Different from the World, Faithful to the King
Faithful to the King
but by faithfully aligning our lives with it as fulfilled in Him.
When a new King takes the throne, He doesn't tear up the charter. He honors it. He fulfills it.
🏠 Illustration: Renovation vs. Demolition
🧩 Illustration: The Defining Puzzle Piece
📍 Illustration: The Surveyor's Benchmark
🌡️ Illustration: Thermostat vs. Thermometer
We don't obey to become Christ's. We obey because we already belong to Him."
but because they live faithfully under it.
Different from the World, Faithful to the King
Sermon Title: Different from the World, Faithful to the King — Blessed Are the Different
Preacher: Barry Johnson, Brookfield Church of Christ
Date Preached: January 18, 2026
YouTube Video: Watch Full Sermon (Length: 39 minutes)
Key Scriptures: Matthew 5:17-19; Romans 3:31; Romans 10:4; Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Luke 24:44; 1 Peter 1:24-25; James 1:22; Ezra 7:10
When "Different" Doesn't Mean "Rebellious"
What does it mean to be different in a world that has redefined nearly everything? This January at Brookfield, we've been exploring that very question under Tony Padgett's year-long theme: the Sermon on the Mount. In this third week, the text moved us from who we are and why it matters to the most pressing question of all — how we live. And at the heart of that question is this: What is a believer's relationship to God's law?
Jesus answers it directly in Matthew 5:17-19 — and the answer might surprise those who assume that following Jesus means leaving the Old Testament behind.
The King's Charter: Understanding Our Relationship to God's Word
The organizing metaphor of this message is one I find deeply clarifying: every kingdom has a charter — a founding document that defines its values, authority, and direction.
The Old Covenant is that charter for the Kingdom of God. When a new king takes the throne, he doesn't shred the founding document. He honors it. He fulfills it. He governs by its authority. That is precisely what Jesus did.
"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." — Matthew 5:17
Some in Jesus' day assumed his radical teaching meant a clean break from everything that came before. Jesus corrects that misunderstanding immediately. Being different in the Kingdom is not rebellion against God's word. The crucial question is never whether the charter matters. The question is whether we live faithfully under the King who fulfilled it.
Renovation, Not Demolition
The first point of this message is that Jesus did not abolish God's Old Covenant — he renovated it.
When a historic home is restored, a wise owner doesn't tear it down and start over. They remove what is broken, reinforce what is weak, and preserve what gives the house its character. That's the relationship Jesus has with the law and the prophets. He isn't a wrecking ball to Scripture. He is a master restorer.
Paul echoes this in Romans 3:31 — "Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means. On the contrary, we uphold the law." Faith in Christ doesn't cancel God's revealed will. It honors it. And the Psalmist reminds us why this matters: "Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89).
We don't have the option of discarding Genesis through Malachi simply because we live in the New Covenant age. Jesus didn't give us that option. Our relationship is not to the misunderstandings of those who lived under the charter — it's to the intent of the charter itself.
Fulfillment, Not Replacement
The second point follows naturally: Jesus came to fulfill the law, not replace it.
In Luke 24:44, Jesus himself declares, "Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." And Romans 10:4 tells us that Christ is the telos — the goal, the completion — of the law. That Greek word doesn't mean an eraser. It means a checkmark. A mission accomplished. A puzzle piece clicked into place.
Think about putting a puzzle together and finally finding that one center piece that makes the rest suddenly clear. That's Jesus where God's law is concerned. The law always pointed forward — to a Messiah, to a Savior, to a fulfillment. Men who try to keep the old covenant while skipping the One who fulfilled it don't just miss Jesus — they guarantee they'll misunderstand the very charter they're trying to keep.
The law is not erased. It is embodied — lived, explained, and completed in Jesus Christ.
God's Word Is Permanent
The third point anchors everything else: God's word endures forever, and that permanence demands our faithfulness.
Matthew 5:18 states it plainly — not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Isaiah 40:8 affirms it — "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." Peter applies Isaiah's words directly to the gospel age (1 Peter 1:24-25), reinforcing the unbroken continuity between the Old and New Covenants.
The illustration I love here is that of a surveyor's benchmark — a permanent marker placed in the earth that does not move no matter how much the landscape changes around it. Roads shift. Buildings rise and fall. But that benchmark holds. Culture may shift. Opinions may rotate. God's word is fixed. It always points in the same direction, toward the same purpose, to the same Christ.
Cultural pressure must never outweigh biblical conviction. Kingdom people trust God's word especially when it's unpopular.
Live It and Teach It — Be a Thermostat
The final point is the application: God's word is meant to be faithfully lived and faithfully taught (Matthew 5:19).
Two dangers face every believer: relaxing our obedience, and lowering our expectations for others. Jesus warns that whoever relaxes even the least of God's commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom. But whoever does and teaches them will be called great.
Ezra models this perfectly: "For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach his statutes" (Ezra 7:10). Study. Do. Teach. That is the faithful disciple's pattern.
The closing illustration says it beautifully: Don't be a thermometer. Be a thermostat.
A thermometer only reflects the temperature around it. Too many believers simply reflect whatever the surrounding culture looks like. But a thermostat sets the temperature. Kingdom people don't merely register the spiritual climate — they regulate it. In every sphere of influence God has placed you in — your family, your workplace, your friendships, your congregation — you are called to set the temperature, not mirror it.
A Word from Barry
Having preached at Brookfield for 23 years, I know this congregation understands faithfulness. This community has weathered difficulty, change, and the pressures of a shifting culture — and it has held. This message on Matthew 5:17-19 goes to the root of why: you've stayed connected to the charter. You've honored the King who fulfilled it. As Tony leads us through the Sermon on the Mount this year, I pray this third week serves as a foundation stone — reminding us that difference in the Kingdom is never rebellion. It is joyful, humble, thermostat-like loyalty to Jesus Christ.
This Week's Challenge
This week, I challenge you to identify one area of your life where you've been a thermometer instead of a thermostat. Is it a relationship? Your social media presence? A conversation you've been avoiding? Following Matthew 5:19 and Ezra 7:10, choose to study, do, and teach in that one area — not to earn righteousness, but to reflect your loyalty to the King who has already secured it for you.
Small Group Discussion Questions
Barry described the Old Covenant as "the King's Charter." In what ways does understanding the Old Testament as a founding document — rather than an outdated rulebook — change how you read it? What passage from the Old Testament has shaped your faith most deeply?
Romans 10:4 calls Christ the telos (goal/completion) of the law. How does that change the way you think about Old Testament stories, laws, and prophecies? Can you think of a specific Old Testament passage that only makes full sense in light of Jesus?
The renovation vs. demolition illustration suggests Jesus restored the intent of the law rather than destroying it. Where have you seen Christians "demolish" parts of God's word they find difficult, rather than trusting the King who fulfilled it?
Barry said, "Our relationship is not to the misunderstandings of the people who lived under the charter — it's to the intent of the charter." How does that principle protect us from both legalism and lawlessness?
The thermostat illustration is convicting. In which specific sphere of your life — family, workplace, church, neighborhood — has God called you to set the spiritual temperature? What would that look like practically this week?
Watch the Full Sermon
This lesson is part of Tony Padgett's year-long series on the Sermon on the Mount at Brookfield Church of Christ. The teaching from Matthew 5:17-19 is rich with illustrations, Scripture, and practical application that goes deeper than any blog post can capture.
Watch "Different from the World, Faithful to the King" on YouTube →
Kingdom difference is not rulebreaking — it is King-honoring. Blessed are the different, because they live faithfully under the charter that Christ fulfilled.
Posted by Barry Johnson | Barry's Bureau Ministry | barrysbureau.org
Faithful to the King
7 questions • Immediate feedback • Certificate at the end