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Authority of Jesus (Matt 7:28-29)

How did people react to this sermon?  They were amazed and astonished at what he said because he taught as one who had the authority to say such things.  He wasn’t quoting other rabbis or schools of theology.  He was himself the origin of authority.  When he did quote Moses or others he did so only to show how his teachings were superior.  This was not to say that Moses got it wrong, but rather that Jesus came to finish the work that was started under the Mosaic Law.  He would be the one to fulfill this law not simply by his teaching, but by his very being.  This is one major difference between Jesus and other religious figures.  Others could only claim to be teachers or at best prophets, but nothing more.

Unfortunately, today people no longer seem to be amazed at this sermon and his teachings.  They try every way possible to turn these truths into something abstract.  Their point is to make it unnecessary for anyone to take it seriously as a way of life. They turn it into a form of idealism where one can only meditate upon it, but certainly not apply these teachings to their reality.  Was Jesus giving this sermon just for the mere reason of establishing a “Christian Ideology?” No!  So, when you read or listen to these teachings simply allow yourself to become amazed and astonished.  This will be the beginning of true understanding.

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Doers of the Word (Matt 7:21-27)

 The next set of verses are very difficult for some to not only understand, but also to accept that they may apply to them.  There are some who call Jesus their Lord, prophesy in his name, cast out demons, and even perform miracles who will not enter into God’s kingdom.  Jesus warns us that the bottom line is that we must do the will of his Father.  Everyone who hears this sermon and does them is like the wise man who properly prepares himself like a builder who prepares his house for a storm. Such a house is built upon a solid foundation that will not give way in a storm.  The one who did not build his house properly loses everything because the foundation is destroyed by the flood waters bringing down the house along with it.

We should not simply gloss over these verses like they don’t affect us. The gospel of Jesus is not simply that he died for our sins, but it is the complete teaching of Jesus. He is telling us here that a true believer begins with this truth—Jesus is Lord!  Everything is built upon this truth.  We do not lay a foundation of works nor one of half-truths.  We begin with the belief that Jesus is truth and everything else is built upon that foundation.

How do we feel when we hear the Sermon on the Mount?  Are we willing to listen to what Jesus is telling us or are we satisfied with a Hallmark version of it where its sting is removed so as not to offend anyone?  Are these simply nice words to repeat like poetry or are they words to live by?  Jesus seems to feel that we must live by them if we are to be the wise man in this parable.  I agree.

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False Prophets (Matt 7:15-20)

These verses are directly related to the previous verses on the wide gate and broad way. Here Jesus warns of false prophets.  From Jesus’ time till now they have existed and still exist today.  These are people who claim to be speaking about the things of God when, in fact, they are deceivers.  So, outwardly they appear to be like sheep, but inside they are ravenous wolves.  So how can we tell the difference? These wolves are people who have an extreme appetite or hunger for wealth and power.  Although they appear to be driven by Biblical teachings, they are really driven by greed, wealth, and power.  Many such wolves have been fooling naive believers with their false performances for generations, but eventually their true motives are revealed.

Jesus tells us that we can know them by their fruits.  Sometimes this gets a little tricky because they are very good at their sheepish disguise.  We must look for love not in their words or even in their deeds, for both can be imitated, but in their character (this is their real fruit). It is their character that is faulty because it is like bad fruit from a bad tree.  Even if it looks good, it is rotten to the core.  Rest assured that their reward will be justly deserved for all the deception that they have spread.

2 Peter 2:3 (ASV)
3  And in covetousness shall they with feigned (false) words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.

The King James and American Standard Version are closest to the proper Greek interpretation of this verse in Peter.  We can see the fulfillment taking place today where churches are concerned more with the production of their service than its content.  Believers have been turned into merchandise.  Making money off the Word of God in books, movies, and speaking engagements have priority over the real teachings of Jesus.  Let us remember how much Jesus charged for his teaching—nothing!  As a matter of fact, Jesus paid the ultimate price for us to listen—his death on a cross.  But over the years of my experience I realize that this is all that they have.  They do not have any real understanding of Jesus and therefore can’t teach what they themselves do not know.  They would be far better to be quiet sitting in the pews listening than to be preaching from the pulpit.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (KJV)
13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Paul warns us as he warned the Corinthians to be careful of appearances.  Many false prophets will appear to be apostles of Christ even to the point of looking like angels of righteousness.  It is one thing to preach about righteousness and another to be righteous. But God will not be fooled by them and they will suffer a righteous judgment by their own words.

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The Wide and Narrow Gate (Matt 7:13-14)

How then do we enter into God’s kingdom?  We must enter through the narrow gate and difficult path. It is a narrow gate in the sense that we must accept the teaching that not all religions will get you there.  Even the Pharisees who practiced Judaism and the Law of Moses will not automatically be accepted into God’s kingdom.  This doesn’t mean that we must be perfect in order to enter.  Rather, it means that not everyone will be allowed in simply because they perform the correct rituals, say the correct prayers, or be sanctioned by some religious authority.  This goes against many pastors and theologians today who want us to believe that the gate is wide and inclusive of everyone regardless of their beliefs and conduct.  It is true that Jesus speaks about a wide gate and broad path of inclusion, but he tells us that those who travel on that road will end in destruction.  The narrow gate and path are the only ones that lead to life and few will find it. 

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Scripture tells us that Jesus wants to include as many as possible, but they must enter through the narrow path into the narrow gate.  These are not those who are already righteous, but those who truly want to be righteous and recognize that true righteousness is in him (Christ) alone. 

In these verses Jesus is teaching us that there are many who will fall into error.  There are many false religions that may sound great, but are deceiving many.  There are even many pastors who have extracted some Biblical truths only to mix them with human psychology or philosophy in order to create a deceptive form of Christianity that has drawn many people into to their churches.

The narrow gate also refers to the idea that we must enter God’s kingdom as an individual and not as a group.  This gate only has enough room for one person to pass through at a time.  We don’t enter into God’s kingdom because we are members of the correct church or denomination.  Each of us will stand before Christ as an individual, naked, and stripped of all religious identity. We cannot assume that just because we are with the crowd or the majority that we are on the correct path.  Jesus actually teaches that the opposite is true.

The term “narrow path” is actually translated from a Greek word that means narrow in the sense of being very difficult to pass through.  This narrow path implies that life will be a struggle for believers as we live in this world.  The world will resist us because it resists true holiness. It is a difficult path because our family and our friends may reject us.  We may lose are jobs and some may lose everything that they have including their lives on account of God’s kingdom.  But although it is a path of struggle, it is the only one that will eventually lead us into God’s eternal kingdom of peace and holiness. 

In this sermon Jesus certainly didn’t bend his truth in order to recruit followers. In fact, he made it very clear that those who were willing to follow him better prepare themselves for this difficult path. This path hasn’t changed simply because we now live in the 21st century. If anything, it is getting more difficult to live such a life since Jesus’ teachings are becoming more obscured by a Hallmark imitation of his truth.

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On Prayer (Matt 6:5-15)

Now Jesus warns us not to pray like the hypocrites, but exactly what is a hypocrite?  The word has evolved in our language to mean someone who says one thing and does another, but that doesn’t seem to fit here.  It is interesting to note that the word hypocrite, ὑποκριτής in Greek, originally meant an actor who plays a role of another person.  It is not truly who he is, but merely an artificial person.  That definitely fits much better because Jesus goes on to say that these hypocrites would put on quite the performance by standing in synagogues and street-corners just so that they could be seen by others.  So again such people have already received their reward. 

Jesus tells us that the correct way to pray is to be quiet and alone where the focus can be on our heavenly Father.  When you pray in this manner you will be rewarded openly.  Here again, I take this to mean that such prayer transforms our character into a more humble person rather than into someone who has become proud and arrogant about their prayers where their focus is more on how impressive they sound to others.

He then tells us that our prayers are not heard because of their eloquence and length for if God is truly infinite he already knows our needs even before we ask.  So then one might ask, “Why then do we pray if God already knows what we need?”  The reason is not that God needs to hear our audible prayers before he answers them, but rather they are spoken so that we can be transformed by putting our needs into words.  Our words complete our ideas and thoughts and also complete the emotion behind them.  I think that we fail to understand just how important the spoken word is to our psyche.

So then when we pray incorrectly like the hypocrites we become the center of attention and importance.  But when we pray with correctly we become humbled in the presence of God as he becomes the true focus of our thoughts and needs.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Jesus gives us an example of how we ought to pray.  We address our prayers to God as our Heavenly Father.  We also proclaim the importance of his Name which is Yahweh (Jehovah).  The importance of this is to make the connection between the identity of Yahweh in the Old Testament with our Father in the New.  Many overlook this intimate connection that is extremely important in understanding the true nature of Christ.  

We must look forward to the coming of God’s kingdom rather than want to postpone it until we finish all our projects and the power of his kingdom will be just as wonderful on earth as it is in heaven.

We only need to ask for whatever is sufficient for this day.  In this way we are encouraged to live during this moment and not be so concerned for the future that we miss what’s happening right in front of us.

We ask for no more than what we are willing to do ourselves.  So when it comes to forgiveness we must be willing to forgive others because by doing that we pass God’s forgiveness on to others through the exercising of our forgiveness.

The next part of the prayer is very difficult for most people because sin is so attractive and its whole purpose is to lead us into evil.  But we are to ask God to take away temptation.  We are not to try to live on the edge of sin like many do.  We must remember that temptation is the beginning of sin.  If we could only repeat these words in this prayer with passionate sincerity we would be so much holier than we are.  Why should we want to be holy?  Because God is holy and so is his kingdom.

In verse 14 Jesus addresses forgiveness as being directly related to our forgiving of others.  This is not as though we are earning forgiveness by the act of forgiving others; it is rather our accepting the principle of forgiveness as being part of God’s character.  This fits nicely into our belief that the source of our transformation is not in anything that we do but is in God himself and that only by our love for him can we be transformed into the image of Christ.  If we do not forgive others, we are not letting our love for God work within us and by not forgiving others our faith becomes mere religious ritual. 

To better understand what Jesus is saying we first need to understand more about what forgiveness is.  According to the usage in this prayer forgiveness is not the same thing as when we forgive someone when they say they are sorry.  The forgiveness Jesus is speaking about is a response to a moral debt owed to us by another.  This is the general theme throughout this sermon: we must be prepared to show mercy to others if we expect God to show mercy to us.  By so doing we give others a chance to actually practice repentance by changing their behavior.  How do we forgive them and to what extent?  In the same manner that we want God to forgive us.  

When we consider forgiveness under these terms it eliminates the possibility that man can accomplish this by means of his own will. The source of our forgiveness than is not the human will, but the love of God.

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Giving to the Poor (Matt 6:1-4)

In these verses Jesus gives us advice on what holiness looks like when it comes to giving. But this advice can also be used when it comes to the value that we place upon money and other material things that we receive from others as well.

If we give for the purpose of having others see how generous we are or even for that good feeling we have about ourselves when we give, we are in jeopardy of losing our true reward which comes from our Father in Heaven.  When we give so others see us, or give because it gives us a warm feeling inside, these things puff us up so that we place a material value upon our generosity. This takes us away from the purity of heart that brings us closer to our heavenly Father.

If we receive the praise of the world, it overshadows that praise that comes from God.  What exactly is this praise from God?  It is the way that true giving transforms us into the image that God wants us to be.  The end result of humble giving is true holiness.  I don’t believe that our holiness is based upon God keeping track of how much we give to the poor, but rather it is in the results that proper giving has upon our character where the holiness takes place.

Those who gladly receive people’s praise for their generosity have already received their reward for it has enlarged their self-importance.  So all those wealthy pastors who receive the treasures of this world for their Christian duty have already received a worldly reward instead of a spiritual one.  Heaven may be very disappointing for such people.

So Jesus tells us that when we give to others, whether it is financial or even pastoral, we must not keep a mental record of what we do.  Just give our offering and forget it as though the left hand does not know what the right is doing. That’s when we receive the eternal reward from our Father and this reward is the transformation of our soul from being worldly to becoming more spiritual.  In this state we become more aware of God’s truth and presence in our life.  John tells us in his first letter:

1 John 2:3 (KJV)
3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

So when we obey and do things the way that Jesus taught us we become more assured and confident in his presence in our lives.

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Divorce (Matt 5:31,32)

According to Matthew 19:4-6 marriage is a sacred relationship that one has between a man and a woman. Yet, Jesus teaches us that according to the Mosaic Law all a man had to do was write down on a piece of paper that he wanted a divorce and it was official.  He tells us that this was done because of their hard hearts meaning that men wanted what they wanted not what God wanted.

In 2 Co 11:2 and Ephesians 5:22-33 Paul tells us that marriage is symbolic of the relationship that man has with God.  Paul teaches us that the church is the bride of Christ. Only in the case of adultery where the member of the church falls away from God and goes after other gods such as lust and selfishness does he commit spiritual adultery against Christ and will therefore be liable to separation (divorce) from Him. 

So when we enter into marriage we need to see our marriage in the light of such advice and do all that we can to make it work. I believe that when Paul tells us in Romans 12:18 that as much as lies within us we must live peaceably with all men, we must also submit to the same devotion to do all we can to make a marriage work for a good marriage to our spouse symbolizes our good marriage to Christ.

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Adultery and Offense of the Eye (Matt 5:27-30)

Adultery is a crime of selfishness and lust.  It involves a betrayal of fidelity. According to the Old Testament adultery was punishable by death, but in his sermon Jesus gives us a deeper understanding of adultery.  Jesus contradicts the common idea that the act of adultery takes place at the moment of intercourse.  According to Jesus the sin begins with selfishness and lust within the heart of men that finally consummates in intercourse. 

It begins with the lust of the eye when it looks upon a woman with desire.  At this point the fidelity of marriage is already broken.  This is the spiritual sin that takes place prior to the physical one. Many cannot believe that Jesus really means what he says here.  The claim is that no one can go through life without lusting after another person—at least not in our society where advertising is based upon the very idea of lust.

Jesus makes it very clear that this is not some exaggeration that is supposed to somehow scare us into holiness or is aimed only at monks, priest, and saints.  In the very next verse he tells us that if our eye or hand offends us we must cut it off and throw it away for it is better to enter heaven with one eye or one hand then enter hell with two.

This is not an exaggeration.  It is an example of how serious we must take the commission of sin.   When war vets enter into war against our enemies they know that they might lose an eye, a hand, leg, or even their lives. They are given metals for bravery when such things happen and looked up to by society as heroes.  But when Jesus asks this same dedication of us towards our enemy of sin we turn away and want to believe that he is exaggerating.  Why would we be willing to offer more for our country than for our Lord and God?

So the main point to take away from this commandment is the seriousness and pervasiveness of sin in the human heart.  This is where evil begins. The only remedy for such a sin is faith as we shall see later.

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The Salt of the Earth & Light of the World (Matthew 5:13-16)

SALT OF THE EARTH

Who are we as Christians? This is not a question of defending our doctrine and beliefs.  It is an existential question as to what is our purpose as “being” a Christian.  Jesus answers it by telling us that we are the “salt of the earth.”  We are supposed to be what the purpose of salt is to the earth.  This means that we are to be the ingredient that cleanses or makes things pure.  We are to be known by the reputation of being pure in character. Our word and reputation must be without spot. If we are not living a life of such purity than we have lost our purpose for which God has chosen us.  What do we do when salt no longer has the quality of purity?  We throw it away.  Jesus may sound harsh here, but I think that he truly and fully knows the hearts of men.  These verses are a sober reminder as to our true purpose in life.

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

How do we appear to the world?  Jesus says that we must appear as being lights in the sense of our works, goodness, and character shining over others.

What do we do as lights?  We must let it shine before men.  We cannot hide ourselves because of false humility or fear of judgment.  We don’t need to brag about ourselves, but we do need to let others see our works and character so that they can see how the Father works in us so that they might come to him and worship him because they see him in us.  It is by being lights in the world that we glorify our Heavenly Father.  So if you sing praises to God through songs on Sunday at church, sing those praises to him through your good works so that others beside those sitting next to you in church can see your Father’s glory. 

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The Importance of the Beatitudes

BEATITUDES (Taken from the Sermon on the Mount)

I always enjoy a lively debate over philosophical and theological points of the Bible, but there is one thing that makes such arguments seem very small and unimportant.  This one thing is what called me into service for the Lord over 50 years ago.  There are times that I drown out its quiet voice with what I think are more immediate concerns, but it is always there whispering to me and it is only when my spirit becomes quiet enough to listen that I once again here it plainly call me back.  It is the very words of Jesus which express who he was then and is now and the standard that he sets for us as his beloved.

There is no pastor or teacher who can teach a greater lesson than what comes to us in the Sermon on the Mount.  It is not just beautiful poetry that Jesus created to move us emotionally, nor is it a lesson in theology through which we can show off our knowledge of scripture.  It is a portrait of Jesus in perhaps the purest written form available to us today.

The Sermon is found in Matthew 5:1-7:29. The Sermon begins with what has been called the Beatitudes (Latin).  A beatitude is a great blessing of happiness.  Each blessing written is both poetic and inspiring, but it is not something that we should simply place on our walls so others might know we are Christians. It is something that we place in our hearts to give us strength as we go through life’s daily trials. 

In these blessings Jesus turns everything upside-down concerning what it means to be blessed. The Jews, much like many Christians today, believed that good health, wealth, prestige, and fame were the true blessings of God, but in the Beatitudes Jesus changed all that.  He taught that the blessed of God are those who are low in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek and mild.  They are the ones who have a hunger and thirst for doing what is right in God’s eyes no matter what the cost. It includes those who show mercy to others rather than retaliate when they are wronged. He promises that those who are pure in heart will see God. And those who seek to bring peace shall be known as children of God.  Finally, those who are persecuted, taunted, and reviled by others for being Christians will be greatly rewarded. 

This is not what most people think of when they think of the blessings of God.  Even though many have read these verses and perhaps even display them in their homes, few actually believe and practice them the way Jesus intended.

Within these verses lies the true personal power of God through his Holy Spirit.  These verses not only give us confidence in spite of worldly struggles, they give us a means to measure ourselves as to our spiritual maturity.  For what lies in these verses is the very character of the Holy Spirit of God.  Without this humble attitude we can never really see the world as Jesus did. 

So as you read these verses which follow don’t filter them out with reason and logic or whatever you think is impossible for you to accomplish. Read them with the intent of learning who Christ really is.  Then and only then can you decide if you really and truly love the real Jesus or some false Christ created by yourself or others.  Herein is the true Christ that saves.

Matthew 5:1-12 (KJV)
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.