Hello, if you are joining us for the first time, we are looking at the teaching characteristics of Jesus. In the last devotional we looked at authority which was the first characteristic revealed in the passage.
 
The second characteristic of the teaching of Jesus that I would like to address is ACCURACY.
 
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
 
It is hard to miss the accuracy of Jesus in this passage.
 
God is precise – man in most instances, is not.
 
The law was not given to man haphazardly to give man something to do. Nor, did it come to be through trial and error. Nor, did man make it up for himself and then later God adopt it as a set of rules for man to follow. There is incredible precision in the law.
 
The problem with the law is that it failed.
 
Romans 8:3-4 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
 
The law is good because it comes from God, it is not evil – it is precise. However, because of sin in our flesh and in our heart, the law is incapable of restoring the relationship with God that God desires to have with us because our hearts are evil. Since sin is condemned by God, whatever sin touches is condemned too – my heart. Following the law does not purify the heart of man.
 
In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul makes this very clear…
 
Colossians 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Yes, the law was accurate, just incapable of saving a person because people were incapable of fulfilling the law. The law was accurate because God made the law.
 
Every single thing that God does is accurate.
 
Therefore, the teachings of Jesus are also accurate, everything!
 
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
 
Alright, God is accurate, and Christ is the Word, that means that the Word is accurate too. Are you following me? God is perfect precision and accurate in everything, therefore when we teach the Bible, accuracy must be important.
 
In your teaching of the Bible, in whatever capacity God gives you to teach, whether that be in your home with your kids, or on a platform in the church gatherings, seek accuracy.
 
Make sure that what you are teaching, or listening to being taught, is what the Bible is actually saying.
 
Sometimes we hold fast to certain aspects of the Bible because of what we have been taught or maybe what we grew up with. And because those around us whom we love, believed certain things, we adopt them as biblical absolutes.
 
What happens often, is we take some personal conviction, which is a good thing, and we make it a biblical absolute to be applied to everyone – we end up condemning others.
 
What maybe an allowable behavior according to the Bible, we make it a no-no. Or on the other hand, what the Bible says is wrong, we say it is right. 
 
Please agree that the Bible is accurate, and the teachings of Jesus are accurate. That in whatever position to teach is offered to us that we should be accurate too.
 
Father, You are precise, there is nothing wasted in You and nothing is inaccurate. Everything has place and time in You. Please help us to desire for accuracy in our teaching. Jesus, we want to honor You. You deserve our best. You gave Your best to us. Thank You Jesus for Your love and kindness, thank You for the mercy and grace that flows freely and fully from Your heart.
 
Blessings, 
Pastor D