Christmas Advent Bible Reading Plan: Jesus Is BornSample

To Fulfil the Law

There are two types of people in the world. Those who live by the rules, and those who like to push the boundaries a little bit. I’m a stickler for the rules - a slight Type A personality. However, sometimes in trying to abide by one rule, I can create a million smaller rules to try to do my best.

“If men will not be governed by the Ten Commandments, they shall be governed by the ten thousand commandments” - GK Chesterton.

The simplicity of the ten commandments guides our hearts. When we ignore God’s statutes, we amass endless and inane rules, missing the point of the law entirely.

The Old Testament law doesn’t stand in contrast to the God of the New Testament. Jesus was clear: “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). In His Sermon on the Mount, He raises the bar of the Ten Commandments, showing the reason He was born for us that Christmas night.

Jesus breaks the lie that the law is only a thing of the past and that we can ignore it today. He reminds us that the law is good and should be observed and kept. He sets the bar so high that no one can attain it, and that would be quite unsettling had Christmas night never happened.

We can think of the law as rules and regulations, an external standard to keep ourselves in line, but God did not give the law to create people who are righteous just for show, but rather to teach us what a transformed heart looks like. If we love Him, we will keep His commands (John 14:15). Scripture calls us, heart and soul, to love what God loves and to meditate on His law day and night (Psalm 1:2).

Jesus came to fulfil the law. We cannot keep the law, but He can, He does, and He did. Jesus is the one whose righteousness far surpassed that of the Pharisees. He is the one who keeps every letter and stroke of the law on our behalf. Rather than pursuing obedience and instruction only outwardly, our hearts are transformed so that we now love to keep His commandments.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you that you fulfil the law like we never could. Transform my heart today to love what You love and walk how You walked. Teach me how to behold You more and more in my everyday life rather than just pursuing obedience. May I pursue you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.