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Introduction

Antinomianism and legalism are two ditches on either side of the Christian life that we often find ourselves in. Antinomianism is the idea that we have no moral obligations because God’s grace covers all. We can live as we please, and God will still rescue us in the end. Legalism is the idea that if we obey God’s commands, then he will save us. It makes redemption all about merit. And I will find myself oscillating between the two ideas. “I know this is wrong,” I tell myslef, “But God’s grace will still save.” Then I give in to temptation and think, “Oh, now God’s not happy, he could never save a wretch like me.” How quickly the antinomian becomes a legalist in my spirit.

But the genuine Christian life is neither antinomian nor legalist. We don’t strive to live like hellions expected God’s grace. Nor do we rigidly follow every law in order to pay God for his salvation. The antinomian lives unrighteously as he pleases because he gets grace. The legalist lives righteously to his displeasure to earn grace. The Christian lives righteously to his pleasure because he loves Christ.

Lilly was raised in a small country church. In this church, they took Scripture memory seriously and had a reward program for children who memorized Scripture. One day, her Sunday School teacher was talking about a movie she enjoyed and Lilly brought up her favorite Disney movie. The Sunday school teacher immediately turned sour. She scolded Lilly loudly in front of the class for watching a Disney movie and warned her of the dangers of hell. As she grew older she was singing hymns that focused on the blood of Jesus. She found solace in these songs, but the stares of everyone’s eyes on her kept nagging her. Finally, and elderly lady tapped her on the shoulder in the middle of the chorus, “There is power, power, wonder working power. . .” This startled Lilly and she turned around. The lady told her that her skirt was just above the knee and she was going to have to go home and change. She was just into high school when she was finally fed up. She had memorized on the Scripture, came forward and said the prayer, was baptized, sang all the hymns, took notes in all the sermons, but none of it was enough. She felt as though no matter what she did the people at the church never accepted her and she thought God must be the same way. Her friends at school accepted her for who she is, why should she have to pretend to be something different at church? It caused a bunch of loud arguing and quarreling at home, but she never came back to church. She was angry at the church, angry at God, but secretly she still feared going to hell.

Andy was raised in another small country church. Sunday School was a blast, they always watched Veggie Tales and ate gold fish. Sometimes the teacher would let them have a soda. After Sunday School, they went straight to children’s church where he would be entertained with skits and do a craft. It was a really big production for such a small church. One day he decided that church was so fun, he wanted to be baptized too. They asked him if he wanted Jesus in his heart and he asked if it would hurt. They reassured him, “Of course not!” And he said yes and was baptized. His family attended church about twice a month, but he didn’t mind. Anytime he went, it was fun. When he finally got into the youth group it was even more fun. The new youth pastor was barely out of high school and was wild, willing to do crazy stunts just to draw a crowd. One time Andy went on stage and tried to eat a banana through cheese cloth. One time in youth group, the youth pastor mentioned sin. One youth raised his hand opened up about a temptation and asked how to fight it. The youth pastor responded, “God is a God of love. Don’t worry about the fight, his grace will see you through.” As Andy got into high school he began to attend church more regularly because there was a girl there he fancied. One Wednesday night he got there early because she had texted him and said she was already there. He went around the church looking, finally opened a Sunday school room door to find her there alone with the youth pastor. Andy began to question, but the youth pastor insisted, “It’s no big deal, man. God’s grace covers a multitude of sins.” From this moment on, Andy began to live in sin and did not care because he was taught that Jesus did not have to be his Lord to be his savior.

Today’s text has to do with the Christian’s relationship with the law. Some want nothing to do with it. Others depend on it for their very salvation. Let’s look to Christ’s wisdom:Matthew 5:17–20ESV

“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. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Fulfill v. 17

By the way Christ acted: healing on the sabbath, not washing his hands, allowing his disciples to glean on the sabbath, etc. . . the Pharisees saw him as antinomian—as someone who was trying to do away with the law.

What does Jesus mean when he says in v. 17 to “fulfill them?” Does this mean Jesus obeyed all the rules so we wouldn’t have to? This is a popular antinomian interpretation of this passage. Does it mean that Jesus gave us the ability to follow the law so we could earn our own way to heaven? This is a popular legalistic interpretation.

I’m going to argue instead:

Christ came to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament (v. 17)

Notice that “Law and Prophets” are both capitalized in the phrase in v. 17. The translators have recognized this is a common way to refer to the entirety of the Old Testament. When Jesus says, “Fulfill,” we should read this word within the context of Matthew. Matthew uses the word “fulfill” around 15 times.

Matthew 1:22 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:”

Matthew 2:17 “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:”

So fulfill has to do with the other end of a promise. Have you ever made a promise you failed to keep? God made lots of promises in the Old Testament, especially around redemption and the Messiah. What Jesus is saying when he “fulfills them” is that he fulfills the promises made. The seed of the woman crushes the serpent’s head: Jesus will fulfill that promise. There will be a prophet like Moses: Jesus fulfills that promise. Those were made in the Law. There’s numerous more made in the prophets. And God has never failed to keep a promise.

There was heretic from long ago who lived from 85-160 named Marcion. He hated the Jews and was probably heavily influenced by Gnosticism. He believed the God of the Old Testament was bad and that Jesus was another serpent figure to rescue us from that evil God. He created his own Bible that had only 11 books: his own gospel (Which is a redacted version of Luke, redacted to remove any reference to the Old Testament), and 10 of Paul’s letters. That’s it. Marcion came to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but clearly this was not Christ’s intend. A church in Rome kicked Marcion out in 144.

Jesus’s attitude towards the Law and Prophets is not to do away with them. But rather, he relies on them. He also sees them as an authority.Authority v. 18Matthew 5:18ESV

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.

The authority of the Old Testament will carry on until the end times (v. 18)

Notice Jesus’s attitude towards the written Scripture. One of the most important doctrines we hold to as Christians is the doctrine of inspiration. Notice the level to which Jesus’s understanding of the authority of Scripture goes: “not an iota, not a dot–”, he says “Will pass from . . .” This phrase means to abolish, annul, or repeal. To become invalid. Not a single pen stroke will pass away from the law.

I want us to consider our view of Scripture for a moment. We believe in a doctrine called inspiration. This doctrine has to do with origination: where did Scripture come from? If it truly came from God, it inherently possesses divine authority. IF, however, it came from a mere man, or some other wicked supernatural force, why should I bother with it?

There are several people who call themselves Christian but are uncomfortable with the plain meaning of Scripture. The will say, “inspiration is like when an artist sees something that inspires him to paint,” or “Inspiration is that God gave the author the sense of idea, but the author wrote it down however they like.” So, they will say, the authors might make mistakes, but what they teach about God is good.

Look at how minute Jesus brings the authority of Scripture. He does not bring it to the thing that inspires the author. He does not bring it down to the ideas about God. He does not bring it down to the events or promises. He does not bring it down to just the words. He brings it down to the pen stroke! Behold! The authority of God is even in that little dot. Does your attitude toward Scripture match Christ’s attitude?

This is important because people try to sow doubt on the veracity of Scripture all the time! They’ll claim multiple people wrote Isaiah. The timing of the Exodus was wrong. Jonah could not really be swallowed by a fish and survive. . .These scholars will pick apart everything to get you to doubt the faith and authority of Scripture. Some of the things they bring up can be frightening, and sometimes Christians give in—even pastors.

A notable pastor in Atlanta taught a few years ago that we should “unhitch our faith” from the Old Testament. He says, “[Unhitching the Old Testament from the New is] liberating for men and women who are drawn to the simple message that God loves you so much He sent His Son to pave the way to a relationship with you. It’s liberating for people who need and understand grace, who need and understand forgiveness. And it’s liberating for people who find it virtually impossible to embrace the dynamic, the worldview, and the values system depicted in the story of Ancient Israel.”

And you know what else it will liberate you from? It will liberate you from the Jesus who said, “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law.” Does our attitude toward Scripture—all of Scripture— match Jesus’s attitude? Not only should our attitude be the same, but also our interpretation.Interpretation v. 19Matthew 5:19ESV

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.

Well, this verse certainly is loaded down with a number of interpretations. However we handle it could end up being a legalist or not. In fact, this verse may be the hinge on whether you show up at the SDA church next week. Let’s look at this verse in detail.

The first word “Therefore. . .” connects back to the previous passage. Remember the main point of the previous verse is that the authority of the Old Testament carries on. Then Jesus adds his words to it: “Whoever relaxes.” That word “Relaxes” is key to understanding this verse. You may want to underline it. It’s “sets aside” in NIV, “Ignore” in NLT, “Break” in KJV and NKJV, “Nullifies” in NASB. There’s a lot of words for it. And the reason why is because the Greek word behind it is a famous word for anyone who learned that biblical language; because you hardly see it in the Bible, but you use it to memorize all your verb paradigms. The word means to “destroy or loose.” Loosing and binding are legal terminology in Jesus’s day. “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. . .”

So this does not have to do with obedience to a commandment, like the King James suggests. This has to do with the authority of the Old Testament just like the previous passage. Jesus is in the process of revolutionizing the way the Old Testament commands are obeyed. But this revolution does not mitigate or “relax” or “nullify” the authority of any Old Testament command.

Furthermore, “The least of these commandments” is a common Rabbinic tradition to distinguish between “lighter” and “weightier” commands. In face, you may hear the very same words come out of a Pharisee’s mouth, “whoever relaxes the least of these commandments will be called least. . .” Then the teacher will go on to give these “lesser commands” and expound upon them. They may say, “when you tithe the mint, make sure you include the stem and ensure each leaf is whole.” Or , “on the Sabbath, don’t look in the mirror lest you be tempted to pluck a hair and thus work.” Or, “Don’t spit on the ground on Sabbath because then you will till the soil.” The Pharisees were known for intensifying the “lighter” laws. But their intensification drove people further away from a relationship with God and into a relationship with a legal code. It was the legalist plight. Follow everything and follow it precise or God will not be pleased. But the authority of the Old Testament does not rest in this skewed view.

Our interpretation of the Old Testament must match Jesus’s interpretation (v. 19)

Jesus is about to take commands and intensify them. You shall not murder – hatred in heart; you shall not commit adultery – lust in heart. These “least commandments” do not seem to be “light.” But the thing is, it was the teachers of the law who had made light of them in Jesus’s day. They were the ones who would excuse hatred and lust and still claim to be in obedience to the law. They were performing all the external duties but mission the function, the purpose of the law, the heart of the law. Our interpretation of the Old Testament must match Jesus’s interpretation.

It’s always interesting when people want to add laws to the Christian faith. When Gentiles were coming to the faith and the apostles were arguing on whether to let them in; some were demanded they had to be circumcised. Peter said, Acts 15:10-11Acts 15:10–11ESV

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

But still you have people like Seventh Day Adventist and baptist legalists who want to demand people follow laws to get God’s favor. You know in verse 18 Jesus said not a got will pass way until all is accomplished. But do you know what he said about his Word? Matt. 24:35Matthew 24:35ESV

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

You see, there is a word superior to the Old Testament. There is an obedience richer than the Pharisee’s.Exceeding Righteousness v. 20Matthew 5:20ESV

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

For the crowd to hear this would have been immediately shocking. The scribes and Pharisees were known as the prime example, the epitome of righteousness. And yet now, people will never inter the Kingdom without “Exceeding righteousness”? How can anyone keep the law better than the Pharisee? I hope that with everything you’ve seen in the beatitudes, you already know the answer.

Exceeding righteousness is internal righteousness (v. 20)

We know, you can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons. Jesus does not just transform our obedience, he transforms our nature.

The legalist has the right actions – humanly speaking – but wrong heart. The antinomian has the wrong heart and wrong actions. The Christian walks the tight rope in between. We see the wrong on either side. To throw out all obedience and rely on grace would show our nature to not be renewed. And to obey all laws without thought of the lawgiver would also show our natures are not renewed.

Run, John, run, the law commands But gives us neither feet nor hands, Far better news the gospel brings: It bids us fly and gives us wings

Are you tired of giving into every selfish desire and finding them waning? Are you tired of doing and doing and doing and hoping to make God happy? Turn to Christ. Turn to the goodness of the gospel, and fly.