The "JOT" Jesus stated would not be removed from the law is the smallest letter found in the Greek or Hebrew alphabet. The "TITTLE" is a small point or stroke added to some Hebrew letters to help distinguish them from ones that look similiar. From Jesus' statement we can only conclude that since heaven and earth are still here, God's law have not been "done away with" but are still in effect! In the book of Revelation the apostle John writes: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD and the faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:12). The theme of obedience to God is repeated frequently throughout the New Testament, especially in the writings of John (who was known as the apostle of love). Notice how direct and blunt John writes about sin and obeying God's law: "He who says, 'I know Him (Jesus),' and does NOT keep His commandments, is a LIAR, and the truth is not in him." (1John 2:4) "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. For this is the love of God, that we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. And His commandments are NOT burdensome." (1John 5:2-3) "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and SIN IS LAWLESSNESS." (1John 3:4) "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1John 3:22) "And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. THIS IS LOVE, THAT WE WALK ACCORDING TO HIS COMMANDMENTS. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it." (2John 5-6).
The apostle Paul is often called up to support those who detest God's Law. Yet this same Paul wrote in the Book of Romans: "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment HOLY and JUST and GOOD." (Romans 7:12).
Good works, meaning doing what is right in the sight of God, are an essential part of the way to eternal life: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. " (Ephesians 2:10). Paul lets us know that those who do not obey God will not be in his kingdom: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (1Corinthians 6:9-10) Each of the Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai, are repeated either exactly or with words conveying the same thing in the New Testament. God had his commandments reinterated in the New Testament to show their continued importance to those serving and worshipping him.
The Ten Commandments
in the Old and New Testaments | | | Old Testament
(Exodus 20) | | New Testament | | | | You shall have no other gods before Me. | | "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him ONLY you shall serve." (Matthew 4:10). " . . . we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is ONE GOD, THE FATHER . . ." (1Corinthians 8:4-6) | | | | You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them . . . | | "Little children, keep yourselves from IDOLS." (1John 5:21). "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising." (Acts 17:29). "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, IDOLATERS, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8) | | | | | | You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. | | "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME . . ." (Matthew 6:9) " . . . that the NAME OF GOD and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. " (1Timothy 6:1). | | | | | | Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God . . . | | " . . . THE SABBATH was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27-28) "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the SEVENTH DAY from all His works' . . . For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." (Hebrews 4:4,10) "Then Paul, AS HIS CUSTOM WAS, went in to them, and for three SABBATHS reasoned with them from the Scriptures . . ." (Acts 17:2) | | | | | | Honor your father and your mother . . . | | "Jesus said . . . 'Honor your father and your mother,' " (Matthew 19:18-19). "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' which is the first commandment with promise . . ." (Ephesian 6:1) | | | | | | You shall not murder. | | "Jesus said, 'You shall not murder,' . . . " (Matthew 19:18). "'You shall not murder' " (Romans 13:9) | | | | | | You shall not commit adultery. | | "Jesus said . . . 'You shall not commit adultery,' " (Matthew 19:18). "'You shall not commit adultery' " (Romans 13:9) | | | | | | You shall not steal. | | "Jesus said . . .'You shall not steal,' " (Matthew 19:18). "'You shall not steal' " (Romans 13:9) | | | | | | You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. | | "Jesus said . . . 'You shall not bear false witness,' " (Matthew 19:18). "'You shall not bear false witness'" (Romans 13:9) | | | | | | You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. | | " . . . For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COVET.' " (Romans 7:7). "'You shall not covet'" (Romans 13:9) | | | |
Does God require something BEFORE conversion? On Pentecost, a mere ten days after Jesus' ascension to heaven, God empowered the disciples by giving them His Holy Spirit and the miraculous ability to extol and praise him in other languages. As people in Jerusalem start to gather around the disciples to see what is happening Peter gives a powerful message explaining the miracles that were occurring and that Jesus was the true Savior of man. The crowd who hear Peter have their consciences pricked (the NKJV says they were "cut to the heart") and ask what they should do next. Peter then tells the crowd the steps needed for them to receive God's spirit: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. " (Acts 2:38). The word REPENT comes from the Greek word μετανοέω, Strong's Concordance #G3340, which means to think differently or reconsider and to begin to feel regret. Repentance begins to occur when we fell sorry, remorsefully, etc. about the sins we have committed --- our disobedience to God through the breaking of His commandments. A repentant person not only feels sorry for their sins but also desires and begins to obey God, which Peter again states must occur before God will give them the gift of his Spirit: "And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those WHO OBEY HIM." (Acts 5:32)
The repentance which accompanies our conversion means we look to the Word of God only - not church tradition, not what our minister may say to the contrary - to find out how we should begin to live our lives. How do you love your neighbor? Jesus points out the essence of the Christian life, the summing up of what God wants from us, when He said: "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40). What does it mean to "love your neighbor?" Is it simply having nice thoughts about them? No. It is the practical application of all those things which are described in the God's Law: helping our neighbor when they are in trouble, safeguarding our property so that the neighbor doesn't fall into a fresh hole we dug in our driveway or giving them money when they are in need. It means sharing our food with them if they are hungry or getting them needed clothes they cannot afford due to hardship. For those who believe in God, loving their neighbor (e.g. anyone we are in a position to help, not just someone living next to us) is not done simply out of duty but out of a willingness to love and serve others whom God loves as much as He loves us. No true Christian would argue with the concept of loving for neighbor. But there is another - and much neglected - side of the coin. Just how does someone love God? How do we LOVE GOD? To love God is far more than attending church services or getting emotional when the preacher says or does certain things from the pulpit. To truly love God means to do what he says -- to obey his commands, to worship Him in way he has proscribed in His Word, etc. It is obedience not to somehow earn salvation but out of a desire to follow God's revealed will. It is the application of the first four of the Ten Commandments, which John included when he said: "For this is the love of God, that we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. And His commandments are NOT burdensome." (1John 5:3)
On the night he was betrayed Jesus taught the disciples about many things, including what it means to love him and God the Father. Jesus clearly linked love and obedience when he said: "If you love Me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive . . . " "If anyone loves Me, he will KEEP MY WORD; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does NOT love Me DOES NOT KEEP MY WORDS; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me." (John 14:15-17, 23-24)
When we repent, we want to do as God says and not what we or others may say. We become willing to search the scriptures and study God's word to learn about His will and to be fully able to serve him: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be COMPLETE, thoroughly equipped for every GOOD WORK." (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Will Jesus REWARD those who do good? Near the very end of the Bible, in the last chapter of the Book of Revelation, Jesus states: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and MY REWARD is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. " (Revelation 22:12).
Paul informs us that God will: "render to each one according to his deeds." (Romans 2:6)
and asserts "for not the HEARERS of the law are just in the sight of God, but the DOERS of the law will be justified;" (Romans 2:13).
Jesus Christ promises to REWARD faithful obedience to Him and to His Law! This same theme of reward is echoed by the prophet Daniel when he writes: "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:3). While we cannot save ourselves strictly based on what we do (our works), we are required to express our true repentance and faith BY our works. Just having faith or belief in God is not enough. James tells us that belief alone is not commendable: "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!" (James 2:19)
In the end, if we do not DO what is right --- if we do not obey God --- then whatever faith we think we have is DEAD and useless: "You see then that a man is justified by WORKS, and NOT by faith only . . . For as the body without the spirit is dead, SO FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD ALSO." (James 2:24, 26).
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