Reasons why we struggle to accept grace from God part 3

Because Jesus in certain situations reinforced the law! Matt5:17-48 is part of what we know as the beatitudes or sermon on the mount and these verses have been so misunderstood and used to condemn people when the true meaning is so profound when interpreted in the light of Jesus work on the cross and what Paul reveals about the purpose of the law. We have already used Gal4:5 which illustrates that Jesus has rescued us from slavery to law (things you must do in order to please God) but go back a chapter to Gal3:24-25 and here we see that the law's purpose was to lead us to trust in Christ. Go to Rom3:19 and see that the law was to make everyone guilty before God and more specifically in v20 the law gives us knowledge of our sin, knowledge of our inability to be pleasing to God through our law keeping. And the clincher is beginning of v20 'by the deeds of the law, no man will be made right before God' kowabunga!! Do you realise what these verses are saying? The law was not given to make us right/pleasing to God, it was given to make us realise that we cannot be pleasing to God by our own efforts! So what was Jesus saying in Matt5:17-48? He was using the law for it's true purpose to bring men to the end of themselves and call out for a saviour, a rescuer, a redeemer from the faulty system Heb8:7 he was actually highlighting the fact that they could not keep the law - if your right eye offend you pluck it out!