• Matthew 5:17
  Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
  “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.
  Matthew 10:34
  Not Peace, but a Sword
  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
  John 5:45
  Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

Christ on the Cross fulfilled the law of sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 9:23

Acts 17 English Standard Version

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

Paul’s fervent studies of the law under Gamaliel gave him the tools required to reveal Christ through the scriptures better than anyone. Look at the words “as was his custom”. Everywhere that Paul went he challenged the understanding of the Old Testament by the leaders and teachers in the Jewish community.

The gentiles of the region had been dealing with these hard headed Jews all their lives. Imagine the impact on them to see Paul coming in and converting those stubborn men? It must have been a curiosity to them. Surely they must have wondered what Paul could have said to uproot such entrenched traditions.

Acts 13:46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”

In these synagogues Paul encountered those who did not believe in the resurrection. They did not accept the resurrection of Christ. In Paul’s journeys he would encounter some who had never even seen a miracle, so God used him in Acts 28:9 to show them the power of God to heal and raised the possibility of a resurrection and eternal life.

God will use His Children in any way necessary to bring salvation to the lost. Even you.

Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Faithfulness has to be demonstrated in order to be believed. I believe because I see it.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

God has demonstrated that His Word is true. He has kept His promises. We utter Amen as a demonstration of our agreement with God in all His promises, even if we have not yet seen them come to pass in our lives yet.

Once again we find ourselves depending on His Word being inspired by God as a true record of His communicating with His creation. What has changed about reading and believing?

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

God gave us His Word. He gave us His Son. In order to discover the faith that unlocks the mystery that is Christ, we must access the hearing of the Word that is Christ. We accomplish this by accepting the gift that was given, the Son.

We have been over this before, it is nothing new. So why is faithfulness the subject of this article?

Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

He wants us to be faithful as His Son is faithful. So what is keeping us from being faithful as His Son is faithful? Free will. Ouch!

Romans 7:15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

This is Paul’s confession. Sound familiar? Let me remind everyone that this did not stop God from using Paul to be the architect of His church. Paul’s contributions to the New Testament overshadow the number of passages by Luke, Peter and John. That was no accident.

Luke was a doctor, Peter and John were fishermen. Paul was a zealous student of the law.