Christ - The New and Better Obedience

Okay, this morning we're going to pray together as a church, and every Sunday during our pastoral

prayer, we love to pray for another church, often in Hong Kong.

This morning we're going to pray for this church, it's called New City Church in Delhi,

and it's just been planted by a man called Ranjit and his wife Deepa, and we're going

to pray for them.

I think they've been going for about a year or so, but they've just moved to a new venue,

and the day before they moved, Ranjit got kidney stones, got admitted to hospital, so the

day before their launch of their new campus, and so I was emailing him this week, and he

said, hey, just pray for his health, pray for his family, and pray for this church.

The area where they've just moved to, there's never been a worshiping community in that area

for a thousand years.

It's a very old historic area of Delhi, and so we're going to pray for New City Church.

There's a couple of photos, but won't you join me as we pray this morning?

Heavenly Father, gracious God, wonderful Savior, we've come to worship and adore you this morning.

We've come to lift up your name, to declare that you are God and that we are not, to remind

ourselves, remind one another that there is no one else in all creation as awesome and

as glorious as you.

God, help us to know that and to rest secure in that and to glory in that truth.

Father, this morning, won't you come and wash us in who you are, that you are sovereign,

you are majestic, you are gracious, you are faithful.

You, God, are trustworthy.

And remind us who we are in you, God.

We are loved, chosen, secure, your children.

God, we pray for ourselves.

Don't let us be fooled into putting our hope and trust in the things around us, nor let us

be seduced by the bright lights of this world.

Lord, God, help us, strengthen us, remind us, draw us back to the truth of who you are

and who we are in you.

God, may it be in our hearts as it is in heaven, we pray.

Father, this morning, we want to pray for our congregation and for ourselves as we go into

our work week.

We ask for your favor and your blessing to rest upon us as we work this week.

We pray, Lord, that you will keep us humble, gentle, and gracious with those around us.

May our conduct, our gentleness, our humility speak loudly of our security in you.

God, in a world in which we so often feel the pressure to hustle, to outdo one another,

may our security be in your love for us, God.

May that cause us to act and behave differently.

We pray, God, that your gospel will speak in our work lives, in the conference room, in

the lunch table.

Remind us, God, you are as interested in the staff meeting as you are in the prayer meeting.

Help us to take both of them seriously.

God, we pray for those who are facing difficult work situations.

God, difficult bosses, difficult colleagues, difficult challenges.

Help us, God, not to be defensive, insisting on our own way, but to be humble and gracious,

we pray.

And, Lord, we do pray for those in our church that are looking for work.

We pray, God, that you'll provide not just a job with a salary, but an opportunity to

grow, to be stretched, to contribute to the city, and to serve others in our city, we pray,

Lord.

Father, this morning we want to pray for New City, Delhi, and Ranjit, and Deepa, and their

family.

We pray that that church will be a faithful gospel witness in the area in which they meet.

For many that are lost and don't know you, to find the true God through this church.

Use them to welcome all and to share the gospel.

We pray, God, for men and women to be converted, born again, saved, have the life of God breathed

into them.

We pray, Lord.

We pray that you, Lord, will raise up leaders from within this community to lead various initiatives

and plant new churches in Delhi.

And we pray, God, for Ranjit and his health, Lord.

Pray for speedy recovery for his family, his children, the church in this season.

We lift them up before you and ask for your favor and your anointing to rest on them,

God.

And then finally, Father, we pray for Justin this morning and the preaching of your word.

We pray, God, that you will use him to speak your word to us, encourage him.

God, I pray that your word will edify us, build us up, strengthen our faith, help us

to live out your word this week because of Justin's preaching this morning.

We pray these things in your glorious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's listen to God's word being read to us and then Justin's going to come and share

the scriptures.

The scripture reading comes from Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletins or on the screen.

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.

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from

the law until all is accomplished.

Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to

do the same will be called 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, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you

will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders

will be liable to judgment.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.

Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council.

And whoever says, you fool, will be liable to the hell of fire.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something

against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.

First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you're going with him to court, lest your accuser

hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

This is the word of God.

Can you hear me?

Those at the back can hear me too?

Okay.

So good morning, Watermark.

My name is Justin Ma, and I started coming to Watermark about five and a half years ago

with my three sisters, Edie, Phoebe, and Iris.

It's a privilege to bring God's word to you this morning.

We have been going through the book of Matthew to learn about an upside-down kingdom.

Chris talked about Jesus calling two fishermen brothers to follow him, and he promised to

make them fishers of men.

We learn that Christ is, in fact, inviting not just the two fishermen brothers to follow

him, but all of us.

And then we look at the Beatitudes.

We learn from Kevin that Jesus is not presenting a bundle of optional blessings for us to choose

from, but he is presenting a vision of this new way of living in the kingdom of God.

And today, we come to Matthew 5, where Jesus talks about the law of God in the Old Testament.

That is the law in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, Leviticus, etc.

Basically, Jesus is talking about the books in the Bible that we often skip.

How do you personally view the law in the Old Testament?

Perhaps you think it has been abolished, so it is no longer relevant to us.

Or perhaps you think that we should still obey the Old Testament law, because faith without

work is quite dead.

Maybe you have heard that Jesus has replaced the Old Testament law with a new set of law.

But you're not quite sure what this new set of law is all about.

So you start asking questions like whether you should state a non-Christian, whether you

should accept a job that demands working on Sundays.

But I guess none of you is like King David, who says in the Psalms that he delies in the

law, and he meditates on the law day and night.

Now, isn't it weird for King David to do that?

But as I was preparing for today's sermon, it starts to make sense for me.

I think today's passage actually gives us a refreshing perspective on how we should approach the law of God.

And it's actually quite key to our Christian faith.

And if you're not a believer, welcome to be with us.

And I believe this passage would also fundamentally change your understanding about the law of God.

And also the Christian faith itself.

In today's passage, I think Jesus talks about three things.

That the law prophesies about Jesus.

That God demands from us the righteousness of Jesus.

And lastly, I'm going to talk about what it means to live in this loving worship of him.

I'm coming to my first point about the law prophesying about Jesus.

If you look at a bulletin in verse 17, Jesus says,

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.

Jesus is saying that both the law and the prophecies in the Bible prophesy about his coming,

his death on the cross, and his resurrection.

So his coming does not abolish the law and the prophecies.

His coming actually fulfills both of them.

See, if Jesus was merely talking about his obedience with the law,

he would have used the word obey.

But he deliberately chose the word fulfill.

The same word he uses when he goes to a synagogue on the Sabbath day in his hometown Nazareth.

And he read from the scroll of prophet Isaiah and told the synagogue that Isaiah's prophecies have been fulfilled.

Jesus is saying that the law is like the prophecies in prophesying about a Savior that is coming

and his death and resurrection.

Now, what does this mean for Jesus' audience?

His audience were Jewish men and women who thought that they have to obey the Old Testament law strictly

so that they could earn a ticket to heaven.

At that time, there was also a group of influential people called the scribes and the Pharisees.

And they spent much time studying and interpreting the Old Testament law.

And they have come up with quite a complicated system of law.

In this system, you not only find the Old Testament law,

but you also find many laws that are added to the Bible.

The audience that Jesus was addressing must have felt quite tired,

exhausted, and even burned out by trying to obey the law.

But we see in Matthew 5, Jesus telling them that the law is actually here to remind you

that you're not your own Savior.

The law is to remind you that there is a Savior that is coming,

a Savior who will save us by his death and his resurrection.

But is this message still relevant to us today?

I think it is.

Because all the religions in the world, in one way or another,

talks about a system of law that we ought to obey

so that we could achieve something spiritual.

But it's only in Christianity that we find the law prophesying about a Savior,

his death and his resurrection.

And don't we all have colleagues and friends who ask us whether Christians ought to do something

or not do something?

Perhaps next time we could tell them about this law of God,

but we also can tell them,

hey, you know what?

I didn't obey this law so that I could please God.

This law of God actually is a prophecy.

It talks about a Savior that is coming, a Savior who died for me, a Savior who resurrected,

so that I can come near God, so that you can come near God.

But can we really see Christ, his death and his resurrection in all the law in the Bible?

I believe we cannot unless God opens our mind.

Because in Luke 24, after Jesus' death and resurrection,

he says to his disciples,

These are my words that I spoke to you while I was with you,

that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

It's very similar to what he was telling the crowd in Matthew 5,

that he came to fulfill the law and the prophecies.

But then he says something very critical.

He said,

Then he opened the disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures,

and said to them,

Thus it is written,

that the Christ should suffer,

and on the third day rise from the dead.

Jesus had to open the mind of the disciples,

so that they could see in the law clearly,

that they could see Christ and his death and resurrection.

So I would encourage you,

after the sermon today,

to read one of the books in the Old Testament,

that talks about the law.

And when you read,

be praying,

that Christ please open my mind,

like you opened the minds of the disciples,

so that I could see in the law yourself,

your death and your resurrection.

Now, I have to confess,

that I don't have an answer,

for how in each and every law in the Bible,

you could see Christ.

But I would like to take you,

to just two places in the Bible,

where I could see Christ clearly personally.

And the first one,

is a Passover lamb,

in Exodus 12.

When Israel was still slaves in Egypt,

God sent Moses,

to bring them out of slavery.

So Moses asked the king of Egypt,

to let his people go.

But the king of Egypt refused to do so.

And God performed many miracles,

against Egypt.

Then God said,

there is a final miracle I will perform,

and after that,

Egypt will let Israel go.

God said,

he will go into Egypt,

and kill every firstborn in the land.

Now that is a problem for Israel,

because the Israelites,

were actually living in the same land of Egypt.

So God commanded Israel to do this,

that each household of Israel,

is to kill a lamb,

without any defect,

and take the blood of the lamb,

on the doorpost of the household.

So when God comes into the land of Egypt,

and he sees the blood of the lamb,

on the doorpost,

he will pass over the household,

for his judgment.

So the blood of this Passover lamb,

saves Israel,

from God's judgment.

And God commanded Israel,

to kill this Passover lamb,

year after year.

This Passover lamb actually,

prophesies about Jesus himself,

whose death on the cross,

and whose blood will save us,

from God's judgment.

Remember the first song we sang today?

We sang this morning,

that our God is a lamb,

the lamb that was slain,

that was killed,

for the sin of the world.

So this is an example,

to show that in the ceremonial law of the Bible,

we would see Christ.

How about the moral law?

I would like to take us to Deuteronomy 21,

where it talks about a rebellious son,

and then a man hang on a tree.

It says this,

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son,

who will not obey the voice of his father,

or the voice of his mother,

and although they discipline him,

will not listen to them,

then his father and his mother

shall take hold of him,

and bring him out to the elders

of the city of the gate,

at the gate of the place where he lives.

And they shall say to the elders,

This, our son, is stubborn and rebellious.

He will not obey our voice.

He is a glutton and a drunkard.

Then all the men of the city

shall stone him to death with stones.

And then he says,

If a man has committed a crime punishable by death,

and he is then put to death,

and you hang him on a tree,

his body shall not remain all night on the tree,

but you shall bury him on the same day.

For a hanged man is cursed by God.

Now wait a minute.

How can we see Christ?

In the passage, it talks not only about

stoning a rebellious son,

but also about hanging this son on the tree.

But if we really think about our heart,

are we not all this rebellious son

this passage talks about?

Are we not stubborn in our sins

and refuse again and again

to obey God's voice?

God has plenty of testimonies

to pronounce a judgment of death against us.

Yet Christ is the perfect son

who became the cursed man on the cross for us.

And I wrote something

which I believe represents the reality

that Deuteronomy 21 actually points to us.

It talks about this perfect son.

God has a perfect and righteous son

who obeys his voice.

Although God did not discipline him,

he obeys his voice.

God gave this testimony about his son to Israel.

This is my beloved son,

with whom I am well pleased.

The son gave himself up willingly

to the authority in Israel.

And though no testimony was given

to establish any wrong done by him,

Jesus was crucified on the cross,

becoming the cursed one

where the God's curse against us

can be taken away.

Isn't the law marvelous and wonderful?

Does it now make sense to you

why King David could delight

and meditate on the law

day and night?

I now come to my second point

about righteousness.

In verse 20,

Jesus says,

unless your righteousness

exceeds that of the scribes

and the Pharisees,

you will never enter the kingdom of God.

As I said earlier,

the scribes and the Pharisees

came up with a complicated system of law

that adds much to the Old Testament law.

And they taught the Israelites

that in order to be righteous,

that is,

in order to live

in the right relationship with God,

they ought to obey

this complicated system of law.

So the people at Jesus' time

thought that the Pharisees

and the scribes

were the most righteous people

in the land.

No one can possibly

be more righteous than them.

But then Jesus shockingly

demands from us

a righteousness

exceeding that of the scribes

and the Pharisees.

How can we attain this righteousness?

Well, if you think righteousness

means strict obedience with the law,

then you definitely cannot have

a righteousness

exceeding that of the scribes,

and the Pharisees.

But I think what Jesus

is really saying here

is that our understanding

of righteousness

has been totally wrong.

In order to live

in the right relationship

with God,

strict obedience with the law

is not enough.

In fact,

no human efforts

will be enough.

it is a humanly impossible

and it is righteousness

of God.

In Romans 10,

it says,

since they,

referring to the Israelites,

did not know the righteousness

of God

and sought to establish

their own righteousness,

they did not submit

to God's righteousness.

righteousness,

but Christ

is the culmination

of the law

so that there may be righteousness

for everyone who believes.

We can only be righteous

by having Christ's righteousness.

righteousness.

What that means is

we can only live

in the right relationship

with God

by having Jesus'

relationship with God.

What is Jesus'

relationship with God?

He is the perfect

Son of God.

He experienced temptations

to sin,

but He never sinned.

He even willingly

went to the cross

for us

as this is

the Father's will

for Him.

God the Father said,

this is my beloved Son

with whom I am well pleased.

Christ, in fact,

is the only one

who ever lived

in the right relationship

with God.

And Romans says

that His righteousness

is available to everyone

who believes in Him.

Available to you and me

if we believe in Christ.

Now, what does this mean

for us practically?

I think oftentimes

we as Christians

ask questions like

the question I posed

at the beginning

of a sermon.

Should I date

a non-Christian?

Should I take this job

that demands work

on Sundays?

And I think oftentimes

we ask these questions

with the same motivation

as the Pharisees

and the scribes.

That is,

what shall I do

in order to become righteous?

what shall I do

in order to come

into this right relationship

with God?

And I think that really

is the language

of the law.

But Christ says

we cannot be righteous

without efforts.

And we need

His righteousness

that is available to us

if we believe in Him.

So after we put our faith

in Christ,

we know that we are already

in this right relationship

with God

and that should change

the language of the law

into the language of love.

So instead of asking

what shall I do

to become righteous?

That is the language

of the law.

I think we are now

able to ask

in light of Christ's love

for me,

His sacrifice

on the cross for me,

His righteousness

given to me.

How shall I live

to love Him,

to honor Him,

to praise Him,

to worship Him,

to testify about Him?

I think that is

a language of love.

And that brings me

to my last point

about living

in loving worship

of Jesus.

Jesus in Matthew 5

gave a number

of examples

about what it means

to live in loving worship

of Him.

And today I will just

focus on the first

example He gave

about anger.

In verse 21,

Jesus refers

to the sixth commandment

that you shall not murder.

Have you wondered

why Jesus then suddenly

talks about

the issue of anger?

Well, in Genesis 4,

we see the first murder

in the history

in the history of mankind.

That is Cain's murder

of his brother Abel.

Cain murdered

his brother Abel

because the Bible

tells us

he was very angry.

Christ says

that the sixth commandment

against murder

actually points us

towards the issue

of anger.

And that is no longer

an issue

on the outside

that the Pharisees

and the scribes

care about,

but an issue

on the inside,

an issue

of the heart.

Jesus is not

talking about anger

with what a person

does,

but He's talking

about the anger

with the person

himself or herself.

To cry out

against a person

you fool

demonstrates

this profound

sense of hatred

and even total

disregard

for the welfare

of this person.

is kind of,

is like

looking down

the person

as if that person

is no longer

made in the image

of God

and no longer

fit

for salvation

in Christ.

Have you had

an outburst

of anger

against someone

recently?

Perhaps someone

who has wronged you

and you lash

on that person.

or perhaps

you're a less

confrontational

person,

so you're on

good terms

with everybody,

but deep down

in your heart

you're quite angry

and bitter

against a lot

of people.

when you come

to pray

before God

do you think

of those

person?

Have you

realized

that Christ

hates that

person's sin

against you

and also

your sin

but Christ

loves you

and the person

so much

that he came

he went to the cross

for both of you.

Now if you

realize this

Christ says

leave your gift

at the altar

and go to seek

reconciliation

and we will know

that living

in a Chinese society

to apologize

to someone

that you are

rightly angry

with what that

person did to you

but you are

quite wrong

to treat that person

less than a person

made in the image

of God

as a person

not fit for salvation

in Christ

isn't that

the strangest

thing ever?

And don't we

lose faith

doing that?

But for people

at Jesus' time

to leave the altar

while the act

of sacrifice

is still unfinished

is also

deeply improper.

Christ knows

there is a cost

to such reconciliation

in each

and every

culture

but he

asks us

this question

in light

of his love

for you

his sacrifice

for you

on the cross

his righteousness

given to you

would you

give up

your face

to love him

to honor him

to praise him

to worship him

to testify

about him

you may be

sitting here

and think

this is just

too much

for you

do you

feel powerless

Christ knows

we're too weak

on our own

so he actually

not just give us

his own righteousness

he also gives us

his spirit

to empower us

last week

Kevin

talked about

this famous

passage

in Ezekiel 37

where God

shows us

we are all

dry bones

with no sign

of life

but God

promises

that one day

he will put

his spirit

within us

so that we

are empowered

to live

to worship him

we're empowered

to give out

our face

and seek

reconciliation

with those

we have sinned

against

shall we now

pray for the

spirit

to empower

us

Father God

please

open our

eyes

so that we

could see

Christ in the

law

so that we

could be like

King David

to delight

in the law

and to meditate

on it day

and night

how beautiful

and marvelous

is the law

Father God

we thank you

for Christ's

righteousness

we cannot

fully understand

why we could

be counted

righteous

through someone's

righteousness

through Christ's

righteousness

it's such a

profound mystery

and I pray

that you help

us understand it

and more importantly

help us believe

in Christ's

righteousness

and please

help us God

to abandon

the language

of the law

we no longer

want to ask

what we could

do to

please you

to become

righteous

we are

righteous

in Christ

already

and now

we are

enabled to

speak a

language of

love

to do

everything

we could

think of

to love

you

to worship

you

to honor

you

to praise

you

to testify

about you

but one

issue we all

face

is the issue

of anger

Father God

we confess

we cannot

control

our anger

we are

angry

towards

people

as if

they are

not people

made in

the image

as if

they can

no longer

be saved

Holy Spirit

we are

powerless

and we are

too weak

to do

anything

about our

anger

issue

we hold

on to

our face

because we

dare not

lose it

in the

Chinese

society

Holy Spirit

would you

help us

see the

wonders

the glory

and the

beauty

of Jesus

and help

us

willingly

give up

our face

to reconcile

to people

help us

Spirit

please help us

we pray

this in your

son's holy

and precious

name