Whenever men choose their own way, they place themselves in controversy with God. They will have no place in the kingdom of heaven, for they are at war with the very principles of heaven. In disregarding the will of God, they are placing themselves on the side of Satan, the enemy of God and man. Not by one word, not by many words, but by every word that God has spoken, shall man live. We cannot disregard one word, however trifling it may seem to us, and be safe. There is not a commandment of the law that is not for the good and happiness of man, both in this life and in the life to come. In obedience to God's law, man is surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil. He who breaks down this divinely erected barrier at one point has destroyed its power to protect him; for he has opened a way by which the enemy can enter to waste and ruin.

»Hvis jeres retfærdighed ikke overgår de skriftkloges og farisæernes, kommer i slet ikke ind i Himmeriget«
De skriftkloge og Farisæerne havde ikke anklaget Kristus alene men også hans disciple for at være syndere, fordi de undlod at tage hensyn til rabbineres forskrifter og ceremonier. Disciplene havde ofte været i forlegenhed og følt sig besværede på grund af kritik og anklage fra deres side, som de havde været vant til at hædre som religiøse lærere. Kristus afslørede dette bedrag. Han erklærede, at den retfærdighed, som farisæere vurderede så højt, var værdiløs. Jøderne havde gjort gældende, at de var det særskilte, lovlydige folk, som stod i yndest hos Gud; men Kristus fremholdt deres religion som blottet for frelsende tro. Al deres foregivne fromhed, deres menneskelige påfund, ja, endog den overholdelse af lovens udvortes krav, som de roste sig af, kunne ikke gøre dem hellige. De var ikke rene af hjertet, ej heller var de ædle og kristne i deres karakter.