"Don't throw out the old" was Jesus' answer to those who thought that He came to do away with the Old Testament laws. He came to fulfill every tiny bit of it, down to the punctuation marks. He even dots every i and crosses every t. While keeping the law perfectly could not save anybody, Jesus didn't come to overthrow it but to fulfill it.

This means that we need to read the whole Bible and not just the New Testament books. Jesus approves and finds it all holy and worthy of obedience. Those who practice and teach these commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

I find it a bit odd that in verse 19 Jesus says anyone breaking the least commandment and teaching others to do so shall be the least in the kingdom of heaven; then in verse 20, if our righteousness does not surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, we won't even enter that kingdom. Either we are in or we are out. So let's not throw out the Old Testament - but learn from its wisdom and truth.

Jesus was, and is talking, to those of us who think we are already part of the kingdom. How do you feel about the ten commandments and the laws spelled out in the Bible?

Do you realize that if we studied the life principles behind those laws we'd discover that God set them all up for our good and protection? That's true. There are special blessings for you and me if we obey them. Ones we'll never taste as long as we balk.