A verse-by-verse study of Acts 11:25-30 and 12:24—13:31.
We will look at several significant events that took place in the years AD46-49.
During this time the first Gentile church was established and Paul set out on his first missionary journey, a trip that had great success, but was filled with near-death experiences for the missionaries.
A verse-by-verse study of James 5:12-20.
We conclude our study of the Letter with a study of 5:12-20, where James teaches us about integrity, prayer, and how to heal relationships.
Do not suppose that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or slightest stroke of the pen will pass away from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore, whoever sets aside one of the smallest of these commandments and teaches others to disregard them will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness goes far beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17–20
God gave his ancient people the “Law and the Prophets” (another name for the Old Testament) to help them identify the Messiah and prepare for his coming. In the fullness of time, the Messiah came to accomplish what the Scriptures predicted. This did not abolish the authority of the Scriptures, but the role of the first testament changed when the One it pointed to arrived. Since Jesus’s coming, every Old Testament commandment must be filtered through what we might call a “fulfillment-in-Christ” grid. We do that by identifying the eternal principle behind the commandment and applying it to our circumstances.
Do not suppose that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Matthew 5:17
Our world is driven by the desire to discover the truth about everything. We want to know what’s going on in the furtherest reaches of space, and we want to understand the smallest particles of the universe. And after all our research, are there things we can say are true? Yes. We call many of these truths “laws.” We have the law of gravity, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and many others.
