Matthew 5:21-28
“[21] Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: [22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. [23] Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; [24] Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. [25] Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. [26] Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. [27] Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: [28] But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
- The PURPOSE of the Law
- To INDICT us – Romans 3:19 “[19] Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” James 2:10 “[10] For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Man’s ability to self-exonerate is almost beyond belief. We can justify the most heinous actions. People often say things such as “I have rights”, “they can’t treat me this way” or “they deserved that” in defense of an action which they know is wrong. A man may say that his wife doesn’t understand me or my boss isn’t paying me enough to justify adultery or theft. The law of God makes it plain that lying, stealing or other such acts which men count as small things are sins and are as serious as idolatry or murder. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that we are all guilty. Romans 3:23 “[23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:19 “[19] Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. God has taken away all the excuses that we might give for our sins.”
- To INSTRUCT us – Acts 15:10 “[10] Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Many people want to think of themselves as “good people” whom God will accept on their own merits. When we try to measure up to the standard that God has set, that is perfection, we quickly realize that no one has or can meet that goal. The only one who can or has is our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
- To INTRODUCE us to Christ as our only hope Galatians 3:22-25 “[22] But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. [23] But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. [24] Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. [25] But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” When we recognize some things about ourselves we are faced with a dire situation. The Bible shows that first, we are sinners and that without exception all men are guilty of sin before God. We are guilty and facing the penalty of eternal death. We are helpless and hopeless before the Law. The law then shows us that perfection of the Saviour. This perfection is demonstrated in the demands of the Old Testament ceremonies, such as the requirement for the sacrificial lamb to be ‘perfect and without blemish.’ The law leads us to the only perfect one, Jesus.
- The POWER of the Law is to condemn and prescribe the punishment. It has no ability to show mercy. Even in our system of human justice the law can only mandate a punishment. It is up to a judge to show mercy if it is to be shown. Praise God that our Saviour is also our advocate and the judge is the one who sent the Savior to redeem us from our sins. The law has condemned us, but Jesus by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead has obtained for us the forgiveness of sin and assured us of a home with Him forever in Heaven.
- The PENALTY of the Law – Death – Many men today want to make a joke of sin and the penalty of Hell. But it is a very serious matter. Let’s consider a few aspects of the consequences of sin and its penalty. Look at these characteristics of the death mandated for sin. It’s:
- ETERNAL – when we think of death we think of an end to existence, however it’s not that at all. Death is a separation. Physical death is a separation of the body from soul. If the person has be born again there is also the separation of body from spirit. It is not the end of existence of the person, the soul will exist forever in some place. For the believer that place is Heaven, in the presence of God. For the lost person that place will be Hell until it’s cast into the Lake of Fire and there will be his abode for all eternity. It is a place of separation from God and therefore all that is good and holy. It is a state of death without end, a constant eternal dying with an end to existence.
- EARNED – Everyone is a sinner and has earned the punishment that comes with being a sinner. Men live a life time of sin and thereby amass a terrible account that must be settled. If a man doesn’t accept Jesus and His death as payment for his sin he must pay the account himself. Sinners will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire to pay that debt.
- EVENLY Applied – It matters not who your mother or father is. It doesn’t matter what your race or nationality is. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, all have sinned and the wages of sin is death. Black or white, young or old, famous or unknown, all are guilty before God and those who remain rebellious and refuse to receive the salvation offered in Jesus are condemned. John 3:18 “[18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
- What PERTAINS to us as believers in regard to the Law
- To OBEY the letter of the law (with the exception of that which prescribes the sacrifices and that which is countermanded in the New Testament). The commandments concerning the sacrifices for sin have been perfectly fulfilled by Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. Any attempt to supplement the offering that He gave there would be blasphemy. Anything that I could do or offer would be imperfect and thereby pollute the precious offering of His blood. Also the New Testament makes clear that we are not bound by the law as regards to things such as diet 1 Timothy 4:3-5 “[3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: [5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” However we should look to learn from the Law.
- To OBSERVE the spirit of the Law – we must seek out the principle that is being taught in the Law. In the passage we read in the beginning of this study Jesus makes it clear that we have a greater obligation than just to avoid the physical action of sin in regards to murder and adultery. We must seek out the root cause and tear it out root and stalk. I could never kill if I did not first hate. I could never commit adultery without first lusting in my heart. I could never commit idolatry without first in my heart forsaking the true God. The Law is perfect, the problem is the flesh and its propensity to go astray and then to follow the example of our father Adam, who when confronted with his sin blamed Eve and God instead of taking responsibility.
May God bless you with this study.
Brother Mike Scott
Faith Baptist Church of Newborn GA 