Matthew 5:18-19 “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.”
Even though unforgiven sin in this age will be forgiven us through our Lord’s mercy on that day there will still be a price to pay, for in the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus said there would be. So what is the price that will be paid by the saints on that day? The price paid by believers, who continually break even the least of the Lord’s commandments and teach others to do the same, is that those believers will be placed among those who are called least in the kingdom of heaven. I want you to notice in this passage that our Lord Jesus refers to the breaking of the least of His commandments as cause to be called least in the kingdom of heaven. The Lord is not then saying that those who break the greatest of His commandments will incur a greater penalty. Not at all, because all of the commandments are His and the one who transgresses even the least of His commandments has become a transgressor of His law. The apostle James confirms this truth to us when He taught us that when we commit just one sin then we become guilty of transgressing the whole (not just one) law (James 2:10-11).
2 Timothy 2:20-21 “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honour and some for dishonour. (21) Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
Our Lord spoke about those called least in the kingdom of heaven while the apostle Paul spoke about those classified as vessels of dishonour. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us that in a great house there are some vessels that are used for honour and some for dishonour. The context of His teaching in this passage is that certain individuals in the church had been practising the sin of teaching false doctrine, and Paul was commenting on their status in the kingdom of God as a result of their sin. And so we see that even though these individuals were practicing sin they still remained in the house. The great house in this passage of scripture refers to the kingdom of God and so clearly these individuals still remained in the kingdom of God. Nevertheless because these individuals had not cleansed themselves from dishonour they had become vessels for dishonour in the kingdom of God. And so as vessels of dishonour, they would incur the same penalty as the saints who are classified as least in the kingdom.
Michael E.B. Maher
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