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Wednesday, 7 August 2019
The Beatitudes

The question of the day: I have just read Matthew chapter five. Why are they called the beatitudes?

Answer: These are 8 blessings. "Beati-" means "blessing." Immediately following this, Yeshua says, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill." How many times have I heard well meaning preachers give a misleading explanation of this verse. They say things like "Yeshua fulfilled the Law so we don’t have to."

In some sense they are right. We don't "have to." But another Scripture applies. Psalm 40:9(8) "I delight to do Your will, O my God. Yes, Your Torah is within my being."

Part of New Covenant life is having God's law written on your heart. Why? So we can ignore it? So we can live any way we want? Paul writes in Romans 6:1 "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound?" (and Paul answers his own question in verse 2) "May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

Paul makes his conclusion in Romans 8:4 "so that the requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Ruach."

Let's receive God's word into our hearts today, shalom.

Posted By Rabbi Michael Weiner, 10:13am Comment Comments: 0