping their religious traditions while the Scribe thought they could do this by their diligent study of the Scriptures. Most everyone else knew they were not living up to the righteousness demanded by the Law of Moses and were hoping Messiah would soon come and change things. That is one of the reasons that Jesus so quickly attracted the attention of both the religious leaders and the people.

Jesus was different from everyone else. He was not associated with any of the religious sects of His time. He was not a Pharisee and did not hold to their traditions, yet He talked about living in holiness. He was not a Scribe, yet He was extremely capable with the Scriptures and could quote freely from both the Law and the Prophets. Jesus was not a Zealot (they were seeking to overturn Roman rule), yet He kept saying that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Jesus had grown up in Galilee, a region of the country the religious elite of Jerusalem disdained as backward and its people as uneducated country bumpkins. Yet Jesus, even at 12 years old, was found in the temple amazing the teachers there with His understanding and His answers to their questions (Luke 2:46-47).

The question that was on the mind of everyone was, “could this be the Messiah?” The Zealots wondered when Jesus would overthrow Rome and set up His kingdom if indeed He was the Messiah. The religious leaders already had their doubts about this because He did not come from any their schools. Because Jesus did not follow their traditions or interpret the Scriptures the way they did, they also seriously questioned whether He was obedient to the Law of Moses. How could a man be righteous, let alone the Messiah, if he did not obey the Law of Moses? The common people chaffed under the traditions set up by the Scribes and Pharisees and were hoping that Jesus was the Messiah in the belief that the Messiah would overturn the Law of Moses and set up a new standard of righteousness based on Jeremiah’s prediction of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31).

This morning we will be examining Matthew 5:17-20 which is the section of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus anticipated these questions which were on the minds of the people. He addresses the issues of the Law, righteousness and the kingdom. Follow along as I read Matthew 5:17-20.

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teachers others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus & Scripture

Notice that Jesus begins by saying, “Do not think I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets.” He knows what they are thinking and seeks to correct the question in their minds even before it is asked. Jesus did not come to abolish – destroy, overthrow, nullify – the Old Testament Scriptures. The phrase “the Law and the Prophets” is a common reference in the New Testament for the Old Testament scriptures (Matthew 7:12;11:13; 22:40; Luke 16:16; John 1:45; Acts 13:15; 28:23; Romans 3:21). The Law refers to the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, and the Prophets refer to all that was said or recorded by the Prophets which is the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. Though Jesus rejected both the rabbinic interpretations and the practice of their traditions, Jesus was in no way doing away with the Law or even regulating them to minor importance. Jesus states very plainly, “I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

This statement contradicts the idea that He would set up a new Law and hence a new standard of righteousness. It would also mean that all of His teaching would have to be in harmony with the Law, otherwise, it would diminish it. Jesus states this in an even stronger manner in verse 18 where He states, “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”

Jesus believed the Scriptures to the smallest letter and stoke of a letter. The smallest letter is literally an iota which looks like our “i” and a tittle or serif is the little extension that distinguishes similar letters from one another. If you add a tittle to an iota, you change it into a tao – from an “i” to a “t.” This is a strong way to emphasize his belief that not even the most minor aspects of the Law would pass away until God’s purpose for it was fulfilled. This is in keeping with the Lord’s statement in Isaiah 55:11 that His word would not return void but would accomplish its purpose. Notice as well that Jesus specifically refers to the Law here.

There are those that say they believe and follow Jesus and yet they also either reject or ignore the Old Testament. They say “Jesus was a good teacher,” but they treat the Scriptures like just a collection of the thoughts and beliefs of men about God from which they can pick and choose according to their own desires what they believe. Such a thought is not only inconsistent, but absurd considering what Jesus taught and believed Himself. It is impossible to believe that Jesus spoke the truth and is worthy to follow as a “good teacher” and yet ignore the fact that Jesus Himself believed all the Scriptures to be true. If Jesus is not true on this point, then on what basis can it be said that He was true on any other. Consistency requires that if you say that Jesus was a good teacher and worthy to follow, then you must also follow Him in believing as He did about the Bible.

I recognize that many people think that the events recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures are of little importance since you do not have to believe them to be saved. That is true in the sense that you can be ignorant of them and be a true follower of Jesus. However, if you reject them after learning about them, then there are serious ramifications including a question about your salvation because that reflects directly what you believe about Jesus. How can you claim to believe and trust that what Jesus says is true about some things but not others? If Jesus is not true in what He says about history, then how could He be trusted about anything else He says including His promises regarding the future? To knowingly reject what Jesus believed does at minimum call into serious question whether you are one of His followers and whether you believe in the correct Jesus. To believe that Jesus is God in human flesh, lived a sinless life, died as a voluntary substitute sacrifice for sin, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven where He is preparing a place in heaven for His followers should result in believing without hesitation whatever He says about anything else. To do less is to treat Him as a liar and deceiver and hence a different Jesus, and only the Jesus revealed in the Scriptures can save you from your sins.

Jesus’ statement here is that He held to everything recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. There are many specific statements from Jesus recorded in the New Testament about specific events He believed. Jesus believed the creation account recorded in Genesis (Matthew 19:4; Mark 13:19). He believed the world was destroyed by a flood during the days of Noah and that through the ark, Noah & his family were the only humans saved from the flood (Luke 17:27). Jesus believed that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone raining down from heaven on those wicked cities (Luke 17:28-29). He believed that Jonah the prophet survived three days in the belly of a great sea monster (Matthew 12:40). Jesus believed in a real heaven as the dwelling place of God (Matthew 25:34; John 3:13; 14:1-3) and a real hell as a place of eternal punishment (Matthew 25:41,46). Jesus quoted from every book of Moses and extensively from the Psalms as well as from Isaiah, Daniel and several of the Minor Prophets. Jesus held to the Scriptures in such detail that in Matthew 22:32 his argument against the Sadducees denial of the resurrection was based on the fact that the verb tense in Exodus 3:16 is present instead of past. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, not God was the God of Abraham.

To say that you are a follower of Jesus or even that you believe He was a good teacher and reject the validity of the Old Testament is foolishness. If the Old Testament is not true, then Jesus was not a good teacher and is not worthy to follow. He also is not the Messiah.

Jesus’ affirmation here in verse 18 is that “truly” not even the smallest part of the Old Testament will even pass away until all is accomplished. The people Jesus was speaking to at the time would have to continue to keep every aspect of the Law and the Prophets until all was accomplished, and their standing in the kingdom would be directly related to how well they did that as brought out in Matthew 5:19, “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; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” However, we live in the time period after Jesus has fulfilled and accomplished all the Law. Jesus has already cried out on the cross “It is finished,” so we need to understand how the Law has been fulfilled and accomplished.

Fulfilling the Law

The Law was broken down into three types. Judicial law governed the actions and behavior of the nation of Israel. Ceremonial law governed the ways and means by which God was to be worshiped. Moral law governed the principles by which all men were to live in relationship to God and one another. Jesus fulfilled all three categories of the Law.

To fulfill does not express completion in the sense of filling out its meaning so as to complete it and bring it to an end. Some have interpreted this verse to convey the idea that Jesus brought out all the meaning of the Old Testament and thus completed it. Jesus could not mean that because the Law was already complete and all that God wanted it to be (Deuteronomy 4:2). Jesus fulfilled all the Law and the Prophets in the sense that He accomplished all that it said. Jesus lived according to all its directives, satisfied its prophecies and accomplished its purposes. He fulfilled the Old Testament by both teaching and exemplifying it and by being its consummation.

Ceremonial Law

Let’s begin by looking at how Jesus fulfilled and accomplished all that was contained in the ceremonial aspects of the Law. All the various aspects of worship in the Law were types of what Christ would be and do. Here are few examples from the book of Hebrews which brings this out more than any other book. Hebrews 9:11-12 states, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Hebrews 10:9-12 then adds, “then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Thy will.’ He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time more sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” Verses 19-25 make it clear that because of Jesus’ sacrifice on calvary and because He is the great High Priest, we can come to God and “draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed clean with pure water.”

Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law and has become the perfect high priest which supersedes the Aaronic priesthood. Aaron entered an earthly tabernacle, but Christ an heavenly one. Aaron’s ministry was repeated over and over, but Christ’s perfect sacrifice was once for all. Aaron went beyond the veil to enter the Holy of Holies. Christ tore the veil in two and allows us to enter with Him.

Both the Tabernacle and Temple had a door, an altar and a laver. But Jesus is the door, the altar and He Himself cleanses us from sin. There were lamps that had to be continually refilled, but Jesus is the light of the world that shines eternally. There was the show bread that had to be continually replaced, but Jesus is the bread of life. The incense had to be replenished, but Jesus’ own prayers ascend for those that are His. They had a mercy seat, but Jesus is the mercy seat.

All the offerings were also fulfilled in their totality in Christ. The burnt offering reflected the dedication of the individual, but Jesus only did the will of His Father. The grain offering was an act of fellowship, but Jesus is one with the Father and brings us into fellowship with Him. The peace offering pales before Christ who is our peace. The sin and trespass offerings spoke of the substitution needed for the payment of sin, and Jesus is our substitute and paid for all our sin with His own blood.

Even the various feasts and festivals such as Passover, unleavened bread, first fruits, feast of Tabernacles, festival of lights and Atonement are completely fulfilled by Christ. Jesus is our passover and He is perfectly holy and imparts His righteousness to us. Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection from the dead, and He will gather us to Himself. He is the light of the world and our atonement.

The ceremonial law ended because it found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ who accomplished all. None of it is required of Gentiles and only parts of it, such as Passover, are proper for Jewish people to continue as part of their heritage. Other parts of it, such as sin sacrifices, no longer have meaning. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. put an end to keeping the laws concerning Temple worship and its sacrifices even for those who want to do so.

Judicial Law

Jesus also fulfilled the judicial law. These were the special standards that separated the nation of Israel from all other nations and marked them as God’s chosen people. Many of the laws relating to agriculture, diet, dress, and cleanliness were judicial in nature while others were moral. God has never required the Gentiles to keep these, and Jewish believers are no longer required to do so either as demonstrated in Peter’s vision in Acts 10. Jesus kept all these laws perfectly too, though He did not keep the Pharisees expansions of them that made up a lot of rabbinic traditions. This was a major area of contention between the Jewish religious leaders and Jesus.

Moral Law

Jesus also fulfilled the moral law by His perfect righteousness. As we shall see in our continuing study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus did not keep the rabbinic traditions related to the moral law. They often perverted it so that they could deceive themselves into thinking they were obeying God. Jesus perfectly obeyed all of the moral directives God made through the Law so was sinless though Hebrews 4:15 tells us that He was “tempted in all things as we are.”

The Continuing Law

Does the fact that Jesus fulfilled and accomplished the Law and the prophets mean that we are now without law? The answer is yes and no. The ceremonial law is not required of those that place their faith in Jesus. As already mentioned from Hebrews, Jesus has made the final sacrifice for sin once for all. The laws concerning animal sacrifices are made void by Jesus’ atoning death. In fact, to make an animal sacrifice for sin now would to be to repudiate the sacrifice of Christ. Paul makes it clear in several places that the ceremonial laws no longer must be kept. For example, in Colossians 2:16 Paul states, “Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”

The judicial law was never meant for Christians. In Acts 15, the council at Jerusalem rejected the demand by some of the believing Pharisees that the Gentiles would have to be circumcised and directed to obey the Law of Moses. The council called the law a “burden” and a “yoke which neither [their] fathers or [they were] able to bear.” When God established the church, He grafted Gentiles into the group that He would call “his people” and has set them apart from other people by personal holiness rather the keeping of such things as dietary laws and dress codes. You can freely eat pork and wear clothes made of different types of fibers mixed together.

There are those that would have you believe that all of the Law has been made null and void. Sometimes the emphasis on salvation coming by God’s wonderful grace is made to the exclusion of the law. Romans 6:14 is often quoted, “We are not under law, but grace,” to prove the point. True, but salvation has never been through the law. It has always come to man by God’s grace through faith in Him. The law of Moses was written more than 400 years after Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith in God. Those who are not under God’s grace are still under the law and will be judged by it. In addition, those under God’s grace must be careful to remember that aspects of the law still have a purpose in their own lives.

The ceremonial and the judicial aspects of the law are nullified, but the moral aspects are as valid as ever in two ways. First, the moral law brings about the knowledge of sin. Paul explains in Romans 3 that though all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, justification comes as a gift by His grace through the redemption which in Christ Jesus through faith in Him. In verse 28 Paul states, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” Man cannot be saved through the Law, but the law is still valid and important as Paul points our in verse 31, “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the law.” Paul adds in Romans 7:12 that the “Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” And in verse 14 he adds, “the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.” The purpose of the moral Law is to establish every person as guilty before God. As Paul says in Romans 7:7, “I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.” God’s standards of righteousness are stated in the moral law and our failure to live according to them brings conviction of personal sinfulness. As Paul states in Galatians 3:24, the Law was to be our tutor to lead us to Christ so that we could be justified by faith. It is the Law that makes us aware of our need for salvation from sin and its consequences through Christ’s forgiveness.

Second, the moral law is found in the New Testament “law of Christ” that Christians are bound to keep. These are the commands given by both Jesus Himself and His apostles that we are obligated to obey. We do not receive salvation by obeying them, but our obedience demonstrates our love for Christ which is exactly what Jesus said in John 14:21, “He who has my commands and keeps them, He is the one that loves Me . . .” He added in verses 22-23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but My Father’s.”

1 Corinthians 9:21 makes it clear we are under a New Testament Law. Paul is talking about “being all things to all men” and that even to those “who are without the law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law.” 1 John 3:4 even defines sin as, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”

There are also many commands in the New Testament concerning ceremonies by which we are to worship the Lord. John 13 and 1 Corinthians11:17-34 give details concerning the Lord’s Supper or Communion. Matthew 28:20 and Romans 6:3-7 give instructions concerning baptism. There are also New Testament commands – laws – concerning relationship to authority such as paying taxes in Matthew 22:21 and Romans 13:7 as well as submission to government in general in Romans 13:1. There are many laws concerning our moral conduct which are summed up in Matthew 22:37-40 as loving God with all your heart, soul and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself. James 2:8 calls this summary the “royal law.”

Let us remember that the contention between grace and the law is not over its existence or even our subjection to it. It is over the fact that salvation comes by grace, not obedience to the law. One other major difference is that under the new covenant, which we have with God through Jesus Christ, we also have the Holy Spirit indwelling us to guide us in following God’s will. It is no longer an outward conformity to a list of standards that have to be met, but an inward desire to please, obey and serve God from the heart which we are enabled to do by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus & Righteousness

True righteousness is from the heart. It has always been this way even in the Mosaic Law. Deuteronomy 10:12-13,16 is a good example of this, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? . . . So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.”

The Scribes and Pharisees were still stiff necked because they only had the outward facade of self-righteousness that comes with religion. That is why Jesus says in verse 20, “I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” If you want to enter into the kingdom of heaven – to be saved – then you have to have more than the outward righteousness of religion. You have to have a circumcised heart that will love and obey Him.

Jesus consistently had compassion on sinners, but He was condemning of those who were self-righteous. The classic example of this is the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14. “And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

The Pharisee did not go to seek God much less worship Him. His only concern was his self proclamation of how good he thought he was. Jesus exposure and condemnation of the self-righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees is even stronger in the woes He pronounces upon them in Matthew 23.

Great care must be taken to avoid the trap into which they fell for it is easy to do. Even if the desire is to protect yourself or your children, when the standard of right and wrong is set by a man rather than Scripture, the first step has been taken toward the self-righteous legalism of the Pharisees. Do not substitute God’s commandments for man’s short sighted wisdom. Whenever you start to think that you are good because of what you do or don’t do or begin to think you are too good to associate with other people, then it is time for a thorough examination of your heart followed by repentance.

Justification and righteousness only come from God and only to those who come humbly asking for mercy. The tax-gatherer displayed the first characteristic of true righteousness beautifully in being poor in spirit. He recognized his sinfulness and mourned over it to humbly cry out to God for mercy.

After spending three months in the Beatitudes, I hope that everyone here clearly understands both the nature of and the characteristics that display true righteousness: Poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart and a Biblical peacemaker.  (See the following: Blessed are . . . the Poor in Spirit . .  Those that Mourn. . . the Meek . . the Hungry & Thirsty . . the Merciful . . the Pure in Heart . . the Peacemakers). The truly righteous will suffer insult, slander and persecution for that is the natural reaction of the unrighteous to them. (See: Blessed are the Persecuted,  Rejoicing Though Persecuted, Preparing for Persecution). The righteous are the salt of the earth and they are the light of the world.  They will influence those around them for good for their heart has been changed by the Holy Spirit and displays itself in righteous attitudes and actions which will bring glory to God the Father. (See: Being Salt & Light)

May the Lord’s mercy and grace extend to everyone here so that each person will have and display the righteousness that surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees.

KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up. 2) Count how many times the word “law” is said. Talk with your parents about the relationship between God’s law and true righteousness.

THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Why were the Jews so concerned about righteousness? Why should you be concerned about righteousness? How was Jesus similar to, yet very different from the Pharisees? Scribes? Zealots? What was the hope the common people had in the coming of Messiah? Could Jesus have taught anything in contradiction to the Law? Why or why not? To what degree did Jesus believe the law? (Matt. 5:18). How would Jesus fulfill the Law and the Prophets? How long will the Law remain in effect? Is it necessary to believe the events of the Old Testament to be saved from sin? Explain. What is the danger(s) of rejecting what Jesus believed about events in the Old Testament? What did Jesus believe about events in the Old Testament? What is the difference between the three aspects of the Law – ceremonial, judicial and moral? How did Jesus fulfill each of these? Why are Christians without obligation to keep either the ceremonial or judicial aspects of the Law? What is the importance of the moral law in salvation? What is the importance of the moral law in walking with God? How is the moral law repeated in the New Testament? What are some examples of this? What does Deuteronomy 10 explain about the nature of true righteousness in the Old Testament? What was the nature of “righteousness” possessed by the Scribes and Pharisees? How does the parable found in Luke 18:9-14 illustrate the difference between their righteousness and true righteousness? How can you avoid the trap of self-righteousness? How do the Beatitudes explain the nature of true righteousness?

The Law, Righteousness and the Kingdom
March 30, 2014 – Matthew 5:17-20

Introduction

________________was a concern of the Jews because they knew it was necessary to receive God’s blessing

Jesus did not belong to any ___, yet he preached holiness & the kingdom & was unmatched in the Scriptures

The question on everyone’s mind was, “could Jesus be the _____________?”

Jesus & Scripture – Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus came to ___________, not abolish either the Law of Moses or any of the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures

All of Jesus’ teaching would have to be in harmony with the __________(cf. vs. 19)

The smallest letter was an i and the tittle was the _________ that distinguished letters – a t from a i

Not even the most minor aspect of the Law would pass away until its _________was fulfilled – Isaiah 55:11

It is absurd to claim to be a follower of Jesus or say He was a good teacher and then _____what He believed

The events of the Old Testament do not have to be believed for salvation – if that is due to _____________

To __________________reject what Jesus believed calls into serious question belief in the correct Jesus

Jesus ________________ the events recorded in the Hebrews Scriptures happened as described

Jesus made theological arguments based on verb ___________- Matthew 22:32 cf. Exodus 3:16

If the Old Testament is not true, then Jesus was not a good teacher, worthy to follow, or the _____________

The Jews hearing Jesus would need to _____every aspect of the Law & Prophets until all was accomplished

Fulfilling the Law – Matthew 5:17

This is not “filling out its meaning” so as to complete it – the Law was already _____________(Dt. 4:2)

This is fulfillment by teaching it, exemplifying it and being its _________________

Ceremonial Law – governed the ways and means by which God was to be __________________

The laws of worship were ___________ of Christ which He fulfilled – Hebrews 9:11-12; 10:9-12, 19-25

Jesus became the perfect High Priest that ______________________the Aaronic priesthood

Jesus fulfills the ____________of the Tabernacle / Temple: Door, altar, laver, lamp, show-bread, mercy seat

Jesus fulfills the meaning of the various _____________: Burnt, Grain, Peace, Sin and Guilt

Jesus fulfills the meaning of the various _____________: Passover, first fruits, Tabernacles, etc.

The ceremonial law found its fulfillment in Jesus who accomplished all – none of it is required of ________

Judicial Law – governed the actions and behavior that distinguished the nation of _________from other nations

Jesus kept all these laws _______________, but not according to the Rabbinic traditions of them

______________believers are no longer obligated to keep these laws – Acts 10

Moral Law – governed the principles by which ___________were to live in relationship to God and one another

Jesus obeyed all these and so remained ______________ despite being tempted in all points as we are

The Continuing Law – Matthew 5:18-19

The ________________ laws are not required of Christians – Colossians 2:16

The ________________laws are not required of Christians – Acts 15

We are not under the law, but grace (Romans 6:14), but _________has always been by God’s grace, not law

The ______law brings knowledge of sin – the tutor to bring us to Christ (Romans 3:23-31; 7:7-14; Gal. 3:24)

The moral law is _________________with our obedience demonstrating our love for Christ – John 14:21-23

The Christian is under the “law of ____________” (1 Cor. 9:21) and lawlessness is sin (1 John 3:4)

The New Testament contains ____________concerning worship, submission to authority and moral conduct

The ______________obey God’s laws not to get saved, but because they are saved (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Because the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, obedience to God is generated _________instead of externally

Jesus & Righteousness – Matthew 5:20

True righteousness has always been a matter of the ___________- Deuteronomy 10:12-16

The Scribes and Pharisees were ___________________and only had self-righteousness

_________________ – The parable of the Pharisee and Publican is the classic example

Be careful – the trap of self-righteousness is easy to fall into: It must always be ______ standards, not man’s

Justification and righteousness only come to those who ________________ seek God for mercy

The ______________describe the characteristics of true righteousness – developed in those changed by God


(If you would like to receive Pastor Harris’ weekly sermons via e-mail, Click Here)

Grace Bible Church Home Page || Sermon Archives

For comments, please e-mail  Church office