In Bishop Drew’s sermon yesterday titled, “The Power of Confidence,” his 8th and final point, “A Clean Conscience,” can be heard @ 51:30 on the linked Facebook video. Quoting Bishop Drew, “A Clean Conscience – Got To Have It. A Clean Conscience comes from living a right life. A Clean Conscience means I don’t turn off an ear to the Holy Spirit. So sometimes His job is to convict the world of sin. So if there’s something wrong in my life the Holy Spirit will show me. Some folks tune Him off. When you tune Him off and you won’t stand correction, you won’t let Him make adjustments, then your Conscience will become Seared.
The Bible talks about a “Seared Conscience.” It’s like taking a hot iron and putting it over your conscience so that when it’s Seared, it has no sensitivity.
If you have a scar, and you’ve been burnt and it’s been seared, that area is not so sensitive.
That’s what happens to a Conscience that won’t let the Holy Spirit deal with it. If God wants you to change something, just do it.”
The scripture Bishop Drew was talking about is,
1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
While reading devotionals a few weeks ago, a couple verses had me very bewildered. It couldn’t possibly mean what the words were saying. I turned to commentaries to get to the root of its implications, the verse was;
Ezekiel 20:24-26 because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. 25 Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord. (read again verses 25-26)
When I first became a “Born Again with God’s Spirit” Christian, I earnestly decided to read the Bible and pay attention to the “Words In RED.” I found things in it that made me think, Jesus could possibly relate to me because of things we had in common. Being a commercial shrimper and knowing that some of the disciples were but lowly fishermen like myself was really putting me into a “comfort zone” until I got to these verses in Matthew.
Matthew 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one DECEIVES you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will DECEIVE many.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and DECEIVE many.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For False christs and False prophets will rise and Show Great Signs and Wonders to DECEIVE, if Possible, EVEN The Elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
In Jesus’ warning, he said “deceive” 4 times and “false prophets or christs” 3 times in those few verses.
That’s when I started praying, “Oh God, please don’t let me be deceived. I know I am way lower than the “very elect” thinking it meant having full comprehension of the Word of God. The fear of falling into deception of the enemy or anyone else has always been an issue for me.
I think there were 2 things God anchored in my “Born Again” spirit, a fear of being deceived, being “lead astray,” and a belief that I would live to see the “Rapture” happen. The fear of missing the Rapture because of becoming deceived only fed the fear of being deceived.
Deception in my opinion is like sleep. When you’re asleep, you aren’t aware of it. Have you ever dreamed of dreaming in a dream, you think you are conscious but you aren’t, you’re asleep.
Sleep is being unconscious. Deception through God’s Word being misapplied and not understanding God’s character can come from not knowing the Word of God for ourselves. We MUST be a Berean as Paul admonishes us in Acts 17:10-11
Jesus told us in Mark 13:11 and John 14:21 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
But Paul admonishes us again in, 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Incorrectly understanding, “wrongly dividing” God’s Word can lead to deception. Incorrectly applying God’s Word can bring deception and sin.
Galatians 5:17-18 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
I think an unbalanced understanding of God’s Grace and thinking “God’s Law” no longer matters to God or our relationship with Him invites the enemy. The truth is that we must live according to the Law of the Spirit of God written on our hearts, not the ones written on stone. We must be submitted to the leading of the Spirit. We have the option at every point to go our own way if we choose to defect. Repeatedly resisting the leading of the Spirit leads to the way of deception.
2 Corinthians 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
John 3:19-20 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
John 12:39-40 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.”
Those verses clearly say that if we “willfully” choose what God’s Word declares to be sin, we open ourselves up to spiritual blindness, deafness and a hardening of our heart.
That’s what Bishop Drew said yesterday in his sermon, “So if there’s something wrong in my life, the Holy Spirit will show me. Some folks tune Him off. When you tune Him off and you won’t stand correction, you won’t let Him make adjustments, then your Conscience will become Seared.”
I like most young Christians had a lot to learn about what God really had to say in the Bible. I had not read it a lot and most of what I had learned came from going to mass, catechism and then full Gospel preaching.
After being “Born Again with God’s Spirit” I found it easy to see the errors I had been taught in the Catholic church, like praying to Mary and to saints, and being discouraged from reading the Bible for myself. After being born again I went through a backsliding period but like the prodigal son, “I came to myself,” I woke up.
The “we are not under law,” Paul had his thorn in the flesh sin, I can have one too, God’s Grace is sufficient teaching was the beginning of it. I had found it easy to see the error after the fact in the Catholic church and didn’t guard carefully enough for error in the full gospel church. Jesus was condemning the religious system of His day for its errors. He wasn’t out condemning the fortune tellers or idol worshipers of Baal. Error was in the church then and is still here today. God through the prophet Ezekiel explains it really clearly. There have been two priesthoods making offerings to God in operation throughout history. Like that of Cain and Abel, God accepts one and puts up with the other, with the Holy Spirit coaxing them to repent, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Genesis 4:7
Father God uses the same phrase he spoke to Cain, when He tells Moses in,
Leviticus 22:29 When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 (NASB)
Ezekiel describes two priesthoods that God has “allowed” to operate. A righteous one, obedient to Father God and a compromised one that pleases the wishes of the people. An unnamed prophet came to Eli in 1 Samuel 2:27-36 and prophesied of these 2 priesthoods.
God tells Ezekiel, 44:5 And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
The Zadok and Abiathar Priesthood model was taught by God to Ezekiel. It was initiated in 1 Samuel 2:27-36 by an unnamed “man of God” who came to Eli with an ominous warning and prophecy. It’s fulfilled in 2 Samuel concerning the actual priests named Zadok and Abiathar who served as priests under king David. Abiathar is the priest who lacked discernment and went after what he thought was the consensus of the people in 1 Kings chapters 1&2. When Solomon became king, he told Abiathar to his face that he was the fulfillment of the corrupt priesthood foretold by the “man of God” to Eli, 1 Kings 2:26-27
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, that he might fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
Ezekiel 43 NKJV
6 Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. 7 And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. 8 When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. 9 Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
Ezekiel describes The Zadok Priesthood
Ezekiel 43:18-19 And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: ‘These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it. 19 You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,’ says the Lord God.
Now The Straying Levites God says,
Ezekiel 44:10-14 “And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity. 13 And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will make them keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.
But Concerning The Zadok Priesthood
Ezekiel 44:15-16 “But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. 16 “They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.
23 “And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
God has just told Ezekiel and us that there will be ministers in his house, separated by a wall, that will be corrupt. They, sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. 12 Because they ministered to them before their idols.
These ministers can put on a good appearance and talk a good game but in reality God says, 13 And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. 14 Nevertheless I will make them keep charge of the temple,
God Himself says He allows a backslidden priesthood to accommodate the carnal Christian who also resist the leading of the Holy Spirit because of —their lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life that are not of the Father. Let’s look at Ezekiel’s verses that I thought couldn’t possibly be saying what it’s saying.
Ezekiel 20:24-26 because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. 25 Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.
Commentaries about these verses explains in light of the Gospel of God’s Grace it’s New Testament application.
Ellicott’s Commentary – But how can the Lord say that He gave these to them? In the same way that it is said in Isaiah 63:17, “O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from Thy ways, and hardened our heart from Thy fear?” So also St. Paul says of the heathen (Romans 1:21-28) that God “gave them up to uncleanness,” “unto vile affections,” “to a reprobate mind;” and of certain wicked persons (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12) “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believe not the truth.” And St. Stephen says of these very Israelites at this very time, “God gave them up to worship the host of heaven” (Acts 7:42).
Benson Commentary – … God, in a just judgment for their disobedience to his own laws, gave them up to a reprobate mind, and suffered them to walk after the idolatrous and impious customs of the heathen around them. And whereas, by obeying the laws and ordinances which he had given them, they might have lived happily, (Ezekiel 20:11,) they became slaves to the vile and cruel practices of the heathen idolatries, so as to offer up their very children in sacrifice to idols, to the utter destruction of themselves and their posterity, Ezekiel 20:26. This will appear to be the sense of the text, if we compare it with Ezekiel 20:39, and with Deuteronomy 4:28; Deuteronomy 28:36; Jeremiah 16:13; in which texts God threatens them, as a punishment for their neglect of his worship, to disperse them into the heathen countries, and thereby deprive them of an opportunity of serving him in public, and expose them to the peril of being seduced to idols. Just as David complains to Saul of the hardship of his exile, that it laid him open to the temptation of serving the heathen gods, 1 Samuel 26:19.”
Matthew Henry Commentary – The history of Israel in the wilderness is referred to in the new Testament as well as in the Old, for warning. God did great things for them. He gave them the law, and revived the ancient keeping of the sabbath day. Sabbaths are privileges; they are signs of our being his people. If we do the duty of the day, we shall find, to our comfort, it is the Lord that makes us holy, that is, truly happy, here; and prepares us to be happy, that is, perfectly holy, hereafter. The Israelites rebelled, and were left to the judgments they brought upon themselves. God sometimes makes sin to be its own punishment, yet he is not the Author of sin: there needs no more to make men miserable, than to give them up to their own evil desires and passions.
These 3 commentaries all agree that having the wrong attitude of sin from God’s point of view opens up any and everyone to the effects of that sin, more so to the believer and those to whom God has poured out abundant Blessing and Wonderful Grace and even the Precious Blood of His ONLY Son Jesus Christ. The book of Hebrews also warns of placing so little value of ALL God has done for those under the New Covenant,
Hebrews 10:26-31 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Not many pastors will mention “Insulting the Spirit of Grace” and fewer still will speak of “falling short of God’s Amazing Grace” but it’s in the New Testament.
Hebrews 12:15-17 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
Some Christians have much too much of a flippant attitude about God’s Amazing Grace. An attitude of, “After I have enjoyed my life or thorn in the flesh sin I’ll just tell God I’m sorry for the hundredth time and He has to forgive me or set me free from it when I’m ready.”
The commentaries paint a totally different picture. God Will give you your heart’s desire, even the bad ones if you reject the council of His Holy Spirit. True Faith in God’s Word is Believing Both the Blessing and the Curses that are linked to obedience and disobedience. How many threats of punishment for bad behavior do you give your child before you have to follow through, for their own good?
.Being turned over to a “reprobate mind” has limited possibilities or recovery. God, in His Infinite Mercy can allow a beam of His Light to shine into the darkness of such a person’s heart and mind. Just maybe in that instant they can be like the prodigal son,
Luke 15:17-19 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”
God gives every person a “free will” to repent from sin or not. He lets every person, even “Born Again with His Spirit” Christians decide how they will live their life. We don’t turn into robots for Christ. His Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into ALL Truth if we let Him but He Won’t Force us to.
The other option is that God let’s them die in their sins. Jesus declared that He IS the Light of the World and He IS the Light that shines in the hearts of all those who have asked Him in. But He said this,
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
In this passage of scripture, Jesus and the Pharisees got into a verbal altercation, you’re a liar, who’s your daddy for a few verses then Jesus tells them this warning.
John 8:21-23 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”
23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
In verse 21 Jesus said they would seek to go where He is going but they will die in their sin and Can NOT Go where He is going to (with the Father in Heaven). Two more times in verse 23 Jesus says “you will die in your sins.”
Now the Pharisees are getting more furious. After more debate on who Jesus is, He tells them who their daddy is, Satan, the devil. They are so mad they attempt to stone Jesus but their sin has given them blindness.
59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Try to make a Christian today believe they are blinded to see the truth of God’s Word because of sin. They’ll quickly quote “we are not under Law”. But I believe the Pharisees were in His physical presence and couldn’t see Jesus because of their sin.
Many Christians have been told or believe the Old Testament is no longer relevant, and Jesus’ statements to “die in your sin” probably doesn’t mean much.
To the Scribes and Pharisees who knew the scriptures, Jesus’ mention of “dying in their sins” would have been recognized as a Jewish teaching method called a “Remez,” a hint of scriptures they would have know very well and a declaration of eternal death by Father God for “SIN.” Jesus taught this in the New Testament. Jesus is who you and I will stand before and give account for what we did with the abundant Grace He gave to us individually, as members of the New Testament church. To whom much is given much will be required. The “remez” teaching comes from only two chapters earlier in the book of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 18:21 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. 23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
24 “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. 27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 28 Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”
Repentance from sin, receiving a New Heart and a New Spirit was very much preached by none other than our Heavenly Father. He is NOT Schizophrenic. Everything in the Bible is a type or shadow of something important. As far as “covenants” go there were many covenants made between God and His chosen people throughout the Bible. We are called to keep covenant with God on an individual basis, every day. 300 times in scripture, Covenant (‘s, ed, breakers) is mentioned. Israel renewed it’s covenant with God on many occasions. Too often the church tries to separated itself from the Old Testament scriptures unless it’s the ones it likes.
If you have truly been “Born Again with God’s Spirit,” you don’t look at sin as “Breaking God’s Law” it’s much worse than that, you are “Breaking God’s Heart.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth (controls ESV) us;
There are things I’ve thought or done in my life, knowing it was in full view of God’s Eyes, that I could have NEVER done in the view of my mother’s eyes. Genuine Love is what made the difference. Many say they love God but is it even the phileo type of love? Who are they fooling? Maybe themselves, Surely NOT God!!!
It’s only through repeatedly disregarding the Holy Spirit in you, to not sin, that a dulling of the senses to perceive God is lost and a hardening of the heart begins to happen. At that point, grieving God is no big deal anymore. The further it goes, trampling the Precious Blood of Christ is no big deal anymore. The most severe sermon against sin doesn’t prick your heart anymore.
After coming to these truths, I once saw myself from God’s eyes like a walking Lazarus, bound in death, rotting away from the effects of sin. Willful sin is like the effects of leprosy, rotten flesh is falling off but there’s no pain because the nerves have long been dead. That too is what Bishop Drew said yesterday, “It’s like taking a hot iron and putting it over your conscience so that when it’s Seared, it has no sensitivity.”
On more than one occasion Jesus told people to go and sin no more but two times he added this warning.
John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
Luke 11:24-26 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Jesus taught these lessons for a reason. Jesus is the Word of God. The words in Ezekiel and throughout the Bible are His Words, Inspired by the Holy Spirit for men to record.
Over time I’ve come to realize that just because Jesus and I like fish and that He chose to call some lowly fishermen to His ministry, He IS Still my LORD, Yahweh. He’s not my pal or my buddy. He won’t cut me any slack just because we have a couple things in common. Like the prodigal son, I’d be more than happy to only be His servant, but at times He reveals to me a Love I that’s hard to comprehend.
As for Satan, he is much more cunning than most people give him credit. He and his demons know the Bible and can quote it better than any Christian. They are supernatural and have had thousands of years to find ways to pervert it to find believers weaknesses. Like Bishop Drew says, “He’s a good devil, at doing what a devil does.”
It wasn’t the foundation of the Hard Rock hotel in New Orleans that caused the collapse. It was the improper application of standard building materials that work perfectly if used correctly.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Misunderstanding and misapplication of God’s Word in our life and resisting the correction the Holy Spirit tries to bring for us to get it right is a recipe for disaster
If we as Christians don’t “rightfully divide the Word of God” as Hebrews says or Study the Whole Counsel of God’s Word as Paul told Timothy we open ourselves up to a fall far greater that the hotel in New Orleans.
The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us, speaking of Yeshua Jesus Himself. Any scripture that is rejected as being totally irrelevant to how we live our lives is a dangerous way of thinking. Jesus said these words also,
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
In The Word 