Sign In
Store
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. 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. Matthew 5:17–18
D.L. MOODY
Jesus never condemned the law and the prophets, but He did condemn those who did not obey them. Because He gave new commandments it does not follow that He abolished the old. Christ’s explanation of them made them all the more searching. In His Sermon on the Mount, He carried the principles of the commandments beyond the mere letter. He unfolded them and showed that they embraced more, that they are positive as well as prohibitive.
“Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments” (Malachi 4:4). Does that look as if the law of Moses was becoming obsolete?
ERWIN LUTZER
The clearest statement we have about the purpose of the law is found in the book of Galatians where it says the law was “our guardian until Christ came” (Galatians 3:24). The law is like a plumb line, showing that a wall is crooked but is unable to straighten it out. There’s nothing wrong with the plumb line, it simply can’t do anything more than point out how crooked the wall is.
Today, we are not under the law, we are under grace. But this doesn’t give us the liberty to be lawless. We have warnings in the New Testament about using grace to justify lawlessness (Jude 1:4).
Jesus fulfilled the demands of the law for us, but we must see the law as holy, just, and good. Let us learn to walk in the Spirit and fulfill not just the letter of the law, but also the spirit of the law as Jesus emphasized on the Sermon on the Mount.
PRAYER
Jesus, thank you for fulfilling the law in perfect obedience and for paying my debt on the cross.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Why was it necessary for Jesus to fulfill the law?
Why are we not able to fulfill the requirements of the law?