Jesus Came To Fulfill the Law
God's moral and ceremonial laws were given to help people love God with all their hearts and minds. However, these laws had been often misquoted and misapplied. By Jesus' time, religious leaders had turned the laws into a confusing mass of rules. When Jesus talked about a new way to understand God's law, he was actually trying to bring people back to its original purpose. Jesus did not speak against the law itself, but against the abuses and excesses to which it had been subjected. "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17)
How could the righteous demands of the law ever be met in our lives? The answer to this vital question is contained in the truth that Jesus came to "to fulfill" the law. Consider how comprehensive was Jesus' fulfillment of the law. He fulfilled the law in His life, by becoming our example. As Jesus lived, He showed us what life would look like if one could always, in every way, live up to the heavenly standards of God. Jesus' testimony was "I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29). Further, He fulfilled the law in His death, becoming our substitution sacrifice. The law included a penalty for violation, and that penalty was death. "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus lovingly died in our place to pay that penalty which we owed. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Jesus wants to fulfill the law now in our daily experience, by being our life. "Christ who is our life" (Colossians 3:4). The Lord Jesus wants to live in and through our lives as we daily put our faith in Him. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God" (Galatians 2:20). Yes, Jesus fulfills the law comprehensively! If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Confession frees us to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It eases our consciences and lightens our cares.
But some Christians do not understand how confession works. They feel so guilty that they confess the same sins over and over; then they wonder if they might have forgotten something. Other Christians believe that God forgives them when they confess, but if they died with sins they did not confess in time, they would be forever lost. These Christians do not understand that God allowed Christ to die just so he could offer us pardon. Christ's death points to two wonderful truths - perfect redemption and total forgiveness. God is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins (Ephesians 1:7). |
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