Today's Passage - Luke 16:14-17

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 16:14-17   The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.  He said to them, 'You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.  The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.  It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.'   In Matthew 5:17, the Lord says: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."  We often have the wrong impression that the Old Testament time was the era of law, and New Testament time is the era of grace, therefore we don't need to follow the law.  The actual difference between Old and New Testaments is not whether there is the law, but rather the fact that the law was pronounced during Old Testament time, but it was completed during New Testament time.   There are basically three types of law in the Old Testament: ceremonial law, moral law, and civil law.  Ceremonial law is the sign of the work of Jesus Christ, and in the New Testament time the law was fulfilled in Jesus.  Today, we don't need to bring offerings of cows and sheep to sacrifice to God, like back in the Old Testament time, because Jesus has sacrificed Himself once and for all and it will always be effective.  When we receive the salvation of Jesus, we are already abiding by the ceremonial law.  In the same way, we don't need to follow the rules of the Sabbath because the truth Sabbath, or rest, is in Jesus Christ.  Only when we reside in the Lord and the Lord resides within us are we truly observing the Sabbath.  Sunday is not the Sabbath day, but it is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  Moral law is to manifest the holiness of God, and civil law is to manifest the righteousness of God.  All these rules are meant for God to manifest His good characters in His people.   Whether it's in Old or New Testament, God's intention has always been the same.  Jesus said that "I am not here to abolish the law, but to complete the law."  When Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in the books of the gospel, it doesn't mean that we don't need to follow the law, but it taught us not to follow the law the way the Pharisees did.  The way of the Pharisees was to do their best superficially.  They proclaimed to be righteous if they didn't kill, commit adultery or steal.  Such behavior, however, is the righteousness of people and the best that people can do by their own strength; it is not God's righteousness and it doesn't meet the standard of God's law.  God not only values our outward behavior, but He values the purity of our heart even more; god not only demands good behavior on the outside, but He also wants us to renew our attitude.  May the Spirit of the Lord help us, make us value God's law in our life, for it is only possible for us to accomplish God's law in us with the Spirit that lives within us.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because nothing in the law you granted us can be voided.  These laws will be completed in us, but it won't be done by our own strength.  May the Spirit of the Lord help us to see that you are the one who completes the law.  Through the Spirit that lives with us, we want to live the reality of the law, so let us open our hearts to welcome your work.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!