Here's a Daily Devo to use with this Matthew 5 passage we've been looking at:
Day 1) Notice,
Jesus did not set Himself outside a holistic view of God’s work…or apart from
God’s Words (revealed in the Torah).
God’s Word was essential to the personal mission of Jesus; He ran His
life, His activities, and His goals through the grid of the Scriptures.
Reflection: What role does God’s Word play daily in
your goals, perspectives, and convictions?
Choose a day from last week, consider your activities and decisions of
that day, and compare them to what you know of the teachings of the
scriptures. Choose a day coming up this
week and be intentional that your interactions and activities are of a biblical
nature. Make notes and reflect on this
experience.
Day 2) The word
“abolish” is intense and clear in meaning.
Jesus’ activity did not invalidate OT Law. The word “fulfill” may need some discussion. Use the following scriptures to determine how
Jesus may have fulfilled the OT Law.
ŸPsalm
2:7; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 53;
Isaiah 42:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 22; Malachi 3:1
ŸRomans
3:21 & 31; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 15:22; (Read these as a grouping: Psalm 14:1 / Romans 3:23 / Romans 5:12 /
Romans 8:1-2)
ŸDeuteronomy
18:15-20; Matthew 5:21-48
Day 3) If we
gained a good understand of how Jesus “fulfills” the OT Law, then we understand
that Jesus not only values OT law, but He brings it to maturity. Jesus, being God, has the final rights on
interpreting God’s Words; the life and teachings of Jesus flesh out and reveal
the full depth of meaning of the OT.
Though the Law in itself does not have the power to change us or set us
free from sin, Christ is clear that we are still to follow the Law. This is as much practical as it is spiritual
advice from Jesus. Read and reflect on Romans
7:7-25 and Galatians 3:19-25 to better understand the usefulness of the Law.
How does the Law reveal
sin?
How does the Law confine
sin?
How does the Law point
towards Jesus?
Day 4) When I
read the words of the Law, I realize how much I sin. I lie…I covet…I am selfish…I worship other
Gods…I rely on my own strength instead of on God. This proves all the more how much I need
Jesus: His life, teachings, death, and resurrection to solve my own sin
problem. This recognition ought to
compel us to live our lives in response to His grace.
I have been crucified
with Christ. It is no longer I who live,
but Christ who lives in me. And the life
I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave Himself for me. I do not nullify
the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died
for no purpose. (Galatians 2:20-21)
What shall we say
then? Are we to continue in sin that
grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in
it? Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness,
but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life,
and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Romans 6:1-2; 12-13)
With your life, you will be a slave to sin or a slave to
righteousness. There are no two-ways
about it, and the Law allows you to see clearly who is your master. The Flipside
of the Law may be Grace, and still the Law, when engaged through the lens
of Christ’s grace leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. Over the next few weeks we will look at
several situations to better understand how the teachings of Christ interact
with the Law to promote our righteousness in Christ!
