Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-20,
"Do not think that I have come to do away with, undo, or abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with, undo, or abolish but to complete and fulfill them. 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 all things are accomplished.
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. 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."
Jesus saying He didn't come to do away with the law but to fulfill it is like Him saying, "I didn't come to do away with the debt. I came to pay the debt." Paying the debt is like doing away with it but better because it is more than mercy, it is forgiveness and graciousness. We were in debt to pay the whole law with perfect obedience to it. Jesus did it on our behalf. He paid the debt of obedience. Jesus wasn't saying, "Forget about that old law thing I'm going to junk it." He was saying, "I'm going to do this for you because I love you and I know you can't do it."
If Jesus was speaking about these things after His resurrection He would say something like this.
"When I came I didn't throw out the law and the prophets. I have fulfilled the requirements of the law for all mankind. I have also fulfilled the prophesies about the Messiah. What I did was so important that even if heaven and earth disappeared every bit of the law would have remained unfulfilled but I accomplished all things necessary to fulfill it. Now I make everyone great in my kingdom. Even those who were the best law keepers did not have enough righteousness to enter my kingdom. You will need my righteousness to enter my kingdom. Just start trusting me and I will give it to you."
I agree with your blog, Michael. Your explanation is both clear and concise. I would take exception, however, with the implication that Jesus paid our debt to God.
ReplyDeleteIf Jesus paid for all my sins, past, present, and future then no matter what I do or believe, God would have to apologize to Jesus if He sent me to hell.
The "Jesus paid our debt in full" doctrine (incidentally, that expression is found nowhere in the scriptures) is what's at the heart of the doctrine Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS).
In one of Jesus' parables (in Matthew 18:23-35), He tells of a rich man who forgives an unplayable debt owed to him by one of his servants. The servant turned around and forgive the debt of one of his underlings. When word got back to the Master, he reinstated the debt owed by the unjust servant.
The moral of the story is that Jesus left a loophole in His atonement. God reserves the right to suspend the blood of Jesus for cause. The "cause" specified in the parable is "unforgiveness".
The bible gives other causes for God to suspend the blood of Jesus but those go beyond the scope of this comment. Suffice to say that God has setup boundaries to guard against abuse of His atonement.
Thank you, though, Michael. I really love your teaching.
Hebrews 7:25 tells us that "Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."
ReplyDeleteFirstly you can throw out the idea that you can "lose your salvation." If you believe that you believe the death of Jesus on the the cross was utterly worthless, that your sin is more powerful than the Son of God. That belief says that sin breaks the power of grace, love, and Jesus Christ instead of Jesus being the one who broke the power of sin and death. I'm not saying any of this to shame anyone. Most people believe falsehood because of deception or not being exposed to the truth. God has already reconciled the world to Himself and He did that by no longer counting any one's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19). From God's standpoint sin does not stand between anyone knowing Him. Sin certainly cannot remove sonship because Jesus is able to save completely.
Romans 8 says "no created thing" can separate us from the love of God. Well what are you? You are a created thing. You cannot separate yourself from God's love. That includes your behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and actions. None of those can separate you from God's love. Sin does not stand between you and God. You cannot become unborn.
Before the cross Jesus taught the law to show people their need for a savior. Unforgiveness is one reason for that need.
Jesus said Himself in John 6:37 that "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I WILL CERTAINLY NOT CAST OUT."