Sunday, July 6
This past Sunday, Stan continued preaching in Matthew 5. In verses 33-37, we focused our attention on the teaching of Jesus as he continued to contrast his demands of righteousness to that of the Pharisees. Here, we see the Old Covenant practice described in the Law given to Israel as the taking of vows. Our Lord shows us that the people of his Kingdom should are expected to show forth truth in all their dealings, no matter how big or small they may seem.
Through this passage, we see how man will twist any regulations set before them to their own selfish ambition. In this case, the Jews had set up a system that they justified as coming from the Law of God, given through Moses, but had used the system to justify sin instead of pursue righteousness.
As followers of Christ, let us never abuse the Word of God to justify sin. Let us pursue the glory of God in truth and righteousness. May it never cross our minds to purposefully defraud one another for our own selfish ambition. Instead, let us rejoice in Jesus, the Righteous. Let us see His beauty and seek to reflect that through our lives.
This will only come about through the power of Christ’s resurrection in us and the work of the Holy Spirit to enable us. May God bless us to do so for His glory!
—
During out Bible Study hour, we continued studying the flow and logical progress of Paul’s argument in the epistle to the Romans. We spent most of the time discussing issues from the week before but we are poised to pick up in Romans 6 next week!