The History of the Great Commission shows that the greatest advances in the history of the Church take place when the Church understands its “toolbox” – the Law of the Lord. God made it clear to Israel repeatedly that to impugn or ignore His Law, was to walk away from Him. So is it written in Judges 3, where Israel is revealed as being “tested” by the Lord by the lifestyle, customs, beliefs and behavior of the nations God left in Palestine when Israel conquered the land.
Christ’s admonition in Matthew 5 calls us to be a light to the world. Immediately after that verse 16, Christ, instead of developing the theme of being a light, warns us strictly NOT to believe He came to destroy the Law and the prophets (vs. 17). He came to “fulfill” them. The term Christ uses is πληρόω, “play-ro’-o” in the Greek. Its proper use means “mature.” And Christ teaches us that such maturity begets supernatural impact and awe-inspiring change when the Church teaches and preaches it and the people live it!
The tragedy of our impotence in the Church for so long lies in the way our teachers and pastors have been teaching us that “fulfill” means “when Christ arrived, the Law came to an end.” Thus, in essence, the Law becomes, at best, a museum piece …. or …. a mere quote book. It gets marginalized by the pulpits until its precepts are simply not known to most in the pews.
That is the tragedy.
The Law of the Lord (Pentateuch) is foundational to the rest of the Bible. Without it, the Great Commission is damaged and the Church wanders from her moorings. Satan knows that and seeks to blind us concerning the Law, keeping the Church from the understanding of its miraculous and pregnant content (Psalm 119: 18 ff.)
God is judging the world. But Peter tells us that when He does so, He first goes to the Church in judgment: “For judgment begins in the house of God…”
We desperately need to understand this truth, for the Lord will NOT lift His wrath and judgment UNTIL we repent and adopt the Law of the Lord… and move forward to mature it.
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