By Carl Kline
Matthew 5:17-18: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law and the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say unto you, till Heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled.”
These words were spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ in the early part of His ministry. On the other hand, we also read the following:
Ephesians 2:15: “Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the Law of commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in Himself one new man [from the two], thus making peace.”
Romans 7:6: “But now we have been delivered from the Law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”
What shall we make of this? Is the Bible inconsistent? By NO means! But how do we explain such a seeming contradiction?
Whenever we find contradictory Scripture, it is because we have assumed something incorrectly or have misunderstood what God meant. Let us examine some options.
- “The Law,” when coupled with “the Prophets,” does not refer to the Ten Commandments, but refers to a section of Scripture; the “Law” (Torah) being the first five books of Moses (Pentateuch). The “Prophets” are the writings of such men as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc. The Psalms are sometimes referred to as a separate section (Lk. 24:44).
- This chapter (Matthew 5) contains an element of prophecy or future things (shall be comforted, vs. 4 and shall inherit the earth, vs. 5).
- It does not say: The Law will never pass away. It says “no jot or tittle will pass from the Law TILL all be fulfilled.” This leaves open the possibility for the Law to pass away after “all is fulfilled.”
- This was spoken BEFORE the Cross. The Cross changed a few things (Col. 2:14).
What did He mean by the phrase, “till all is fulfilled?” We would naturally assume that would mean till “the end of the world,” but that might not be what He had in mind.
Let us look at some other statements using the word “fulfilled.”
- When Jesus taught in the synagogue, He read from Isaiah about His first coming. He said to them: “Today this Scripture is FULFILLED in your hearing” (Lk. 4:21). Jesus did not read the whole verse, the rest of which deals with His second coming which will all be fulfilled in due time. The things concerning His First Advent were being fulfilled.
- To the Two Disciples He said: These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that ALL Things must be FULFILLED which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me (Lk. 24:44). His life, death, burial, and resurrection were all a fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
- Acts 3:18: “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His Prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus FULFILLED.” He fulfilled what God foretold by ALL the Prophets; that would include the Law of Moses as well as the other Prophets.
- Acts 13:29: “Now when they had FULFILLED ALL that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.” Again, they had fulfilled all that was written about Him.
If all things written in the Law and the Prophets were fulfilled, God can now go on to the next step of His revelation to man. Instead of continuing to deal with man on the basis of law (which ALL have failed: Acts 15:10; Rom. 3:23), He can now deal with man on the basis of GRACE or unmerited favor.
The word “Law” appears in the New Testament approximately 211 times (translations vary slightly). The Law has the following meanings:
- The writings of Moses (Genesis through Exodus (Heb. Torah): 64 times (Lk. 2:22, etc.).
- The Old Testament in general: 6 times (Mt. 23:23, etc.).
- The Commandments, not necessarily limited to the ten: 114 times (Eph. 2:15, etc.).
- A rule or a principle: 22 times (Rom. 7:21, etc.).
- Civil Law: 5 times (Mt. 5:40, etc.)
The reason that God can now deal with mankind on the basis of GRACE is because the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is both God and man, has kept the whole Law perfectly; tempted as we are, yes, but without sin (Heb. 4:15).
Christ was now in a position to “Redeem those who were under the Law” (Gal. 4:4-5). He had a perfect life to offer to God; we do not. We are sinners (Rom. 3:23a). The wages of sin must be paid. The Lord Jesus Christ paid that debt for us: “Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:3). “He gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:6).
God accepted Christ’s payment for sin. Even though He had no sin, He was made sin for us, that we might “become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Because of this, “He can be the just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). He is just because the wages of sin were paid for at Calvary.
Romans 5:13 & I Corinthians 15:56: “Sin is not imputed when there is no law … The strength of sin is the Law.”
Galatians 2:21, 3:3 and 3:12: “If righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died in vain … Neither do the efforts of the flesh PERFECT our faith … For the Law is not of faith.”
Are we saying then, let us do evil that good may come? NO, not at all! But that slanderous charge is reported by those who are under condemnation. (See Romans 3:8.)
What then is the purpose of the Law? That we might know what sin is (Rom. 7:7). “For by the Law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).
There are so many passages that plainly teach that the Law has been taken away that we should take them seriously, not as an excuse to sin but as the method God used to provide an ETERNAL salvation based on Christ redeeming us from the Law of His blood.
The inevitable result of failing to recognize the Law’s passing is CONDITIONAL salvation as Israel had under the Law but is NOT salvation under GRACE (see Romans 11:5-6).