As Christians, we are to keep the commands of Jesus Christ. We are to obey all the commands in the Sermon on the Mount, the commands of Jesus in the gospels, and the commands of the apostles recorded in the New Testament.
Is this legalism? No. It’s love. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3).
Jesus said that if we keep his commands, we will be great in the kingdom of heaven. But if we break his commands, we will be least in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). We are not saved by obeying God; we are saved by grace through faith. But if we are saved, we will want to obey Jesus, and to the extent that we do obey him, to that extent we will be blessed.
Jesus did not come to destroy the Old Testament, but he came to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). He said the Old Testament would not be destroyed, but would endure forever until everything contained in it was fulfilled (Matthew 5:18).
Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament in 2 ways.
First of all, Jesus kept the Old Testament law. He fulfilled all its demands. He never sinned, but he lived a perfect life. Because of his perfect holiness, he shouldn’t have died. But Jesus did die. He died not for his own sins (because he had none); he died for our sins. Through his perfect sacrifice on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our disobedience, and his free gift of righteousness became freely available. We receive this gift of righteousness through faith, and then we are born again.
Second, Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament by fulfilling its prophecies regarding the Christ. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, and killed on a cross – all to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures.
One of the most important prophecies in the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 18:15-19. In this passage, Moses prophesied that God would raise up a great prophet who is like Moses himself, who would speak powerful words to God’s people. This Scripture, like all others, had to be fulfilled.
Throughout history, Israel was waiting for this great prophet to come. Finally, around 30 AD, he arrived. Jesus Christ was this prophet, who declared the word of God perfectly to God’s people (Acts 3:22, 7:37). Like Moses delivered the words of the Old Covenant, so Jesus delivered the words of the New Covenant. Jesus fulfilled this Scripture of Deuteronomy by being this Prophet.
The main part of this prophecy in Deuteronomy was that this prophet would speak words from God, and if anyone refused to obey those words, he would be destroyed (Acts 3:22). Jesus spoke the word of God which is recorded throughout the pages of the New Testament, and his words will judge us all (John 12:48).
If we break one of Jesus’ least commandments, we will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Here, Jesus is not referring to the least commandments in the Old Testament, for many of those OT commands have passed away for literal observance in the New Covenant age. For example, we no longer are to be circumcised for religious reasons (Galatians 5:2), even though every male had to be circumcised in the Old Testament. We no longer are to celebrate Old Testament holidays (Galatians 4:10), even though all Jews had to celebrate many holidays in the Old Testament. And we are no longer to keep the dietary regulations in the Old Testament (Mark 7:18-19), even though that was very important in the OT.
Instead, the commands that we are to keep are Jesus’ own commands, recorded throughout the New Testament. Jesus’ commands are the commands of the kingdom of heaven. They manifest the kingdom of heaven. They determine the form and function of God’s kingdom, for they are the words of the king. Insofar as we submit to these words, we release the power of God’s kingdom, but insofar as we disobey them, we rebel against the king.
Jesus said some of his commands are greater than others. He said the greatest command is to love God, and the second command is to love others. One command is more important than another.
These two commands— love God and love others— are repeated both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The OT commands that are repeated in the NT are to be kept by us today, as well as the commands only mentioned in the NT.
There are other great commands of Jesus, like repent, confess your sins, and believe in Jesus Christ. We need to keep these greatest commands of Jesus.
What are the least commands of Jesus? His least commands may be instructions like “go a second mile” or “give to everyone who asks.”
Our greatness in the kingdom of heaven is determined by how we obey Jesus’ least commands. Jesus said if we break his least commands and teach others to break them, then we will be least in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). Many churches today teach people to break Jesus’ least commands. They say things like, “Those commands don’t apply to us today. We don’t have to do that literally. Jesus really meant something else…” If we break his least commands, we will be least in the kingdom (Matthew 5:19).
But what if we break his great commands? If we break his great commands, we may not even be in the kingdom of heaven at all! Why? If we are really saved, we will keep Jesus’ great commands— we will love God, love others, repent, and believe in Jesus. If we don’t do these necessary things, it may be a sign that we are not really born again.
Jesus said the only way to enter the kingdom is to have a righteousness that exceeds the greatest righteousness of the most zealous followers of the Old Testament law (Matthew 5:20). How can we get such righteousness? We get it through faith in Christ! He is our righteousness, and only through faith can we receive this gift of righteousness. We need the righteousness of the perfect Son of God.
We are in the kingdom of heaven now. We entered the kingdom the moment we were born again (Colossians 1:13). Some are great in the kingdom of heaven, and some are least in the kingdom (Matthew 5:19). What does this practically mean now? A great person in the kingdom of heaven may bear much fruit of the Spirit. He may walk in spiritual authority and power. On the other hand, a person who is least in the kingdom may be cold to God and not really care about spiritual matters.
In the age to come, this difference between being great or least in the kingdom of heaven will be even more pronounced. Those who are great in the kingdom will shine very brightly in eternity, but those who are least in the kingdom will be more dim (1 Corinthians 15:41). Paul went through a lot of trouble and stayed faithful to Jesus, and this was producing for him a greater weight of glory for eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17). In eternity, he will shine more brightly. Some people have works that they have done on the earth for Christ that will endure forever. Others will have works that they have done on the earth that will be burned up (1 Corinthians 3:15) – they will be saved, but they will be least in the kingdom.
Jesus said that he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist (John 7:48). Jesus said that John the Baptist was only born of a woman, which means that John was not born again. We need to be born of God; being born of a woman is not enough. John was saved, but since Jesus had not yet died on the cross and risen again, John was not born again in the New Testament sense and therefore was not inside the kingdom of heaven. But anyone who is born again is greater than John the Baptist because he is inside the kingdom of heaven now, even if he is the least person there.
Our entrance into the kingdom is determined by our faith in Christ and being born again. Our position within the kingdom is determined by our level of obedience to Jesus Christ.
When a group of people who are great in the kingdom seek to gather together in church and radically obey Jesus together, that church will look like the early church of Acts 2 and 4. When we radically obey Jesus’ words as individuals, like the radical commands of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and when we join with others who are also radically obeying Jesus, we will create a glorious church that is similar to Acts 2 and 4. Ultimately, such churches at the end of the age will become the bride of Christ and feast at the wedding supper.
As Christians, we are to follow Jesus Christ, our Lord. We are to obey his commands. As we do, we will be great in the kingdom of God. This is not the means of our salvation, but this is the fruit of our salvation, and the determiner of our eternal level of glory.
Lincoln House Churches 