Tuesday, February 07, 2023
Commands, teachers, and the Kingdom
Matthew 5:19-20 and a few thoughts about what this means for teachers and the Kingdom.
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
A couple of things seem obvious to me.
One, be very careful with God's commands. Do not play fast and loose with what God says. Stop "smoothing over" the rough parts. And do not teach others that they do not mean what they say.
Two, Jesus does not say these teachers are not in the Kingdom. He says they are least in the Kingdom.
Evidently, there are degrees of salvation. Or degrees of importance. Or degrees of effectiveness.
If you want to be great in the Kingdom, then teach what God says. And Jesus makes it a point to say do what God says.
It may be that our definition of great in the Kingdom does not always match what God says.
The key to being in the Kindom seems to be having more righteousness than the Pharisees. Pharisees often did not accept Jesus, they tried to find loopholes to the commands, and they seemed much more interested in rules than people.
So... a word to all the teachers, parents, preachers, and church leaders.
Be righteous. Because of Jesus. And try to live the commands you teach.
Teach what God says. Not what you think he should have said.
Do not "relax" the commands of God. Stop trying to explain why what God said is not applicable to today.
And when someone does not teach the way you believe they should, they are still in the Kingdom.
And yes, this is good for me personally to remember.
Teach what God says. Try my best to live it.
