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!