Matthew 5:17-18 ”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.”

This past week, I watched an old movie that I watched as a child, “All Dogs go to Heaven.” A delightful movie on the surface. A con-dog and his friendly sidekick convince an orphan girl who can speak to animals to help them. They gamble on races and win and at the end, the con-dog choses to save the girl instead of himself. Delightful. Part of the plot involves this dog dying at the beginning of the movie and winding up his life watch. This brings him back to life, but permanently evicts him from heaven – until the end of the movie. Again, delightful at first. Yet the movie gives a strange view on rules and laws.

As followers of Christ, we need to be on our guard constantly for the little things that try and pervert our knowledge of Christ. The law is constant and applies to all equally. We all have broken the Law, thus all of us are deserving of hell. The consequence of just one sin is eternal damnation because the requirement for righteousness and holiness is perfection. No spots or stains anywhere, no sins or faults. Yet constantly we are being bombarded by songs and books, TV shows and movies that subvert that fact and preach that good people go to heaven, that as long as we try our best, as long as we truly believe in what we are doing we will be able to enter the pearly gates. This is blatantly false when compared to what Christ teaches. The Law is permanent, the results of breaking the Law are permanent. Yet it is Christ's gift and mercy that He paid the penalty.

There is a story of a judge in Texas who had a case brought before him. The young girl in front of the bench was involved in drunk driving and was guilty of it. The judge had all right to excuse himself from this case. The girl was his daughter. Instead, with tears in his eyes, he sentanced her to the maximum fine allowed. She gasped. The judge could not let his daughter get away with anything less than the full penalty for her problems especially since she was his daughter. He banged his gavel down, ending the case. He then got up from his chair, slipped around the bench, took off his robe of office, and took his daughters arm, then he reached into his own wallet and wrote a check for the amount she owed. He paid her fine then and there. He loved his daughter, but she had to obey the law like everyone else, and he had to enforce the law. Christ does the same for us. He pays our fine. He writes the check and says “Ill pay it for you if you will let me, all you must do is follow and obey me.” Thus the Law is satisfied, and we are granted mercy. Yet those of us who claim Christ are also judged much harsher than those who don't. Because we know better, we are held to a higher level of responsibility. When we obey Christ and follow to the best of our ability (and beyond with His strength) we complete the Law in Christ. Thus Christ fulfills the Law and we fulfill Christ. His desires are to become paramount in our life.

Do we try our best to live according to His precepts and requirements? We have been forgiven so much, it is the least we can do! I know that we all have problem areas in our lives, but despite our failures, we learn from them and learn to do better next time. The only one who never succumbed to temptation is Jesus Christ. The only way not to succumb to temptation is to not give in and to follow His example of staying in the Word and in communion with the Father. We are forgiven! Our fine is paid, our prison sentence fulfilled. We are free! Let us live like it!

The Law discovers guilt and sin and shows how vile our hearts have been;
The Gospel only can express forgiving love and cleansing grace.

What curses doth the Law denounce against the man that fails but once!
But in the Gospel Christ appears, pard’ning the guilt of numerous years.