Moving toward Maturity - You owe all victories from sin to the Word in you life

Jesus Christ, the God-man, did not come to undo the teachings of the Old Testament but rather to demonstrate the epitome of righteousness. After centuries of receiving prophecy concerning the "greater Moses", Jesus comes and practically fulfills the scripture's Messianic expectations.Truly, he is the glorious one who came to save.

Jesus not only set expectations for the posture of his followers, but also their purpose. Harking back to Israel's original purpose from the Old Testament, Christ called his followers to bring others to glorify God.

Is there something that you would say sets you apart from the next person? Maybe it is a gift or talent that God has given you -- something unique to your personality and character? Take a minute and think about it -- is one of your characteristics *love*? As Christians, we've been set apart by the Holy Spirit (who now resides in us) to live a life that models Jesus Christ. And, whether it be in word or deed, God's Word makes it clear *love* is something that should be innate to who you are as a new creation in Christ.

Jesus' following has begun to grow and, before even moving on to describe who has been chosen to be discipled by the God-man, Matthew lays down the expected posture for the followers of Christ.

The apostle John records for us Jesus words in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you'll keep My commandments." And now, we've come to a synopsis statement in his epistle, 1 John, where he writes, "whoever abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." In themselves "Christians" ought to live as He did since they possess His Spirit's presence and power.

Malcolm Marshall from Houston's First Baptist

Obedience to God does not bring about justification (which comes by faith alone), but obedience as a pattern of life does give evidence that one has been born again. To know Him involves a personal relationship that transforms practical behavior. As the old Baptist hymn put it, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

Jesus is the one who speaks the law perfectly and demonstrates a greater undersanding of the intended will of God. He is the greater Moses.

While the fury of God's wrath against sin and sinners is a terrifying reality, the good news of the gospel promises deliverance to all those who belong to Christ. Jesus Christ, as the propitiation for our sins, bore the full force of God's wrath in His crucifixion. While ancient worshipers often presented sacrifices to placate the anger of the gods they worshiped, only in Christianity has God provided His own sacrifice to propitiate His divine wrath. Only in Christianity has God taken the initiative to provide the sacrifice that assuages His wrath -- and the reason He does so is because He loves us..."In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 Jn. 4:10