JESUS FULFILLED THE LAW FOR US

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Throughout his ministry, Paul was constantly contending with Judaizers who were intent on getting gentile believers to keep the OT Law. Here's my take on those who call for believers to keep the OT Law today, they seem to think that when we say we are not under the law, then we are implying that we are lawless, and nothing could be further from the truth. I know some are going but but but... what about what Jesus said in Matthew 5: 17 - 20?. Ok, let's look at this passage, this is from the NIV.

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven

Yes, it is true Jesus didn't come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. Yes it's true that Jesus said not one jot or tittle of the Law will disappear until it is all accomplished. Yes it's true that whoever keeps the Law and teaches others will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes for us to have a chance at entering the Kingdom of God our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. 

First point, did Jesus fulfill the OT Law? You bet, everything about it and that is why He could become our perfect sacrifice. He is the only person to have ever fulfilled the Law perfectly. so that's done. 

Second point, Jesus basically said not one thing will pass away from the law UNTIL everything is accomplished. Question, was everything in the Law accomplished/fulfilled? Again, you bet! When Jesus, while hanging on that rugged cross said "It is finished", He was expressly saying that every single requirement of the Law and thus His work of redeeming us was accomplished. And the Father in Heaven endorsed the perfect sacrifice of His only Begotten Son by rending the curtain in temple (that kept people from the Holy of Holies), from top to bottom. We can all now come directly into His presence, just like it was during the days of the tabernacle of David but that's another topic for another day... 

Third observation, in case one is stuck on verses 19 - 20, rest assured NO ONE can ever keep the Law, many can teach it or at least attempt to, but NO one can KEEP IT ALL PERFECTLY, no one has, that is, except Christ himself and He is The One who is Great in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Pharisees tried their best and came up woefully short and out of sheer pride resorted to hypocrisy. Jesus saw right through their act called them out on it pronouncing woes on them (Matthew 23:1-36) JESUS is the only one who perfectly kept the Law, and you are in Him...so there...rest in Him already!

The Word already tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), there is no one righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10), our own righteousness is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6), so how will our righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees and Scribes? The Pharisees and Scribes trusted in themselves, in their genealogical pedigrees as natural descendants of Abraham, in their knowledge of the Scriptures, in their own efforts to please God by trying hard to keep the Law of Moses, hoping to be justified that way. In the final analysis they were nothing but a self-righteous bunch.

We are to trust in Jesus and what He has already done for us. He took our sins, all of them, past, present and future on His own body on the cross  so that when we believe in Him we are counted as Righteous. His righteousness is imputed to us when we put our trust in Him and what He has done. Rest assured, if you are in Christ, your righteousness far exceeds that of the Pharisees and Scribes!

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Finally, we who are under the New Testament (NT) are led by the Spirit of God, He resides in us. When we were born again, God took out the stony hearts we had and gave us hearts of flesh upon which Jesus by His Spirit writes, not the Ten Commandments or any of the other OT Laws, but His Perfect Law of Liberty, His New Commandment, The Royal Law of Love, The Law of the Spirit of Life. We walk in these laws automatically as we cultivate our relationship with the Holy Spirit who resides in us. Once we realize that we are accepted in the beloved, once we know and believe that God is our loving Father who is not out to get us but to bless us, once we know and believe in the love that He has for us, fear, shame guilt and condemnation will have no place in our lives, we will then be able to come before the Father boldly knowing we are His righteousness in Christ. The more intimate we get with God, the more we will find ourselves living holy lives full of the fruit of the Spirit.

Relax and grow in your relationship with the Holy Spirit, He's right there in you and with you. Blessings!