Posted on by rschut1945

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.

Posted on by rschut1945

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.

Posted on by rschut1945

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. 

Posted on by rschut1945

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.

Posted on by rschut1945

The Philosophical Trend of the Church

During the early years of the Christian church many of its theologians and bishops were influenced by their training in philosophy when they began to create the doctrine of the church. It was at this time that Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD), a polemicist against heresy, made the comment “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?”

His concern was that theology was becoming based too much upon philosophical ideals and not enough upon the Scriptures—what he called the Rule of Faith. He considered philosophy to be a form of paganism and something that did not mix well with faith. He did, however, use the tools of philosophy in his argumentation, but did not base his beliefs upon them.

The pattern that Tertullian saw in the late 2nd century existed throughout the history and development of the church. We can see the influences of both Plato and Aristotle in the thinking of the church fathers as well as many theologians to follow. This pattern continued during the time of the Enlightenment when philosophy seemed to be at its heights. And we still see this pattern continue through Modernism and into the Post-modern world.

These various forms of philosophy have had a dramatic and lasting impact upon the church’s theologians that extended into the beliefs of the church itself. Today, if we look carefully, we can see the effects of Post-modern thinking upon the average church-goer who has little experience in Biblical training and who is looking for simple answers to complex questions. Even pastors are assimilating today’s philosophical idealism into their sermons and teaching materials.

We need to rethink this trend and once again ask, “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?”

What do you think?