Jesus is the Word—Live Right, Be Holy
When people heard Jesus’ teachings, they had questions. “Is he abolishing the Law?” “Is he giving a new law?” Even today, we as Christians, who are standing after Jesus, after the cross, have questions about the law. “What is the role and function of the law?” “How should we view the law?”
Jesus gives a very clear answer. He came to fulfill the law. Jesus is the Word, and the Word of God is eternal. As followers of Jesus we are called to be righteous. Righteousness is to do God’s will, to live right, to be and do good, in short, righteousness is to be holy, as God is righteous and holy. To be righteous is to live the kingdom life as taught by Jesus. We live right and are holy by obeying God’s will as expressed in his law and his Word. This is possible because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who gives us a new life and a new heart.
1. Jesus Fulfills God’s Word
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.” The Law and the Prophets refers to the whole Old Testament which contains God’s teachings and his laws for his people. Jesus did not come to do away with, to destroy or to abolish these, but to fulfill them and to restore the law to its full, true and intended meaning. He did this in the following ways.
The ceremonial laws in the Old Testament prescribed how Israel, God’s people, should worship him and show their love for him. Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice fulfilled all the requirements of the ceremonial laws. It is no longer necessary for us to perform offerings and sacrifices because Jesus paid the price, death, for our sins and thereby met, fulfilled the requirements of the law.
The principles behind these laws, however, still apply to us. We are still called to love and worship God. That is why we gather together on Sundays to worship and listen to God’s Word.
The Old Testament has many civil laws that guided Israel’s daily living as God’s people. These laws guided them in righteous and holy in all areas of life. Because of technological and scientific advances and radically different cultures we cannot follow all of these laws specifically and to the letter today. But the principles behind these commands still stand. We are still called to care for God’s creation, to practice justice in all areas of life, to love God and others. Our bodies are God’s temple, his dwelling place. We are called to take care of our bodies and souls and be healthy. Called to be holy in all areas of life. Jesus demonstrated, fulfilled, these principles in his life and teachings.
All the great biblical teachings are in the Old Testament — about God, humankind, creation, sin, salvation, holiness, justice, righteousness. Jesus fulfilled all these teachings by bringing them to completion and demonstrating them in his person, his life, his work, and his teachings.
The Law and the Prophets pointed to Jesus. “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John” (Matthew 11:13). Jesus came and fulfilled them all. Jesus is the Messiah promised by God.
The Old Testament contains God’s moral law. The moral law reveals God’s will for his people. This Law is needed because the world is broken and people are sinful. We do not know how to live right, be good, and holy. Jesus fulfilled the Law because as the Son of Man he perfectly obeyed all its commands. “He was ‘born under law’ (Galatians 4:4) ‘to fulfill all righteousness’ (Matthew 3:15).”
Jesus also fulfills the Law by restoring it to its true, original intended meaning. He was not against or opposed to the Law. He was opposed to the distortion and misinterpretation of the law by the religious leaders. He restored the true meaning of the law by showing that love for God and love for others is the basic intention and meaning of the Law. When he gave the Great Commandment of love, Jesus said, “All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Mt 22:40) In Matthew 7 he said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 7:12).
2. Jesus is the Word, the Word is Eternal
Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament, because Jesus is the Word, and his Word never changes. He said, “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.” (Mt 5:18)
“Until heaven and earth disappear” and “until everything is accomplished” — that is when Jesus comes back, and God’s mission and God’s kingdom will be fulfilled. The old heavens and earth will disappear and there will be a new creation. In God’s restored and fulfilled kingdom, we will be perfect in Christ, and we will live holy, live right, and be good. We will obey God’s will automatically, naturally.
But until that time, in this broken world we need God’s Word because his will, his law, for living as his kingdom people is revealed in his Word, in the whole Word, both the Old and the New Testaments.
3. Follow Jesus and Obey the Word
“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.” (Mt 5:19)
To follow Jesus is to obey Jesus as Lord. Jesus fulfills the Word. Jesus is the Word. The Word is truth. It does not change. It remains valid, has authority, and requires obedience from his followers. As kingdom people we are called to live the kingdom life, and God’s law, God’s will, God’s Word teaches, guides us, shows, how to life the kingdom life. Therefore, greatness in God’s kingdom will be measured by how we obeyed and lived according to God’s will.
But personal obedience is not enough. We must also teach God’s Word, his will, his ways, the kingdom life to others. “Greatness in the kingdom belongs to those who are faithful in doing and teaching the whole of” God’s Word. (See Stott)
We dare not speculate what great and least mean and imply. The Bible teaches that we will receive rewards in heaven according to how we live and served. Thus, obedience to God’s does not save you but impacts your reward in heaven. (1 Co 3:8; Eph 6:8; Col 3:24; Heb 10:35)
4. Live Right, Be Good
But then Jesus goes further and says, “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.” (Mt 5:20)
Wow! This is hard! How can we beat them? They were devoted and committed to the law. (248 & 365) Does this mean we have to obey, do more than they did? No. That is impossible. On our own we cannot obey and fulfill the law. When we realize that, we become poor in spirit. We turn to Jesus as our only Savior. And so the law guides us, drives, brings us to Christ, and to the righteousness of Christ. This is a different kind of righteousness. The righteousness of the religious leaders was flawed. Their obedience was merely external. They did all the right things for show and to win the approval of people. Their hearts did not belong to God. They did not love God and others, only themselves. They lived double lives.
Our righteousness is the righteousness of Christ when we are in Christ and Christ in us. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law by obeying it perfectly, completely. So Jesus was perfectly righteous. And because he was righteous, perfect, holy, he fulfilled the requirements of the Law by paying the price for our sins. And so he made us righteous. Through faith we receive this gift of righteousness, this new life in Christ. He calls us to follow him with a radical and deeper obedience.
This is possible because there is one more way in which Jesus fulfilled the law. He gives us the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:1-4: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to follow our Lord, obey our him, and so we can be righteousness, live right, be holy and good. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ez 36:26-28)
Faith and obedience. These go hand in hand. We cannot have the one without the other. When we truly believe the Holy Spirit grabs a hold of our hearts, and we love the Lord, we want to follow and obey him. Obedience is the fruit of and the evidence of true faith in Jesus. Faith without obedience, is not true, authentic faith and cheap grace. Obedience without faith is self-righteousness. We do all the right things but for the wrong reasons.
STORY OF A MAN
[You can come to church every Sunday, participate in every church ministry, observe all the “rituals” of Christianity, read your Bible daily, say your prayers daily, but your heart does not change, does not belong to Jesus. Outside of church, in the rest of your life, your life does not reflect the will of God.]
If we do not love God with our whole being and others, all others, as ourselves, if we hate others, if we persist in our sins — then we are no better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
We believe in the gospel of extravagant grace, which requires nothing of us. We are saved by grace through faith alone. We believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and he gives us new life. He makes us righteous.
We are called to live the gospel of radical discipleship, which asks everything of us. We follow Jesus Christ as our Lord through obedience. He is Lord. He is the Word. He calls us to obey and live out the salvation, the righteousness, the new life we have in him. We follow and obey Jesus our Lord by living the kingdom life in this world, in this life.
These are Jesus’ words, Jesus who is the Word. Jesus who is Lord and Savior. Take it seriously, if not, then you are on dangerous ground, and your house may be built on sand. Repent. Turn back to him. Follow Jesus. Obey and abide in Christ. And by the power of the Holy Spirit you will live the kingdom life, and you will build your life’s house on rock, the Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ.