For the Law was given through Moses, but GRACE[The unearned, undeserved favor of God]and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 (AMP)
Rainbow Pastor David
12/31/2017
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Many in the “Church” world argue relentlessly about whether
a Christian is to live by the LAW or Live by Grace supplied by Jesus. The
answer both sides should realize through the TRUTH of God’s Word is this:
Since mankind is inherently unable to keep himself free from
sin, God decided to let Jesus become the FULFILLMENT of the LAW of MOSES giving
sinful mankind an easier way to come to the throne of GRACE for forgiveness;
therefore no longer being burdened by the enticing allure of sin through the
Law. In Deuteronomy
10:12-13 the people of Israel once again had to be reminded that obedience
to the Law would turn out for good for them.
They are beneficial family rules that show us how to love God the way
He wants to be loved and how to love fellow human beings in the way that promotes
the greatest peace and happiness. God’s laws are not a burden but a blessing (1
John 5:3 ); they are intended to be holy, righteous and good for you (Romans
7:12).
For the Law was given through Moses, but GRACE[The unearned, undeserved favor of God]and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 (AMP)
When the Bible speaks of “the law,” it
refers to the detailed standard God gave to Moses, beginning in Exodus 20 with the Ten Commandments. God’s Law explained
His requirements for a holy people and included three categories: civil,
ceremonial, and moral laws. The Law was given to separate God’s people from the
evil nations around them and to define sin (Ezra 10:11; Romans 5:13; 7:7). The
Law also clearly demonstrated that no human being could purify himself enough
to please God—i.e., the Law revealed our need for a Savior.
Jesus knew before ever coming to Earth
that mankind had struggled for years under the burden of the LAW; unable to
live according to every precept of that LAW. When God the Father of ALL
creations saw that His creation was so burdened down by the LAW that they would
continue to stray away from following after FALSE gods and idols from the empty
promises CULT and HEATHEN men and women would tell them; He knew the only thing
to do was send HIS ONLY SON to dwell among the people in hope that He could
bring the people back to HIM.
By New Testament times, the religious
leaders had hijacked the Law misinterpreting it (2
Peter 3:15-16) and added to it their own rules and traditions (Mark 7:7–9). While the Law itself was good, it was weak in
that it lacked the power to change a sinful heart (Romans 8:3). Keeping the Law, as interpreted by the
Pharisees, had become an oppressive and overwhelming burden (Luke 11:46).
God’s LAW defines sin (Romans
7:7, 1
John 3:4). The law shows that righteousness is-the opposite of sin. Since
we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God we are deserving of death
(Romans
3:23, 6:23).
Our own righteousness cannot save us (Galatians
2:16). The law convicts us of sin showing us we need a Savior to forgive us.
God’s law leads us to think and act as
Jesus did. It is important to note that Jesus kept the law. John wrote, “whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has
accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and
conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself” (1
John 2:6).
All through
Jesus’ ministry the Religious sect (Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes) were
always asking Him questions about the Word of God to try and trip Him up. Jesus
always replied with Scripture with His love and grace. In Matthew
22:37-40 we read that these Religious had asked Jesus about the “greatest”
commandment. Jesus knew the evil these men possessed in their hearts so when He
answered, He not only put them in their place with Scripture, He gave a new
command saying the “WHOLE LAW” was dependent upon those two commandments. Let
us read it:
And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
It was into this legalistic climate that
Jesus came, and conflict with the hypocritical arbiters of the Law was
inevitable. But Jesus, the Lawgiver, said, “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” (Matthew
5:17). The Law was not evil. It served as a mirror to reveal the condition
of a person’s heart (Romans 7:7). John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace
and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Jesus embodied the perfect balance
between grace and the Law (John 1:14).
God has always been full of grace (Psalm 116:5; Joel 2:13), and people have always been saved by faith in God (Genesis 15:6). God did not change between the Old and New Testaments (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 55:19). The same God who gave the Law also gave Jesus (John 3:16). His grace was demonstrated through the Law by providing the sacrificial system to cover sin. Jesus was born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4) and became the final sacrifice to bring the Law to fulfillment and establish the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). Now, everyone who comes to God through Christ is declared righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 9:15).
God has always been full of grace (Psalm 116:5; Joel 2:13), and people have always been saved by faith in God (Genesis 15:6). God did not change between the Old and New Testaments (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 55:19). The same God who gave the Law also gave Jesus (John 3:16). His grace was demonstrated through the Law by providing the sacrificial system to cover sin. Jesus was born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4) and became the final sacrifice to bring the Law to fulfillment and establish the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). Now, everyone who comes to God through Christ is declared righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 9:15).
The conflict between Jesus and the
self-righteous arose immediately. Many who had lived for so long under the
Pharisees’ oppressive system eagerly embraced the mercy of Christ and the
freedom He offered (Mark 2:15). Some, however, saw this new demonstration of
grace as dangerous: what would keep a person from casting off all moral
restraint? Paul dealt with this issue in Romans
6: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it
any longer?” (1-2).
Paul clarified what Jesus had taught: the Law shows us what God wants
(holiness), and grace gives us the desire and power to be holy. Rather than
trust in the Law to save us, we trust in Christ. We are freed from the Law’s
bondage by His once-for-all sacrifice (Romans 7:6; 1 Peter 3:18).
There is no conflict between grace and the Law, properly understood. Christ fulfilled the Law on our behalf and offers the power of the Holy Spirit, who motivates a regenerated heart to live in obedience to Him (Matthew 3:8; Acts 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:14). James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” A grace that has the power to save also has the power to motivate a sinful heart toward godliness. Where there is no impulse to be godly, there is no saving faith.
There is no conflict between grace and the Law, properly understood. Christ fulfilled the Law on our behalf and offers the power of the Holy Spirit, who motivates a regenerated heart to live in obedience to Him (Matthew 3:8; Acts 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:14). James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” A grace that has the power to save also has the power to motivate a sinful heart toward godliness. Where there is no impulse to be godly, there is no saving faith.
As Jesus journeyed to Galilee He grew
tired and thirsty. His disciples had gone into the town of Samaria to get food
so Jesus walked up to the well and asked the woman there for a drink of water.
The Religious leaders had hacked up the Law so much that the woman could not
understand why a Prophet of God would even be speaking to her, because she was
a sinful woman. It is here we see the wonderful GRACE of God through the
correct teaching of Law manifest through Christ Jesus as He spoke with this
Samaritan woman.
Read John
4:7-42 for the whole story.
Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?” “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” John 4:19-24
It is so wonderful to read about the
Grace Jesus taught the Samaritan women; which in turn brought salvation to a
town once rejecting the Truth because of RELIGIOUS LAWS.
We are saved by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). The keeping of the Law cannot save anyone
(Romans 3:20; Titus 3:5). In fact, those who claim righteousness on the
basis of their keeping of the Law only think they’re keeping the Law;
this was one of Jesus’ main points in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:20–48; see also Luke 18:18–23).
The purpose of the Law was, basically, to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Once we are saved, God desires to glorify Himself through our good works (Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 2:10). Therefore, good works follow salvation; they do not precede it.
In closing let us understand that CONFLICT between “GRACE” and the “LAW” can arise when someone:
The purpose of the Law was, basically, to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Once we are saved, God desires to glorify Himself through our good works (Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 2:10). Therefore, good works follow salvation; they do not precede it.
In closing let us understand that CONFLICT between “GRACE” and the “LAW” can arise when someone:
- 1. Misunderstands the purpose of the Law;
- 2. Redefines grace as something other than “God’s benevolence on the undeserving” (see Romans 11:6);
- 3. Tries to earn his own salvation or “supplement” Christ’s sacrifice;
- 4. Follows the error of the Pharisees in tacking man-made rituals and traditions onto his doctrine; or
- 5. Fails to focus on the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
- 6. If you teach anything other than the fact that God’s laws are not a burden but a blessing (1 John 5:3)
- 7. Tries to tell you that you are saved by “good works” when in actuality you are saved “for” good works (Ephesians 2:10).
When the Holy Spirit guides our search
of Scripture, we can “study to show ourselves approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15) and discover the beauty of a grace that
produces good works.
Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
God’s grace—His love and mercy and all of His generous gifts—makes
reconciliation possible. Grace does not remove the beneficial laws but, through
Christ’s sacrifice, pays the penalty of sin.
It is not a case of law vs. grace. God’s revelation is that law and
grace work together.
Thank God for the law to keep us living
a life that is pleasing to Him through the Grace of His Son Jesus.
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
abound in your life this New Year.
Blessing, Peace and Grace,
_______________________________________________________________________________
A
little extra to study –
I
pray the Holy Spirit teach you more about Law and Grace through study of God’s
Word so you can see how the two work so well together to complete the great
work through salvation in your life.
And
God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in
abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless
of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely
self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and
act of charity. 2
Corinthians 9:8
Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one
person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another
person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of
trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the
wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. All that passing laws
against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have
a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace.
When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten
us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting
everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that
goes on and on and on, world without end. Romans
5:18-21
What shall we say [to all this]? Should we
continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of]
grace may increase and overflow? 2Certainly not! How can we,
the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer? Or are
you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death? We have therefore been buried with Him
through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually
in newness of life [abandoning our old ways]. For if we have become one with
Him [permanently united] in the likeness of His death, we will also certainly
be [one with Him and share fully] in the likeness of His resurrection.
We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed
to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away
with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. The person who has died
[with Christ] has been freed from [the power of] sin. Now if
we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live [together] with
Him,because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ,
having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has
power over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin
[ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all; and the life
that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].
Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin [and your relationship to it
broken], but alive to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions. Do not go on
offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. But offer
yourselves to God [in a decisive act] as those alive [raised] from the dead [to
a new life], and your members [all of your abilities—sanctified, set apart] as
instruments of righteousness [yielded] to God. Sin will no longer be a master
over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under [unmerited] grace
[as recipients of God’s favor and mercy]. What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because
we are not under Law, but under [God’s] grace? Certainly not! Do you not know
that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will,
you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which
leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing
with God)? But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became
obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were
instructed and to which you were committed. And having been set free
from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s
will and purpose].I am speaking in [familiar] human terms
because of your natural limitations [your spiritual immaturity]. For just as
you presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral]
lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your
abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification
[that is, being set apart for God’s purpose]. When you
were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire
to conform to God’s will]. So what benefit did you get at that time from the
things of which you are now ashamed? [None!] For the outcome of those things is
death! But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing]
slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made
holy and set apart for God’s purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal
life. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His
remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
You shouldn’t have any trouble
understanding this, friends, for you know all the ins and outs of the law—how
it works and how its power touches only the living. For instance, a wife is
legally tied to her husband while he lives, but if he dies, she’s free. If she
lives with another man while her husband is living, she’s obviously an
adulteress. But if he dies, she is quite free to marry another man in good
conscience, with no one’s disapproval. So, my friends, this is something like
what has taken place with you. When Christ died he took that entire
rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb, leaving you
free to “marry” a resurrection life and bear “offspring” of faith for God. For
as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away
with, sin was calling most of the shots as the old law code hemmed us in. And
this made us all the more rebellious. In the end, all we had to show for it was
miscarriages and stillbirths. But now that we’re no longer shackled to that
domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations
and fine print, we’re free to live a new life in the freedom of God. But I can
hear you say, “If the law code was as bad as all that, it’s no better than sin
itself.” That’s certainly not true. The law code had a perfectly legitimate
function. Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior
would be mostly guesswork. Apart from the succinct, surgical command, “You
shall not covet,” I could have dressed covetousness up to look like a virtue
and ruined my life with it. Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code
started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin
found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden
fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to
seduce me. Without all the paraphernalia of the law code, sin looked pretty
dull and lifeless, and I went along without paying much attention to it. But
once sin got its hands on the law code and decked itself out in all that
finery, I was fooled, and fell for it. The very command that was supposed to
guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong. So
sin was plenty alive, and I was stone dead. But the law code itself is God’s
good and common sense, each command sane and holy counsel. I can already hear your next question: “Does that mean I can’t even
trust what is good [that is, the law]? Is good just as dangerous as evil?” No
again! Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a
cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God’s
good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have
accomplished on its own. I can anticipate the response
that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not.
Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent
a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I
decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So
if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it
becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. But I
need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and
if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously
need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I
can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I
decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are,
don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the
better of me every time. It happens so regularly that
it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I
truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me
joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect
it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing
helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me?
Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is
that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of
contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am
pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
With the arrival of Jesus,
the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s
being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black
cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong
wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of
brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. God went for the jugular when he
sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and
unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition,
entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right
once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human
nature, could never have done that. The law always ended up being used as a
Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked
for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our
own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us. Those who think
they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral
muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust
God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing
God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads
us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the
opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God,
ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and
what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. But if God himself
has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of
yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible
but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking
about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still
experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s
terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who
raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you
that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and
breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered
from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive
as Christ’s! So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life
one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to
do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit
beckons. There are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life you
received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously
expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit
touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we
know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s
coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ
goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly
going to go through the good times with him! That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison
between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world
itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being
more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the
creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious
times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. All around us we
observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world
are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The
Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These
sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is
why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant
mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is
enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful
our expectancy. Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit
is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it
doesn’t matter; He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our
wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know
ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.
That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is
worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning.
He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the
same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity
he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.
After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed
it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a
solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed
with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. So, what do you
think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate
to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing
himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t
gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with
one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died
for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment
sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge
between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard
times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not
backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold
blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they
pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because
Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead,
angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or
unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because
of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on
the mountain; and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him. Then He began
to teach them, saying, “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are the poor in spirit [those devoid of spiritual
arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven [both
now and forever]. “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and
repent], for
they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].“Blessed [inwardly peaceful,
spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the
self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.“Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s
goodness] are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing
with God], for
they will be
[completely] satisfied.
“Blessed
[content, sheltered by God’s promises] are the merciful, for they will receive
mercy. “Blessed
[anticipating God’s presence, spiritually mature] are the pure in heart [those with integrity, moral
courage, and godly character], for they will see God. “Blessed [spiritually calm with life-joy in God’s
favor] are
the makers and maintainers of peace, for they will [express His character and] be called the sons of God.“Blessed [comforted by inner peace
and God’s love] are
those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever] “Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive
with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people insult you and
persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you because of [your association with] Me. Be glad and exceedingly joyful, for your
reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for in this same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.“You are the salt of the earth;
but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is
no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet
and slippery].“You
are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;nor
does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand,
and it gives light to all who are in the house.Let your light
shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and
moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.“Do
not think that I came to do away with or undo the Law [of Moses] or the [writings of the] Prophets; I did not come to
destroy but to fulfill. For
I assure you and most solemnly say to you, until heaven and earth pass
away, not the smallest letter or stroke [of the pen] will pass from the Law until all things [which it foreshadows] are accomplished. So whoever breaks one of the least [important] of these commandments, and
teaches others to do the same, will be called least [important] in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever
practices and teaches them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “I say to you that unless
your righteousness (uprightness, moral essence) is more than that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. “You have
heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not murder, and ‘whoever murders shall be guilty before the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who continues
to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be
guilty before the court; and whoever speaks
[contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, ‘Raca
(You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court
(Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fiery
hell. So if you are presenting
your offering at the altar, and while there you remember that your
brother has something [such as a grievance or
legitimate complaint] against you, leave your offering there at the altar and
go. First make peace with your brother, and then come and present your
offering. Come to terms quickly [at the earliest opportunity] with your
opponent at law while you are with him on the way [to
court], so that your opponent does not hand you over to
the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you are thrown into prison. I assure you and most solemnly say to
you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last cent. “You
have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you
that everyone who [so much as] looks
at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his
heart. If your right eye makes
you stumble and leads you to sin, tear it out and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than
for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble and leads you to sin, cut
it off and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from
the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to
lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.“It
has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife is to give her a certificate of divorce’; but
I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on grounds of sexual
immorality, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has
been divorced commits adultery. “Again, you have heard
that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not make false vows, but you shall
fulfill your vows to the Lord [as a religious
duty].’ But I say to you, do not make an oath at all,
either by heaven, for it is the throne of God;or by the earth,
for it is the footstool of His feet; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great
King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you are not able to make
a single hair white or black. But
let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’ [a firm
yes or no]; anything more than that comes from the evil
one. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth [punishment that fits the
offense].’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil
person [who insults you or violates your rights]; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other toward him
also [simply ignore insignificant insults or trivial
losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity, your self-respect,
your poise].If anyone wants to sue you
and take your shirt, let him have your coat also [for
the Lord repays the offender]. And whoever forces you to
go one mile, go with him two. Give
to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from
you. “You have
heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow
man) and hate your enemy.’ But I
say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or
higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your
Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on
those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the
unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax
collectors do that? And if you
greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing
and peace], what more [than
others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that? You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character,
actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Now after Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee
asked Him to have lunch with him. He went in [the Pharisee’s home] and reclined
at the table [without ceremonially washing His hands]. The Pharisee
noticed this and was surprised that Jesus did not first ceremonially wash
before the meal. But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the
cup and plate
[as required by tradition]; but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish ones [acting without reflection
or intelligence]! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But give that which is within as charity [that is, acts of mercy and
compassion, not as a public display, but as an expression of your faithfulness
to God], and
then indeed all things are clean for you.“But woe (judgment is
coming) to you Pharisees, because you [self-righteously] tithe mint and rue and every [little] garden herb [tending to all the
minutiae], and
yet disregard and neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the
things you should have done, without neglecting the others.Woe
to you Pharisees, because you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be
respectfully greeted in the market places. Woe to you! For you are like graves which
are unmarked, and people walk over them without being aware of it [and are ceremonially
unclean].” One
of the lawyers [an expert in the Mosaic Law] answered Him, “Teacher, by saying
this, You insult us too!” But He said, “Woe to you
lawyers as well, because you weigh men down with burdens [man-made rules, unreasonable requirements] which
are hard to bear, and you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one
of your fingers [to lighten the load]. Woe to you! You repair or build tombs for the
prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers, because
they [actually] killed them, and
you repair or build their tombs.For this reason also
the wisdom of God said [in the Scriptures], ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will put
to death and some they will persecute, so that charges may be brought against this generation [holding them responsible] for the blood of
all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of
Zechariah [the priest], who was
murdered between the altar and the house of God. Yes, I tell you,
charges will be brought against this generation.’ Woe to you lawyers, because you have taken away the key to knowledge
(scriptural truth). You yourselves did not enter, and you held back those who
were entering [by your flawed interpretation of God’s
word and your man-made tradition].” When He left there,
the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile [toward Him] and to
interrogate Him on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in
something He might say.
Then a woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink”— For His disciples had gone off into the city to buy food— The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with [no bucket and rope] and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and who used to drink from it himself, and his sons and his cattle also?” Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.”The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not get thirsty nor [have to continually] come all the way here to draw.”At this, Jesus said, “Go, call your husband and come back.” The woman answered, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I do not have a husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your husband. You have said this truthfully.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem [at the temple].” Jesus replied, “Woman, believe Me, a time is coming [when God’s kingdom comes] when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He (the Messiah).” Just then His disciples came, and they were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. However, no one said, “What are You asking about?” or, “Why are You talking to her?” Then the women left her water jar, and went into the city and began telling the people, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done! Can this be the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)?” So the people left the city and were coming to Him. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus [to have a meal], saying, “Rabbi (Teacher), eat.” But He told them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work. Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and see, they are white for harvest. Already the reaper is receiving his wages and he is gathering fruit for eternal life; so that he who plants and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, ‘One [person] sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap [a crop] for which you have not worked. Others have worked and you have been privileged to reap the results of their work.” Now many Samaritans from that city believed in Him and trusted Him [as Savior] because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked Him to remain with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed in Him [with a deep, abiding trust] because of His word [His personal message to them]; and they told the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world.”
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