Sermon on the Mount: Constitution of the Kingdom, Part 2 – The Law Fulfilled
Most Christians are quick to declare, “I’m under grace; I’m not under the Law.” But Jesus emphatically declared, “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 of God given to Moses is a set of guidelines to ensure that the Israelites’ behavior reflected their status as God’s chosen people. It encompasses moral behavior, their position as a godly example to other nations, and systematic procedures for acknowledging God’s holiness and mankind’s sinfulness. In an attempt to better understand the purpose of these laws, Jews and Christians categorize them. This has led to the distinction between moral law, ceremonial law, and judicial law, which is the foundation of so much of western law. The Puritans loved to say that, “the law leads us to Christ to be made righteous and then Christ sends us back to the law to learn what it means to be holy.