“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. I tell you the truth, until Heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18)

We Can Trust The Lord To Protect Us Because Of God’s Exacting Care

Today Apprising Ministries will draw your attention to a promotional “special” in Christianity Today, a magazine which would have a hard time being convicted of being evangelical, advertising the postliberal cult of the Emergent Church, or Emergence Christianity, which considers itself the new reformation of Christianity. However, it’s more accurate to state this is an Emergence of a new form of psuedo-Christianity. In The Emergence of Emergent Christianity Today Astray informs us:

“The Emergent church” has become one of the most provocative and controversial church movements of the early 21st century, with some of the most heated arguments over what it is trying to do and who it encompasses. (Online source)

So in this time of what is essentially a kind of Christian agnosticism within evangelicalism currently being advanced by leaders within this new reformation it seems good to think a bit about God’s protection. As in our glorious Lord’s protection of His Word in the Bible, as well as, His protection of the remnant that the Great Shepherd is calling out as this growing apostasy rapidly accelerates throughout the Body of Christ. We go now to verse 17 above as Jesus says — “Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (KJV). Now we know here that Jesus is teaching that He is the fulfillment of all the Scriptures concerning Himself.

But in our time of relativism and skepticism, and those outside the visible church are even worse, there is another question we need to address: Did Jesus teach that the texts of God’s Word would be preserved? Yes, He did; and right in the next verse of our text. Verse 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” (KJV). Now, at last check—as near as I can tell—this would not appear to have fully happened yet. And so the Master is telling us that until everything in Scripture comes to pass mankind is accountable for everything that is written in God’s Word.

As a matter of fact we’ve all heard someone say something along the lines of: “It doesn’t make one iota of difference to me.” Matthew 5:18 is where this type of statement originates. Jesus has just said to us — “I tell you the truth, until Heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”  The phrase not the smallest letter is the word iota in the original Greek. Dr. Louis Barbieri’s comment is helpful here:

Jesus’ fulfillment [of Holy Scripture] — would extend to the smallest Hebrew letter, the ‘jot’ (lit. yod), and even to the smallest stroke of a Hebrew letter, the ‘tittle’ (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, NT, 30).

The reference to the “jot” and the “tittle,” as you saw above is from the way verse 18 reads in the King James Version of the Bible. Dr. Barbieri further points out that in our English language “a jot would further correspond to the dot above the letter ‘i’ (and would look like an apostrophe),…” (ibid.). As far as the “tittle,” Barbieri then goes on to tell us that the “small angled line that completes the ‘R’ is like a ‘tittle’ ” (ibid.). The point should now become clear; our faithful Shepherd wants us to know that we can be eternally sure that we will have every Word that comes from the mouth of God. And not only that, but we can be sure that He will watch over His Word so intently that not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

And men and women, because Jesus rose from the dead—just as He promised—we can certainly trust in these promises by faith as well. God will ever be watching intently over His Word, and over His dear children, no matter how rough the spiritual waters dead ahead will become; and “soon.” Remember, just as A.W. Tozer pointed out, “God wants us to worship Him. He doesn’t need us, for He couldn’t be a self-sufficient God and need anything or anybody, but He wants us. When Adam sinned it was not he who cried, ‘God, where art Thou?’ Rather, it was God who cried, ‘Adam, where art thou?’ ” As Christian journalist Nick Harrison has noted, “For God to want us, rather than need us, should fill us with awe and humility.”

Let me offer a further word with the prayer that it will embolden you as I believe this is speaking to someone. Dear Christian, maybe the cares of this world have you frustrated, or maybe troubles seem to be weighing down heavily upon you. Well, let me encourage you that you don’t have to give up, and you don’t have to quit. As one minister so aptly put it, fear not because “the God Who has been with you in the past is the same God Who will be with you in the future.” And our Lord, Christ Jesus, has assured us here in Matthew 5:18 — “I tell you the truth, until Heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

May each of us take some time to meditate upon the fact that, as Christians, The LORD Is My Shepherd (see—Psalm 23) Who has supernaturally watched over and preserved Holy Scripture. And if He can be trusted to watch over His Word in Holy Scripture beloved, then you can get right back up and know that God will see you safely home. Don’t you remember? Our Master says — Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26) So today look up dear Christian, and if not before, then I’ll see you when we get There…