Well, brethren, do you want to be sure that your spiritual house is built on a firm foundation, that it's built on the rock, our Savior Jesus Christ? Do you want to make sure that your spiritual house, your spiritual temple will not seriously waver and will certainly not fall as time goes on? Well, then it does make good sense to study the teachings of Jesus Christ given on the Sermon on the Mount. So today we'll continue as we look at what Christ had to say here in Matthew 5-7. Again, this is a very wonderful sermon. It's actually a compilation, no doubt, of a number of sermons, discourses that Jesus gave over his three and a half year ministry. It is a foundation upon which we should build our lives. So today this is the fourth installment in regard to the Sermon on the Mount. So rather than take time to summarize the past three sermons, I'd like to ask you to go back and review these sermons from time to time. I'm sure it would be helpful. They're posted on our website and you can certainly benefit from going back and reviewing those from time to time. Let's go to verse 10 in Matthew 5. Let's launch right into the sermon today. In verse 10 we read, "'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' Those who are willing to suffer persecution for Christ's sake or for righteousness' sake shall indeed inherit God's kingdom." We can be sure that if we're willing to suffer persecution, then we're doing many other things that are right and good and godly, and God is going to bless us for our willingness to suffer and to sacrifice for Him. It is imperative that we're willing and able to suffer persecution without compromising with God's law and without denying God and Christ and also each other. We're all in this together. We should be there for one another. When one of us suffers, we all suffer. And of course, when we suffer, it should be for righteousness' sake, not because of our sins, not because of something that we've done that has brought a curse upon us. When we suffer for righteousness' sake, we need not be shaken. Remember, we're not to fear what man can do to us. Matthew 10 talks about that. Of course, we are to fear what God could possibly do to us if we rebel against Him, if we turn against Him, if we do those things that are not pleasing to Him, then there will be consequences. So we should have a godly fear, a right fear of God, which is based on love, it's based on a desire to obey God and to serve Him, to keep His commandments, to please Him in every way. We should have a proper respect of God because He is the law-giver. He's the one who is the one who is the one who is the law-giver. He's the one who has the proper right to make the laws. He created us, shaped and formed us in His image. We owe all things to God and to the one who became Christ, who also laid His life down for us. Now, what goes on in this physical existence is important because it does prepare us and in a sense it does qualify us for a spiritual existence that will last forever. So the choices that we make, the decisions that we make in this life of ours now, physically, are important. Of course, we should consider persecution in this context. We should be willing to suffer persecution if we are doing that which is right and good. And in fact, we should realize that that's a natural course of doing what's right and good. Look what happened to Jesus Christ, who never sinned. He was persecuted to the point of crucifixion. It only stands to reason that His followers would also be persecuted to some degree.
We are told to keep our eyes on God's heavenly kingdom. We are told to store up treasures in heaven, not here on this earth, not to be focused upon this physical life and this earth, only in the sense that we have an eternal life that will follow if we do that which is good and right in this life. So we really do need to focus on what's really, really important. We must find our courage and our strength in relying upon God and God in us. God lives in us through the power of His Spirit. It's God's Holy Spirit that makes us strong and able to withstand whatever comes our way, whatever persecution would happen. But the fact of the matter is, most of us in this country, here in America, at this time, we've really suffered very little in regard to persecution. At least, I would say that I suffered very little. Not that I haven't suffered a little bit, but really, I think when it gets right down to it, most of us have not suffered a great deal of persecution. We live in a time and a country and an age in which we are greatly blessed. And we have not been persecuted to the extent that some of Christ's followers have been persecuted in the past. And even today, in some lands, when people stand up for what they truly believe and profess Christ as their personal Savior, their Lord and their Master, their King, there is persecution. We can be grateful that we have the liberties that we have in America today.
Of course, we know things are going to change, even in this country. We don't know exactly when, we don't know how long it will be, but prophecies tell us that things will change and there will be persecution upon God's people in ways that probably none of us can really fully grasp or imagine today. We do have some rather isolated cases of someone being persecuted today, certainly because of the Sabbath. Some people have lost their jobs, but oftentimes they find better jobs at this time and in this day and age. So again, I say we haven't really been persecuted to a large extent in many, many ways.
Of course, keeping God's annual Holy Days does tend to set us apart. It sets our children apart. We don't get involved in the ways of the world in regard to the pagan holidays that are observed. So our children may suffer some persecution because of that. We may suffer a little persecution because of that. But again, it's quite minimal.
God clearly told his people not to learn the way of the heathen, especially when it comes to days that people supposedly observe for spiritual reasons. Some people think that this time of year, Christmas is the most special time of year for a Christian. Of course, we know that Satan the devil is the God of this world. We know that he's deceived the hearts and minds of many fine people who don't realize what they're doing. God says, forgive them. They know not what they do. Man's pagan holidays are to be rejected. We have that truth. We understand that. We don't shy away from that. We believe that. We set an example in our communities. It's easier to find our homes at night this time of year because we may be the only ones on our block that don't have Christmas lights. So there are little things that do set us apart. But again, even then, most people are, you know, we have freedom of religion. And most people are somewhat respectful of that. And that works in our favor at this time. But rather now is the time to stand up and be counted when it comes to the truth of God and God's ways, the holy days, the holidays, the Sabbath, weekly annual Sabbath. This is the time to show that we do stand up strong and that we will not be willing to compromise when times get hard. Observing these days faithfully is a sign between God and His people. By doing so, we show that we are called out by God at this time. We have been given the knowledge and the understanding of these important days as they symbolize God's plan of salvation for all of us. Observance of these days will increasingly set us apart in times to come. So if we can't run with the horses now, as the saying goes in the book of Jeremiah, how are we going to be able to when times really get hard? If we can't stand up and be counted at this time, if we compromise at this time, we'll surely compromise when times get tougher. So are we fully committed and convicted to observing God's Holy Days? Are you fully committed? Are you convicted? Or have you allowed Satan to deceive you to some degree in regard to these days that we should stand up against? Again, we don't need to bring persecution upon us, and we certainly don't want to rub what we believe in people's faces or in their noses. That's not necessary. We shouldn't do that. We should be discreet, but also we ought not compromise if there comes a time when God wants us to stand up and to be counted.
We may also suffer some persecution because our belief in a variety of God's laws. Certainly this world is becoming increasingly more immoral, becoming increasingly more permissive, and we should stand up against the immorality that we see all around us today. It is truly a sad state of affairs, I guess pun intended. It's a sad state of affairs in this country and at this day and age, and that's, you know, it's been true throughout history that mankind has disobeyed God and his laws. We may be persecuted as a church or as individuals for what some may label hate crimes in the future. We don't know how that all will come down, but certainly there is an element out there where people want us to be tolerant of alternative lifestyles that are contrary to God and his ways, and we should not be tolerant of that lifestyle. That doesn't mean we shouldn't love the people. That doesn't mean we shouldn't care for them and we shouldn't pray for them, and we shouldn't ridicule, and we shouldn't, again, go out of our way to be hateful in any way. We should be loving toward people. Sin is sin. We all sin in various ways, but we also should stand up against all sin. We should not compromise with these things in order to avoid persecution.
There are some very nice people who are corrupt in their sexual orientation. That's just a fact. The world has corrupted them. Satan has corrupted them. Society has corrupted them, and it's true in every aspect. Any kind of sexual immorality is wrong, any type.
And we shouldn't make a big differentiation between what type of sin. It's all wrong. We should all stand up against that. Sin is sin. It all needs to be repented of. It all leads to death.
At the time that Christ said these words about persecution, He was very aware of what was going to happen to Him personally. He knew that He would be crucified. He knew that many of His followers would be persecuted, that they would also die for what they believed in. Persecution in Christ time affected all areas of life for a follower of Christ. It was dangerous to be a Christian. A Christian's work could be disrupted because of persecution. If someone were a stone mason, for example, his company might sign a contract to construct a pagan temple. Or perhaps, I suppose, one might be called upon to sell certain paraphernalia. For observing pagan holidays or for worshiping idols, perhaps one might be called upon to get involved in various types of compromises when it comes to the pagan ways of the world. Now, that's true even today. Some decisions have to be made. Some things we have to stand up against and say no to, and we won't be involved in that kind of line of work. In some ways, it hasn't changed a whole lot. It is certainly not as dangerous today as it was back after the time when Christ was crucified. In that early century, that first century, a Christian's social life could be affected, certainly, back in those days. The world was more steeped in paganism and heathen ways than it is today. It's very steep today, but it was even more so back in the time when Rome was ruling the world. In ancient times, most feasts were held in the temple of some pagan god.
Even in most homes, a libation or toast would be made to a pagan god, or a drink offering would be poured out to a foreign god. No doubt these pagan heathen practices caused problems and issues for true followers of Jesus Christ. William Barclay says that when invitations were sent to people, William Barclay in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, he says that an invitation would be sent out that would say something like, I invite you to dine with me at the table of our Lord Serapis. Serapis was another name for the son god. So it could be very blatant back in those times, and there was much more persecution to stand up and do the right thing. A Christian's home or family life could be greatly affected also. Oftentimes, only one or two members of an extended family might become a Christian. Now, that's true today. You know, there are some of you that are the only ones in your family that God has called at this time, and no doubt, especially in the early years, that caused some problems for you. I know it caused some problems for me when I began to stand up. You know, I almost got kicked out of my grandparents' home one Christmas. It was the first Christmas that I brought our children back to see their grandparents around Christmastime, and I wasn't quite prepared. I had told them they knew what I believed and all of that, but you can't really blame grandparents for wanting to shower gifts upon the grandkids, and they don't always do it the way you want them to, and so it can cause issues. It can cause problems. I'm not sure I handled it perfectly. Thankfully, I wasn't kicked out of the house, and I was allowed back in, and you know, things got smoothed over, but there can be challenging times when you strive to uphold your convictions when it comes to God's truth.
In ancient times in the first century, one who became a Christian might be rejected immediately because of the dangerous times in which they all lived. It was much more dangerous back then. We've all heard stories of how Emperor Nero persecuted Christians. He even made them human torches. Some of them, he would cover them with pitch and light them on fire, and they would illuminate his garden. That's the kind of persecution that would take place at times. Back in that first century, it's no wonder the church basically had to go underground. They fled in many directions, and there isn't a lot of information going on in regard to God's true church in that first century because they were on the run.
Christians often did bring strife and trouble to a Christian family. If a person took his stand as a follower of Christ, it was much more dangerous again. There's very little comparison, really, to our lives today and the lives of those early Christians right after Christ was crucified. Peter denied Christ three times because it was dangerous to follow Jesus Christ. Now, when after he did so, and he was given the Spirit of God, and he repented of what he had done, he became a courageous Christian. Of course, he died for what he believed in. There were many martyrs in the early going. Christians were tortured and persecuted. And again, to Christianity, they tried to stamp it out completely. They couldn't do that. The gates of hell were not to prevail against God's people, against God's church. But certainly, there was a lot of persecution that took place. Remember that, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Let's go on to verse 11. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. That's right. We're in good company. The prophets were greatly persecuted. Jeremiah was tossed into a dungeon, and he was continually persecuted and harassed by the king.
And others were persecuted. Prophets of God, people who would stand up and tell the truth, who would prophesy of things to come. The pagans didn't like it, but the Israelites, kings of Israel and Judah, didn't appreciate the words that were being spoken. And so they were persecuted for what they said, for just bringing the truth from God. Of course, Jesus Christ was persecuted, and those who followed Christ were persecuted on a consistent basis. We should again expect some persecution if we're being righteous. If you're not persecuted at all, then you might question why that is. Maybe you're not standing up as strongly as you need to. But again, we live in a very tolerant society today.
Many lies and slanders were spread against early Christians. In fact, they even said that early Christians were cannibals. That was the rumor that was going on early on because of what Christ said about having to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Many disciples and followers left following Christ at that time because these were difficult things to comprehend and to understand. Of course, he was talking about the unleavened bread and the wine at Passover. But people twisted these things to go so far even to say that Christians were cannibals. Some were accused of immorality because of the love feasts. They were accused of being involved in orgies of lust, which was just the opposite. There was no problem with God the affection in the right degree. But people are always looking for things to say against people who are striving to do what's right when they're the ones that are committing oftentimes the immorality and doing these things that they're accusing others of doing. There was a holy kiss of true affection that was common practice back in those days. That also was twisted. Today we hug people, we shake their hands. A proper, proper godly affection is fine. Of course, we should always make sure it's proper and righteous and godly. The people were accused of things that they were not guilty of back in old times. Some were accused of being incendiary or inciting upheaval and rebellion because of their beliefs of what would happen in the end times. Now, again, we have very peaceful times today, but when things really get bad, when the beast power arises, when the false prophet is on the scene, it's going to be different then. We need to be preparing ourselves now, being sure that we're strong and close to God and willing to suffer persecution if it's necessary. Some were accused of being home breakers because of the impact on the families. Certainly Christianity does take a toll. Christ said that our enemies would be that of our own household because people don't understand. They don't realize that we're doing these things because God has opened our minds to understand that He expects this from us.
Of course, there was a lot of political persecution at the time of Christ. The Roman Empire spread throughout most of the known world at the time of Christ. For the first few hundred years of Christianity, Rome had brought peace and prosperity to the world to a large degree. There was worship of the goddess Roma that was a prevalent thing that was happening at that time. Also, later, emperor worship developed and became prevalent and even compulsory. There was a time when it was mandatory that people were expected to bow their allegiance to the emperor. And there was even a certificate that was given for those who would sacrifice, I guess it was a pinch of incense or something like that, to the emperor and pledge allegiance to Caesar. It's no wonder people had to scatter and hide when these things were going on. And this persecution was to the degree that it was. People had to say that Caesar is Lord. Caesar is their master. True Christians refused to do this. They wouldn't compromise.
And there were other martyrs as time went on. Polycarp was one who gave his life because of what he believed in. I'd like to read from William Barclay on page 115, the commentary here on the book of Matthew. Polycarp was the aged bishop of Smyrna. The mob dragged him to the tribunal of the Roman magistrate. He was given the inevitable choice, sacrifice to the godhead of Caesar or die. Eighty and six years came the immortal reply, have I served Christ? For 86 years I've served Christ and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me? So they brought him to the stake and he prayed his last prayer. O Lord God Almighty, the father of your well-beloved and ever-blessed son, by whom we have received the knowledge of you, I thank you that you have graciously thought me worthy of this day and of this hour. So this was the supreme opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to Christ.
He gave his life at that time. He would not compromise with his belief in Christ as the true Savior, the Messiah, who came to shed his blood and to give his life for us. So blessed are those who are reviled and persecuted, and say, when all manner of evil is set against us. Verse 13, here it says, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. If you are called the salt of the earth, that's a compliment.
The main message here is that we are to be true Christians and we are to set a sterling example of the true Christian way of life at all times. We are to remain steadfast in our faithfulness and our obedience to God and His ways. We are to be unwavering in our pursuit of righteousness and godliness and goodness. Our actions should be above reproach. We should always take the high road when we are proven to be unfaithful and we are not repented and we continue to act unfaithfully. Eventually, if we don't repent of these sins, we shall be cast into the lake of fire. We're called out now. We've been given the Spirit of God. We are accountable now to obey and follow God. The Scripture says such a one will be trampled underfoot as He becomes ashes before the righteous who will be glorious eternal beings. They will become changed into spirit. In the ancient world, salt was highly valued. The Greeks called salt divine. It was connected in people's minds with three special qualities. It wasn't nearly as easy to get and was not so inexpensive as it is today. We take salt for granted today. Salt was a precious commodity at this time, first of all because of its purity. The Romans said it was the purest of all things coming from the sun and the sea. Salt was pure and we as Christians are to be pure. It was a preservative. It would preserve meats and other foods from corruption, from decay. We are to also be a preservative age in ourselves as we preserve God's truth today in a world that is increasingly against God and against His ways. We should also help one another, preserve each other, be there for each other, to strengthen one another. We are to be the salt of the earth. And also salt was the salt of the earth. Salt lends flavor to foods. A lot of foods would be very boring without some salt. They would be almost tasteless to some degree. Salt really adds flavor to foods. It adds enjoyment to many foods. A Christian is to add flavor to life. We should all be a joy to be around. You should be a joy to be around. People should like spending time with you because you are producing the fruit of God's Spirit in your life. You are a loving person. You are a joyful person. You are a kind person. You are a faithful person. You are meek. You are humble. You are faithful. You are self-controlled. These are the kinds of attributes that people like. They like to see that in people. People they can trust. It is sad that there is so little Christianity in the world today, but we are to be the salt of the earth. We are to add flavor to this earth as Christians. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who was an American author and poet throughout the 1800s, he went to Harvard. He said, I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers. Robert Lewis Stevenson once wrote in his diary, as though it was quite unusual, I have been to church today and I am not depressed.
You shouldn't be depressed to come to church. Ministers and those who speak should try their best not to be depressing. Some of the things we say are hard things. They are difficult things. But it should be seasoned with some salt as well. There should be a lot of good things that we say, a lot of very positive things. It is wonderful to be a Christian at this time, to be a follower of Christ. We are still relatively few when you look at the billions of people that are on the earth. We are rare in large part, especially those who truly know the truth and are striving to live by every word of God. God has revealed these things to those who are living by all the commandments of God, not just part of them. There is a whole variance in how people are deceived today. There are those who are atheists, who reject God entirely, but there is a wide variance of others who see the good in the Bible. They read the Bible continually. They study the Bible and they are blessed for it. If they practice it, if they put it into practice, they may not be converted. They may not be living by every word in there, but to the degree that they do live by what is in the Bible, they are blessed.
We reap what we sow. That is what the Scripture says. When we keep God's commandments, there are blessings that come along. Honest people are blessed for being honest. People are blessed when they are faithful, when they are good husbands and good wives. Even if they are not a part of God's Church, there are still blessings on keeping the commandments. There are blessings for obedience. There are also curses for disobedience. It is a mixture of good and evil that we see around us at all times. It is interesting, but a Jewish apostate, someone who would leave the Jewish faith, would walk away from God and God's Church, their synagogue at that time, the people of God. It was Jewish custom when an apostate returned that he was to lie down upon the synagogue threshold and let people walk over him. He would say, trample upon me who am the salt which has lost its savor.
That would take some repentance to some degree, wouldn't it? To be willing to lie down. I don't know how many people actually did this, but Barclay says that that was what was expected. If someone came back after going away from God and returning, that they were to lie down and allow themselves to be trampled upon because they were the salt that lost its savor.
We should be careful that we don't lose our savor, that we should, again, stay faithful to God and His truth and His way of life. Any teenagers that we might have here today, sometimes the world can be very tempting.
Oftentimes, people stop coming to God's church when they're in their late teens, their early 20s, and they go out in so wild oats. They get away from God. It's better never to leave God's church. It's better never to go out and to be scarred by the ways of the world because that's what happens. Nobody leaves without picking up scars along the way. I would admonish our teenagers to stay faithful and to stay true to God because it's painful to come back. It's better to have never left in the first place to be here for the right reasons because you have faith in God and you trust in Him and you know His way is best. Moving on to verse 14, again, Matthew 5. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand. And it gives light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. You are the light of the world. Now, that's a tremendous compliment. Christ is the great light.
Christ says that you are the light of the world. Christ is the great light. He is like the sun that shines in its full strength. We are more like the moon that reflects that great light. When there's a full moon, it's beautiful up in the sky at night. It's reflecting the sun. We are to reflect the great light. We are to reflect Jesus Christ and how we live our lives. We are to be the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. A city that has its lights on. It's a beautiful thing as you're driving toward it. Say it's up on a hill. You can see it from miles away. Mile High City, Denver. It's a beautiful sight. When you're driving into Denver from miles away, you can begin to see the lights. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket. That's not what we do. We're supposed to let the light shine so that we can see clearly, so we can maneuver around obstacles. Get around. At night, it's nice to have little night lights on. If you wake up in the middle of the night and you have to go to the bathroom, you don't really want to turn on the big light because you want to get back to sleep. So there's little tiny lights, but they guide you and they help you. In a sense, we can be those smaller lights. Christ is the huge light, but we are the smaller lights that help people along their way. So the main message is that Christ is the light of the world. John 9, verse 5, he is the light of the world, but we are his followers, and we are always to reflect his greater light in all that we say, all that we think, all that we do. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Our good works, our light, cannot be hidden. People will see our good works, and God will be glorified. In due time, if not now, certainly later, we are to be actively producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. We will be known by the fruit that we produce. Again, you can't hide these godly characteristics, these traits. People are drawn to this sort of thing. The good examples do make a difference. Again, there is a huge mixture of good and evil. You can watch a TV program, and you can be inspired by it, even though it's not all good. There is some mixture of evil, oftentimes tossed in, usually tossed in. Of course, we need to be circumspect what we put into our minds and into our hearts. But there are times when we can be inspired, and we should take inspiration from that which is right and that which is good. We should be able to see that there is some good in the world. God's Holy Spirit is powerful. It's throughout the earth. When people yield to the Spirit of God, even if it may not be dwelling in them, but if they do respond to that Spirit to some degree, then it's possible to do some good works. So we should realize that. We should not look down on people, but when they do things that are right and good, then we should give them some credit for yielding to the Spirit of God, perhaps. Before we become baptized, God's Spirit helps change us, doesn't it?
Some people make some huge changes in their lives. I believe it's because they do yield to God's Spirit to some degree, even though the Spirit of God isn't dwelling in them, even though they're not converted. Still, some good things can happen when someone makes a right choice. When they make a right decision, there are blessings for the right choices.
And if God had not called us, then we would be in the same boat. We would not have the same, we would not have the understanding that we do now. And even then, we fall far short, don't we? We're not always the perfect lights, are we? So we should be the light of the world. Do not hide your light. Let your light shine.
God will be glorified if you do. And that's what we should all do. Bring glory to God. Now, verse 17 and 18, Do not think that I come to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For surely I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law, till all is fulfilled. So what did Christ mean in these words? Even though Jesus Christ is very clear about people not thinking, not even thinking that he came to do away with the law, he says, think not that I came to destroy the law. And yet, many religious people claim that Christ came to do away with the law. Really, it makes no sense.
For people to take this approach, they have to dance around this verse. They have to ignore it, or try to explain it some other way. It means exactly what it says. Christ said, don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill these things. He fulfilled many prophecies that were made of him, for one thing. He fulfilled those prophecies, and he also kept the law perfectly. Christ did not sin. He kept the law perfectly, not only in the letter, but even in the spirit of the law. And he showed us in the Sermon on the Mount what that means. And we'll go into that in great detail when we get there, because it's so important that we understand the spirit of God's law.
Christ came not to destroy the law. He did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it, to keep it perfectly, to set an example for you and me, to show us what we are to do, that we are to follow His example and to learn to live as He lived.
Again, people think that Jesus Christ did away with the Father's old slave law. Remember hearing that back in 1995? 1994? Heard a sermon about that, where God's law was referred to that old slave law. It was very offensive to me, and to others that know the truth of God.
How love I thy law it is ever with me. It was highly offensive to those who were living by the truth of God and realizing that God's law is a law of liberty. Paul said the law is holy and just and good, and yet people will say that Paul did away with the law or wrote about Christ doing away with the law. That's not what Paul was writing about. Peter said Paul's writings are difficult to understand. People twist it to their own destruction. No doubt, God allowed those things to be written as they were for particular reasons. That some would twist them and use them as an excuse to disobey. God is very gracious. God is very merciful. His plan allows for this deception that has come upon the world. All people will have an opportunity to understand and know the truth and to choose whether or not they want God's Spirit to dwell within them, to live within them. Christ said, don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. He says, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle, not the smallest, tiniest part of the law will pass from the law. All of these laws are to be fulfilled. And eventually, in God's kingdom, when the new Jerusalem comes down, when there's a new heaven and a new earth, nothing but righteousness will dwell. And that's when it's all going to be fulfilled. Righteousness, only righteousness will be there. There will be no sin. It's not going to be tolerated. It's not going to be allowed. Nothing will destroy in God's government. Nothing will hurt or destroy. There will be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain or crying. All people will He come as God is, without sin.
So it is important that we realize that Christ was the one who brought the law on Sinai to begin with. Of course, that's a whole sermon or two in itself. Christ was the one who, before He became Christ, He was known as the Logos or the Spokesman, He brought the law on Mount Sinai. When you look at that, it makes no sense to think that Christ would do away with the law that He brought in the first place. Christ was the God mainly revealed in the Old Testament. Not that it doesn't speak of the Father because it does in some cases and in some ways, both in the Old and in the New Testament. But of course, God is very supportive of His law. He is the Lawgiver. He clearly said that He and the Father are one, that He would not have opposed the Father in regard to the Law of God.
Christ came to fulfill the law by keeping it fully. He fulfilled it by living it, again, by not breaking the law. So we must not be deceived because Satan would have us all be deceived. And we know how powerful Satan can be. Even within the Church of God, we've seen in the past how Satan and his minions infiltrated the Church of God. Even in these recent times, others say that Christ fulfilled the law by doing away with it. That doesn't make much sense to me.
If someone fulfills an obligation of some sort, it means they did whatever it was they were supposed to do. That's what Christ did. He came to lay His life down for us, to live perfectly, and to lay that perfect life down for us so that He could be the perfect sacrifice. It doesn't mean that He did away with anything, and certainly not the law. Someone had us believe that Jesus' death did away with the law. Jesus, unwarranted death, paid the penalty for our sins. He certainly did not do away with God's holy and righteous law. Now, William Barclay is pretty interesting because he believes the law was done away. And yet, he upholds the law many times because the Scriptures are clear. So, he contradicts himself throughout. It's pretty telling that someone as brilliant as William Barclay, who wrote these commentaries and went into the Greek and the Hebrew, and has a lot that he can offer to us. Again, it's a mixture of good and evil.
We get some good from these things. We read these books written by people who are not converted, who don't have the Spirit of God dwelling in them, but eventually they go astray. They don't get it. They don't understand it. They don't comprehend it. So, it's really fascinating. Barclay talks about Romans 10, verse 4, about Christ as the end of the law. Supposedly that proves that Christ came to do away with the law. That's not what that verse is talking about at all. The verse actually means that Christ is the aim or the purpose of the law. That, again, Christ came to fulfill the law that he brought in the first place. It doesn't mean that Christ ended the need to keep the law, or that he did away with the law when he died. The one who became Christ, again, was the one who brought the law in the first place. We're to live by every word of God. Christ is the living word of God. We are to write the law in our hearts and in our minds. So, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. That's the clear words of Jesus Christ. So, we ought not think these things. We ought not believe for an instant that Christ came to do away with the law. He did not come to destroy, but he came to fulfill the law. And not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law until all is fulfilled, until everyone is worshiping God and is righteous. And righteousness dwells within the kingdom of God. In God's ultimate kingdom, there will be righteousness only. The law will be fulfilled in that all beings will, again, righteously live by God's laws. There will be no sin in God's ultimate kingdom, no breaking of the law, a wonderful place to be. So, all of this will be destroyed. Anything that is contrary to God and His ways and His laws is going to be destroyed. It's going to disappear. Again, that's why it's so important that we lay up treasures in heaven, not here on this earth. This earth is not going to survive. Not in the way we see it today. There will be a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness will dwell. So, brethren, if you want to build your spiritual house on the rock, if you want to have a firm foundation, and by the way, isn't that the most scary thing of all? To think that you live in a house that has a bad foundation? It could collapse, or it's going to cost you a fortune to fix? I just bought a brand new house. I hope the foundation is sound. I hope that it's solid, and that I won't ever have to go through with some of you. I know some people here have had homes that have had bad foundations, and you've had to spend a lot of money to prop up those foundations. In some cases, maybe the whole house had to be destroyed, because the foundation was unsound. It would not hold up the house. So, again, we need to build our lives on the true foundation upon Jesus Christ, upon the rock. Build your house on the rock, and your house will never collapse. It will always stand. So, we should follow Christ's instruction, and it will lead to peace. It will lead to contentment now. It will ultimately lead to eternal life.
