So this morning, the sermon text is Matthew chapter 5, verses 17 through 20. So let me do a very brief review of Matthew 1 through 4. Last December, Pastor Scott and I decided to take up kind of an advent. theme and so we started in Matthew chapter 1 and we talked about the genealogy of Jesus Christ. I was arguing that the genealogy of Jesus Christ is immensely exciting. If you'd like to hear that you can go back on the sermon audio. And then we talked about the birth of Jesus Christ in at the end of chapter one. We saw the visit of the wise men in chapter two, as this is a prefiguring of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news to the Gentiles. And then we saw Herod killing the children in and around Bethlehem. at that time, which was also reminiscent of what we had seen in the life of Moses. In Matthew 3, Pastor Scott and I preached through the arrival of John the Baptist, and then Pastor Scott preached a great message outside at the Pipers on the baptism of Jesus. Again, bringing to mind this idea that Jesus is is the fulfillment of Israel, if you remember, and we look back specifically at Israel passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, but Jesus Christ going down into the water and getting wet, and what that means in terms of comparison and contrast between Jesus Christ and the nation Israel. Recently, we were in Matthew chapter four. We talked about the temptations of Jesus, and then Jesus' beginning, his ministry at the end of chapter four. And then last time we were in the Gospel of Matthew, Pastor Scott preached on the Beatitudes, the first few verses of Matthew chapter five. If you would go there, please, I want to walk you through this. What we saw in the Beatitudes were blessings, right? over and over again, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, right? And these, we saw, are the character traits of those that are truly happy. That's what blessed means. Deeply satisfied, not discouraged by circumstances. With God's help, each one of us, the disciples of Jesus Christ, ought to be cultivating all of these character traits in our lives. These Beatitudes, these character traits, are the opposite of what the world desires. These Beatitudes cannot be cultivated by the flesh. They are not natural. They are spiritual. And Pastor Scott made a point to say, that they require regeneration, they require being born again by the Spirit of God. And we're gonna come back to this at the end of the sermon today, so I need you to note this, that these Beatitudes, these blessings, the kingdom of Jesus Christ, it is not natural. It is spiritual. And these attitudes are born by the Holy Spirit, by whom each and every Christian, not person, but every Christian is born again. unto spiritual life. And when these beatitudes do become marks of our character, then please note this, the world will persecute us. The world will desire to kill us. Exhibit A, Jesus Christ. Himself. Look at Matthew 5, 10 through 12, please. Jesus says this, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Finally, though, amid that persecution, we are to be the salt of the earth, we are to be the light of the world, and we do good deeds for the glory of our God in heaven. One more brief reminder before we dive into the text this morning. If you will, please turn with me to the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 28, the end of the Gospel of Matthew. All of the Gospel of Matthew, and I'm not the first person or the only person to say this. Many, many commentators say this. All of the Gospel of Matthew should be read, studied, meditated on, and understood by these last couple of verses. Matthew 28, 18. This is after the resurrection. Jesus says to his disciples, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. I emphasize, that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to our Savior and Lord and King, Jesus Christ. Please don't miss this. And it's, again, going to ring, I hope, in your ears as we move through these four verses this morning. So, let's get into the text, Matthew 5, beginning in verse 17. So after the beatitudes, after the blessings of the kingdom, Jesus turns, he transitions to the law. Transitions to the law. First things first, which law? Well, there can be no mistake. This is the Old Testament Law of God, given to Moses, passed on to the Israelites. Matthew 5, verse 17, look at it. Jesus says, Abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. The law and the prophets. Do you see that there? Verse 17. This is a Jewish rabbi's shorthand language for the Old Testament, which you carry around under your arm or on your phone. Now, why this transition? Let's ask ourselves, what is the flow of Jesus' logic in the Sermon on the Mount at this point? Why blessings, then law? First, we see Jesus upholding the importance of the law and the prophets who repeatedly chastised the Israelites for breaking the law. See, in the Jewish mind, In Jesus's mind, the law was everything. It was Torah, which means instruction, teaching. Some of this law, some of this Torah are the very words that God had inscribed on tablets of stone, twice. It was this law that set the Israelites apart from any of the other people groups in the world. So just listen, the Apostle Paul says this about the Israelites, Romans 9.4, you don't have to go there, Romans 9.4. Speaking about the Israelites, he says, to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. Not a law, the law. Even the Israelite worship, the description of the tabernacle was laid down for the Israelites. In the law. Unless you think to yourself, oh, that's just the Old Testament. I don't need to worry about that. Let me remind you that the Apostle Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, that's us. He writes this elsewhere, Romans 3. Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one who will justify both the circumcised, that's the Jews, by faith, and the uncircumcised, that's the Gentiles, non-Jews, through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means. On the contrary, we uphold the law. And He says in Romans 7, 12, The Apostle Paul declares that the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. God's law is always God's standard. So the first thing we must see is that Jesus transitions to the law of God, lest any of his hearers think to themselves, whoa, check out this new kind of rabbi. It's all about the blessings. He ain't worried about that old law stuff. Sort of straight out of the 60s, right? Give me that law, man. Just tell me about love and contentment and persecution, which really doesn't fit in the whole motif thing, but we'll just forget about that. The point is this, Jesus will have none of that forget about the law mindset. Nor should we look at it again. Matthew 5, 17, Jesus says this. 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, the smallest letter, not a dot, the smallest piece of the alphabet, 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 that and teaches that will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. In January 2016, we here at Abiding Grace Church began in Genesis chapter one. And right now, we're halfway through Deuteronomy on Wednesday evenings. And do you know what we've been studying? God's law. Of course, there's the creation of the universe, and there's the covenants that God makes with human beings, and no doubt there has been gospel. There has been good news in the books of Moses, no doubt about that. The preacher to the Hebrews says that the gospel did go, in fact, to the Jews in the wilderness, just as it has come to us, Hebrews 4.2. But, But as we have worked through Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy, it's been overwhelmingly law. All these sessions are at Sermon Audio, and I have to ask you, do you have a high view of God's law? Do you know it? Does God's law shape your thinking and your life? It did the Apostle Paul's. and it most certainly did Jesus's. Brothers and sisters, Jesus is King, amen? If you say amen, then you must also know that our King has a law and we have to make it our law. I mean, have you ever wondered why the Christian church has married the Old and New Testaments together into one book? Think about it, your Bible app, it comes with both parts. Maybe the first two thirds of that book on your lap is important. And there's a lot of talk in our day and a lot of talk in our culture about justice, social justice, political justice, racial justice. I'll tell you what there's not a lot of talk about. Biblical justice. God's justice. And when a person or a culture doesn't know God's word, doesn't know God's law, because it's almost been entirely forgotten or ignored even in the church, then what passes for justice very quickly and very easily becomes injustice. The rule of law becomes the rule of men. Sinful, fallen, ignorant men. Newsflash, you don't want that. But I fear, as Pastor Scott mentioned this morning, that is where we were headed. And it's not good. So let me give you an example. So let's work this out. Boots on the ground. Let me give you an example from God's law. Deuteronomy 19.15. You don't have to go there. Deuteronomy 19.15. This is what Moses says to Israel. A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. I note here, by the way, that the Apostle Paul quotes this law in both 2 Corinthians 13 and 1 Timothy 5. So again, Paul thinks this law is relevant. So here's a question. If you think about just the past couple of years in our culture, where would this law from God be especially relevant? And how would the application of this law from God have saved our culture a lot of heartache? and venom, and frankly, injustice. Can you see the injustice all around us, in our culture, on social media? If you can't, it might be because you don't know God's law. Or maybe, maybe, Because I know all of you, let me give you the benefit of the doubt, brothers and sisters, maybe you have a sense that something isn't right, but you just can't put your finger on it. It might be because you need to know God's law. And King Jesus, right here in the Sermon on the Mount, He now transitions from the Beatitudes, He transitions from these blessings to His divine law. Look at verse 18, for truly, Jesus said to His hearers, and He says to us, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, not even the smallest part of the law will pass from the law. until all is accomplished. What else can we glean from Jesus's transition to the law? So we saw first, Jesus emphasizing the importance of the law. Second, here's what we see. I want you to see it again. We've seen it before in this Matthew Sears. I want you to see contrast. And the contrast is this. This is so important. The contrast is this. I want you to see the old covenant as works over against the new covenant as grace. Here's what I mean. Under the terms of the old covenant, there is first the law, and then the blessings flow from obedience. Here's an example. In the book of Deuteronomy, just to give you a high-level view, after four chapters of introduction, Moses recounts for the second generation of Israelites the Ten Commandments. That's why the Ten Commandments are in your Bible twice. Once in Exodus 20, once in Deuteronomy 5. Two generations of Israelites, okay? But that first generation of Israelites that received the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, they fell. They died in the wilderness because of their disobedience, because of their unbelief. So now there's this second generation of Israelites that Moses is addressing in Deuteronomy. That's what Deuteronomy is. Deuteronomy means second law. And Moses is giving them the Ten Commandments, Deuteronomy 5. And then, in Deuteronomy 6 through 26, and this is where we are on Wednesday nights, Moses is giving a divinely inspired commentary on the Ten Commandments, 21 chapters worth. Then, and this is most important, for my point, in Deuteronomy 27 and 28, Moses gives the divine blessings and curses. Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. What's the point? The point is this, under the terms of the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the law comes first and the blessings come after. And these blessings are contingent upon obedience. Curses are the just consequences of disobedience. And I commend to you Deuteronomy 27 and 28 for later reading today. You see the same thing in Exodus and Leviticus, the law first, blessings afterward. So the old covenant is law, obedience, blessing, or law, disobedience, curses. However, and here's the contrast, look again at Jesus our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount. He begins with the blessings. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the pure in heart. And then he proceeds to the law. And you ask me, Brother Steve, is this significant? Here's what I would say. I can hardly think of anything that is more significant in all of redemptive history. And if you can get your mind around this idea that Jesus, the new covenant, comes with blessings in front of the line rather than at the end, It should make your spirit sore. It should cause you to fall down on your face in worship. And it will give you, listen, it will give you a supernatural desire to obey King Jesus and his divine law, not out of fear of being cursed, like a Jew under the law, but out of gratitude. real gratitude for what He, Jesus, in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension has done for you, wretched sinner that you are. He, Jesus, kept the law of God perfectly, which you could never do, nor could I. And though innocent of all charges, sinless in every way, he suffered and died under the righteous wrath of God, taking upon himself the wrath of God that you deserve because of your sins and your unrighteousness. You're breaking of God's law. John says sin is lawlessness. And then Jesus rises again, literally, physically, bodily. He rises again from the dead on a Sunday morning after Passover, God making it clear that Jesus' sacrifice was acceptable in His sight on behalf of all who would trust in His work at Calvary. Jesus purchases, listen, Jesus purchases your obedience by His perfect obedience. Jesus purchases your righteousness by His perfect righteousness. And Jesus purchases your salvation, your eternal life, by shedding His precious blood on the cross at Calvary. Jesus purchases your blessings, you hear that? He purchases your blessings of the eternal covenant, Hebrews 13, 20. And then he says, come, follow me, take up your cross, obey me as king, because everything else has been done. One other thing on this point. If you can get this idea that the new covenant leads, begins with blessing, it will make so many New Testament texts make sense to you. Let me give you an example. We heard it earlier, but I just wanna walk you through it and comment on it. Turn to 2 Corinthians 3, please, again. 2 Corinthians 3. Again, this is the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth And the church in Corinth had some issues, shall we say, which sets the stage for 2 Corinthians 3 verse 1. Are we beginning, Paul writes, to commend ourselves again, or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink. but with the spirit of the living God. Listen, not on tablets of stone, the law, but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God who has made us sufficient, listen, to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, the law, but of the spirit. For the letter, the law, kills. but the spirit gives life. Verse seven, now if the ministry of death, the law, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the spirit, grace, the new covenant, have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the law, the ministry of righteousness, must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory, the law, has come to have no glory at all because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory." That's what Paul's doing in this text. He's contrasting the old covenant, the law, with the new covenant. And there's much to be gleaned from that text. So we've seen Jesus upholding the importance of God's law. We've also seen the glory of the new covenant in contrast to the old covenant, whereby this new covenant of which we who have believed are a part, this new covenant comes with blessings right out of the gate. Third, Jesus's fulfillment of the law and the prophets. How does Jesus fulfill the law and the prophets? Look at Matthew 5, 17. Jesus says this, 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. And I'm going to expound here on Matthew Henry's five points in his commentary. So he just lists the points, but they all deserve magnification. So see how this goes. Number one. Jesus came to obey the commands of the law, for He, Jesus, was made under the law. Jesus, in all respects, as we have mentioned, He yielded obedience to the law. He honored His parents. He sanctified the Sabbath. He prayed like a good Jew, on and on and on. He obeyed the law perfectly. Can you even imagine that? Can we go 10 minutes without an unrighteous act? let alone in unrighteous thought. Jesus did the very things that God commands us to do. Human beings created in the image of God. He did it perfectly in thought, word, and deed. In this, Jesus fulfills the law. Point two. Jesus came to make good the promises of the law and the predictions of the prophets, which all did bear witness to him. So very quickly, let's begin with a promise from the law. Deuteronomy 18, 15. Moses says to the Israelites, the Lord your God will raise up a prophet, raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen. We know from Acts 3.22 and Acts 7.37, that this promise from the Law was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And there are many other promises from the Law that we might consider. Jesus is our Sabbath rest, in whom we find rest from our works' righteousness, and we are saved by faith alone. Jesus is the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement, who is taken outside the camp, Hebrews 13, 12 and 13, and with him the sins of his people are carried away as far as the East is from the West. Psalm 103, verse 12. Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain on the day of atonement, bearing the wrath of God against the sin of his people, so that we might enter into the heavenly holy place. For he has gone before us with his own blood. Hebrews 9, 12. He has purchased for us an eternal redemption therein. These are promises from God's law that Jesus fulfills in the New Covenant and the New Testament is full of these. And then there are the predictions of the prophets. And Matthew, especially, is full of them. In the interest of time, very quickly, Matthew 1, behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us. Who's the prophet? Isaiah. What's the text? Isaiah 7, 14. And this is just one of hundreds of predictions of the Old Testament prophets. And Jesus fulfills them all. Three. Jesus came to answer the types of the law. Thus, Jesus did not make void, but made good the ceremonial law. He is the substance of all those shadows. See, as you read through the Old Testament law every year, which I trust you are doing, as you read through Exodus and Leviticus, I have no doubt that you occasionally think to yourself, what is with all these sacrifices? And you should think this. It's okay. And then you should think to yourself, why don't I have to make all of these sacrifices? Why don't I have to hear all of that bleeding of the sheep when I show up for church on Sunday? This is not our building, that would be a problem. Why don't I have to raise all of these animals here in the South Hills of Pittsburgh? And why don't I have to have all that blood on my hands and my shoes? Bleeding and blood everywhere. There's only one answer. It is because Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, John 1 29, has fulfilled all of those types and all of those shadows that are in the law of God. Types and shadows. Types and shadows, which we often refer to. It means that all of those things, all of those sacrifices, they were just pointers. Bleeding, bloody billboards. pointing Israel and us to the one who would come that would make an end of sacrifices, Hebrews 9.26. Number four. Jesus came to fill up the defects of the law, and so to complete and perfect it. I'm not going to dwell here. This is for next week. Pastor Scott, Lord willing, Matthew Henry goes on, very simply to say, if we consider the law, I love this image. If we consider the law, the Mosaic law, as a vessel that had some water in it before, Jesus did not come to pour out the water, but to fill the vessel up to the brim. And finally, fifth, Jesus came to carry on the same design. This is what Matthew Henry says, the Christian institutes are so far from thwarting and contradicting that which was the main design of the Jewish religion. Christianity, listen, is this your view? Christianity promotes it to the highest degree. The gospel is the time of reformation, not the repeal of the law, but its establishment. This is why we here at Abiding Grace Church are coming up on six years in the books of Moses. Did you know, listen, did you know that the Jewish believers in Jesus in the first century attended synagogue with the unbelieving Jews until almost centuries end? There was a split in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed, but the full split of first century Judaism with the Christian church didn't happen until well into the 90s. Why? There's a lot of history here, but what's the point? The point is this, among the Jews who believed in Jesus as Messiah, Christianity was merely a carrying on of the one true religion that Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, had already established. Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of all the promises and predictions of the Jewish law and prophets. And lest anyone hear him teach, and come under the wrong idea that He, Jesus, was somehow separating Himself from the Jewish religion. He says, verse 17, look at it, 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. And the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1.20, in your New Testament, that all the promises of God find their yes and amen in Christ Jesus. All right. Believe it or not, we haven't even come to the thesis statement of the Sermon on the Mount yet, all right? So this is extremely important. I would ask that you stay with me just for a few minutes. Look again at Matthew 5, 17 through 20, This time when I read it, I'm going to emphasize verse 20. 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. 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. Verse 20, for I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that Matthew chapter five, verse 20, is a scandal. There is zero doubt about what Jesus is doing here in verse 20, and we have to see it. So let's see it together. The scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus' day were, in the Jewish mind, the height of righteousness. Listen to this one description of the Pharisees. Quote, the name Pharisee means the separated ones. It may mean that they separated themselves from the masses of the people or that they separated themselves to the study and interpretation of the law. They appear to be responsible for the transformation of Judaism from a religion of sacrifice to a religion of law. They saw the way of God as being through obedience to the law, law, law. When you read in your Bible the word Pharisee, you should immediately think law. And if you can even believe this, a more stringent law than even the one that God had laid down himself. The Apostle Paul, he's reflecting on his life before his conversion in Acts 9. This is what he says, you don't have to go there, it's in Philippians 3. Paul's writing, if anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. What's the point? The point is this, when Jesus says to the crowd, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Here's what the crowd hears. The unwashed masses, the unreligious people, the hoi polloi, if you, they think to themselves, we have no chance of entering into this rabbi's kingdom. With that statement in Matthew 5.20, Jesus puts works righteousness out of reach for everyone, including the scribes and the Pharisees. Because their righteousness was not good enough, it must exceed their righteousness. See, last time in the Beatitudes, we saw the character of the citizen of Jesus' kingdom. Now we see that that must lead to a life of righteousness. What kind of righteousness? Verse 20, a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. And this righteousness that we are all called to have by our King has two aspects. Our righteousness is to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in two ways. Number one, Jesus emphasizes, listen, this is extremely important as we get ready for next week. Jesus emphasizes that our righteousness must not be merely external. This was a major shortcoming of the Pharisees' religion and righteousness. You can't read any significant amount of the Old Testament without realizing that God has never been interested in mere externalities, mere outward, showy forms of religion. It was never, listen, it was never enough in the eyes of Yahweh. for an Israelite to come to the temple to offer a sacrifice without a deep inner sense of his need for God, his need for contrition, his need for repentance, his utter need for God to be merciful to him. The law was never merely external. It's a matter of the heart. Real quick, look at the end of Matthew 5. Pastor Scott read it earlier, verse 48. The citizens of Jesus' kingdom are called to be perfect, even as God is perfect inside and out. Brothers and sisters, please beware merely outward, showy forms of religion. And in fact, in two weeks, we'll spend our entire time together talking about that. Second, And perhaps more importantly, I want to build upon a previous point that I have already made. We must emphasize that our righteousness before God, Romans 4.2, our righteousness before God, it cannot be our own. Let me say that again. Our righteousness, by which we will stand before God on the last day, cannot be our own. It must be a righteousness that is imputed, a righteousness that is credited to us as a free gift of God's amazing grace, credited to our accounts by faith alone in the finished, sacrificial, substitutionary work of Jesus the King, Jesus the Lawgiver, Jesus the Savior. So as we wrap up this morning, I want to ask you a question. And your answer to this question will provide an indicator for how well you understand Christianity. And please, I'm not interested in your answer. Out loud. Is the law good news? This is fundamental. Answer. No way, no way. Hear it again with as new ears as you can. Matthew 5.20, Jesus says this, for I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5.48, you therefore must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. These are not statements of good news, sinners that we are. These statements from King Jesus are not good news because you and I don't have in ourselves what he requires. I've said it before from this pulpit, I'll say it again. This is how we ought to do evangelism. We tell people they have to have a perfect righteousness to stand before God. The message is simple. The Apostle Paul has already told us in 2 Corinthians 3, the law kills. The law is a ministry of death. The law is a ministry of condemnation. But Jesus says that you must be perfect with respect to the law to get into his kingdom. And this necessarily brings us back to regeneration, which Pastor Scott preaches about in his last sermon. Jesus not only says you must be perfect, but he also tells, listen, he tells the Pharisee Nicodemus, you must be born again. So listen to these two verses, Matthew 5, 20. For I tell you, Jesus speaking, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. He says in John 3 to Nicodemus, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Do you see those parallels? How do they fit together? First, you have to read the law. You have to see its demands. You have to recognize that you do not meet them. That's what the world needs. They need the law. They need to recognize they don't meet it. And this should bring us and the world to a place of utter despair. The kingdom of God is closed off to you if you cannot meet perfectly the demands of the law. Do you see that? And then once you or anyone in the world, in this place of utter despair and hopelessness, we or they must cry out to the King, Jesus, help me. Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner. And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, when the sinner cries out, the ministry of death, which is the law, becomes through the cross at Calvary, the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of life, the ministry of glory, as you behold the one who perfectly fulfilled the law and the prophets and you hear his voice. Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Rest at your own attempts at being righteous before God, which is vanity and win and hopelessness. Listen, from Exodus. The Law of God is inside the Ark of the Covenant, under the mercies. And James tells us that the mercy of Jesus Christ triumphs over judgment. That is our hope. Sinners can have salvation and life through the life, death, and resurrection of the sacrificed King who obeyed His own law and now offers sinners His very own perfect righteousness as a gift. If a sinner will only trust Him. For what? Everything in this life and the next. All authority, we saw. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ. He can be trusted for everything, even eternal life after death. And when a man or a woman is born again by the Holy Spirit, that man or woman is recreated to be first a citizen of the kingdom with all of the kingdom blessings poured out. Then we walk in, we delight in God's law so that quote, the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, Romans 8, 4. One last comment. Look for me in Matthew five, verse six. In summary, when we've been born again, brothers and sisters, we hunger and thirst for righteousness and we are satisfied. This is Christianity. It begins with Jesus as King and Jesus as Savior. This is our only hope in life and in death. This is the good news. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is not only the greatest good news that there is, but it is the greatest good news that has ever been conceived. Let's pray.