Reading your Bible for today 17

August 17: Matthew 5:17-20

KJV Key Verse: Matthew 5:17
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Devotion:
The rest of this chapter in Matthew shows us a new way of looking at the bible; not as in we must forget what the bible said to the Jews but our interpretation of the bible must be looked at. God did many things over time because of the state of the people at the time; He even destroyed most of mankind once because of the reprobate state of the world. We have to look at what has happened, why it happened and then think about the modern consequences of our actions nowadays.

We will not face a global flood which will kill off almost every living thing because God has said it will not happen. We will not face the same things as the people of Israel faced in the desert, because God gave them a new home. We will not face having to sacrifice animals to try and appease God for our sinful actions, because Jesus Christ gave His own life as the ultimate and perfect sacrifice to cover all sins. Jesus knew this all to be true and He wanted people to understand how things were changing.

Does this mean the bible or scriptures have changed? No. It means we have changed and how we look at things has changed. If we corrupt things by making our own rules (as people have done time and time again) then we are in danger of facing God’s judgement right now. We must not change the bible, but our view of the bible. We continue to try and impose our own ways of thinking instead of listening to God’s ways and following what Christ came to teach us.

I hear many people rant about things such as different races not being able to marry, about different sexes and all manner of things going on which they think are all sinful. To be honest, we are all sinners and need to look at our own faults before we try and judge others; but we also need to know these things have been going on for thousands of years – but mankind went through a stage of trying to stamp them out on the grounds of religion. What Jesus teaches us and what they think seem to be growing apart. Let us get back to what Jesus teaches and to love and serve Him and our neighbours first of all.

Points to Ponder:
Do you have views of what is right and wrong?

Are you trying to follow and obey Jesus as your primary goal?