Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. (Mat 5:17, KJV)
Mat 5:17
There are many well meaning Christians today who have decided to go with whatever some Pastor or church has told them to believe about the law of God somehow being “cancelled,” or “no longer needed,” because Jesus has “fulfilled” the law. Jesus did state that His purpose in coming here in the Incarnate form was to “fulfil” the law. The logical question for us to ask now is simply, “OK, what did/does Jesus mean when He says this to us today?
One of the worst things people sometimes do in studying this topic is to quote things out of their intended context as revealed in Scripture. The topic of “fulfilling” the law is one of the biggest ways that people use to defend their positions of “the law is not something we can keep, or need to even try to keep.” “Jesus fulfilled the law so we don’t have to,” they say. The context in Mat 5:17 is found right in the text itself, especially in the next two verses, so lets look at those texts first:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 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. (Mat 5:17-19, KJV)
Whatever you might currently believe now about the law being “fulfilled, it is certainly apparent that Jesus was not telling us to ignore it or to not try to keep His law. In fact, Jesus expands the application of the law to our modern day use and says that the law even applies to our thoughts. This is how Jesus says it in Mat 5:21-22
“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: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.”
It is obvious that one of the functions of God’s law is to govern our thoughts. To establish our thought life according to God’s ways which are most certainly reflected in God’s laws. Paul expresses this idea very well when he said “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”(2 Cor 10:4-5).
God’s ten commandment law is a literal transcript of His character and if we are to reach the point of “Christ in you the hope in glory,” then we would want to also draw on His law for our guide in all things. There is no sensible Bible reason to ignore or negate or disobey it. The Psalmist gives the ultimate description of God’s law when he says
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. (Psalms 19:7)
We serve a wonderful God who would never lie or contradict Himself so if someone wants to use His Word in such a way as to make it look like God says something in one place, yet cancels that word in another place, they are simply reflecting a very unhelpful interpretation of the Bible. 2 Cor 10:4-5, and Psalms 19: 7 connect quite naturally to the idea of Christ “fulfilling the law” in Matthew 5:17 because they both point beyond mere external obedience of God’s law to the deeper work God intends the law to accomplish in the human heart. God’s intentions for His law is the same in both Old and New Testaments.
Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.” The law was never merely a list of regulations, that we cannot keep, that we are to go through and check off one by one. The law’s purpose was/is transformative. God’s law reveals God’s character, exposes sin, and leads a person toward repentance and restoration. The first four commandments describe our relationship to God, and the last six commandments describe our relationships with other people.
When Jesus says He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it, He is not speaking merely of keeping commandments externally. Jesus fulfills the very purpose for which the law was given. Jesus did all that he did the same way we are supposed to do ourselves, today. Jesus depended completely on God to live His life here on earth. The Father’s law aims at the conversion of the soul, and Christ accomplishes that work in those who come to Him just as they are. The law can reveal the problem, but Christ provides the remedy. In that sense, He brings the law’s intended ministry to its fullest expression. (see Eph 2;13)
Jesus demonstrated how God’s law is supposed to look like in the life of all believers. Therefore the law is essentially both a mirror, and a road map for Christians today. The law is a mirror because we can use it to compare ourselves to, and see where we need to go or what we need to do next. It can be painful to see where our short coming are but this is what we are supposed to see when we look into the “mirror” of God’s law. God’s law also functions as a road map in telling us how to decide on matters or situations that may arise where we are not sure how to proceed and so it also serves as our map to follow in living the Christian life today.
Its very hard to think that Jesus ever came to abolish all this. The Bible does not support such an idea. How can anyone trust in a God who would reverse His own laws. His own principles which define both who He is and what we are to become? Paul makes this matter much clearer in the last verse of Romans 3:31
“Does this mean that by this faith we do away with the Law? No, not at all; instead, we uphold the Law.”
The reason that Christians must uphold all of God’s law, that is, the Ten Commandments, is very simple. They were never done away with on the cross, and as Paul also told us
“Whosoever commits sin transgresses the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”(1 John 3:4).
Christians who deny that the cross upholds the law, and the very plain teachings of Scripture which inform us that it was not the law that was “done away with on the cross,” rather it was “sin in the flesh” that was done away on the cross:
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:3)
Jesus came into the world and died so that sin would be defeated. He did not come to make peace with sin or leave sin in our lives. Jesus does not save people “in their sins” Jesus saves people “from their sins.” Jesus came to free believers from sin’s power. Jesus came to take away sin’s guilt, and to one day remove it completely from our lives. If sin is transgression of God’s ten commandment law, then Jesus came to enable us to keep His commandments by asking us to receive Him into our hearts so that He can “enable us to become the sons and daughters of God.” (John 1:12)
The Bible is always emphasizing that Christ’s work is against sin in every way. Not against His own law which “converts the soul.” (Psalms 19:7) “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.” The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. Jesus is not merely forgiving sin while leaving it untouched; He is actively working to destroy sin’s power. (John 1:12) Sin no longer has to rule the believer. Believers will have no more guilt. Believers are forgiven and no longer condemned. Ultimately, sin itself will be completely removed from the believer, a work that begins now and is completed before the second coming of Jesus. This all fits well with passages such as Romans 8:3,
“God condemned sin in the flesh”, 1 John 3:8, “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil”, and Titus 2:14, “to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own”.
When we think of instructions, decrees, and commandments, we often think of rules that keep us from having fun. From enjoying our lives. But here we see the opposite. God’s laws revive us, make us wise, bring joy to the heart, give insight, warn us, and reward us. God’s laws are guidelines and lights for our path, rather than chains on our hands and feet. They point at danger to warn us, and then point at success to guide us.
“The law of the Lord is perfect.” “converting the soul.”
As Christians, we “establish the law.” We are enabled to keep “the law of the Lord thy God.” Jesus said it very clearly. There can be no mistake. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). Obedience to God is indeed possible in our humanity. We are to serve Jesus in the nature we have,just as He served God in the nature we have. We serve Jesus in the nature that has been redeemed by His own blood. (Eph 2:13). In the righteousness of Christ we shall be enabled to stand before God pardoned, and as though we had never sinned. We are to turn in faith to Jesus Christ, and show our love to God through obedience to His commands:
“If we say we know God but do not obey his commands, we are lying. The truth is not in us. But when we obey God’s teaching, his love is truly working in us. This is how we know that we are living in him. If we say we live in God, we must live the way Jesus lived.” (1 John 2:4-6).
Jesus always fulfilled the law. So should we that others might see His true character and goodness, instead of pointless behavior modifications, and religiosity. True religion is the imitation of Christ. Those who follow Christ will deny self, take up the cross, and walk in His footsteps. Following Christ means obedience to all His commandments. Rev 14:4 tells us that the people who make it to Heaven are they which “followed The Lamb wherever He went.” “The LORD’S laws are right. They make people happy. The LORD’S commands are good. They show people the right way to live.” (Psalms 19:8, ERV)
