The Fulfillment of the Law, The Regulative Principle of Worship, and Presbyterian "Quirks"

Weekend Newsletter: March 26, 2022

Mar 26, 2022

This Week’s Sermon

Last week, I preached on Matthew 5:17–20, where Jesus insists that he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law. I recently wrote about the full requirements of the law in a post about the true nature of legalism:

Two Pathways | Jacob Gerber

Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees

In every age, the church must be vigilant to avoid legalism. We must never be like the Pharisees, who “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger” (Matt. 23:24). God tells us that his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3), but to…

3 years ago · Jacob Gerber

What’s so interesting about this particular passage, then, is how it sets up the passages that follow. Matthew 5:17–20 is Jesus’ introduction to his teaching on the law in the Sermon on the Mount. It is the first of seven sections (seven == number of perfection/completion), and it’s a critical foundation for everything Jesus will teach in his authoritative exposition of the Ten Commandments.

From the sermon notes:

In Matthew 5:16, Jesus urged his disciples to let their “light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” So far, however, Jesus has not defined precisely what he means by these “good works” that will lead to the glory of the heavenly Father. In this next section, Jesus begins to explain these “good works” in the light of the law. In no uncertain terms, Jesus declares that he has not come to abolish the law, but rather to bring the entailments of the law to their ultimate completion. Indeed, as he will state in the strongest possible terms, Jesus came to fulfill the law.
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Here is the full sermon (transcript here):

Recent Posts

Continuing my series on the nature of Presbyterianism, I have two new posts. The first deals with elements, circumstances, and forms of worship, as well as the overarching idea of the Regulative Principle of Worship:

Two Pathways | Jacob Gerber

The Regulative Principle of Worship

Note: These are the lecture notes for the sixth class of an 8-week series that I am teaching at Harvest Community Church, called “What Does it Mean to be Presbyterian?” Links to the other class lecture notes may be found at the end of this post…

3 years ago · Jacob Gerber

The second post also relates to worship, but in a way that focuses on some “quirks” of Presbyterian piety that other Christian traditions do not always share:

Two Pathways | Jacob Gerber

Presbyterian “Quirks”: The Sabbath, Psalms-Singing, and Images of Christ

Note: These are the lecture notes for the seventh class of an 8-week series that I am teaching at Harvest Community Church, called “What Does it Mean to be Presbyterian?” Links to the other class lecture notes may be found at the end of this post…

3 years ago · 1 like · 3 comments · Jacob Gerber

For a brief overview of this post, I wrote a thread on Twitter that you can access here: