[b]Matthew 5:17 - "Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets; I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.[/b] The word "[i]destroy[/i]" should be thought of like the agricultural term "[i]uproot[/i]." "[i]I have not come to uproot[/i]" The word "[i]fulfill[/i]" should be thought of like the medical term "[i]set[/i]." If you have ever had a broken arm, you would go to the doctor to have it “[i]set[/i]” into place. Man has misunderstood what G-d has taught him always. There is no difference, Jew or Gentile. Both have “[i]missed the mark[/i]” Yeshua (Jesus) came to “[i]set[/i]” the bone back into place. To be understood the way G-d meant it to be understood. In [b]Matthew 5:21[/b], Yeshua gives us an example of this “setting” into place: [b]"You have heard that our fathers were told, `Do not murder,' and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, `You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, `Fool!' incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom! So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift."[/b] Man has always focused on what you can’t do. It has never been about what you can’t do, but what you should do. The first sin in the garden was not eating the fruit. It was reaching out for it. Man should have trusted the word of G-d, that all that he says is good for you. Never having to draw the line and then reaching over it. When G-d spoke, all man heard was “[i]Do Not murder[/i]”. What G-d was saying was, if you remember that your brother has something against you, drop what it is you are doing and fix it. What needs to be understood about this gift offering is that this is speaking of one of the Feasts where all men were required by Torah to go make pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The city was packed with all the men of Israel and their families. The men would have appointed times to bring their sacrifice before the L-rd. The times were given out according to family/clans/tribes. The lines you would wait in could be hours long. Yeshua said, "When you come to the front of this line, and remember how someone has something against you, not something you have done to them, but something they have done to you. Drop the offering and run to them, and whatever it takes, make it right before you come to the L-rd. When man tries to decide what part of the law is for him or what he should obey. He is not trusting that G-d’s word is good for him. He is missing the mark by worrying about what he can’t do instead of focusing on what he should do. [b]Luke 9:56 - "for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."[/b] To reject parts of G-d’s word (mainstream christian teaching that you are freed from law. You are free from the law of sin and death, that's all) is to reject what the Son of Man did on the tree. To reject the life He has enabled us all to live in its fullness. To reject G-d’s blessing. Choose to fulfill all of G-d's word in your life and not destroy it!

Awesome! My favorite line- The first sin in the garden was not eating the fruit. It was reaching out for it. So true, so true. Great teachings, brother!

[b]MattBob_SquarePants wrote:[/b] [quote]Awesome! My favorite line- The first sin in the garden was not eating the fruit. It was reaching out for it. So true, so true. Great teachings, brother![/quote] *off-topic* Hypothetically speaking, if Adam had stopped from taking the fruit Eve when she reached for it, would God have sent them out of the garden? Remember they were commanded to not [i]eat[/i] of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17). I'm just curious what you think about this. *end off-topic*

You can look at a woman with lust and you have commited the sin of adultry in your heart without ever moving a muscle.