Information Related to "Did Jesus Christ Abolish the Law?"
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Many believe that Jesus Christ came to do away with the law. But what did He say?
by David Treybig
esus Christ's sayings about God's law are important for Christians to thoroughly understand. In John 14:15 Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." This exhortation seems straightforward enough, but confusion abounds over this verse. What does Jesus mean when He says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments"?;
The confusion with this scripture comes not because Jesus said to observe something. The confusion has to do with which commandments He is talking about here. What are the commandments Jesus is referring to?
Some think Jesus abolished one set of commandments, the law we read about in the Old Testament, and instituted new commandments for His disciples and followers. According to this popular theory, when Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) says He came to "fulfill," or complete, the law and prophets, He thereby does away with them. His statements in Matthew 5 beginning with the words "You have heard that it was said . . ." and "But I say to you" are cited as confirmation of this interpretation.
The Sermon on the Mount is considered to be the manifesto - or the seminal public declaration - of the way of life Jesus espoused. His comments in this message on the law and the standard of conduct He expected from His followers laid the foundation for understanding His instruction to keep God's commandments.
The prophecies of Jesus' ministry, the account of His life and the examples of the apostles and other Christians who lived when Jesus spoke these words help clarify our view of Jesus' teaching. Excluding these perspectives can lead to proof-texting - that is, reading one's own biased interpretation into the Scriptures - instead of letting the Bible interpret itself.
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