[podcast]http://www.revkwon.com/podcast/sermon-gospel_truth.mp3[/podcast] I want to talk about the idea that we began talking about three weeks ago. The idea that if we are to believe, we are a part of the kingdom of heaven here and now. Do you remember that? That we are blessed right now through faith and the kingdom of heaven is currently ours in our possession. Well, this sermon is based off that idea. Not to say that last week wasnt important, but Im saying that just like last week, this week, we find Jesus piggy backing off the idea from him his beatitudes. Lets jump into the passage right now. Matthew 5:17-20. 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. (Matthew 5:17-20). Its only four verses, but its jam packed with meaning. Today, we really need to put on our thinking caps and pay close attention because if we read it too fast well miss the point of what Jesus is saying. I want to start this morning with this first point: Gods Law is not penal, it is a prescription for faith. Look at verse 17. In order to understand the first bullet, and subsequently verse 17, you have to understand that the law that God gives to Moses and what Jesus is referring to, as the law, was a prescription as opposed to as a description. Let me describe (description) what a prescription is: it is a method that is suggested to make something happen or something that is customary. So when Jesus is saying, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them… Jesus is saying that he is here to establish the kingdom of heaven, right here and right now. Hes not here to overturn the prescriptions of Gods kingdom on earth. When God gave the law, all 613 commandments, God wasnt trying to give us a list of do nots for the sake of not letting us do somethinghe was giving a list of dos and donts so that we can live in a society where God preserves the rights and freedom of all people living within his kingdom. When people tell you that they cant come to church and believe in God because it takes away their so called freedom, you let them know that there is no freedom without a law prescribing what freedom looks like and when you look at the law, it looks like a list of things that you shouldnt do so that you dont encroach on your freedom or the freedom of those you violate. Let me give you an example: do not murderyeah, not only will you go to jail but you violate the freedom of the person you killed by giving him/her no chance at life. So when Jesus is saying he is here to fulfill the law, he is saying that he was showing people who believed they were a part of the kingdom of heaven how life should operate within the kingdom of heaven. That means, he was simply here doing exactly what the law was intended to do — make a distinction between God’s people and everybody else by fulfilling the law of heaven. That’s exactly why the movement of Christ is demarked by remarkable acts of God’s power and love. Imagine that for a momentthe law is fulfilled when Jesus replied, The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. (Matthew 11:5). Secondly, I want to point this out because its really important that you know that these laws arent subjective. They arent changing. They have and always will be the same. The religious people had the tendency to change the rules when it didnt suit them. Heres bullet two: Gods law does not change, neither does the gospel. What Jesus was here to do doesnt ever change. He had one purposeto save us from our sins because we couldnt and wouldnt. Look at this in verse 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. Not only doesnt Gods law not change, Hes going to make sure that the kingdom God establishes doesnt ever go away. The law that was prescribed to Moses as a template for the kingdom of heaven is being filled here by Jesus and its not going away. Christianity is not a fad. Its not something you do because your parents force you to church or because there is a super cool pastor or pretty Bible Study leaders. Its a lifestyle that doesnt fade to black. Its happening with or without you and really the challenge is whether you accept that or not. Having said that, I want to go to my next bullet: Jesus wants us to live like were living in heaven now! Look at verse 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. This is the connection to verse 19 where Jesus says if you actually practice it, and not just know it, that you will be a “great” citizen in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is furthering the point home that talking about heaven and actually living it are two different things. This is also Jesus subversively attacking the Pharisees for being hypocrites. Its like why wait for a good thing, when its already here. Are you living it? I know sometimes I fail to live it. Like, despite what you think, Im not always perfect. I dont always say the right thing or do the right thing. I mean, like 999 times out of a thousand, Im awesome and perfect, but then that one time, I mess up and thats the one time everybody is looking at me and Im messing up. But thats not the point, the point is that when I mess up because even I mess up, its because thats the one time I forgot to remember that I need to live like heaven is here, now. Jesus fulfills the law so that we can have the opportunity to live like heaven is here. We need to live like it. That brings me to my last point: Dont just act good, but be good. Jesus is really saying, if you think the Pharisees look like they do a lot of “good stuff”, because they do, then that’s the bare minimum. You have to look like you’re doing more than the good stuff they’re doing by not just doing the good things, but making a conscious decision to intend on doing it. Im not going to lie to you. Its not easy. This is the truth of the gospelJesus lived, died and was resurrected to fulfill the law. Jesus resurrection establishes the kingdom of heaven right here, right now, with those who have the faith to believe in him. Faith comes from not just pretending to do, but actually doing faith. Some of us are teetering between pretending and actually believing and I want to push you a little into that side of actually believing. I want your life to be transformed by the power of God that establishes the kingdom of heaven right here right now and do something amazing with the power of God residing within you. When you think you cant, I want you think about this passage in the Book of Philippians that Paul writes about when he is finding himself between rocks and hard places, when he knows the kingdom of God is here and he cant see it or experience it: Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – Philippians 3:8-9 Lets pray.
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