Do you think of God's law as something Jesus cancelled or something he completed? How does the difference change how you read the Old Testament?

Rick introduced himself with a detail worth keeping. He is a ruling elder in this denomination, he serves alongside Pastor Kent on ministerial credentialing — and as a fun fact, he has been a deputy sheriff for the last thirty years. He mentioned it because it amused him that Pastor James and Pastor Kent handed the *law* portion of the Sermon on the Mount to the man who has spent his whole career enforcing law. Those new to the Reformed tradition, he said, might think that was a coincidence. Those informed by the Westminster Confession know that God's eternal decree leaves nothing to chance. And the text he was given contains the sentence that reframes everything: "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." No

Where are you quietly hoping some part of God's Word has aged out? What would it mean to treat it as more permanent than the universe?

Rick said this passage crowns Scripture with four things: preeminence, permanence, pertinence, and purpose. Today, permanence. "Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." The iota was the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet. The dot was the little stroke that distinguished one Hebrew letter from another — the equivalent of the tail that makes a Q out of an O. Jesus is saying that the least significant pen-mark in Scripture will outlast the universe. God's law is immutable, Rick said, because he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is not a document that ages out. It is not subject to revision by a later, more enlightened generation — including ours, which is quite sure it is the more enlightened one. That is

What small command have you quietly decided does not really apply to you? Who has learned that from watching you?

"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." Two verbs, in that order: does, and teaches. There is a particular temptation for anyone who talks about the faith — and that is more of us than we think, since every parent, friend and neighbour teaches somebody something. The temptation is to make the teaching the substitute for the doing. To have a good position on a command instead of obeying it. Jesus puts *does* first. You cannot teach past where you live, not honestly. And notice how small the stakes appear: the *least* of these commandments. It is not the great crises of conscience that erode us, usually. It is deciding on our own a

Have you been trying to out-perform the Pharisees, or have you given up on producing your own righteousness? What does the difference feel like?

Here is the sentence that should stop the room. "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Understand who those men were. Not hypocrites in their own estimation — the most rigorous, disciplined, scrupulous keepers of the law in that entire society. They tithed their spice racks. They built fences around commandments so they would not accidentally get near breaking one. And Jesus says you need *more* righteousness than that. If that is a challenge to try harder, it is hopeless. Nobody out-Pharisees a Pharisee. Which means it is not a challenge to try harder. It is a door closing, deliberately, so that you will look for another one. Rick said the law is *purposed* — designed to lead sinners to Christ. This is that d

What righteousness of your own are you still holding on to? What would it take to count it as loss?

Paul had the résumé. Circumcised the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee, as to righteousness under the law blameless. By the standard of Matthew 5:20, if anyone was going to clear the bar by effort, it was him. And he counted the whole thing as loss — so that he might be found in Christ, "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith." That is the answer to the week. Rick told the congregation why we need the divine law in the first place: because we are sinners, wired for folly, even the best of us. The law is preeminent, permanent, pertinent — and purposed to drive us to Christ. So can you keep God's law? No. Not one day of it

Jesus says he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it, and that not one iota or dot passes away. Rick's summary was that righteousness is received in Christ, not achieved by us. If the law still stands in full, what has actually changed for someone who trusts Jesus?

Understanding Jesus and the Law: Why Christ Came to Fulfill, Not Abolish

Rick kept returning to one picture: the law is a mirror that shows you where the dirt is, and the mirror does not wash your face. What is the practical difference between treating the commandments as a mirror and treating them as a ladder?

Understanding Jesus and the Law: Why Christ Came to Fulfill, Not Abolish

Rick, a deputy sheriff for thirty years, told about the Puritans who crossed a cruel ocean to worship freely and within months were appointing judges, building holding cells and hiring sheriffs. He said the best of men are men at best. What does that story predict about any group of people, including this one?

Understanding Jesus and the Law: Why Christ Came to Fulfill, Not Abolish

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Can You Keep God's Law? · Group Guide

Name: Christchurch Miami
Address: 8485 SW 112th Street, Miami, FL, 33156, US
Telephone: +13052715262
Price range: Free

Matthew 5:17-20

Rick Closius Sunday, November 30, 2025

Icebreaker

Think of a rule you have broken without feeling remotely guilty about it — a speed limit, a policy at work, a sign in a parking lot. What made it feel fine at the time?

Matthew 5:17-20

Discussion Questions

1
Jesus says he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it, and that not one iota or dot passes away. Rick's summary was that righteousness is received in Christ, not achieved by us. If the law still stands in full, what has actually changed for someone who trusts Jesus?
2
Rick kept returning to one picture: the law is a mirror that shows you where the dirt is, and the mirror does not wash your face. What is the practical difference between treating the commandments as a mirror and treating them as a ladder?
3
Rick, a deputy sheriff for thirty years, told about the Puritans who crossed a cruel ocean to worship freely and within months were appointing judges, building holding cells and hiring sheriffs. He said the best of men are men at best. What does that story predict about any group of people, including this one?
4
Rick warned against treating the Bible like a vending machine — insert a problem, extract a soothing verse — and pointed out that Jeremiah 29:11 was spoken in the middle of a judgment. Which verse do you reach for that way, and what have you been reading around?
5
Rick said the Pharisees tithed mint and cumin, which he compared to setting a few grains of salt aside for God at a restaurant. Where do you keep the small, visible parts of obedience while the harder part stays untouched?
6
Rick gave one assignment: this week read one uncomfortable chapter and stay in it rather than skipping to what soothes. Name the chapter and the day — and if you have no idea where to start, ask the group to pick one for you.

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Can You Keep God's Law? · Group Guide

Matthew 5:17-20

Discussion Questions

Related Reading

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