Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Matthew 5
Righteousness That Exceeds

Righteousness That Exceeds

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Righteousness That Exceeds

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20

To put another nail into the coffin of self-righteousness, Christ declared, ‘For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.’  Consider please, the effect of this statement upon His hearers. The scribes and Pharisees, were the most religious and ostensibly ‘holy’ people in the land. No one, but no one, exceeded the ‘righteousness’ which they paraded before the world.  How would anyone of Christ’s hearers ever hope to do better than these supposed models of righteous behavior? Again, as we have said before, Christ is the Answer. Christ said that He did ‘not come to Destroy but to Fulfill.’ His Righteousness did, in truth, ‘exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.’ This is because it was a genuine righteousness, not merely fabricated for public display.  Hence, the only way for us, who could never obtain the impossibly high standard which Christ sets forth, can only ever find acceptance with the Holy God by being robed in the righteousness of Christ.  ‘And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.’ Here is how our righteousness can ‘exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.’  Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which God gave the Law. As a result, all who believe in Him, are made right with God. There is no way that our ‘righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,’ apart from the Imputed Righteousness of Christ to us.  Christ is the Answer.

Our most Holy and Righteous Savior,
we praise You, that You fulfill in every respect,
all the demands of God’s Holy Law,
and that we can appear before His Holy Throne,
robed in Your Righteousness.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Least And Great In The Kingdom

Least And Great In The Kingdom

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Least And Great In The Kingdom

Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:19

As Christ continues to build His case for Himself as the Redeemer, He continues to establish and maintain the validity of the Law of God. In our text for today He declares, ‘Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’  Here Christ places a value upon the teachers who either attempt to lessen the Law by reducing the force of it or who uphold it with all of its implications. This presents an impossibly high standard. Not one of the hearers of Christ, teachers or otherwise could hope to meet this expectation. He warns against doing injustice to the law and worse than that, to teach others to do the same. Think of how this would have affected His hearers. Where would this leave them? The idea of keeping the Law successfully was slipping farther and farther out of reach. Here was a Wonderful Person, Who was doing miraculous works; Who was speaking ‘as One having authority, and not as the scribes,’ and He was presenting to them a completely unobtainable standard of righteousness. What would be the conclusion of the whole matter?  Ultimately they would have to look to Christ for the answer. He would not only provide the answer, but He would Himself be the Answer. We cannot lessen the force of the Law, nor can we succeed in keeping the Law. Christ is the Answer.

Our most Holy and Wise Savior,
we rejoice that You are the Answer.
We praise You that You complete all the requirements
set forth by God’s Holy Law and that You complete us.

Tomm Tice
where the Bush is Burning
Till All Be Fulfilled

Till All Be Fulfilled

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Till All Be Fulfilled

For assuredly, 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.

Matthew 5:18

Christ is building a case for Himself as the Redeemer. As He does so, He establishes and maintains the validity of the Law of God in all that it requires of humanity. As He builds His case He speaks eloquently of the Law as permanent. He spoke, in the text we considered yesterday, about the fact that He had ‘not come to destroy’ the Law, ‘but to fulfill.’ Our text for today presents us with Christ’s statement that the Law would remain unchanged ‘till all be fulfilled.’ Christ is here, and in the next few verses, putting the hopes of His audience for success in keeping the Law farther and farther out of reach. He would continue to do so in a more definitive way later by saying that arrogance, unforgiveness, hatred, and lust, all internalized sins, were equal to murder, adultery and other outward sins. He is, in a de facto way, making it utterly impossible for His hearers to have any hope of succeeding. To what purpose does He do this? Paul answers this question in Galatians 3:24, ‘Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.’ The more we understand the rigid, unflinching, unswerving requirements of the Law, the more we will understand the need for Our Redeemer. The Law is permanent in all that it requires. Christ is superlative in all that He fulfills.

Our most Gracious and Holy Savior,
we rejoice to see the Law in Your Hands.
We praise You,
that You fulfill all that we could never fulfill ourselves.

Tomm Tice
where the Bush is Burning
Preparing for Worship

Preparing for Worship

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Worship Service 9:30 am

650 Kennedy Drive

Northglenn, CO

Scripture:  Matthew 5:17-20

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, 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. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Sermon:  Christ and the Law – Tomm Tice

  1.  Christ reveals His relation to the law.
  2. Christ declares His approval of the law.
  3. Christ asserts the righteousness required by the law.

Catechism:  Westminster Shorter Catechism Question #80

What is required in the tenth commandment?

The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his.

Psalm 34:1. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Philippians 4:11. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 1 Timothy 6:6. But godliness with contentment is great gain. Hebrews 13:5. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
2 Luke 15:6, 9, 11-32. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost…. And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost…. And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Romans 12:15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Philippians 2:4. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Worship

In Christ Alone

You are My All in All

In my life Lord, be Glorified
Not to Destroy But to Fulfill

Not to Destroy But to Fulfill

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Not to Destroy But to Fulfill

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:17

In the Sermon on the Mount Christ is setting forth the true interpretation of the Law of God to which the Jews were convinced they had been successfully adhering for centuries. As He did, much of what He said, because it was so thoroughly spiritual, sounded revolutionary to the ears of His hearers. Christ went out of His Way to articulate His Relationship with the Law of God. Our text today assists in that articulation. Christ says, ‘Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.’ What He declares here is that He stands solidly behind the whole of the Old Testament revelation. What would become manifestly clearer as His ministry unfolded, was that He was the Fulfiller of the Law in precept and in penalty. He would also demonstrate that He was the Fulfillment of all of the Old Testament Prophecies. Hence, after His resurrection, He would, in speaking to the two disciples on the road to Emmaeus begin ‘at Moses and all the Prophets’ and ‘expound in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.’ In all His preaching and ministry Christ never varied from this overarching purpose. His complete fulfillment of the Law in precept and in penalty guarantees acceptance with God for all His people. His fulfillment of the prophecies provides the evidence of His Identity, and the foundation for preaching Him from every portion of Scripture, ‘I have not come to destroy but to fulfill.’

Our most Holy, Wise and Perfect Christ,
we praise You that You have fulfilled, in every way,
the Law and the Prophets.
All our hopes are in You, to do what we could never do ourselves.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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