Rooted
Deep Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro: When we commit our lives to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, he makes 3 exclusive claims on us
He makes a claim on our identity (Rom 1:6— “called to belong to Jesus Christ)
He makes a claim on what we do—our living, walk, behaving
He makes a claim on how we think
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
The text for today hits on all all three of these.
As a reminder the theme of this is “Deep Discipleship”
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
We are entering into the thick of the SOM starting next week;
This text is in a sense thesis statement for what’s ahead
It prepares us for being truly rooted disciples
1. Rooted means we know how Jesus relates to the law (17-18)
1. Rooted means we know how Jesus relates to the law (17-18)
Now in thinking back to when I was a new believer, I had no clue how Jesus related to the OT—I was naive and thought the NT was about Jesus, the OT about Israel history.
Jesus begins by challenging disciples to check their thinking (v17)
So many missteps, errors, even false gospel comes from a wrong view of the law—throughout church history and in the early church
Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Usually when we think of Law, we may think mainly of 10 Commandments; but it’s much broader; law encompasses all the Old Covenant (Mosaic Law). As Jesus refers to “Law and Prophets” he is talking the whole OT
As so many were and are drawn to Jesus’s teaching, the lingering question:
"What is your view of the Law? Are you into that OT things, or bringing an entirely new teaching, a new law? Are you completely new teacher, with a radically new teaching?”
**It’s also critical b/c Jesus will say often in the sermon: “You’ve heard….but I tell you”
So our Lord clarifies (v17): “I have not come to abolish the law, but fulfill.
He makes is very plain that all his teaching is in complete harmony with God’s revealed will in the OT. Jesus teaching does not contradict the OT; it does not replace outdated
Two key words in v17:
1. Abolish
That word “abolish” is a word often used to describe the demolition of buildings (e.g Mt 24:2);
Jesus did not come to demolish the OT—or specifically Mosaic Law;
His message was not of destruction or deconstruction
2. Fulfill
It essentially mean to carry out something. Think of a promise fulfilled.
How?
—First, we begin with
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
Every promise of God in the OT finds fulfillment in Christ.
(Gen 3:15, or Mt 2:15) —this is also true with foreshadowing and “types”
ML-J “We cannot go into this fully, I’ll let you work out the details for yourself”
—We also think of Jesus fulfilling specific OT prophecies (IS 53; Ps 22)
—Gal 4:4 tells us that Jesus was born under the law; he submitted to God’s law entirely, offered up full and perfect obedience to it.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Yet, this is the thesis statement about Jesus’s teaching.
I think a key verse has to be the promise in Dt 18
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
Jesus becomes the sole authoritative voice—the voice we listen to and trust
Let me illustrate it this way. I’ve heard a lot of people say recently—who do you trust? There is so much misinformation out there? So many self-appointed experts. Endless voices to listen to?
Back in Jesus day, things were not too much different. Many teachers, schools of opinion and interpretations—many debates.
The question then, and just as relevant today: who will you trust? It’s a vital one because The one you trust is the One whose authority you will sit under. And the whose authority you follow is the one you worship.
Do you see how massive a claim this is that Jesus makes? It calls for faith and worship.
Apply: And listening to Jesus was vastly different than all the other voices:
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
The next verse gives us the reason the law is not abolished—due to it’s own permanence
Things made today are so cheap basically, there is a short shelf life. We bought a LED light for our living room, and the instructions said you cannot replace the bulbs, supposedly they last 20 years, so you just throw the thing out and get a new one.
Q—How many of you still have you very first cell phone?
The point being—we are used to things hold permanance, do not last.
Apply:
**V18 makes a bold claim about the Law—it abides, endures. It does not evolve, or change.
--God’s law does not get more progressive or adapt itself to the culture
--It’s not fluid or flexible. The Law has a permanence —until heaven and earth pass away (=the end of this age)
Note that it’s down to the smallest details
CSB: not the smallest letter, or one stroke of a letter
Jesus was referring to the Hebrew letter yod, which looks like an apostrophe—and the smallest stroke of a pen—small flare that disguises a certain letter
In other words, Jesus holds to the highest view of biblical authority. He believed in the absolute authority of the Bible!
Why do I believe in the doctrine of inerrancy? Jesus
Jesus held the highest view of the OT, and strongest confidence in Scripture as the Word of God
Apply: So being rooted in Christ
It’s also means holding to the authority of the OT—especially the moral and ethical force of God’s Commands .
**The fulfillment of JC does put an end to the sacrificial system, the food laws, the priesthood and temple
But the high ethical and moral standards of God’s Law do not change
I wonder if having the first part of God’s Word with the title “OLD” hurts us some in our thinking. Old things often get put on the shelf, or in the closet.
We sometimes forget they are there—they have not real use.
You pull out an old shirt or dress you’ve not worn in years—it becomes forgotten
Hear the warning from ML-J
“The moment you begin to question the authority of the OT, you are of necessity question the authority of the Son of God himself, and you find yourself in endless trouble and difficulty.”
Apply: Let’s be ever so careful we do not disconnect, downplay or drive a wedge between Jesus and God’s Law
2. Rooted means we practice true righteousness (19-20)
2. Rooted means we practice true righteousness (19-20)
Sadly, its not just disconnecting the OT and NT---
There can be a disconnect between the head and the heart—so Jesus reminds us of the who purpose of diligent study: personal application
“Therefore”—result, consequence
Apply: Brother and sisters—I thank God for churches that still hod to a high view of Scripture. But there are consequences to what we believe..
The consequence of having a high view of the Law should be personal application
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
This comes in the form of warning: whoever relaxes. It’s the standard word in Greek to loosen; to unbind something.
Apply: I see there is a real temptation, especially in the early stages or immature discipleship to drink so deeply of God’s grace, and downplay the radical call to righteous
Then there is a temptation once we are in for a while to become lenient on ourselves, or just complacent—we know God forgives
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”
The Puritan William Gurnall said we are to study 3 things. The Scripture, our own heart, and Satans schemes.
**The consequence of holding a high view and studying the scripture is to the study our own heart
I had a man once who come to me over and over and lament how bad his marriage was—then go on to tell me all the things that were wrong with this wife. He made general comments about him being a sinner. So I would challenge him with this: “You seem to be an expert at studying your wife’s heart, why not try your own heart.”
Apply: Friends, let’s not forget to study our hearts. It’s the way we get rooted.
The final verse sets us up well for the rest of the Sermon on Mount—with one specific word: Righteousness
The SOM is essentially a sermon on righteousness
If you don’t have an appetite for righteousness, it makes sense you will get bored with this—the Lord have mercy!
(V20)
We know two things about the “righteousness” of scribes and Pharisees
1) It did not lean on Christ—like much of Judaism, it was of their own
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
Paul testifies that this is how he lived once, but was transformed by true righteousness found only in the gospel
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
Our right standing before God will never be a matter of personal achievement—it will always be a gift (Rom 5:17)
2) Their righteousness was superficial; it was for show, it was veneer. It was strict, very scrupulous, focused on outward conformity—but in was not inside
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
The Gospel, the Kingdom of God is about true inner righteousness—a fruit of the Spirt’s work in our heart (Ezek 36)
Conclusion:
Pastor Walter Chantry said that the Sermon the Mount is an evangelistic sermon designed to awaken the conscience. That is good to know as we start to get into the heart of it.
—It awakens us to the reality that God’s laws, his standards, and his judgments never change
We will all stand before God, as Romans says according the gospel “God will judge the secret of men’s hearts by Christ Jesus” (Rom 2:16 )
**None of us will bring our own measuring stick on that day—we will be judged by the enduring Law of God that Jesus taught, upheld, and fulfilled.
And on that day, it will be critical will matter:
Having Christ’s righteousness.
Having a rooted life.