The Truth About the Apocrypha and the Lost Books of the Bible

THE CALVARY ROAD© By Roy Hession Copyright 1950 by the Roy Hession Book Trust, England Available here by their kind permission.

This Book is a great Blessing to me! I pray each reader will enjoy the riches of Christ contained within:


INTRODUCTION...2 PREFACE...3 1. BROKENNESS...5 2. CUPS RUNNING OVER...7 3. THE WAY OF FELLOWSHIP...9 4. THE HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS...12 5. THE DOVE AND THE LAMB...15 6. REVIVAL IN THE HOME...18 7. THE MOTE AND THE BEAM...21 8. ARE YOU WILLING TO BE A SERVANT...23 9. THE POWER OF THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB...25 10. PROTESTING OUR INNOCENCE?...27 11. FORTY YEARS LATER...30


INTRODUCTION I am sure from my own experience, as well as from what we have seen in the ranks of our Mission these last three years, that what the authors tell us about in these pages is one of God's vital words to His worldwide church today. For long I had regarded revival only from the angle of some longed for, but very rare, sudden outpouring of the Spirit on a company of people. I felt that there was a missing link somewhere. Knowing of the continuing revival on a certain mission field and because it was continuing and not merely sudden and passing, I long felt that they had a further secret we needed to learn. Then chance came for heart to heart fellowship with them, first through one of our own missionary leaders whose life and ministry had been transformed by a visit to that field, and then through conferences with some of their missionaries on furlough and finally through the privilege of having two of the native brethren living for six months at our headquarters. From them I learned and saw that revival is first personal and immediate. It is the constant experience of the simplest Christian who "walks in the light," but I saw that walking in the light means an altogether new sensitiveness to sin, a calling things by their proper name of sin, such as pride, hardness, doubt, fear, self-pity, which are often passed over as merely human reaction. It means a readiness to "break" and confess at the feet of Him who was broken for us, for the Blood does not cleanse excuses, but always cleanses sin, confessed as sin: then revival is just the daily experience of a soul full of Jesus and running over. Further, we are beginning to learn, as a company of Christ's witnesses, that the rivers of life to the world do not flow out in their fullness through one man, but through the body, the team. Our brokenness and openness must be two-way, horizontal as well as vertical, with one another as with God. We are just beginning to experience in our own ranks that team work in the Spirit is one of the keys to revival, and that we have to learn and practice the laws of a living fellowship. I need not say more, as Roy Hession and his wife expound the whole matter. But we have seen God at work in our midst. I could name half-a-dozen of our workers, several of them leaders, in whose lives there have been a new spiritual revolution. Then rivulets of blessing in some of our individual lives have been merging in a larger stream. God has been giving us times as a company when "as they prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." Here and there on our battle fields, distant and near, the sound of abundance of rain is being heard; and we believe among many companies of God's people He is preparing afresh for these last days a "sharp threshing instrument having teeth," and that what God is saying to us through this Revival, and through the interpretation of that message in this pamphlet, is a word of the Lord for our day. May it be greatly used to produce revived lives, revived fellowships and revived churches.

Norman P Grubb Honorary Secretary Worldwide Evangelization Crusade


PREFACE IN April, 1947, several missionaries came at my invitation to an Easter Conference which I was organising. I invited them to come as speakers, because I had heard that they had been experiencing Revival in their field for a number of years, and I was interested in Revival. What they had to say was very different from much of what I had associated with Revival. It was very simple and very quiet. As they unfolded their message and gave their testimonies, I discovered that I was the neediest person in the conference and was far more in need of being revived than I had ever realised. That discovery, however, only came slowly to me. Being myself one of the speakers, I suppose I was more concerned about others' needs than my own. As my wife and others humbled themselves before God and experienced the cleansing of the precious Blood of Jesus, I found myself left somewhat high and dry - dry just because I was high. I was stumbled by the simplicity of the message, or rather the simplicity of what I had to do to be revived and filled with the Spirit. When others at the end of the conference testified of how Jesus had broken them at His Cross and filled their hearts to overflowing with His Holy Spirit, I had no such testimony. It was only afterwards that I was enabled to give up trying to fit things into my doctrinal scheme, and come humbly to the Cross for cleansing from my own personal sins. It was like beginning my Christian life all over again. My flesh "came again like that of a little child," as did Naaman's when he was willing to humble himself and dip himself in Jordan. And it has been an altogether new chapter in life since then. It has meant, however, that I have had to choose constantly to die to the big "I," that Jesus might be all, and constantly to come to Him for cleansing in His precious Blood. But that is just why it is a new chapter. At that time my wife and I had been issuing a little paper which we called "Challenge," in which we were seeking to lead young Christians into a deeper experience of the Lord Jesus. It was natural, then, that in the following issue we should put down what God had shown us. We simply put down in print the Message of Revival as it had come to us. There was a sudden and surprising demand for the little paper, because it carried this simple message. As we continued to write further of the Message of Revival in subsequent issues, the demand continued to increase surprisingly. Letters came in almost every day telling of the way God was blessing His people through it, and asking for further supplies. Requests began to come from far away countries, to which the little paper was finding its way, and news began to come of the beginnings of revival in the lives of God's people in various parts. Translations too were made into French and German. We had been caught up in the current of God's working beyond anything we expected or deserved. Indeed we had nothing to glory in, for it became evident that revival blessing was not so much the result of "Challenge," as that "Challenge" was the result of revival blessing. God was at work in many hearts and in many parts. The testimony of those who had been revived made others hungry, who in turn found their way to the Cross, and so the blessing spread from life to life. And wherever the blessing spread, the little paper seemed to go, for it sought to put in clear and Scriptural language what so many were beginning to experience. The connection of all this with the present little book is that this book is simply a collection of some of those numbers of "Challenge." Circumstances make it difficult at the moment for us to continue to send out further issues of "Challenge," and yet the requests for back numbers have continued to come in. There is obviously a need for this simple Message of Revival to be made available to a wider circle of readers, for there is a growing thirst in God's people for the Rivers of Living Water. And so, encouraged by God's blessing on what has gone before, we have put together some of the more helpful numbers of "Challenge," together with two extra chapters, and send them on their way, looking to God to use them as He will. We cannot boast that this contains an orderly treatment of our subject chapter by chapter. Each article was designed to be complete in itself, and therefore now that they are put together in one pamphlet, there cannot but be a good deal of overlapping, and certain things will be seen to be repeated again and again. It cannot, therefore, be regarded as an ordinary book, and the chapters might best be read each one on its own, rather than the whole of them at one sitting.

It must not be thought that this pamphlet represents a purely personal contribution on our part. The things recorded in this book have been learnt in fellowship with others in various parts, who have begun, like ourselves, to walk the Way of the Cross in a new way. Any others in that fellowship might have written these chapters. It is a fellowship, too, which is continually growing, for an ever-increasing number of lives are being quietly influenced and blessed by the movement of Revival in this country now. This fact, we think, adds to the strength and significance of what is here written. Now a word about Revival itself. The conception of Revival contained in the following pages may come as a surprise to many. The common conception of Revival is usually that of a spectacular religious awakening, in which large numbers of the unconverted are convicted of sin and brought to Christ amid a good deal of excitement. Such a visitation of God's Spirit, while greatly to be desired, is thought to be largely unaccountable. It is something for which one can only pray and we must wait for it in God's good time. Meantime we must go on being defeated and the Church must somehow contrive to continue her witness without New Life. Some of us are finding in actual fact that true revival is often the very reverse of all this. Revival need not be spectacular at all (it is certainly no spectacle to the one who is facing up to his sins in the light of the Cross!). Indeed where there is evidence of the spectacular, it is often the least important part of revival. Our missionary friends seemed studiously to avoid reference to the spectacular side of what they had been through, lest it might obscure the real challenge of what God was saying to us. Then, too, revival is not something that God does firstly among the unconverted, but among His people. Revival simply means New Life, and that implies that there is already Life there, but that the Life has ebbed. The unconverted do not need revival, for there is not any life there to revive. They need vival. It is the Christians who need revival. But that presupposes that there has been a declension. You only revive that which has grown weak. And they only are candidates for revival who are prepared to confess that there has been a declension in their lives. And the more specific the confession, the more definitely will God revive. And when that happens among us Christians, God will be able to work among the lost in new power and we shall see a new work of grace there. One of Evan Roberts' mottoes in the days of the Welsh Revival was "Bend the Church and save the people." And the two are always linked. The world has lost its faith, because the Church has lost its fire One last thing needs to be said about the necessary attitude of heart of the reader. If God is to bless him at all through these pages, he must come to them with a deep hunger of heart. He must be possessed with a dissatisfaction of the state of the Church in general, and of himself in particular - especially of himself. He must be willing for God to begin His work in himself first, rather than in the other man. He must, moreover, be possessed with the holy expectancy that God can and will meet his need. If he is in any sense a Christian leader, the urgency of the matter is intensified many times over. His willingness to admit his need and be blessed will determine the degree to which God can bless the people to whom he ministers. Above all he must realise that he must be the first to humble himself at the Cross. If a new honesty with regard to sin is needed among his people, he must realise it must begin with himself. It was when the King of Nineveh arose from his throne and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes as a sign of his repentance, that his people repented. Let not, however, those readers who are not leaders be tempted to look at those who are and wait for them. God wants to begin with each one of us. He wants to begin with YOU. May God bless us all. Roy HESSION. January, 1950.


Chapter 1: Brokenness

CHAPTER I BROKENNESS 

We want to be very simple in this matter of Revival. Revival is just the life of the Lord Jesus poured into human hearts. Jesus is always victorious. In heaven they are praising Him all the time for His victory. Whatever may be our experience of failure and barrenness, He is never defeated. His power is boundless. And we, on our part, have only to get into a right relationship with Him, and we shall see His power being demonstrated in our hearts and lives and service, and victorious life will fill us and overflow through us to others. And that is Revival in its essence. If, however, we are to come into this right relationship with Him, the first thing we must learn is that our wills must be broken to His will. To be broken is the beginning of Revival. It is painful, humiliating, but it is the only way. It is being "Not I, but Christ” (Gal 2:20), and a "C" is a bent "I." The Lord Jesus cannot live in us fully and reveal Himself through until the proud self within us is broken. This simply means that the hard unyielding self, which justifies itself, wants its own way, stands up for its rights, and seeks its own glory, at last bows its head to God's will, admits its wrong, gives up its own way to Jesus, surrenders its rights and discards its own glory - that the Lord Jesus might have all and be all. In other words it is dying to self and self-attitudes. As we look honestly at our Christian lives, we can see how much of this self there is in each of us. It is so often self who tries to live the Christian life (the mere fact that we use the word 'try' indicates that it is self who has the responsibility). It is self, too, who is often doing Christian work. It is always self who gets irritable and envious and resentful and critical and worried. It is self who is hard and unyielding in its attitudes to others. It is self who is shy and self-conscious and reserved. No wonder we need breaking. As long as self is in control, God can do little with us, for all the fruits of the Spirit (they are enumerated in Galatians 5), with which God longs to fill us, are the complete antithesis of the hard, unbroken spirit within us and presupposes that it has been crucified. Being broken is both God's work and ours. He brings His pressure to bear, but we have to make the choice. If we are really open to conviction as we seek fellowship with God (and willingness for the light is the prime condition of fellowship with God), God will show us the expressions of this proud, hard self that cause Him pain. Then it is, we can stiffen our necks and refuse to repent or we can bow the head and say, "Yes, Lord." Brokenness in daily experience is simply the response of humility to the conviction of God. And inasmuch as this conviction is continuous, we shall need to be broken continually. And this can be very costly, when we see all the yielding of rights and selfish interests that this will involve, and the confessions and restitutions that may be sometimes necessary. For this reason, we are not likely to be broken except at the Cross of Jesus. The willingness of Jesus to be broken for us is the all-compelling motive in our being broken too. We see Him, Who is in the form of God, counting not equality with God a prize to be grasped at and hung on to, but letting it go for us and taking upon Him the form of a Servant - God's Servant, man's Servant. We see Him willing to have no rights of His own, no home of His own, no possessions of His own, willing to let men revile Him and not revile again, willing to let men tread on Him and not retaliate or defend Himself. Above all, we see Him broken as He meekly goes to Calvary to become men's scapegoat by bearing their sins in His own body on the Tree. In a pathetic passage in a prophetic Psalm, He says, "I am a worm and no man" (Psa 22:6). Those who have been in tropical lands tell us that there is a big difference between a snake and a worm, when you attempt to strike at them. The snake rears itself up and hisses and tries to strike back - a true picture of self. But a worm offers no resistance, it allows you to do what you like with it, kick it or squash it under your heel - a picture of true brokenness. And Jesus was willing to become just that for us - a worm and no man. And He did so, because that is what He saw us to be, worms having forfeited all rights by our sin, except to deserve hell. And He now calls us to take our rightful place as worms for Him and with Him. The whole Sermon on the Mount with its teaching of non-retaliation, love for enemies and selfless giving, assumes that that is our position. But only the vision of the Love that was willing to be broken for us can constrain us to be willing for that.

                                      Lord, bend that proud and stiff necked I,
                                            Help me to bow the head and die;
                                               Beholding Him on Calvary,
                                             Who bowed His head for me.

 But dying to self is not a thing we do once for all. There may be an initial dying when God first shows these things, but ever after it will be a constant dying, for only so can the Lord Jesus be revealed constantly through us (2 Cor 4:10). All day long the choice will be before us in a thousand ways. It will mean no plans, no time, no money, no pleasure of our own. It will mean a constant yielding to those around us, for our yieldedness to God is measured by our yieldedness to man. Every humiliation, everyone who tries and vexes us, is God's way of breaking us, so that there is a yet deeper channel in us for the Life of Christ. You see, the only life that pleases God and that can be victorious is His life - never our life, no matter how hard we try. But inasmuch as our self-centred life is the exact opposite of His, we can never be filled with His life unless we are prepared for God to bring our life constantly to death. And in that we must co-operate by our moral choice.

Sermon on the Mount: The Law in Eternal Principal Part 6

THE LAW IN ETERNAL PRINCIPLE

FOREWORD

A brief review of Lesson Five, “The Fulfilling of the Law,” will be profitable here. It must be clearly understood that the great law of God has not been “destroyed,” or “done away with,” though some passages, read out of context, have been interpreted to mean this. God’s commandments in their holy and eternal principles under grace supersede, or transcend, the law as a disciplinary or penal code. Let it never be thought that grace renders the eternal law of God ineffective; rather, it enhances the Word of truth by revealing God’s original intent.

In this lesson we will note Jesus’ own exposition of at least six points of the fulfilled law, giving the deeper principle as contrasted with what had formerly been said and heard. Our Golden Text shows that there is nothing wrong with the law itself. It was given to ex­pose sin, but it has no saving power. The Spirit gives sanctifying power over the sinful nature, freeing us from the dominance of sin, or the power of sin. The law continues to serve its purpose, but the freeman is no longer under it “as a schoolmaster” (Gal. 3:23-26). He loves it and obeys it from the heart and not as “under the whip.’

KEY TEXT: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12).

Matthew 5:21, 22, 27, 28, 31-34a, 38, 39, 43, 44

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adul­tery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord oaths:

34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all....

38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hath thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

I. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT (MATTHEW 5:21-26 RELATE TO THIS COMMANDMENT)

At Sinai, God gave this commandment – “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exo. 20:13; Deut. 5:17). On one occasion Jesus clarified it, saying, “Thou shalt do no murder (Matt. 19:18), showing it to be a sacred hu­man-life principle involving soul and spirit, which are not possessed by life other than that of mankind. Thus, the true intent is that no human being shall murder another. The penalty for such “killing” was death (Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:31).

The Sixth Commandment deals with sinful passions. Jesus strengthens this law commandment by showing that anger of heart without a cause lead to murder. He did not equate anger with mur­der. Such anger could bring one before the local seat of judgment. A progression of anger might lead to calling a brother “Raca”—a rascal, or empty-headed fellow, “stupid.” An appeal might be made to the Sanhedrin Council. But a “fool” meant more than being foolish. A fool was a rebel against God and guilty of wickedness; perhaps an apostate. Causelessly branding a brother as a fool could result in being condemned to “hell fire,” even though the accuser might never have had the opportunity to kill the accused. Murder was still in his heart. There is the suggestion that true self-defense might be “just cause” to kill rather than be killed. The Jewish listeners probably understood “brother to mean either a blood-brother or a fellow-Jew, if not indeed a fellow-man, since God “hath made of one blood all nations of men...” (Acts 17:26).

It is possible that an inexcusable leniency toward the Sixth Com­mandment had developed, so that man had become careless about its observance. Jesus was warning them against indulging their anger to the point of breaking the commandment. Verses 23-26 present a clear teaching about the value of reconciliation before a matter gets out of hand. It is vain to try to worship, even at the altar, with unreconciled sin in one’s life. If reconciliation is not sought, there is nothing left but to pay the full penalty—eternal death!

II. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT (MATTHEW 5:27-30)

This commandment has been described as dealing with the sinful appetite, or fleshly desires. The “letter” of the law was clearly against the act of adultery, but Jesus went to the cause. The lust of the heart equates the committing of the act in God’s sight. The lustful look needed its opportunity to commit the act. The fear of being caught, indicted, and sentenced, or even the selfish concern for personal reputation, does not mean that adultery has not been com­mitted in the heart.

This does not mean, of course, that mere temptation is sin, pro­vided it is resisted and overcome. Evidently, Jesus was referring to temptation with regard to the plucking out of the offending eye and the cutting off of the offending hand; which must be taken figura­tively. Jesus’ strong point was the determination not to sin. This admonition may well apply to any sinful enticement which threat­ens the welfare of the eternal soul. (Consider Samson eyes that got him in trouble were taken from him to get him out of trouble and bring deliverance to God’s people).

II. DIVORCE (MATTHEW 5:31, 32)

Jesus implicated divorce in the violation of the Seventh Command­ment. Divorce was at variance with the eternal principles of that law of God. On this and other occasions (Math. 19:7-9; Mark 10:2-12; Luke 16:18), Jesus set the record straight concerning God’s Word and what “hath been said.” Moses had allowed a relaxing of the marriage bond because of “hard-heartedness,” or to protect against cruelty, and perhaps even murder, by husbands who wanted another woman. But Jesus refuted the “writing of divorcement” on the ground that it was not so “from the beginning” (Matt. 19:8). Even Moses’ “writing” dared not allow for the breaking of the Seventh Commandment.

Jesus further stated the one and only “cause” for divorcement— “the cause of fornication.” Notice that He did not say “the cause of adultery,” or unfaithfulness to the marriage companion. “Fornica­tion” involves at least one single person. After many years of prayer and Scriptural research by the guidance of the Holy Ghost, it can concluded that when a single person marries one who has a lawful living companion—even though divorced—that single person is not a lawful companion in the sight of God because the other party already has a lawful living companion. Therefore, the single party is free to divorce the unlawful companion and marry one who is lawfully single (See I Corinthians 7:10, 11).

Let it be understood that the Word says, “what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder”; not “who God hath joined to­gether.” The “what” is the “one flesh” relationship. Divorce courts may put the man and woman asunder, but they have no power to undo the “one flesh” bond.

IV  SWEARING (Matthew 5:33-37)

The Third Commandment is in view here: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exo. 20:7). However, Jesus’ reference to the subject probably sprang from a careless and presumptuous practice of forswearing instead of reverently appealing to God as a witness to the truth of whatever needed validity, or substantiation. To “forswear’ means to swear falsely, or to commit perjury. In law, perjury is telling a lie while under oath to tell the truth.

Pleading heaven, earth, or one’s head as witnesses is all in vain if it is done to cover up the truth. The man with a reputation for hon­esty needs only a Yes or No to stand good for his word. Jesus’ ( counsel is the final word—”Swear not at all.” And it goes without saying that taking God’s name in vain by cursing is intolerable.

V.  RETALIATION (MATTHEW 5:38-43)

Vengeance, or “getting even,” has no relationship to love and mercy. It is not easy for the unsanctified spirit to “turn the other cheek” in non-resistance. But “the grace of God that bringeth salvation” (Titus 2:11, 12), which Jesus brought to us, and which makes us new creatures in Him, teaches us not to be retaliate when others seek to offend us. In fact, God’s great and loving salvation is the first and greatest example of “returning good for evil,” in promising and pro­viding a Savior despite the awful fall of man. And that Spirit of the Father was manifested in the Son, when ‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so openedhe not his mouth” (Acts 8:32; Isa. 53:7). Then, when His very own rejected Him, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:43).

VI.  LOVE TO THE UTTERMOST (MATTHEW 5:44-47)

This limitless principles of “love” is a continuation of His teaching against retaliation. “Uttermost” means: To the greatest or highest degree; the greatest that is possible. This love for our enemies who curse us, hate us, and persecute us, comes to us only from God, and we are able to pass it on only by His grace and power. Publicans and other sinners love those who love them. Many of Jesus’ listen­ers hated the publicans for their dishonesty in money matters. Chris­tian love must go far beyond that of this world. Of course, loving our enemies does not mean that we love their evil ways.

VII.  PERFECTION (MATTHEW 5:48)

“Therefore” directs attention to what Jesus had just said about love. It seems that love is the essence of perfection. The law com­manded, “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God” (Deut. 18:13). Jesus may have had the First Commandment in mind—”Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exo. 20:3); (see also Matthew 22:37). Perfection is in maturity and well as in holiness. Retalia­tion and hatred of one’s enemies is childish. The Christian must “grow up,” or mature, beyond this lower level of behavior. (See I Corinthians 13:11 and Ephesians 4:13-15.)

LIVING THE LESSON 6

The overall substance of this lesson pertains to living the holy, eter­nal principles of God’s law under grace. We are not under the “let­ter” of the law as were the Israelites. If so, then Jesus’ coming to fulfill that law would have been purposeless. But in no sense are we released from a love responsibility to live in the awesome fear of God and His Word. The terrors of Sinai have given place to the glories of Mount Zion (See Hebrews 12:22-29).

As Christ’s disciples and members of His body, His flesh, and His bones, we are not of those who have refused to hear Him. We have heard His voice; we have experienced His work of grace in our behalf; we are crucified and risen with Him. Therefore, we can say with David, “O how I love thy law! it is my mediation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).

If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)  

May God through Christ bless you!

If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:

If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com

Sermon on the Mount: Fulfilling the Law Matt 5:17-20 Part 5

Sermon on the Mount

THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpFhGxjaVDM

FOREWORD

It may seem, at first, that Jesus makes an abrupt change of thought between verses 16 and 17, but actually He was only moving from what His people are by God’s providences to their relevant behav­ior in the light of His Word, or Law. His teachings could already be seen as radically different from the practices which had developed in the Jewish establishment. To that generation of Jews, “the Law” meant “the Law Code” which God had imposed at Sinai, plus some 613 “ceremonial explications.” Its purpose in covenant form was to emphasize the awfulness of sin (Rom. 5:20; 7:13), and the conse­quent need of a Savior. God knew Israel to be a rebellious people, and the Law with its consequent penalty for disobedience was de­signed to keep them from destroying themselves spiritually while they awaited the coming of their Savior (Gal. 3:19, 24).

Now, in His “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus goes to great lengths to show the real intent of the Law; to show that it was only a continu­ance of God’s holy law principles as designed from the foundation of the world. The passage before us (Matt. 5:17-20) makes it clear from the start that His seemingly new teachings were not to be misunderstood or misapplied.

KEY TEXT: “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).

Matthew 5:17-20

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tithe shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least com­mandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

I. CHRIST AND THE LAW (Matt. 5:17)

A. The Law Not To Be Destroyed: Just before God gave the Law at Mount Sinai, He laid solid ground for it upon two basic premises: (1) He is the only Lord God, the Deliverer from bond­age; and (2) there are to be no other gods before Him. “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exo. 20:2, 3). With the ground established, God declared His eternal principles. Those principles existed be­fore they were stated in covenant form and written upon tables of stone. They are from eternity to eternity. God is not only sov­ereign, but He is just, and He is changeless. Therefore His law principles are changeless; thus Jesus, who is one with the Fa­ther, did not come to change, or destroy, a changeless Law. Rather, “...For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).

B. The Law To Be Fulfilled: God’s Word and Law is the truth. David said, “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.. all thy commandments are truth” (Psa. 119:142, 151). “...His truth endureth [unchanged]to all generations” (Psa. 100:5; 117:2).

The word “fulfill” means to complete; to satisfy. Depraved man could not perfectly keep God’s holy commandments; could not satisfy its just demands. But the Law must be obeyed “in full.” It had to be satisfied completely. Therefore, Jesus, in man’s behalf, did that which we could not do. The fulfillment, or satisfaction of our sin debt as law-breakers, is ours by faith. The Word of truth or our faithful God is once again substantiated by Christ’s having fulfilled it, or kept it perfectly. In this manner, under the new covenant of grace, God’s righteous Law is transferred from tables of stone to the fleshly table of the justified, sanctified heart (II Cor. 3:3; Jer. 31:31-33).

C. The End of the Law for Righteousness: In the context of “righ­teousness,” Paul says, “For they [Israel] being ignorant of God’s righteousness [by faith and love], and going about to establish their own righteousness [by their own fleshly works], have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth [puts their faith in His work of fulfillment]” (Rom. 10:3, 4). Christ is “the end of the law for righteousness,” not the end of the law itself. He ac­complished the “end”—the aim, the purpose, the conclusion—at which the Law was directed. He fulfilled—completed, filled up—the Law’s intention. He was the Father’s aim, or end, in having given the Law. Again Paul says, “...for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal. 2:21). In other words, He need not have come to fulfill the Law if acceptable righteousness could have been attained by law works.”

D. Love and the Law: In the process of “rightly dividing the word of truth,” we find, as our Key Text reads, that “love is the fulfilling of the law.” God is love; therefore His Law reflects this attribute. Jesus summarized it once and for all in Matthew 22:36-40. To love God is the first and great commandment. In fact, it encompasses the first four of the ten. To love our neighbor as ourselves encompasses the last six (See Romans 13:8). God set the example of love by giving His Son as the ultimate fulfillment of His Law of Love.

II. THE VALIDITY OF THE LAW CONFIRMED (MATT. 5:18)

The Law is eternally validated by the declaration that even the least of its holy principles will outlast the heaven and the earth. Again, the Law’s destruction is refuted.

III. LAW-BREAKERS UNDER GRACE (MATT. 5:19)

Paul asked and answered a question which is as current now as it was in the First Century: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin [break the Law], because we are not under the law, but under grace? GOD FORBID” (Rom. 6:14, 15). In Christ, we are “not under the law” in the sense of being bound by the depraved nature and therefore hating or resenting that Law. As “a soul set free,” we freely obey the Law because we love God, and therefore we love His Law (See Psalm 119:77, 97, 113, 163).

IV. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT EXCEEDS (MATT. 5:20)

The Pharisees were law-keepers to the point of fanaticism (Matt. 23:23, 24); yet at the same time they were law-breakers to the point of being asked by Jesus, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vi­pers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33; also verses 2-5).

The Pharisees had a “letter of the law” righteousness. The “free from the law man” is free from its bondage factor, but loves and obeys that Law “in spirit” (See II Cor. 3:6-11). Unless we have that righteousness that exceeds the Pharisaic self-righteousness and hypocrisy, we cannot be saved.

LIVING THE LESSON

The only way to render perfect obedience to God’s Law is by the spirit of willing obedience. Christ set the example, and the Father gives the enablement. Sometime in the pre-world councils of the Trinity, the matter of the eternal sacrifice for man’s sin was “on the agenda,” as men would say. It is evident from David’s record in Psalm 40:5-8 that the Father willed that His Son should be that Sacrifice. There was no “quibbling”—no reluctance to obey. The response was immediate: “I DELIGHT to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is WITHIN MY HEART.”

This was substantiated, after the fact, “...when he cometh into the world” (See Hebrews 10:5-7). The promise and the agreement were tested in Gethsemane the night before the Sacrifice was made. There, as both the Son of man and the Son of God, Jesus faced the ultimatum: “Father, IF THOU BE WILLING, remove this cup from me: nevertheless NOT MY WILL, but THINE, be done” (Luke 22:42). The Father’s law was within His heart, and in the mighty work of redemption, that Law is placed in our hearts, so that we, too, can find delight in obeying it.

GOD’S COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT GRIEVOUS TO THOSE WHO KNOW AND LOVE THE LORD!

If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)  

May God through Christ bless you!

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