Standards Versus Legalism
Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply
Title:
Standards Versus Legalism-------------------------- Date: 11/25/1999
Keywords:
"abolish" "fulfill" "law" "Pharisee"
"scribe"
Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand
strong in the face of sexual temptation.
Passage: Matthew 5:17-20*
17. "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
18. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.
19. "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these
commandments, and so teaches others, 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.
20. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Questions
1. Who were the scribes and Pharisees and what were their
relationships to the law?
2. What does Jesus mean by "the Law and the Prophets?"
3. Who are those called "the least in the kingdom of
heaven," and who are those who will not even enter the kingdom of heaven?
Practical help
This passage is rich and important, but you have to know a few
things before you can understand what Jesus is saying.
It would be worth your while studying who the scribes and Pharisees
were in some detail.. Essentially they were the most patriotic and dedicated people in
that society to "the Law and the Prophets" – what we know today as the Old
Testament. By the worlds standards, these were the best people around. They looked and
smelled good. They stood up to be seen by others (like lights on a hill), yet something
was missing.
They weren’t bad for following the Law and the Prophets. Jesus
said that He did not come to do away with what God had established already. So don’t
use the argument that it is okay to view pornography because you are "under
grace."
The point is, whether you like it or not, you didn’t write the
rules and you won’t change them. You can decide to not follow them, but you will pay
in the end. It’s sort of like ignoring gravity – it doesn’t matter what you
say you believe, if you jump off a ten-story building, you will fall under the law of
gravity in a painful way.
"But," you say, "I’m not an unbeliever.
I’ve accepted Christ as my savior, knowing I cannot enter the kingdom of heaven by my
own merits." Do you teach others – by word or by deed – that even one of
God’s commandments is meaningless and that you can do whatever you want as long as
you trust Christ for your salvation? If so, "you shall be called least in the kingdom
of heaven."
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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright
The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by
permission."