Christ, The Word of God, & True Righteousness Pt 2 | Matthew 5:17-20

Scripture

• Matthew 5:17–20

About this sermon

Introduction: You cannot be a disciple of Jesus Christ and have a view of Scripture at odds with His. Our Lord’s view of Scripture must be your view of Scripture if you are truly His disciple. If you know Jesus to be God in human flesh. If you know Jesus of Nazareth possesses all the attributes that make God who He is. ESV Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. ESV Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. If you have THAT view of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you know that His view of Scripture was perfectly accurate. In fact, I don’t hesitate to say, that your view of the Bible says a great deal about your view of Jesus. It says great deal about whether you are truly converted. Someone who adopts the position that the Bible is just a collection of human thoughts about spiritual matters, a book originating with men and containing human error, is someone completely out of step with the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not matter what titles they hold. It does not matter how intelligent they are. It does not matter what institutions they have taught in. It does not matter what degrees they have accumulated. It does not matter how many books they have authored. It does not matter what respect from men is afforded to them. ANYONE, out of step with our Lord’s view of Scripture is out of step with Christ and with His people. They may be a friend of the church concerning a whole host of issues, but their view of Scripture represents an enemy of the church at the most fundamental level. What was Christ’s view of Scripture? What was Christ’s view of the Old Testament Scriptures? We saw in our last study that Jesus now enters the body of His sermon. His task is to demonstrate what true righteousness is, in comparison with the false righteousness, the shallow and distorted sense of righteousness, the damning self-righteousness, that characterized the false religion of the day. He does not hesitate to expose the scribes and the Pharisees, both in their teaching and in their practice. BUT IT WAS NOT A CONTRAST WITH THE LAW AND PROPHETS. Jesus makes plain that the people MUST NOT IMAGINE SUCH A THING. The Messiah had NOT come to abolish the law or the prophets. He had come to live a life and to accomplish a mission IN COMPLETE HARMONY with the WORD OF GOD ALREADY REVEALED. And, in explaining this, He makes a very clear statement about His view of Scripture, and what must be OUR view of Scripture. Tonight, we see 4 clear statements about our Lord’s view of Scripture. EXAMINE YOUR OWN VIEW OF THE BIBLE AND ASK WHETHER IT MATCHES CHRIST’S. IF NOT, KNOW THAT IT IS YOU WHO ARE IN ERROR, NOT HIM. • THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF CHRIST (vs.17) Far from abolishing what had already been revealed, Christ’s coming into the world not only harmonized with what had already been revealed, it represented the NECESSARY COMPLETION, THE TELOS, THE END, THE GOAL, THE AIM, THE OUTCOME, of all that had been revealed. Christ did not come to abolish but to FULFILL the Old Testament Scriptures. If you look to the law, Christ is the fulfillment. If you look to all that the rest of what the Old Testament says, Christ is the fulfillment. THIS GETS TO A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION THAT IS OFTEN RAISED ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE. What is the overarching organizing theme of the Bible? I believe that it is the GLORY OF GOD. God has given His Word to make Himself known.

Topics

• Bible Study
• Jesus Christ