How Is The Old Testament Fulfilled? Mat. 5

Mat 5:17-20

“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] 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. [but right now he is not called great by Christians, let alone on earth.] [20] For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

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Fulfilled Does Not Mean Abolished   

         Jesus makes it clear in verse 17 that He did not come to abolish the Old Testament but to fulfill it.  Then He says our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees or we will never enter the government of heaven.  Then, through the rest of this sermon, He explains how our righteousness must be accomplished in order to enter the government of God. He did not invent a brand new law; it’s the same law that proceeded out of God’s nature both in creation and on Mt. Sinai.

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Teaching That The Law Of Christ Replaced The Law

Of Moses Is A Doctrine Of Demons.

God’s Law was always the Law of Christ. His going forth has been from of old, from everlasting. When God told Adam, “Don’t eat from that tree,” that was the Law of Christ. Centuries before Moses, the Christ said to Isaac, “Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Gen 26:4-5). That was the Law of Christ. When the Great I AM gave the Law to Moses that was the Law of Christ. The law of gravity and all natural laws are the law of Christ the Creator.

Look at the 3

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Requirements For Entrance Into God’s Government

Jesus says in verse 17 that He did not come to abolish the Old Testament but to fulfill it. He says, “not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Verse 18). He says, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Verse 20).

 So, God’s Law must be accomplished in us, our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees, and God’s Law must be fulfilled in us before we can enter God’s government.

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God’s Righteous Requirement

Paul says, “God sent His Son… in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us” (Romans 8:4).

         God’s Law includes ceremonial laws, civil laws, and moral laws. All three parts are not abolished, but fulfilled.

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Ceremonial Laws

… are things like circumcision, blood sacrifices, unclean foods, and new moon Sabbaths. They are not abolished. They are still required and must be fulfilled. Circumcision is fulfilled in baptism. Passover is fulfilled in The Lord’s Supper. Pentecost celebrated the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai and was fulfilled when God put His law in our hearts by baptizing His church in the Holy Spirit on the Day Of Pentecost. The Feast Of Tabernacles is fulfilled in the Great Commission as God sends His messengers with the sound of a trumpet to gather His elect from the four winds. Unclean foods are made clean by the conversion of Gentiles (Acts 10). These are just a few examples.

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God’s The Civil Laws

…are fulfilled when nations establish Christ as their King. At that time the law shall go forth from Zion. It’s when there will be no more war and every man sits under his own vine and his own fig tree. That’s private property; and that means no socialism and no slavery. It means the death penalty for adultery.

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The civil laws are actually

Moral Laws

Beginning with verse 21 of this chapter, Christ shows how The Ten Commandments Must Be Fulfilled in order to enter the kingdom of God. He contrasts the Pharisees’ wrong interpretation of Moses with the true meaning of Moses. The correct meaning exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Their interpretation of Moses, their traditions, made God’s word of no effect, but the true meaning gives life. Jesus was not contradicting Moses. He was contradicting their interpretation of Moses, their oral traditions.

         He says it’s not enough to not murder, we must also not hate. He says it’s not enough to not commit adultery, but we also must not lust. He says it’s not right to use the law as an excuse to divorce whenever you want to. An eye for an eye is for court justice, and not as a personal excuse to get even

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6 times in this chapter Jesus says,

 “You Have Heard, But I Say”

He was blasting their oral traditions

You have heard…but I say… Mt 5:21-22 (About murder)

You have heard …but I say… Mt 5:27-28 (About adultery)

It was also said… But I say... Mt. 5:31-32 (About divorce)

You have heard… But I say… Mt 5:33-34 (About false witness)

You have heard… But I say… Mt 5:38-39 (About eye for eye)

You have heard… But I say… Mt 5:43-44 (About hating your enemy).

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What had they heard? They had heard

The Oral Tradition of the Jews

He did not say, “Moses said.” He was not contradicting Moses, He was contradicting the oral traditions of the Jews. This oral tradition started in Babylon and later became known as the Talmud. Believers in the Talmud say that it supersedes the Law of Moses. This is why Revelation calls Jerusalem the Whore of Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, and False Prophet.

         But don’t blame the Jews. They’re not the only ones that go by what they hear instead of what is written in Scripture. For most people, what they hear is their Bible, not what God says.

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Danger!

Doctrinal Systems Can Trump Scripture

Don’t let hearsay trump Scripture! Spurgeon said, “I would sooner a hundred times over appear to be inconsistent with myself than to be inconsistent with the word of God…”

J.C. Ryle points out the danger of this error of allowing a theological system to trump Scripture. He said, “I admire the scriptural wisdom of a man who, in a day of hard-and-fast systems could dare to be apparently inconsistent, in order to ‘declare all the counsel of God.’  I firmly believe that this is the test of theology, which does good in the Church of Christ.  The man who is not tied hand and foot by systems, and does not pretend to reconcile what our imperfect eyesight cannot reconcile in this dispensation, he is the man whom God will bless…”

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Inward Righteousness Must Exceed Outward Righteousness

The substance must exceed the symbol; the spirit of the law must fulfill the letter of the law before the law can be accomplished. Heart faith must exceed head faith and all traditions and systems. God sent His Son in order that the righteous requirement of God’s Law might be fulfilled and accomplished in us.

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The Difference Is The Motive

All of us are Pharisees and Arminians by nature, going about to establish our own righteousness. The natural man says, “All I have to do is say the ‘sinner’s prayer’ and kings X, I’m in.” The man that is just looking for fire insurance does not really serve God; he serves himself. He clings to formulas in order to justify himself. He prefers symbol over the substance of fulfilling the righteous requirement of the Law. All he has to do for a ticket to heaven is “name it and claim it.” Just say, “abracadabra.” Like the rich young ruler, he asks, “What thing must I do to inherit eternal life?”

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A New Nature Is Required

         And only God can do that. That’s the only way to fulfill the righteousness required by Jesus. And that takes a miracle…a new creation.  We must be born again. When God makes new creatures, His method is to change their focus by opening their understanding.  This is what changes their motive, not a works-formula like the sinner’s prayer.  The new creature no longer serves God for fire insurance. He is no longer worried about hell. He now wants to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  That’s how the Law is fulfilled and that’s how we exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. We side with God against ourselves and find a new life.  God creates a new creature, a new motive, and a new heart.

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How Does God Do This?

         God does this by working in us both to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). How does He do that? How does He make us want Him? He does it by convincing us of His truth with His word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by God’s word. He opens our understanding with the truth.