05
Feb '25
February 5, 2025
05
Feb '25
We need to be careful not to draw the line between the Old and New Testament too darkly. The idea that God was only a stern judge and that people were over burdened with laws in the Old Testament is not completely correct. Read it closely and see a God of grace and mercy who seeks to bless his children even when they fail again and again. Jesus’ death for our sins was the final and complete act of salvation that proved that God was always and will always be love.
So when Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount where he will address some of the Ten Commandments he wants to be very clear:
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place.
As he speaks about those commandments he doesn’t diminish them – he makes them harder! He points out that hatred can lead to murder and that lust can lead to adultery. He doesn’t settle for “an eye for an eye” but commands us to “turn the other cheek.” He has set us free, not from the laws, but for the laws. Knowing that he has given his life for us and will always have our back, we seek to obey his commands and those of his Father.
Pastor Andy