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"The Ancient Landmark"

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

  

Question: What do you do with this scripture?
Matthew 5:17-19 - "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus said that NO PART OF GOD'S LAWS WILL CHANGE, until heaven and earth pass away.
Fulfil according to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon means: "to make full, to fill, to fill up, to fill to the full, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to fill up to the top, so that nothing shall be wanting, to full measure, fill to the brim, to perfect, consummate. There is also a special note about the use of fulfil in this verse: Universally and absolutly, to fulfil, i.e., to cause God's will (as known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises (given through the prophets) to recieve the fulfillment."

think of it, if fulfill means the end look at these scriptures:

Matt. 3:15 "And Jesus answering them said unto Him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." (To end all righteousness?)

PHI 2:2 "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." (End ye my joy?)

COL 1:25 "Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of Go which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God." (End the word of God?)

COL 4:17 "And say to Arcjippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it." (End the ministry?)

So what is your arguement on this?

Sincerly,

Answer:

Hello,

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In a message dated 9/20/02 5:30:15 PM US Eastern Standard Time_________ writes:

Comments: What do you do with this scripture?

Jesus said that NO PART OF GOD'S LAWS WILL CHANGE, until heaven and earth pass away.

Let me stop you right there, and ask you to read Matthew 5:17 again. Jesus did not say that no part of the law would change. He said no part (jot or tittle) of the law would pass until all was fulfilled. There is a difference between what Christ said and what you contend. He did not promise that the law would not change, but that no part would pass away until it all was fulfilled.

You were right in quoting from Mr. Thayer's lexicon.

Fulfil according to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon means: "to make full, to fill, to fill up, to fill to the full, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to fill up to the top, so that nothing shall be wanting, to full measure, fill to the brim, to perfect, consummate.
There is also a special note about the use of fulfil in this verse: Universally and absolutly, to fulfil, i.e., to cause God's will (as known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises (given through the prophets) to recieve the fulfillment."

Therefore, what Christ was promising to do in fulfilling the law was to "fill it full," "consummate" it, "perfect," or "fill it to the brim!" (To borrow from Thayer's definitions.) Christ did not come to destroy the law, but fill it full (fulfill) the law. In so doing, then it would pass away. If this is not true, what will you do with Hebrews 8:13 which talks of a new covenant, and says the old one was passing away?

Now, to the verses you cited:

Matt. 3:15 "And Jesus answering them said unto Him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." (To end all righteousness?)

No, this was not ending all righteousness, it was filling it full! It filled it up, as Mr. Thayer's defined the word!

PHI 2:2 "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." (End ye my joy?)

This is not an ending of joy, but a filling up of joy.

COL 1:25 "Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of Go which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God." (End the word of God?)

Again, to "fill it up to the top," not an end.

COL 4:17 "And say to Arcjippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it." (End the ministry?)

No, Archippus was to take heed to his ministry, and "consummate" it!

I hope you can see that these passages are in agreement with one another. There was an occasion in Matthew 5:17 when Christ said He would fill up, consummate, perfect, and fill to the brim the old law. Until this was accomplished, not one jot or tittle would pass. Once all was fulfilled, then it would all pass away. Hope this helps you in your study, and hope you have a good day.

Sincerely,
Jarrod Jacobs

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