Daily Bread 1-25-18

The Sermon on the mount(cont'd)

Matthew 5:19

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

ref. - Jas 2:10 - For whosoever shall keep the whole law, yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

So, today we see that it is necessary for us to become obedient even to the "little" commandments. If there was no reason for these commandments they would not have been given. Christ himself teaches us in Matthew 22:36-40 that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all our hearts, and all our souls, and all our minds. So, we can all agree to that, right? God is God and aways will be God. He is the creator of all things and is the most high ruler of all things. But next Christ tells his disciples(today this includes all followers of Christ) that the next most important and similar is that we love our neighbors as ourselves. In Mark 12:31 Christ says There is none other commandment greater than these. So, what many consider as a small thing is as great as the first and most important commandment. This brings us to this question; Why do we not follow both? If Christ says that on these two commandments hangs the law and the prophets, then how do we think that we can love God and hate our neighbor? Truth is, we can claim this but it is proven that we can't do it. At least we can't do this and remain in the favor of our Lord. One of the finest examples of this is Cain and Abel. (Gen 4:1-16) If we could just realize that if we love our God and our Neighbor, then we would not be found committing offenses contrary to the commandments that we have been given. This Sermon(Matthew Chap. 5-7)alone is filled with commandments from Christ that will put us in under his mediation and protection. In no place does he say that failure and offense is acceptable to God. What he tells his disciples is that if they offend even in one of the little commandments, and then teach others that it is acceptable, they will be the least in the kingdom. We, as disciples, must strive to be obedient to the instruction of Christ. We, also, if caught up in an offense, must humble ourselves and repent as according to the teachings of Christ. God's will is that we do not commit offense, but if we do, we must also know that how we handle it is an example to many others as well. If we do find mercy at his feet, we must remember that we are not to return to it. The first time it is a mistake, the second is a decision. As we learned in one of the previous lessons, we are a light on a hill, and we cannot be hidden. We must not just be followers of Christ, but we must belong to Him. When this scripture says whosoever shall DO and TEACH them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven, it means that we will not be acknowledged by God or blessed until we submit and become obedient to what we teach. We must become the disciples that we say we are. It is better for witnesses to call us disciples than for us to give ourselves this title. So, let us go to our knees in prayer and call on God in Jesus' name. Let us ask for his guidance and his intervention in our souls to help us to cleanse our lives from unrighteousness and to put in us the ability to be obedient to all commandments that are supported in the gospel that we have been given. Time to become true worshippers in the Spirit and in truth. This is what Christ is looking for in disciples and let us be those vessels of his perfect gospel!! We CAN do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us!!! Have a great day!!!!