Oct 7 - Matthew 5:17-18

Jesus said,

"Do not think that I have come

to abolish the law or the prophets;

I have come not to abolish

but to fulfill. For truly I tell you,

until heaven and earth pass away,

not one letter, not one stroke of a letter,

will pass from the law until

all is accomplished."

Matthew 5:17-18

Many "good Christians" say that they don't like the Old Testament with all its blood and laws. That they prefer instead the New Testament. (That's okay. The world without a Savior IS a mess!)

What's not okay is saying that they don't like the God of the Old Testament. No. That's not okay. Why? Because it's "the same God."

And God is consistent. Consistently loving. Consistently holy. Consistently law-giving. Consistently grace-filled.

As Jesus says here, not one dot of an i has changed with the coming of the Messiah.

Sure, we might need to interpret the laws differently -- read: correctly. (As Jesus showed, might need to loosen some of the legalism on some laws like the Sabbath, making it again about the freedom of rest and the pleasure of worship, rather than strict duties of a day. But on the other hand, we might need to sharpen our understanding of other laws. For example, yes, the act of adultery is an obvious sin, but, as Jesus says, so is the simple, divisive "lusting in our hearts.")

Indeed, God's laws haven't changed. Why? Because human hearts haven't changed.

I've often envisioned a tight-rope. Jesus was the only human ever to walk that tight-rope perfectly, not falling off on either the side of legalism or permissiveness.

You and I fall off of that tight rope all of the time ... and sometimes on different sides for different issues. Sometimes we wink at sins we like, saying, "It's not that bad," while making a "Federal case" about a sin that offends us.

So here's what I've found helpful ...

If I find I'm too legalistic or too permissive about anything that's clearly in scripture, then I probably need to lean a little in the other direction to attempt to stay balanced on the tight rope.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who wants to be able

to walk across Niagara Falls

on a high wire and not fall off

(but I'll practice on the wire

of legalism and permissiveness

until I get it right)