[In this study so far we have examined the Be-attitudes and discovered what ought to be in us if the Lord Jesus Christ is in us.  We have heard our Lord tell us that we must be Salt and Light in this world.  Now we are going to discover what our Lord said must be precious to us if we would be the Salt and Light our world needs us to be. 

A.     The Preservation Of The Word (vs 17-18) [- Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. ¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. -   .] 

1.      The Identity of the Word of God (vs 17) [- ¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. - Jesus came to fulfill God's Word and He did.  Jesus fulfilled 70 major and specific Old Testament prophecies and 270 prophetic ramifications.  Jesus also fulfilled the types of the Old Testament and every requirement of the ceremonial law so that Jesus became the one eternal sacrifice removing the need for any present or future sacrifice as explained in the book of Hebrews and in other select New Testament passages.] 

a.      [Jesus refers to the Law and the Prophets.  These represent the Bible Jesus held and read.] 

(1)   [The Law - The first five books of the Old Testament.] 

(2)   [The Prophets - The remainder of the Old Testament.] 

(3)   [Substantiated by Jesus Christ.] 

(4)   [The content and substance of the Old Testament Scriptures are not contended by Bible Scholars in our day.  The Masoretic (Hebrew) text is firmly rooted and largely believed to be the Scriptures Jesus affirmed as the Word of God.  Yet, they make bold changes in the Old Testaments of modern translations.] 

b.      [Our Bible today - The Old and New Testaments - Contains Sixty-six books.  ] 

a)      [Thirty-Nine Old Testament.]

b)      [Twenty-Seven New Testament.]

c)      [1,189 Chapters]

d)      [31,101 Verses (Authorized Version)]

e)      [628,652 Words (Authorized Version).] 

c.       [Composure.] 

(1)   [Penned by,] 

a)      [More than 35 Penmen]

b)      [Over 1500 years]

c)      [On three different contenents] 

(2)   [Authored by one author, Almighty-God through inspiration.] 

2.      The Infallibility of the Word of God (vs 18; Rev 22.18-19; Deut 4.2; Psalm 119.89; Isa 40.8; Matt 24.35; 1 Pet 1.25) [- ¹⁸ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. – This deals with the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word of God.]   

a.      [Jesus testified of the veracity and endurance of God's Word.] 

(1)   [The Jot is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet.] 

(2)   [The Tittle is the smallest accent of the Hebrew alphabet.] 

(3)   [John MacArthur Notes - Not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, Jesus continued. The smallest letter translates the word iōta, the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. To Jesus' Jewish hearers it would have represented the yodh, the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which looks something like an apostrophe. A stroke (keraia) literally means "little horn" and refers to the small marks that help distinguish one Hebrew letter from another. It was a small extension of a letter similar to a serif in modern typefaces.]

[In other words, not only will the smallest letter not be erased, but even the smallest part of a letter will not be erased from the Law. Not even the tiniest, seemingly most insignificant, part of God's Word will be removed or modified until all is accomplished.[1]]

b.      [The level of the preservation of God’s Word (vs 18) – Today we find various types of translations in our book stores.  There are:] 

(1)   [Literal Translations – The King James Version – Word for Word translations.] 

(2)   [Dynamic Equivalencies – The NIV – Thought for thought.] 

(3)   [Other Equivalencies – It seems that translators have developed as many different conceptual equivalencies and the human mind can imagine and have written translations based on these conceptions.  Yet, the only translational method that conforms to God’s standard is a literal one, because only a literal translation seeks to preserve every essential Word given by God.] 

(4)   [Paraphrase Translations – The Living Bible, The Message – Nothing more than a commentary, some mans thoughts about the Bible.] 

(5)   [MOV’s – My Own Versions – Complete manipulations of the Word of God.] 

c.       [God’s counsel to you is use the Word of God.] 

(1)   [Every spot of ink – In saying this Jesus is saying that no dot on an “i” or cross on a “t” will be lost or dropped from the Word of God.] 

[Revelation 22:18-19 ¹⁸ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: ¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. ]

[Deuteronomy 4:2 ² Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. ]

d.      [The Bible testifies for its own veracity and endurance.] 

[Psalm 119:89 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. ] 

[Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. ] 

[Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. ] 

[1 Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. ] 

3.      The Importance of the Word of God (Rom 10.17; 1 Pet 2.2; 2 Tim 3.16-17) 

a.       [It is good for Faith (Rom 10.17) - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Faith is taking God at His Word, therefore to have biblical faith you must have the Word of God.  Without the Word of God there can be no biblical faith.] 

b.      [It is good for Growth (1 Pet 2.2) – As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: -  The Bible indicates that there are two levels of nourishment to be received from the Word of God; the milk of the Word and the Meat of the Word.  Each passages have two possible levels of spiritual enrichments woven by the hand of God into their text.  If you use anything other than a literal translation then you will receive either only the milk, only the meat, or neither the milk or the meat because you are receiving from someone else opinion of the word rather than learn from the inspired Word of God.  You need the Word of God not someone’s opinion of the Word of God.] 

c.       [It is good for Christian living (2 Tim 3.16-17) - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. – Many people demand to be comforted and confirmed by the Word of God.  When you are down or in trouble the Word of God indeed gives us comfort and confirmation.  However, the Word of God is designed by God to bring life change upon us as well.  The Word of God does this through confrontation and conviction.  So there will be, must be, times when God’s Word aggressively challenges who we are and what we think.  Our Heavenly Father seeks to mature us and grow us through the confrontation and conviction we experienced as we examine His precious written Word. ] 

["Beware of People who Deny God's Word"]
[James Merritt]

B.     The Proclamation Of The Word (vs 19) [- Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. -  Jesus gives direct counsel to those who are listening to him on that mount that day.  He tells them how they can establish a great reward for themselves in God’s eternal kingdom, and He warns them about diminishing their stature and position in that same kingdom.] 

1.      The Perversion Of The Word (vs 19; Gen 3.1; Rom 10.17)- Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: . . . – Since the beginning of time there has been a continued attack upon the Word of God.  All the way back in the Garden of Eden the devil began his rebellion against God by questioning the Word of God.  

[Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, . . .]

[Make no doubt about it, the devil knows how important the Word of God is to your salvation and your spiritual growth.  Satan knows that if He can get you to doubt just one Word contained within God’s Word that he can destroy your faith and render you useless as a Christian.  Why?  Because if you can doubt any word written in the Bible then you will not be able to trust any other word contained in the Bible.]

[Your faith depends on the infallibility and inerrancy of the Word of God.  Again, the Bible says,]

[Romans 10:17 ¹⁷ So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. ]

[Make no mistake about it, your spiritual life depends upon your opinion of this written Word of God.  Diminish it and you will disregard it.  Either God has preserved His word as He said He would or He has not.  What you believe about this Bible will undeniably affect how you view it and handle it.]

[Know this my Christian friend, believe away even one word of this Bible and you risk everything that heaven has to offer you in eternity to come.  You had better be sure your are right in the way you handle the Word of God.]

2.      The Performance Of The Word (vs 19) [- but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. – In this same verse Jesus says in no uncertain terms, if you will hear the Word of God and obey the Word of God then you will find an incredible reward waiting for you when you get to your eternal home.  Through the diligent study of the Word of God, and a dedication to its principles and commands you will,] 

a.      [Strengthen your faith.]

b.      [Secure your eternal rewards]

c.       [Stand through life’s storms and trials] 

[Be very careful to never disregard what the Bible says.  Too many in our day want to teach away whole sections of Scripture, claiming that the things written in some parts of the Bible just do not apply to us today.  Yet, upon diligent examination we find the Old Testament continuously quoted and confirmed in the New Testament.  Remember, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when he said,  . . . whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  Treat this Bible with the utmost regard and honor and you will receive a great reward from you Heavenly Father one day.] 

C.     The Power Of The Word (vs 20; Mark 7.6-9; Heb 4.12) [– For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. – Without any doubt mankind can know nothing of true righteousness apart from the revelation of God, which is the written Word of God.  The religious leaders of Jesus day had made the fatal mistake of writing so many commentaries (called lectionaries), law books, and other discourses about the word of God that there were whole libraries describing what many thought God’s Word said and meant.  There were so many books representing so many different opinions that people, and even the religious leaders got lost in the confusion.  So much so that they started following the things taught by men rather than the written Word of God.  Jesus noted this when he said,] 

[Mark 7:6-9 ⁶ He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ⁷ Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. ⁸ For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. ⁹ And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.]

[Christians must be careful to listen to and heed the Word of God more than any thing else in our day.  Yes, God has given God called pastors to the Church and they are given to help you grow in your understanding of the Word of God.  But be careful that your pastor does not be come the Word of God to you.  You need to hear and heed the Word of God.]

[Jesus literally says to His people in this passage, If you are going to be salt and light to this world then you need to have, hold, and honor the Word of God as your guide in your life.  Why?  Because it is the Word of God the possesses power in this world.  The Bible states,]

[Hebrews 4:12 ¹² For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.]

[Only the written Word of God has the power to bring the lost to salvation and to transform wayward lives for the glory of God.  Do you need a powerful change in your life?  Then you need the Word of God in your life.  There are two things you can expect when you approach the Bible as the Word of God.]

1.      The Conversion Of The Word (Rom 10.13-17) [– The powerful Word of God will bring you to a point where you will realize what Jesus did for you and what you need to do for Jesus. It is through the Word of God that you will come to know the gospel of Christ and will, Lord willing, come to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.  Without the Word of God there is no hope for salvation.  The Bible says,] 

[Romans 10:13-17 ¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. ¹⁴ How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! ¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? ¹⁷ So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. ]

[My friend, refuse to hear the Bible, God’s Holy Word, and you condemn yourself to an eternal hell.  This is serious business.  We are not talking about some earthly treasure or comfort, we are talking about eternal torment and damnation.  God has spoken to you.  God has extended a message to you, through His written Word.  Will you hear Him?  Will you heed Him?] 

2.      The Conviction Of The Word (1 Pet 2.2) [- Once you have received the Lord Jesus Christ and experienced the new birth it is then the Word of God that will bring conviction and change in your life.  A new Christian cannot grow spiritually until he applies himself to the precious Word of God.  The Bible states,]

[1 Peter 2:2 ² As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: ]

[My Christian brother or sister, don’t approach the Word of God lightly.  It is of ultimate importance in your life. Cherish it, hunger for it, honor it, hear it, and heed it.  It will forever change your life.]