Law & Grace — Don McClure

Matthew 5 if you don't know where to go by now you're in trouble. Matthew chapter 5. As we continue on in this actually I only want to finish up where we were last Wednesday. I just got halfway through kind of one area in here.

But let's stand and pray and actually yeah let's do that. And father we do just again thank you and praise you for your love for us your goodness your mercy. Lord we thank you for this phenomenal sermon.

Unbelievable sermon so powerful. And Jesus we just prayed that as we study this sermon the mount it would study us and Lord more than just study us. That Lord that your word would be written on the tablets of our heart the Lord that we would become living epistles known and read of men.

Lord that we could be a people that we as we read the Sermon on the Mount we could truly say these are the things that God is fulfilling in my life. But Lord these things don't just coincidentally happen.

They just don't kind of just occur or their requests. No one just goes to heaven by falling into it. We go to heaven by falling in love with it by desiring it and choosing heaven. And Lord we just pray that we would choose your word and the way your word shows us something in our life Lord that needs to be broken.

That Lord that we would be poor in spirit that we would maybe areas of our life tonight there's just something you want to look and say you're you're not poor in this area. You're not poor in spirit or you have sinned but you don't mourn over it.

There's no sorrow. You seem to be quite content with it doesn't really bother. You hasn't produced a meekness. But Lord we asked that it would that your spirit would you speak to our hearts and touch us and break us and mold us and then Lord fill us.

Lord is you said bless are they that are filled. Lord that is a hunger and thirst for righteousness. Lord you fill us. And Lord we just pray that as a result of that there would just be a merciful a mercifulness and in our heart there would it would be a purity in our heart a peacemaker Lord dwelling powerfully wonderfully the greatest peacemaker in the world reigning as king within us and Lord our lives as a result to others around would become the salt of the earth the light of the world.

They would want to know what's transformed within us. And Lord we ask that you would just take this sermon as we look at it that you would strengthen us and bless every one of us. Father we ask it in Jesus name Amen.

You may be seated. I also quickly want to mention on Sunday we talked about a construction ministry that we're getting quite excited and serious about. And any of you men that you have a trade any one of the trades or maybe just a labor but you you love to get out and work and anything you know you can do you want to help.

And the men's ministry we're kind of helping. We've already offered in some specific areas Calvary up in running Springs over the castle in Austria some work that's going to be need to be done over there soon.

And then also Calvary Chapel in Huntington Beach and but there's others that we're already talking with of just ministries to help them build out their churches and just to come alongside him and to love him and administer to him.

And we're so excited. And there was a wonderful response on Sunday morning I was told that a lot of men came to sign up and want to volunteer for that. But if you didn't hear about it or you're just hearing now or you did hear but the line was so long and you left tomorrow night at the men's ministry there'll also be kind of an update on that stuff as well so be aware of it.

Christ Fulfills the Law

But tonight as we get to verse 17 of the Sermon of the Mount Matthew 5 think not that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am NOT come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle shall no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so he should be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and shall teach them teach them the same should be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I say unto you that except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now we got into this last week and as we got into it I need to back up just a little bit into it because I didn't come didn't but didn't finish and with it and so I'm gonna finish it tonight but need to back up just a little and make sure we're all on the same page together.

Because so far here in the Beatitudes and this was so so far in the Sermon of the Mount there's been in the process of the Beatitudes is no doubt we mentioned so many times now a transference in a sense of ownership of our life is what has really occurred in the Beatitudes through being poor in spirit and mourning over our sin and becoming meek before God hungry and thirsty for him being filled with him.

There's an emptying of our own life in a filling of his. There's a transference of the throne. He's taking over the reins he's taking over the thrones of our hearts. This is really many of the ways that the process the the the ministry of Lordship is being fulfilled that when we come and we we long to have Jesus Lord of our life and it's all done by a work of his spirit.

And no man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who comes in and he humbles us he convicts us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment and he humbles us and he breaks us and he produces a meekness within us and a brokenness within us in our heart in our life is now open.

We're crying out to the Lord take over my life run it be king be master. And so far here in the Sermon on the Mount this is that the processes of transformation the processes of growth the processes of maturity the processes that are behind being spirit-filled.

I don't believe a person can even dream or have the concept of being filled with the spirit if they have anything if the Beatitudes aren't something that they also look and say that's what happened. They may not have understood the Sermon on the Mount or heard it.

But if somebody is truly filled with the spirit they've also in the process been empty to themselves and they've also been broken. They've also been mourning over their sin. In the process of the filling there's the emptying and there is the great desire.

And so here essentially there's the draining of self the filling you know with the Lord and the hunger for him. And these are pretty much the foundational aspects of the Sermon on the Mount. So much of the rest of it now has to do with my relationships whether my relationship with myself my thinking my relationship with the world my relationship with with Satan my relationship with money my relationship with trials or there's the rest of the Sermon on the Mount as we'll see as we go through it.

It's kind of the outworking of the indwelling that that here in the first part of the Sermon on the Mount I this this transference of power has happened. And this this new rain is entered in Jesus as I'm telling him that he's the Lord of my life.

And if indeed he is the Lord of my life the rest of the Sermon on the Mount are going to become things and look at and see so that's what he's doing that's where he's going that's now what he wants to change my heart or my life or my thoughts or my relationships or various concepts.

But it has so much to do with the rest of the Sermon on the various relationships. But the first relationship he touches on and perhaps the most powerful and most important of all relationships is that which we looked at here the relationship with the law.

And and here is we mentioned last week when Jesus is speaking of the law he is speaking I believe centrally basically all of the law the Ten Commandments the moral law the civil law the Levitical law through the Pentateuch the first five books of the Bible it's filled essentially with again the law.

They're called the books of the law. And in that you have ceremonial law given. You've got civil law you've got relationship law. The marriage is talked about raising your children problems in you know in law and how to handle you know legal matters and justice and witnesses and how you just work through all sorts of things.

But every structure essentially of law and of governing over man now these laws all of essentially came in as a consequence of one thing that happened the fall. Man fell into sin and he lost a right relationship with God.

And the law has to tell him about that. He's lost a knowledge of an approach to God. The law helps him with that. He's lost how do we relate with each other. The law helps us with that. And what do we do when we're not relating.

And how does the society handle things. So the books of the Pentateuch are just filled with all of this structure the law and all of these things that told you how to live no man and you were under the law all day long whether it was the spiritual and the Ten Commandments before God or you were looking at the structural or the civil or the moral or everywhere you go every relationship you're in there is some law on how to do it what is now to be expected of a person how they are to behave.

And this is how these people and we all live in and hear. But when you come to the sermon the mouth this is how this person's always been living so far before we met Christ before we were poor in spirit and we mourned and we're meek and now we're hungry for him.

He's become you know the object of our affections. He's become now one that's taking over our heart in our life. He's becoming king he's becoming master he's becoming Lord. And at this time when all of this is occurring Jesus is well aware that he is now essentially almost competing with the thing called the law that men outside of Christ outside of his love in his life and his dominion and his power and not knowing it and understanding have been living by to try to keep from killing himself or others or destroying everything around us.

So the law now Jesus as he looks at this the huge relationship that every man has these standards these obligations these promises these are these responsibilities of life these things that tell me if I've done good or bad or what I ought to be doing all the time these other things that have lorded themselves over me in a sense.

Now Jesus realizing that in the Beatitudes he is now taking over as king and as Lord of our life. And now he wants to talk to us about this relationship that what his relationship is with the law. And as we looked at it last week Jesus did two great things there for us.

Number one he fulfilled the law as he said there in the all of the the responsibilities of the law he paid for every everything that has been ever failed in the law. You know when we come to him and all of the whole thing before God before man before society before everything Jesus looks he says you failed in everything but I forgive you and I love you and you're mine.

And and when he fulfills the law we looked at that quite extensively last week and and he said I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets he says exactly the opposite I've come to fulfill it. But as you'll also recall if you remember last week and you were here with us he the the law there is something there as the standard he has come to to replace it as well as we looked at last week not merely just simply to fulfill it and now I just walk on some place but the place that the law once had in my heart in my mind in my thoughts that just like everywhere I go when I go to work and what are the laws what are the rules here that when I go you know into the home and okay what are the obligations the responsibilities of being a husband or a father or a wife or a mother or in all these laws that we live by many times not even aware you know of them they are so powerful they are so constant around us.

But now she's saying I'm fulfilling that and I want to take the place of it you see because as we also looked at the law has is a powerless thing it's only ability really is to condemn it doesn't help the law if you've ever you know if you most you probably one time or another tried to hang wallpaper and usually once is enough you know or something but the particularly for a guy like me with one eye you need at least two to hang wallpaper I think but you know when they but when you hang wallpaper you know the you always got to have a plumb line and all that a plumb line does though it didn't help you hang the wallpaper it just simply tells you you don't know what you're doing.

Do you you know that's all it really does each time you put it up there and and but it doesn't hang it it doesn't fix it it doesn't straighten it it doesn't have a thing when you put it up there that all of a sudden you know this and the paper slides over straight it just says you're dumb you blew it tear it off and go hire somebody you know or whatever else on it and or just paint it you know or or whatever or go rent another place or something.

But the the thing is is that that the law it doesn't do anything it's just a plumb line and it is something there that Jesus though again as I said he wants to replace it. And that's precisely what he is all about.

The Law’s Condemnation and Christ’s Release

And in Romans 7 I'll just read it quickly. We spent a little time in there but it's important to the foundation of where we want to go tonight because that's the place that he wants to have in our heart.

And there's a wonderful illustration story that we looked at in Romans 7 when he says no you're not brethren for I speak to them that know the law how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he lives.

For the woman which has a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long that he liveth. But if the husband be dead she is loose from the law of her husband. So then if while her husband liveth she be married to another she shall be called an adulteress.

But if her husband be dead she is free from the law so that she is no adulteress though she be married to another man. Wherefore my brethren be ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ that she should be married to another even to him who was raised from the dead that you should bring forth fruit to God.

Verse 12. He goes on he says wherefore the law is holy and the law is holy just and good. But here Paul gives I think one of the most wonderful illustrations and all the Bible when you stop and you look at it talking about our relationship with the law and here Paul on one hand he starts off he says the law is holy just and good.

But in a sense there in his illustration he says that a human being by nature of just living in this life we marry the law we are married to it. You know in his illustration here and wherever we go there's this law.

There's this standard as we mentioned last week it is wonderful standard you know that he's holy and he's just and he's good. There's nothing more wonderful than the law. It's a great law. It's an impeccable law.

Mr. law when we marry him he is the most handsome smart intelligent wise good human being you'll ever meet. He never misses a beat. He's absolutely flawless. He fulfills the law. He is holy he is just.

He is good as he said he's as good as good can be good. He's the epitome of that which is holy and that which is just. And he lives every day that way every breath every behavior in the law. And who wouldn't we want to be married to mr. law.

And indeed what a wonderful person in all the world. But as we also mentioned last week there's one rather negative attribute of mr. law that makes him virtually intolerable to live with. And that is that he expects the exact same behavior from mrs. law if you'll recall in the sense that as we read and looked at Galatians 310 there Paul that tells us he he says where is your Galatians 310.

Well I don't know where it is I don't have on my notes but anyway I forgot to put that down. But it's the law. There he says that you got your Bible write it down look at it later you can find it and I think it's 310.

I don't know where it is now but a but but there he says that curse it is everyone that fulfilleth not all that is lit written in the law both to do it. You see the laws is very wonderful husband holy just and good.

But he just is this very terrible attribute about himself and that is he cursed is everyone that doesn't do everything he does both to do it. He says every time you don't do everything that is perfect in the law curse you.

I'll curse you to your face. And that makes it real hard on the marriage. And that begins to get very very irritating very quickly when this guy every day of his life everything he does everywhere he goes everybody talks to every conversation is flawless and it's perfect and it is holy and it is right and it's quite tremendous.

Only poor mrs. law she's sitting here no nothing wrong. Remember with mr. law he's holy just as good. The problem is mrs. law she just can't keep up with it and so she's condemned all day long. He just turns to her all the time when she's thinking that something's not right or she says some little thing or she anything's out of place.

He looks over he says curse you my dear you know sort of a thing he said now that's sin you know. And that's don't ever do that again. Curse you curse you curse you in all constantly. It's very tiring.

It's got to wear on the marriage. Maybe some of you married a guy like that. I don't know but the but at the same time when that happens it definitely wears things down. But here is Paul explains as we looked at last week the most wonderful thing happens as Paul explains here in Romans 7.

And he says the woman that has a husband he's bound to her to the law of her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband be dead she is loosed from the law of her husband. In other words as long as she's married to mr. law if that's it she's stuck with him and but he does go on to say there but if her husband be dead she is free from that law so that she's no longer an adulteress although she'd be married to another.

And here Paul he goes on and he tells us and he says wherefore my brethren ye are also become dead by the law by the body of Christ that she should not be married to another even him who raised Christ from the dead.

And here Paul he says the wonder one of the most wonderful things all the world happened one day with mrs. law she woke up and there was mr. law. He was still holy just and good not a hair out of place and absolutely impeccable.

But he was wonderfully dead. He was beautifully dead as a doornail. He looked over at her and she got up and looked at him and did stuff wrong and he said nothing. She's quite happy about it. But the reason is that so she may be married to another even Christ.

And here under God's grace. And here essentially what Paul is is communicating here is that there is a way out of the marriage to the law. There is a way out of this guilt there's a way out of this condemnation there is a way out of this constant cursing.

And essentially that's what the Beatitudes are all about that when somebody comes to replace the law to fulfill it and to put it away and to be done with it that there is one that has the capacity to fulfill everything in it all the accusations all the standards pay all the debts and and actually put the law to death in a sense and then take his place.

And this is precisely you know what Jesus Christ came to do and they set me free from the law and to take the place that the law once had within my heart and within my life. And that when I understand that I begin to realize that's the essence of the Christian life is that I am there I'm going to be subject essentially to one or the other either I every day you don't have to be a Christian real long there to realize you you're married to one or the other and but there isn't any options really either the law is dead because Christ is alive in my life either and in the law has lost its authority in his power by virtue of me looking to him or I'll gravitate right back to that essentially.

But when I am truly looking and realizing here in the sermon when I'm poor in spirit I mourn over my sins I am meek before God I am hungry and thirsty for righteousness. I'm filled with him in his spirit in his life and he's setting up his place in his dominion within my heart.

He's giving me a merciful heart and he's giving me a purity of mind. And he's giving me a peacemaker in a nature of a peacemaker. And he's sending me out to live for him. He wants to be the object of my life.

He now will say we'll get rid of the law. And it's authority in his power as you enthrone Christ as you see that he has his right place within you. Because you see essentially there's only two laws as far as when you pick up the Bible that govern life.

And we're back into Romans 8. Back to Romans 8 to me a lot and seven and eight is really a lot of Paul's version almost of the Sermon on the Mount. I want to look a little that's a please turn over to it.

But in Romans in a chapter 8 Paul writes. He says. You know there is now therefore no condemnation that then which are in Christ Jesus verse 2 he goes on. He says the law the spirit of the life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death for what the law could not do and that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.

For they that are after the flesh do you mind the things of the flesh. And they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can it be so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if so be that the spirit of God dwells in you.

Now if any man has not the spirit of Christ he is none of his. But here Paul is just wonderfully in a sense when you look at the Sermon on the Mount and the things that Jesus is saying there he's talking about there there's there's a law and there is the spirit.

There's these two forces there and in the world. And if you live in the flesh you will subject yourself immediately to the law. But if you're in the spirit you now subject yourself to the spirit it's your choice.

And until you come to Christ of course you have no no choice before. He says if any man has not the spirit of Christ he's none of his. So you're just left with one. You've got the law to live with every day in your own flesh to try to fulfill it or ignore it or do whatever you're going to do with it.

But the wonderful thing that happens to a person when they come to Christ is that there is now the opportunity to choose whether I want to be subjected to the law of the flesh or the law of the spirit.

If I in whichever one I'm going to subject myself that is the one essentially I'm going to be. And of course in the law of the flesh and the principle of just the old nature in the law. Paul writes in Galatians 519 he says now the works of the flesh are manifest.

Which are these. An adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness idolatry witchcraft hatred variance emulations. He gives quite a list. There are pretty raunchy things if you want to read them you can sure read them but we're all pretty familiar with them because we know the flesh.

If you have any trouble with those things and then you're just not being honest. We can envy we can hate. We can you know have all these great capacities within us all the time. It's the nature of the flesh.

We all have it until we come to Christ then we still have that. But we also as Paul says going on in verse 22 he says but the fruit of the Spirit is love. And then he goes on and describes it joy peace patience.

And he lays it all out. And he says but the wonderful thing is there's these two laws now they're available. And Jesus here when he looks and he's giving the Sermon on the Mount I'm moving in to first a relationship with him.

And if the relationship is there with him then he is now saying don't worry about living under the obligations and the responsibilities of the law seek me live in me and desire me. And of living by the law essentially not of the flesh but the law of the Spirit God's Holy Spirit.

And of course that was a law that essentially governed Jesus's life every moment of every day of his life. And I think in some months ago I did a study on Jesus in the Holy Spirit and in that you may recall if you're here for that I mean Jesus.

Luke 1 tells us Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 914 tells us Jesus offered himself without spot to God through the Holy Spirit. Luke chapter 4 tells us Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 4 says he was led by the Holy Spirit. Luke chapter 4 tells us that Jesus he returned in the power of the Holy Spirit again. Later on there when Jesus was in the synagogue he explained all the things he says I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life.

Jesus’ Spirit-Anointed Mission

When he opened up Isaiah 61 and there he wrote out of it he found the place where it was written. And then he said as he quoted the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because he hath anointed me. And then he laid out all the things he was going to be doing for the next three years.

And he says listen I want to explain to the whole world who I am what I'm going to be doing and also most importantly how I do it. I do all the things. And when you're watching me I'm not going to have a lot of time to stop in the next three years all the time.

And when you say how'd you do that where'd you get that sermon. How'd you heal that sick. How'd you raise how'd you walk. And how did you how you know. And he says I'll tell you before any of this happened how I comforted anybody how I'm gonna heal anybody.

I'm gonna bless anybody. He says I'm gonna do it all because the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. He has anointed me. Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was led literally driven by the Holy Spirit.

He was under the power of the Holy Spirit from Bethlehem to the Mount of Olives he lived in entirely in the realm of the Spirit. He subjected himself totally to a far greater law than the law of man in all these things that Adam had to was subjected to because he fell there.

Jesus lived under the principle that Adam should and could have lived under but forfeited when he sinned and he was driven out of the garden and all these structures were made and from now Adams got to go out and live by all these rules in these regulation these laws and these responsibilities.

Had he not sinned they're born of the Holy Spirit. Adam was the Spirit of God brooded over him. And there he you know you walked with God. He was in the image of God. The life of God flooded him and filled him.

He didn't need any law. He would just naturally by be you know did not there with any law any rule anything written down. You better do this. You got to do this. He would have just fulfilled it. But sin entered him and then sin entered in.

And of course they're at all of a sudden they're treating each other wrong. So woman now gave us me. She did it. He's blaming her he's being unjust and unfair. And you gotta set up laws for that. And then she comes back and she says ah the devil did it and you made the devil so you work it out.

You know I mean she looked over there to say I'm not taking responsibility for this. And so he has to set up all these laws the next you know there you know Cain kills his brother and you gotta make laws by the way do you know how long Cain hated his brother as long as he was able anyway.

I don't want to forgive me. That's a John Corson type of thing. And if I ever do a thing like that come up and hit me. What do you. Please let me just. I spent a long time with him today and I got it.

I gotta cleanse myself of that. But we have but you need all these rules and these regulations in these laws because we sinned. But when you're born of the Spirit filled with the Spirit led by the Spirit and the law of the Spirit here in Romans says the law of the Spirit.

He says in verse 8 Jesus the law has the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death that if I understand the greater law the law of the Spirit I don't need to be concerned about the law of man.

And about these laws these rules these regulations these standards. It's interesting that he in verse 6 he says you know to be carnally minded his death but to be spiritually minded his life and peace.

And here is Paul writes to me says if you're going to just live in your flesh you're gonna have the law you're gonna and it'll kill you anyway. You'll never fulfill it never can never have. No never will nobody ever did it.

But if you are spiritually minded if you have a mind for not the law of man or your own flesh but a mind for the Spirit of God and that word mind it's a wonderful translator what the word essentially means there it it means there does it to direct one's mind to a thing to seek and to strive for one's great interest or advantage.

And the word essentially means to be obsessed. Paul looks there and he says you can you can live in the flesh and you will have to be governed all the day. You live in the flesh will be rules and regulations.

You'll never fulfill it. Your wife will be mad. You're possibly mad. The cops will be mad everywhere you go you'll blow the laws. If you're living under your own flesh you'll never fill the law. But if you are obsessed if your mind is given over to the things of the Spirit it's life and peace.

When there's something there to where it Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death. This is what the Sermon the mount is all about. And here Jesus before he can go on and talk about all the other relationships he says I got to know where you are.

What what are you obsessed with. Then the Sermon the mount and the Beatitudes a mind has become obsessed with God. You know no longer obsessed with ourself and who I am and what I'm all about I'm obsessed without about the Lord and about his love and about his life and about his power and about his goodness.

He also tells us there in verse 4 back up in Romans 8 he says for the righteousness of the law that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

If somebody is mind is obsessed with the Spirit they'll walk in the Spirit. The word you know walk you know essentially there means to order one's behavior that first when I just decide Lord you've set me free.

You've come into my life. You're the Lord of my life. Sit on the throne of my life take this place. I don't care about myself I want you. And then he sits there and then now Paul says be obsessed with him and then order your steps out of that obsession.

What he tells you what he wants what he is you know is leading you. And then he also gone goes on. We won't get into this so much. But in verse 13 he says. But if you walk after the flesh you'll die. But if through the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the body you live here he says through the Spirit.