Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Christ has just completed the Sermon on the Mount. In this verse, we are told the response of the people who heard the commands of Christ. We are told that the people were astonished. According to […]

Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
In this passage, Jesus […]

Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Man may judge you according to your actions. An important lesson that is learned during the Sermon on the Mount is that God will judge you based upon your thoughts. The Law of Moses stated that man should not commit adultery. However, Jesus did not come and destroy the Law of Moses, instead, Jesus revealed to the world that God does not judge you simply upon your actions, instead, God looks at the heart and HE judges you based upon your thoughts. Jesus said that a man could commit adultery not only in the bedroom but also and more importantly the man can commit adultery in the mind.

Ruth 2:7a And she said, I pray you let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves:

Scripture tells us that Ruth was a virtuous woman and that the entire community recognized the virtue that dwelled within her. One of the things that Ruth did in order to demonstrate to the community that virtue dwelled within her was that she asked to glean in Boaz� field. According to the Law of Moses, it was her right to glean; yet Ruth did not assert her rights but instead, humbled herself by going to the individual in charge and requested that she be permitted to glean.

By asking for permission to do what she had the right to do, Ruth gained favor with the head of Boaz� field. They knew who Ruth was and why she was there and as such, they did not build up any resentment towards the foreigner who was gleaning in the field. If Ruth had just showed up and started working, the head of the field would have seen her but not known who she was and naturally would have allowed some resentment of this foreign woman who chose to glean in the field he was responsible for.

Ruth 2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

Scripture tells us that Ruth was a virtuous woman and that the entire community recognized the virtue that dwelled within her. One of the things that Ruth did to demonstrate to Boaz and the community that she was virtuous occurred when she arrived in Bethlehem. Ruth diligently sought for a way to support Naomi and herself. Ruth did not go out and beg, but instead, she must have taken the time to understand the law how she was entitled to follow the reapers in the field and pick up that which they dropped.

Proverbs 31:28b her husband also, and he praiseth her.

The woman who has chosen to allow virtue to permeate her life has chosen a high calling for her life. She is not like every other woman. She has chosen to live her life so that others might succeed. She has chosen to live her life so that when others look at her, they understand that there is something different about her.

According to the Law of Moses, if a husband felt that his wife had been unfaithful he was allowed to bring his wife before the priest who would make her drink a mixture of holy water and dirt. If she was faithful, then God would allow this mixture to have no consequence upon her life, however, if she had committed adultery, then the mixture would be her curse.

Acts 28:26-27 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Paul was a prisoner in Rome and many of the Jewish leaders came to his house and permitted him to share the truth of what he believed. These leaders where naturally against him because of the things that they had heard indicated to them that the things Paul was going to share was a false religion. Nonetheless, they were willing to hear what Paul had to share and they set a time by which they could hear his argument.

Acts 28:23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

Paul was a prisoner in Rome. However, rather than being locked up with all the other prisoners, Paul was permitted to dwell by himself in his own house with his own private soldier. Because Paul had his own house, Paul was able to minister more freely then he would have been able to do had he been in prison.

Once Paul reached Rome, one of the first things he did was he called for the Jews. The Jews acknowledged that the Jews in Jerusalem had not sent any message to them regarding Paul. While the Jews had not heard anything about Paul, they had heard about those who preached Jesus and they acknowledged that everything they heard was not good. Nonetheless, they were willing to give Paul audience and as such, they set a day were many of the Jewish leaders came into Paul�s house to hear Paul teach.

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

How many times have you heard someone say that because we live in the age of grace, the law is of no effect? In Matthew 5:17, Jesus told us, �Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.� The simple truth is that Jesus never said that the law was over and neither did the Apostle Paul. God no longer requires the sacrifices outlined in the Old Testament. These sacrifices are not necessary because God made the Perfect Sacrifices that made the need for animal sacrifices no longer necessary. The main difference between before Christ and after Christ is that instead of us making a sacrifice to appease our guilty conscience, now one only needs to turn to Jesus Christ and ask HIM to blot out all your sins.

Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

You are not saved by the law but by faith. While you are commanded to do good works, your good works will not save you. You can obey every law in the Bible but until you take a step of faith, you will not be innocent of your sins.

During the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and the Sadducees sought to be justified by the law. They obey their laws down to the last detailed. However, they were not any closer to God because of it. Yes, they received the praises of men. Nonetheless, they did not recognize Jesus for who HE really was and they crucified the One who they had been waiting for.