Fulfilling the Law

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48

Jesus faced much opposition during His ministry when He didn't agree with contemporary Jewish theology (Matt. 15:1-3). Because it was hypocritical, He denied the Pharisees' so-called devotion.

Many in His day were saying, "Is Jesus saying new truth? Is He really speaking for God? He doesn't say what the Pharisees say. He, in fact, says the opposite of what we're taught."

Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law of the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17). Jesus did not condemn Old Testament law, but He did condemn the tradition that had been built up around it. The religious leaders had so perverted God's law that Jesus declared, "I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." (v. 20).

Whose righteousness are you depending on? Your own or Christ's?

By John MacArthur, taken from "Truth For Today"


Bible Reading Guide:

Beginning to End: Proverbs 10-12
Old and New Testaments Together: Psalm 16-17 & Acts 20:1-16
Historical: Psalm 103-105
Chronological: Isaiah 13-17
Blended: Psalm 16-17 & Acts 12

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible