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CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
FRIDAY, MAY 16
Matthew 5:17-20

Romans 3:19-25

 

“…I am not come

to destroy, but to fulfil.”

 

CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
 
Jesus came not to cancel the law and the prophets, but to fulfil and accomplish them. The word “fulfil” is used in a two-fold way: to indicate the fulfilment of prophecies and the accomplishment of the law. Jesus fulfilled all the predictions of the Prophets concerning His incarnation, and kept perfectly all the requirements of the Law in His mission on earth. Dr Homer Kent was precisely right to say, “Christ fulfilled the Old Testament by obeying the Law perfectly, by fulfilling its types and prophecies, and by paying the full penalty of the Law as the Substitute for sinners.”
 
Righteousness is earned by obeying the Law perfectly in all its aspects: ceremonial, judicial, and moral (Deut 6:25). In order to impute us with righteousness, Jesus had to keep the Law perfectly in all points. He fulfilled all righteousness by fulfilling the:
 
1. ceremonial laws of circumcision (Luke 2:21), baptism (Matt 3:15), Passover (Luke 2:42), and other Jewish feasts (Mark 14:12; Luke 22:1; John 7:10);
 
2. judicial laws as seen in His cleansing of the temple (John 2:13-22), His correction of Pharisaical additions to and misapplications of the law (Matt 23:23), and His judicious handling of sinners (eg. the woman taken in adultery in John 8:11); and the
 
3. Moral Law as seen in His infallible exposition (Matt 5:2-48; Mark 12:28‑34) and perfect obedience of it (eg. His temptation in Matt 4:1‑11, and sabbath observance in Mark 2:23-28).
 
Jesus underscored the importance of teaching the Law accurately and obeying it correctly. A true observance of the Law involves not just teaching it but also keeping it. Hypocritical righteousness as displayed by the scribes and Pharisees disqualifies one from heaven. To enter heaven, one’s righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. One must put on the righteousness of Christ which He has earned for His people by His perfect obedience.
 
THOUGHT: Christ has earned for me the righteousness that I need.

PRAYER: Father, I thank Thee for the righteousness of Thy Son.

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