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.
(Mathew 5:17)
And it's a good thing that Jesus fulfilled God's legal requirements for us, folks, because if He hadn't, you and I would be "gonners."
You ask, "What do you mean by that?"
Well, to answer you, let's start with the meaning of the Greek word translated “fulfill” in Matthew 5:17. That Greek word comes from the root word "pleroo," which means “to make full, to fill, to fill up … to fill to the full” or “to render full, i.e. to complete.”
As Jesus lived His life, He “filled to the full” the Holy requirements of the Laws of God.
Jesus came to fulfill God's Law. He fulfilled that law in two ways, and BOTH those ways are necessary to save our hides from severe consequences.
How so?
First, He lived under the law perfectly. He obeyed every bit of the law. And His perfect righteousness is imputed to us.
Second, He paid our legal obligations by dying in our stead. Because of all of our sins, God's Law requires that we die and spend eternity in hell. But now, we don't have to face that.
That’s right! Jesus fulfilled that obligation for us by what He went through on the cross. Jesus did not destroy the law that condemns us; He, instead, fulfilled all of the law's requirements so that we would no longer face the eternal punishment for our sins IF we have received Christ and HIS WAYS into our hearts.
Now maybe some of you are thinking this way:
"Wait a minute! Hold on there! I'm basically a good person. I try very hard to love my family and take good care of my kids. I show my parents respect. I don't drink to excess. I fast forward through all the bad spots on the TV shows, and I help out at the church. I also give money to the church, and I give other people stuff, too, when they need it. So don't be telling me I deserve to go to Hell when I die. Hell is not for good people like me. I try as hard as I can to do the right thing most of the time."
OK. I get it. You're kinda insulted that anyone would think that you're the kind of person that deserves Hell for all of eternity.
Well, I got news for you. You are exactly that type of person. You fit the bill perfectly, and so do I.
How so?
Well, let's see, when was the last time you refused to believe God? I ask that because of this scripture verse:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
The key word there is "believes."
The Greek word for "believe" is PISTEUO. That word means all of the following:
a) to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance upon
(sooooo the last time you were concerned about something or worried about someone, did you set that worry aside and completely trust and rely upon Christ to have the situation fully under His control?)
b) to have confidence in and to enjoy confidence in
(sooooo when you were scared last time, did you throw your fear out the window and ENJOY the confidence you had in Christ to fully protect you?)
c) to entrust
(sooooo the last time your child got himself into a jam, did you entrust his care into God's hands? When was the last time you prayed, "God I totally trust You, so please do WHATEVER it takes to save my child"?)
d) to have committed to obey
(sooooo this morning, did you commit everything you say today to the sole purpose of demonstrating God's love and forgiveness to every person you talk to? Remember, to demonstrate that love, you must genuinely show patience, kindness, no envy, no pride, no rudeness, and no remembering of any past offenses.
"Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law - Romans 13:8)
Still feeling like you've lived a good life? Good enough for heaven?
Well, let's go through the checklist:
FIRST, did you overeat yesterday or did you eat something that would spike your insulin level or add to your cholesterol? Remember, the Bible says "you're fearfully and wonderfully made by God," so did you respect God's creation today and eat only healthy items that would feed your body with nothing but nutrition?
SECOND, have you lusted today? Watching two minutes of commercials would do it? Did you think more highly of someone because they "looked good"? Read any romance novels lately?
I saw the following excerpt on the subject of lust, and it makes perfect sense:
"When a beautiful woman walks in the room or flashes on a screen or billboard, all eyes are transfixed. While men might be thinking about sex, a woman might be thinking, 'I wonder what it would be like to have such a body?' Men WANT the body, women want the BODY. They want the body that attracts everyone. Lust can be either a strong feeling of sexual desire, or a strong desire for something."
THIRD, have you shown pride this week? In other words, who got the credit, you or God? When someone told you, "Thank you," did you eat it up, or did you turn and thank God for 100% enabling you to do that?
FOURTH, did you commit murder recently - the Sermon on the Mount type of murder where Jesus says that if we're just angry with someone we've already committed murder in our hearts? If you boiled over or yelled after some idiot cut you off in traffic or after your spouse refused to do his/her fair share in the kitchen, then you are guilty of murder.
FIFTH, did you commit idolatry today? I'm not talking about worshipping a picture of a golden statue of a bull or calf. Nancy Pearcey said it this way:
"Scripture treats the topic of idolatry far more subtly. An idol is anything we want more than God, anything we rely on more that God, anything we look to for greater fulfillment than God. Idolatry is thus the hidden sin driving all other sins."
Our idols can be our children, our spouse, our physical attractiveness, our money, our job, or even our friendships. We may look to money or comforts to fill a space that belongs to God. All of these things are not inherently evil, but they become a problem when we begin to believe that they satisfy us more than God can satisfy us.
Jesus said, "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."
It's a good thing that Jesus fulfilled God's legal requirements for us because if He hadn't, you and I would be "gonners."
Compared to God's holiness, I haven’t lived a good life? I havent lived a life that's good enough to earn heaven? I know I fall short!!!!!!
Thank You, Jesus, for fulfilling the requirements of God’s Law for all of us. We soooooo didn't deserve Your sacrifice!!!!!!
