Matthew 5:17-19

¹⁷ “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. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

This is a clear but puzzling statement by Jesus.  The law of God will stand and is to be upheld by the people of God.  Nonetheless, the question arises of how can any of us stand?  Won’t we be constantly made aware of our sin, because through the law is the knowledge of sin?

Those questions take us in the right direction of understanding Jesus.  We fail but our hope lies in him obeying for us and then suffering the punishment on the cross that we deserve for not keeping God’s commandments.  Our salvation is by the gift of God through faith alone.  Why then should we want to uphold God’s law?

Two reasons immediately present themselves.  First, the higher our view of the law of God, the higher will be our appreciation of Jesus dealing with its demands for us.  Secondly, as we consider how we can thank the Lord for saving us, the law presents us with the pattern of life that is pleasing to God, even though we will be constantly failing in our obedience.

Expressing this another way, we can see that God’s law reflects his goodness.  If we detract from the law, we attack God’s glory.