Matthew 5:18-20
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted
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Christ and the Law Part 2
Christ and the Law Part 2
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
We should be saddened but we should not be surprised at what is happening in our world around us. The Bible says very clearly that we are all born with a depraved nature. No one is born good. No one has to be taught to sin, it just comes natural. When I see the things going on in our world right now, there is only one explanation - Depravity. Sin and depravity are the cause. Not politics, not the government, not social issues - all of those are neutral issues until man gets involved then they become polluted with sin. Sin is our problem, all of these other things are just masks that try to cover it up and make it easier for the world to swallow.
Tonight we look again at these verses in the Sermon on the Mount. And someone might say - why are you Christians just sitting there studying the Bible?? Why do you need to study that old Book? They say the Bible is something that is outdated and it is out of touch with today’s complex society. But we know different.
When we say that the Bible is our “ultimate and final authority” what we mean by that is that everything we think, say, do, or don’t do is influenced by what the Bible says. That means that our views about society, about politics, about work life, family life - everything - is influenced and changed by what the Bible says.
The “authority” comes into play when we take the “knowledge” that we have and let it change us. The Bible doesn’t do any good for us if we don’t let it change us right? If we just acknowledge that it is a good book with great wisdom and that’s all we do - then we are like the man in James 1:23-24 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in the mirror; for he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like”
The Endurance of the Bible
The Endurance of the Bible
“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Truly here means “absolutely”. This is an emphatic word that Jesus is giving. He is putting emphasis on this. He wants us to know that this is important.
What Jesus is saying here is that God’s Word will endure. It will endure the test of time, it will endure the scrutiny and criticism of man, it will endure modern trends - it will endure all of that and it won’t ever pass away.
I don’t know about you - but when I look at what is happening in the world around us on a daily basis - I want something that will last. With all of the things in this world that change on a daily basis - I want something that doesn’t change. I want something I can count on. And the Bible is that solid rock for us.
Listen to these verses:
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
24 for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
“Until heaven and earth pass away” One day - when Jesus returns, He will create a new heaven and a new earth.
14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
Everything that the Bible says about the end times will come true. Every prophecy will be fulfilled. And only God knows when that will happen. But until then - the Bible stands firm as the absolute, inspired, inerrant, sufficient Word of God!
Responsible Christian Teachers
Responsible Christian Teachers
19 Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Let me tell you that I don’t take teaching the Bible lightly. It is a heavy weight, a heavy burden to teach and preach the Bible. When you think about what hangs in the balance it can be a little overwhelming at times. But I’m convinced that God does all of the main work that His Word accomplishes - the teacher is just the megaphone.
But let me tell you - there are some teachers/preachers out there that don’t preach the Bible. You say - how is that possible? Well - they just water it down so much that it loses it’s strength. I don’t know how you like your coffee, but if I can see the bottom of the cup - it’s way too weak for me. I’ve got to have it stronger than that. I don’t want pond water. But there are those out there that will water it down so much because they don’t want to “hurt people’s feelings”. They make it palatable so that nobody gets offended and everybody likes the preacher, he makes them feel good about themselves.
Let me tell you - The preacher is not here to make you feel good about yourself. The preacher isn’t there to dodge your “feelings”. If the Bible hurts your “feelings”, then your feelings are out of whack. If the Bible makes you feel “bad about yourself” then there’s probably a good reason for it. I’m not talking about condemnation here. There’s a difference between condemnation and conviction.
But if you are sitting in a church service and you feel convicted - You should thank that preacher! He’s doing you a favor by pointing you to the ultimate authority that has the power to change you!
Think about this - you’ve got an illness. You can’t tell it’s there, but the doctor runs some tests and he can see that you’ve got the illness. If he pats you on the shoulder and says “oh you’re doing fine!” - Is he doing you a favor? NO! He’s doing you an injustice!
The preacher is just pointing you to the illness that God can take care of. He is the GREAT PHYSICIAN.
Do you think those who teach the Bible will be held to a higher standard? The Bible says so.
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
Another thing about teachers - know the Bible for yourself. Listen - the Bible teacher/preacher doesn’t have a special connection with God that you don’t have. There is no red phone in Bill’s office in case you were wondering. You’ve got the same access to God that he does. You should know the Bible for yourself. The best way to spot a counterfeit is to know the real thing.
The Way to Salvation
The Way to Salvation
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
You can’t get there on your own righteousness or your own goodness! It isn’t possible! You can never be good enough. We’ve already said that we are all sinners right? So we can’t keep the law perfectly and make it to heaven that way. It can’t be done.