SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/20/2020 9:02 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Intro to “The
Pertinence of Scripture”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:19
Message of the verses: “19 "Whoever
then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do
the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and
teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
I
have to say that I am not a big fan of “Red Letter Bibles” that is that the
words of Jesus are written in red. In my
opinion the entire Bible are words of the Lord, and that is why I take issue
with those who believe that they know exactly when our Lord spoke and made it
into red type. As I look at the Sermon
on the Mount I realize that what we are looking at is a sermon from the lips of
our Lord Jesus Christ, a sermon that He wants us all to read and
understand. As we begin a new chapter in
the commentary that I am following through the book of Matthew I want to give
the entire title to this 24th chapter from John MacArthur’s
commentary: “Christ and the Law—part 3
The Pertinence of Scripture.” Lord will
we will get through the intro to this section.
I have looked up the word “Pertinence” and found several synonyms, but
the one I like the most is the word “relevance.” Scripture is the most relevant book in the
entire world.
When
I was growing up in my teen years and later into my 20’s the theme of that time
could have been “do your own thing.”
Judges 21:25 gives the sad commentary of the early nation of
Israel: “In those days there was no king
in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This verse is the last verse in a very sad
book of the Bible and the result of its sadness can be contributed to the fact
that the children of Israel were doing their own thing, and not following the
law of God that had been laid out for them only a few years before that.
John MacArthur writes “Antinomianism
is reflected in our own day in personal existentialism, the concept that
teaches the fulfillment only of the present moment, regardless of standards or
codes or consequences. Rejection of
authority follows logically from personal existentialism: we want no one else making rules for us or
holding us accountable for what we say or do.
The inevitable consequence of that philosophy is breakdown of the home,
of schools, of church, of government, and of society in general. When no one wants to be accountable to anyone
else, the only thing to survive is anarchy.”
As
we read over this highlighted section we can see that even the church has not
escaped such attitudes. All you have to
do is look at what is going on in our churches in our country today and you
will see that they certainly are not following the teachings of Jesus
Christ. Much of the time they go away
from the teachings of Jesus is because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s
feelings or perhaps missing out on an offering if they did teach from the
teachings of Christ.
When
one does not follow the teachings of Jesus they can easily sin and some
believers even are not worried about sin because they feel that they can just
confess it and go on with their lives.
Sin in a believer’s life is certainly worse than in a no-believers life
as they don’t realize all of the time what they are doing is sin.
What
about the understanding that Christians are to have about law and grace: MacArthur writes “But even the sincere
Christian cannot help wondering about the relation between law and grace. The New Testament plainly teaches that is
some very important ways believers are freed from the law. But what, exactly, is our freedom in Christ. In Matthew 5:19 the Lord confronts that
question and reaffirms what that freedom cannot mean.
“In
Matthew 5:17 Jesus had pointed out the law’s preeminence, because it was
authored by God, affirmed by the prophets, and accomplished by the Messiah, the
Christ. In verse 18 He showed its
permanence, its lasting without the smallest change or reduction ‘until heaven
and earth pass away.’ Now in verse 19 He shows its pertinence. The Jews were still under the full
requirements of the Old Testament.
“In
verses 17 and 18 Jesus declared that He came to fulfill and not diminish or
disobey the law, and in verse 19 He declares that citizens of His kingdom are
also not to diminish or disobey it. In
light of His own attitude about and
response to the law, Jesus not teaches what the attitude and response of His
followers should be.
“The
law is pertinent for those who believe in Christ because its demands are
clarified and enforced throughout the rest of the New Testament.”
As
I look forward to looking at this section it begins with the main point “The Character
of the Law, and then moves to “The Consequences of Men’s Response to the Law,
and then under that main section we will begin to look at “The Negative
Consequence,” followed by “The Positive Consequence,” and end our study with
the next main point “The Clarification of the Law.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As a believer I realize that I don’t have to
follow all of the different kinds of laws from the Old Testament like offering
an animal sacrifice, or some of the “cleaning” types of the Law. I am looking forward in looking at this
section to learn more about law and grace.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I want to do the things that I am suppose to
do, and be thankful for the things that Christ did for me concerning the law.
7/20/2020 9:52 AM
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