In Matt. 5:19 Jesus speaks of the person who will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Who does He say this person is? He says it is the person who “practices and teaches” His commands. For all the commands found in “the Law and the Prophets” (see v. 17) have been fulfilled in Jesus (same verse) and this is “the new way of the Spirit” (Rom. 7:6) in which we now serve.

The Lord uses the word “practices” and the word “teaches” in Matt. 5:19. What kind of words are these? They are verbs. Verbs are action words. So Jesus is saying that we must do something in order to be called (by Him) great in His Kingdom, and that it involves His commands. He says we must practice them. To practice something means to perform, carry out, observe, and repeat it habitually. The expectation then is clear.

What else does Jesus say of those He calls great? He says they will teach His commands. Teach means to show, instruct, explain, enlighten, educate, train, exemplify, demonstrate, coach, tutor, and guide. So to teach someone Christ’s commands does not just mean to explain them, but to model for others the way to apply those commands and live them out daily. Unfortunately the latter is what many Gospel preachers and teachers are not doing, and because of their neglect to exemplify the way of the Spirit within their own lives, the crowds are actually being taught to disbelieve God’s Word and power.

This is where the first part of Matt. 5:19 comes in, for Jesus begins the verse by saying, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven…” Do we have preachers and teachers who are careless about breaking Christ’s commandments? We certainly do. But how do they often try to excuse themselves? They do so by saying (and usually with a laugh or a wink), “Well, everyone sins –even the preachers.” Or, “We’re all human. We’re going to sin daily. And preachers are not exempt.”

Such preachers will sometimes then quote the next verse (Matt. 5:20) and go into great detail about how Jesus is here referring to Christ’s righteousness being imputed to every believer, regardless of how they behave. However, the whole chapter is about Christ commanding us to act perfectly toward our fellowman, and He ends the chapter with, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (v. 48)

Let’s look closely then, at Jesus statement in verse 20 which comes after His statement about who is called great or least in His Kingdom. He says, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Not enter. That means: Kept out of His Kingdom. For what reason? For not having greater righteousness than those who teach and practice all of God’s law. It’s true that Jesus elsewhere pointed out that these men were hypocrites, and that though their teachings and practices appeared holy, their hearts were foul. But, as Jesus is showing throughout the chapter, what goes on in the heart and thoughts will indeed come forth in words and actions, and that all these must be perfect; and that if they are not, we will be in danger of the fire of hell.

So, is it important to both practice and teach Christ’s commands? Yes. And is it crucial to stress the importance of adhering to them all with diligent practice unto perfection? Definitely. Then what should we do about the preachers and teachers in our midst who do not teach and practice spiritual perfection? We should get away from them. For as Jesus says, “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (15:14) –The pit of Hell where all are thrown who are “unclean” (v. 19, 20) because of continuing to hold sin’s filth in their hearts. (v. 18)

Let’s understand: To break even “the least of these commandments” (5:19) and teach others to do so as well, will cause Jesus to call us the least in His Kingdom. Furthermore, to refuse the Spirit’s school of perfection is to be in danger of Hell. But… to practice and teach perfection is to have Jesus call us great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let’s stop listening to those who are careless about sin and about obedience to Christ, and let’s learn the Truth by studying God’s Word for ourselves –like in this chapter of Matthew 5 where Jesus is most certainly emphasizing “your good deeds” (v. 16), meaning actions, behavior, conduct, and lifestyle.

Article

^^^opposite to "whoever practices and teaches abolition".

Jesus versus Paul.

What has it got to do with Jesus and Paul