F O O T H O L D
READING
32 ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES
PRAY Father, please use the
Scriptures to make my thoughts more like
yours.
READ Matthew 5:1732.
THINK What was Jesus'
attitude to the Old Testament Law (1719)?
FOCUS In our readings for
the next two days Jesus contrasts his views of
right and wrong with those
of his hearers.
GOD'S STANDARDS DO NOT
CHANGE (1720). 'The Law and the Prophets'
means the Old Testament. 'An
iota' was the smallest letter. 'A
dot' was a mark
distinguishing one letter from another in much
the same way as a small
stroke distinguishes Q from O. Jesus says
that God's standards of
right and wrong never change. So everybody
in every century needs God's
forgiveness.
THE SERIOUSNESS OF ANGER (2126).
The Old Testament forbade
murder. Jesus naturally
agrees with this. But he goes further. We
should be concerned about
angry insults as well (22a,22b).
'Hell' in verse 22
translates the word 'Gehenna', the name of the
rubbish tip outside
Jerusalem where fires were always burning the
refuse. Jesus was using
picture language but how serious the
picture is.
ADULTERY (2730). The Old
Testament forbade the act. But Jesus
tells us not even to commit
the sin in our minds. It is thoughts
that produce deeds. And what
is so wonderful about imagining the
sin and then not committing
it simply because you fear the
consequences?
DIVORCE (31,32). Elsewhere (19:8)
Jesus shows that the Old
Testament law about divorce
was a compromise that God allowed. In
our fallen world divorce
may, sometimes, be the only answer: it
can be forgiven; but it
always falls short of God's original
purpose.
PRAY Create a pure heart in
me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit
in me. (Psalm 51:10).
