What Jesus Would Do – The Use of the Law

What Jesus Would Do

Matthew 5:17-19

“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. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law of God, just as the prophets had foretold He would. The Law and the prophets, Jesus would later say (John 5:39), all pointed to Him; the people must not think that He was condemning these important sources of validation for His own claims.

Jesus did not replace the Law with some vague and sentimental “What-would-Jesus-do?” ethic. He fulfilled the Law for our salvation and for our instruction. We are not saved by keeping the Law. But by looking to Jesus and living as He did, we prove that the salvation we profess has taken true root in our souls.

There is no other way for us to “work out our salvation” other than by taking up the work of pursuing righteousness, in the power of God’s Spirit (Phil. 2:12, 13; cf. Ezek. 36:26, 27).

If Christ lives in you, the result of saving faith, is it not reasonable to expect that Christ would increasingly show Himself through you? And since Jesus fulfilled the Law, should you expect to pursue anything other, or less?

Righteous Savior, today show me…

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.