For the last 500 years there has been an ongoing debate as to how the teachings of Jesus relate to the Old Testament. There are three basic views:

1. The Reformers believed that the teachings of Jesus related to the Old Testament with a perfect continuity (or, continuousness). That Jesus’ teaching did no more than explain the Old Testament Law. In keeping with this view, when the Reformers came across what would appear to be certain corrections in the Old Testament Law where Jesus uses the phrases found in Matthew 5: 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, and 43: “You have heard it said…but I say to you…” they argued that Jesus was merely correcting the interpretations of the Scribes and the Pharisees.
2. The Anabaptists represented a second view out of the Reformation period. They said that Jesus’ teaching was a radical discontinuity (or, break) with the Old Testament — that what Jesus said is radically new and that He even repealed or rescinded some parts of the Old Testament. Some of the Anabaptists even argued that Jesus was at odds with some of the specific laws of the Old Testament.

“You have heard it said…but I say to you…”

So, of the above two views, one was a radical (or perfect) continuity while the other is a discontinuity with the Old Testament.

3. The third view, which seems to deal most honestly with the text, proposes  that Jesus’ teaching is radically new and supersedes (or replaces or succeeds) the Old Testament, but is also in full, or complete, continuity with the Old Testament.

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” –Matthew 5:17

The best way to think about this third view is to see that Jesus completed, or fulfilled, the Old Testament Law. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). “Fulfill” means to complete. An example of Jesus fulfilling and superseding the Law is that when Jesus came He brought an end to the dietary and ceremonial laws around sacrifice – because He became the Ultimate Sacrifice. It isn’t so much that Jesus contradicted the Law, but that He fulfilled the law, superseded, and validated the Law. That is why the contemporary cultural critics of Christianity (and sadly, many Christians) don’t realize that we are not bound to the Old Testament Law any longer.

“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” –Galatians 3:24

The Old Testament Law was given to point people forward to the promised Messiah (Jesus). Once Jesus came, the Law’s purpose was fulfilled, and it became obsolete. The Law was not abolished and is of great benefit to the Church, but it is now superseded by a higher law, the law of the gospel of God’s radical and revolutionary kingdom.

So, Jesus’ subversive and radical new teaching about a New (Kingdom) Covenant supersedes the Old Testament but it doesn’t contradict the Old Testament. Jesus’s teaching is new and radical and it did not exist before Jesus came.

1. The Transition Team is a high functioning team and has been meeting for the last 7-weeks.
2. Elder update
   • Initial by-laws changes: 1) Max number of elders from 7 to 5 (we’d rather start smaller and build) and 2) there is also an amendment which allows an elder to resign.
   • We have three to be recommended to the congregation and are still interviewing for the additional two.
   • The Pastor Council is looking at calling, competence, character, and chemistry.
3. Interviewing for some staff positions
   • The word has gotten out and some are contacting us
   • Our highest priority at this time is the Middle School Pastor. (Once we identify a strong candidate I’ve ask Steve Heffernan to be willing to get some parents together to meet with the candidate.)
   • We are still getting/seeking input re: strategic staff need assessment
   • The diagnostic input may affect this with info/data re: KHC strengths and weaknesses
   • We are continuing to update job profiles for our staff
   • If you know of anyone they can email us at hr@kingsharbor.org and we will send them a packet.
4. Overview of the proposed relational reconciliation between former pastor and staff members.
5. We have done and will continue to do our due diligence for all guest speakers here at KHC.
6. Please sign-up for an interview – your input is needed!
7. Please read Making Peace.
8. V. 4 of Staff Guidelines is being reviewed.
9. We will be starting a series in Ephesians this fall: Part 1 – Grace To Grow (chapters 1-3) and Part 2 – Grace To Go (chapters 4-6)

I.  Look for The Gospel in every passage by asking the following 5 questions:

1. How does this text teach about Jesus and the Good News?
2. What does this text teach about God, His character, and His ways?
3. What does this text teach about fallen humankind? (More specifically, what am I trusting, or what do I love and serve more than Jesus?) Let the Bible read you!
4. What is it that God wants me to know from the text?
5. What does God want me to do as a result of this text?

II. Understand the Importance of Distinguishing Between Indicatives and Imperatives

1. When you see a command or list of commands in the Bible, don’t be fooled into thinking you have to accomplish them in your own strength. Look for the gospel indicative that empowers us to accomplish the imperatives.
2. In grammar, the indicative denotes a mood of verbs expressing simple statements of fact, such as:
   • The sky is clear tonight
   • She is not content with the outcome
   • “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7)
3. The imperative is a command, such as:
   • Take the dog for a walk
   • Go to bed
   • “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Eph 4:32)
4. The indicative (fact) of the gospel fuels the imperatives (commands). For example, the first three chapters of Ephesians are primarily indicatives telling us who we are “in Him.” The final three chapters are primarily imperatives. If we don’t let the first three chapters fuel the final three chapters, we are likely to fall into a ‘works’ mentality, which is moralism (i.e., behavior modification) and NOT the gospel. In the same way the Beatitudes ‘fuel’ the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.