As the story progresses, we will occasionally discuss doctrinal topics. I will try to explain important doctrines as simply as possible, but as mentioned before, you don’t need to take my explanations as definitive. My aim is to use only biblical evidence and common sense. My explanations may be incomplete, and my understanding may be limited, but I hope they help clarify the main points.
The first topic is sin. What exactly is sin? Different societies have different standards, but for Jews, sin meant breaking the law-specifically, the law found in the Torah (the Pentateuch). As discussed earlier regarding the Pharisees and Sadducees, both groups tried to keep the law, though they emphasized different traditions: the Pharisees valued the traditions of the elders, while the Sadducees emphasized priestly authority. In any case, during the time of the temple, the orthodox method of atonement was to receive forgiveness through sacrifices for sins that broke the law. Jesus also lived according to this law, although his criteria sometimes differed from those of the Pharisees or Sadducees, especially regarding the Sabbath.
There are three key things Jesus said about the law as the standard of sin.
The first, as many know, is:
“For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18, WEB)
Before considering this verse, it’s important to know that the “smallest letter” and “tiny pen stroke” refer to the original Hebrew text, specifically the law. In Hebrew, the letters are made up of dots and strokes, so even a small change can alter the meaning. Thus, Jesus is saying that not even the smallest part of the law will disappear until everything is fulfilled. Since the Gospel of Matthew was written for Jews, and Jesus was speaking to Jews, his listeners would naturally have thought of the Torah.
The second thing Jesus said about the law actually comes just before the previous verse:
“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17, WEB)
This can be understood more clearly through Paul’s explanation in Galatians:
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ Now that no man is justified by the law before God is evident, for, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ The law is not of faith, but, ‘The man who does them will live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,’ that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10–14, WEB)
Paul explains that Christ, to save us from the curse of the law-that is, the reality that breaking even one commandment makes you a sinner-took the curse upon himself, died on the cross, and redeemed us. Therefore, as Jesus said, even though the law itself is not abolished and all is fulfilled without the smallest letter or stroke disappearing, in Christ, we become righteous through faith, as if we had kept the law perfectly. Even if we cannot actually live a perfectly righteous life, through Jesus, we are counted as righteous by faith. In practice, this means that, for us, the law is fulfilled, and we are no longer bound by the old law.
The third teaching appears in the following verses:
“Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:19–20, WEB)
At first glance, this might seem to mean we should keep the law now, but the key is in the last part: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” In other words, Jesus is saying that even the greatest keepers of the law cannot achieve salvation by their own efforts. This is the same as Paul’s point: no one can be saved by the law. Jesus emphasizes that although the law is the standard of sin and should be kept, salvation cannot be achieved by human effort.
So, should we keep the law or not? Jesus seems to say to keep and teach everything, but then says that salvation cannot be reached through the law, which can be confusing. This is easier to understand if we consider the context: Jesus was speaking to Jews before his resurrection, and they were obligated to keep the law.
Paul writes:
“For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without the law. As many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it isn’t the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.” (Romans 2:12–13, WEB)
For Jews who did not believe in the resurrected Jesus, the only way to strive for salvation was to keep the law. But, as Jesus emphasized, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,” there is no way to enter the kingdom of heaven.
For those who have died and risen with Christ, it is right to practice the new commandment given by Jesus, not the old law. The new commandment was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament and proclaimed by Jesus at the Last Supper. This is repeated in Ephesians and 1 John.
First, Jeremiah says:
“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them,” says Yahweh. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31–34, WEB)
God says through Jeremiah that a new covenant will come, different from the one given through Moses. The new covenant will be written on people’s hearts, and everyone will know God. Jesus proclaimed this new covenant at the Last Supper:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35, WEB)
This may seem different from the previous covenant, but at its core, it is the same. As Jesus said:
“The most important is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29–31, WEB)
However, in the new covenant, all the detailed rules are gone. Only “love one another” remains. This is the new commandment we are to keep. It’s fine to refer to the old law as a standard for sin, but if someone says you can’t go to heaven unless you keep the old law, they have misunderstood the Bible. The new commandment from Jesus is that we are no longer bound to the old law.
If you think I’m making this up, the same message appears in Ephesians:
“For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby.” (Ephesians 2:14–16, WEB)
Don’t get hung up on the word “abolished.” In the New Testament, there are several verses saying that the law has been abolished. In Jesus, abolishing is completing. Since completion and abolition lead to the same result, the two words can be used interchangeably.
The new commandment appears again in 1 John, and I encourage you to read that for yourself. The “new commandment” in 1 John is the same as what Jesus said in the Gospel of John: “love one another.”
I’ve explained the new commandment, but I’m not saying you are saved by keeping it. Salvation is, of course, received through faith. But those who have faith should naturally practice love. Not everyone who acts has faith, but those who have faith will act. I’m not saying to be perfect-perfection is impossible. That would be like trying to replace faith with law again. Don’t try to do something grand; just do what you can. If you received ten talents, practice according to ten talents; if you received one, practice according to one. The problem is doing nothing, thinking you have little to offer. Even a little practice will be praised by God. If you want to know what to practice, read what Jesus says in the four Gospels. Even if you can’t follow it perfectly, if you speak and act with the standard, “If I love God and Jesus, if I love my neighbor, is it right to do this?”-then you can keep the new commandment Jesus gave us.
We started talking about the law while discussing sin. Wasn’t that helpful? Although this explanation has become long, I’ll briefly summarize what the Bible says about sin. Breaking the law is sin, but since God gave the law, ultimately the standard for judging sin is God himself. If something is sin in God’s eyes, it is sin; if not, it isn’t. This is true, regardless of our own judgment. If you understand this, and that God sometimes allows and even uses sin and evil for someone’s salvation, you may find freedom from many worries about the existence of evil and sin in the world.
