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Embracing God’s Perfect Law

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Embracing God's Perfect Law
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Jesus Called All of God’s Word the Law

What is amazing is that Jesus saw all of the Old Testament as the teachings from God, the Scriptures, or the Law of God. He saw the Old Testament as a unit that came from God, speaks for God, and is connected to all the God is doing in the world. Nine times the New Testament calls the Old Testament by the term “the law and the prophets”[4].
Notice in Luke 24 as Jesus was summarizing truth after His resurrection how He blended together Moses (the Law) with the Prophets and calls all of them the Scriptures.
 
God speaks with one voice through Moses, the Law, the Prophets, the Scripture. It is His Law or the Diving teachings of the Divine Teacher.
 
Luke 24:27, 44 (NKJV) And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
 
Next time we will consider what Jesus said about the second half of that question: What Parts are Still Binding on New Testament Believers: None, Some or All? The answer we will see comes from God through Paul:
 
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
 
Every word of God’s Word is from God.
 
Some of God’s Word was given just to Israel.
 
But most was given to everyone of all ages as the expression of the character of the God of the Universe whom we with new hearts WANT to serve, obey, please, and become in His image!

Transcript

Before we go, Jesus held to what he had previously said. We have three minutes; I want to introduce where we’re going to go next time. Go to the Old Testament, to the middle, to the book of Psalms. I want you to see what Jesus held about the law, because what is God’s law? It’s the scriptures. Jesus uses six synonyms. What He says is, God’s law is perfect. Starting in Psalm 19 verse 7 it says, “The law of the LORD is perfect.” It’s that perfect law that converts our soul. If you want to be converted, if you want to be regenerated, if you want to be saved, if you want to be transformed, if you want to have a new heart and a new mind, it only comes through the perfect law. That’s the first half of verse 7.

The next synonym is, “The testimony of the LORD.” What God says about Himself in His character and who He truly is. God’s testifying of the invisible infinite God, written down in His word. “The testimony of the LORD is sure.” It makes us simple people wise.

Look at verse 8. “The statutes of the LORD are right.” What are statutes? Statutes are Gods set in stone instructions. In fact, it’s interesting, the word behind this, is when they used to write things, chisel them into stone. That’s the word, the chiseled into stone things. The things that are unchangeable of the Lord are right and they rejoice our heart. We like knowing what is changeless.

The next part of verse 8, “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” God’s saying, I’m not suggesting… this is my commandment to you. That immediately makes our lives pure. We know what God wants and it enlightens our eyes. We start seeing what matters forever.

Look at verse 9. “The fear of the LORD is clean.” What is the fear of the Lord? Grubbing around afraid He’s going to hit us? No. It’s what Joseph showed. Do you remember when Joseph was in Potiphar’s house as his chief of staff? Potiphar’s wife walked up to him and starts pulling his clothes off, and made a pass at him in a suggestive advance. Do you remember what Joseph did that shocked her? He looked her in the eye and said, I can’t do this wickedness in the sight of God. She went like this, in the sight of who? It’s just us two in this room, what are you talking about? He said, no, God is watching.

That’s what it says in verse 9, the fear of the Lord. Knowing God sees the inside of me, and the outside, and everywhere I am is clean. It makes me seek those things that are clean, and it causes everything I do to endure forever.

“The judgments of the LORD.”

Those are all synonyms for the scriptures. God’s law is perfect because He gave the law. God is perfect, so His laws are perfect. God is unchanging, so his laws are unchanging. We have this perfect law given by God.

Let’s close by going back to Matthew 5:19, because look what Jesus says about it. He held this by the way, and look what he says about it in Matthew 5:19. Jesus said, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so,” will have consequences forever. Do you notice what He said? “Shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven.” How I view God’s law impacts me forever.

Another way to put it is this, Jesus called all of God’s word the law. When Jesus rose from the dead and talks to His disciples, you know what He says? He says Moses and the prophets, and the writings, all are scripture. All are the very teachings of the divine teacher, God Himself. Jesus called all of God’s word the law.

The way to answer the question we’ll start next time, because we really have to go to Romans 6 and 7 and 8 and see how Paul in the most amazing way answers this question. But the short of it is this, God isn’t looking for outward conformity and me to say I can tell that person’s really bad, look at what they look like. God says, I’ll tell you what’s really bad, what’s on the inside. Is there corruption, evil desires, and anger, and pride prompting? Or is there a submission to God’s perfect law and my imperfections make me flee to Him? Thanking Him that Jesus paid for all my sin and the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has already cleansed me from all unrighteousness.

Before we go, if you sense this inward corruption. Outward everybody thinks you’re great, inwardly you know you’re not great, the answer to that is Jesus. He said, come on to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, I’ll give you rest in the inside. Fall before me, say I’m impossibly, painfully, utterly, aware I have corruption in the inside. I got the outside figured out; the inside is horrible. Jesus said, a new heart I will give you. A new spirit I’ll put within you. I’ll take out your heart of stone. I’ll put in a heart of flesh, and you will love to obey me. If you don’t love to obey God, as we pray, why don’t you cry out to Him and say, I need a fix. I need a new heart. I need what only you can give me. You know what? The Lord is near to all who call.

Let’s bow for a word of prayer.

Father, I thank you for this great morning. I thank you for the marvelous time we had singing together. I thank you for the joy we’ve had of sitting close and just being merged into one service. But I pray that we would realize your law is your perfection revealed to us. Your character. Your desires for us. It’s this whole book. It’s all perfect. Only by a new heart can we obey, and love, and serve, and follow you. I pray for anyone that doesn’t have the new heart, that they would ask for you to save, and regenerate, and transform them today. Bless our fellowship. We give the rest of this day to you. If you give us life, may we live it for you. In the name of Jesus we pray. And all God’s people said, Amen.


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