The Desires Of The King
Text: Matthew 5
Our Focus: Matthew 5:1-16
The sermon on the mount, as it is called by scholars, is really misunderstood by a lot of people. It is treated by many people in this world as God's plan of salvation but it is not. There are those that say it is the rules God has given the world to live by. This also is not true. There are others that say this sermon has no application for today's world. They are also wrong. The first thing to realize is that all scripture is given to us from God for a purpose:
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
We must also know that to reach that point of "throughly furnished" we must rightly divide the Bible:
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, [rightly dividing the word of truth].
This is simply the acknowledgement that God basically spoke to three groups of people:
1Co 10:32 Give none offence, neither [to the Jews], nor [to the Gentiles], nor [to the church of God]:
This includes everyone that has ever lived on this Earth but if God separates these groups then He had some scripture designed for each group and their purpose. Though we must not forget that all scripture is profitable to all, we must realize some scripture was given to individual groups such as the moral laws to the Jew:
Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, [which have not the law], do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
But also realizing the fact of the "true Jew" in the eyes of God:
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 [But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter]; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Obviously then their are "Spiritual Jews" and there are "Jews by Nation". The term Jew comes from the old nation of Judah when the tribes of Israel split. A Jew is to Judah as an American is to America or an Egyptian is to Egypt.
This not complicated, It Is The Word Of God!
There are those that say that this sermon does not apply today and they are the most wrong [because there is never an instance in any part of our lives, where God's Word will not apply if it is rightly divided].
The Bible says:
Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
If God's Word is settled in Heaven, who are we to question it here on Earth?
Jesus Christ will rule during the Millennial Kingdom with a rod of iron:
Rev 2:27 And [he shall rule them with a rod of iron]; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, [who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron]: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and [he shall rule them with a rod of iron]: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
These may be those rules of His rulership but they are given to a saved people who have buried their love of God in their heart and not to a lost people to try to make themselves righteous.
The key to this sermon may be this verse:
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Though they were self-righteous, most of these scribes and Pharisees lived by every word of the Moral Law and even added to those making it harder, No making it impossible to obey them all. Yet we still have this verse of Matthew 5:20.
These religious leaders had an artificial, external righteousness based on the Law. Christ Jesus describes a real, vital, and true righteousness that comes from the heart. The Pharisees concerned themselves about the miniscule details of conduct, an outward show, while Jesus emphasized the character of each individual, character that can only come from a personal, one on one relationship with the Saviour of this world.
Christ Jesus gave this message to the individual believer, not to the unsaved world. The Holy Spirit gave this message to every writer of the Epistles for the Church of today. Jesus gave this message to those writers and those teachers:
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, [his disciples came unto him]:
*****Our Text:
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
We cannot over emphasize that though the importance of this message is great, It Is The Message Of "Grace" That Has The Most Importance In The Bible!
Many who change these priorities end up preaching a legalistic relation with God rather than God's mercy to those He loves. If not for "Grace" there could be no "Mercy".
The Bible says:
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Our salvation comes from the "Grace" of God not these rules to live by.
At this time Christ Jesus was still preaching the same message of John the Baptist. John was preaching the coming of the King and the nearness of that Kingdom, and righteousness was the only way to get into that Kingdom. This message is still true but our righteousness can only come through the blood of Jesus. This message will never change until the Millennial reign of Christ has ended.
This message was never challenged by these Pharisees nor the Elders of the nation of Israel nor the Sadducees who observed the ceremonial laws. The only question was what kind of righteousness was necessary to enter this Kingdom?
THIS IS WHY JESUS WAS PREACHING THIS SERMON TO THE DISCIPLES WHO WOULD SOON BE THE APOSTLES!
1.) Was it the righteousness of Judaism?
2.) Was it the righteousness that comes by "Faith" in Jesus Christ?
Righteousness cannot be earned by works but only as a "Gift" from the Almighty God. Jesus Christ offered Himself as the only basis for acceptance by the Messiah into His Kingdom!(the kingdom of heaven)
*****Blessed:
The Latin word for "blessed" is beatus. From this Latin word we get the term Beatitude.
In the Greek it means supremely blessed.
To the Jew this meant "divine joy and perfect happiness". In the Bible times this word was not used so much for humans. It described the kind of joy only a god could have or maybe the dead.
Blessed implies inner satisfaction that does not depend on an outward circumstance for happiness!
The Beatitudes do describe the attitudes that ought to be in the Church and in our own lives today!
1.) Our attitude toward ourselves(vs 3).
To be poor in spirit means to be humble. It is not a false humility of worthlessness. It is being honest with ourselves, to know ourselves, to accept ourselves and to try to be ourselves for the glory of God.
Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
2.) Our attitude toward our sin(Vs 4-6).
Those who try to cover up their sin or defend sin as is rampant in our nation now, have the wrong attitude. We cannot defend sinful living. We cannot defend abortion. We cannot defend the gay lifestyle. We cannot defend anything that goes against God's Word. These people who do have a wrong attitude toward sin.
We must mourn for our sin and despise all sin everywhere. We must see sin the way God sees sin and submit to the ways of God.
Meekness is not Weakness! "Meekness is POWER under control:
The Bible says:
Luk 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Again:
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Again:
Num 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
2Co 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
To be meek is to be among good company Moses and Our Lord Jesus and Paul were meek.
We must remember the righteousness of the Pharisees declared that they had No Sin in their lives but the righteousness that Christ demands is that we freely acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a personal Saviour.
Jesus Christ said the righteous are those that hunger and thirst, to have an appetite for the things of God!
The Bible says:
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
*****Our text:
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
3.) Our attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ(vs7-9).
Mercy is God's loving response to the needs of those that love Him and are the objects of His affection. To have known the mercy of God is to show mercy to all that are in this world we live in. That's what God did when He sent Jesus.(John 3:16)
To be in God's mercy we must trust in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Only then do we have a clean heart:
God's people must have a pure heart. Purity is not measured by what you practice but it is measured by the character of God Himself. Christ is our example of purity in the Church AND IN OUR LIVES.
1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
And God said:
Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
The Pharisees test for purity was conforming to their own traditions. How often do we see this today. Righteousness is not about traditions. IT IS about "faith" in the "grace" of God!
Only then can we be at peace in this life:
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
When we share these things God gives us with others, we then become peacemakers in this cruel world. The soul winner brings the message of peace to the lost so that all can be brought into harmony with God. To have peace with God is to be God's messenger!
The Pharisees taught that to be a son of God one ONLY had to be a descendant of Abraham.
4.) Our attitude toward the world(vs 1o-16).
If the Christian does not have a different attitude from that of the world then they need to go back to the altar.
God said:
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
If we do not come out from among them, then we have not obeyed God! A child of God should be on a totally different thought plan than the world. The world endorses sin especially when they can get away with it. The world is at war with the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus.
We must expect to be persecuted if we are serving God and Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Pharisees declared Christ Jesus an imposter and that He must be removed. We know that in the world we live in especially in America, God has been removed from the schools, He is removed from any action in government, He is removed from His own birthday and from His resurrection. He is now being written out of modern translations of the Bible and most so called gatherings are removing Him from the preaching of His Own Word. To be right with the world you have to leave Jesus out of your prayer.
Well I'm simply not going to do these things because He lives in me and to deny Him would be to deny my own life. He is a part of me I will not give up!
The Bible says:
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
a.) Jesus Christ requires repentance but the Pharisee denied any need for repentance.
b.) Jesus Christ demanded that people recognize their need but the Pharisees recognized that there was no need for God.
c.) Jesus Christ ask us to submit to His authority but the Pharisees refused the only One that had ever met the requirements of the Messiah.
d.) Jesus Christ expressed mercy but the Pharisees withheld mercy from those in need.
e.) Jesus Christ expected purity of heart but the Pharisees were only concerned with an outward show of purity.
f.) Jesus Christ appointed people to be peacemakers but the Pharisees stirred up discord and strife among their own brethren.
g.) Jesus Christ invited people to accept persecution for His Name's Sake but the Pharisees were the persecutors.
We can surely see that the righteousness of the Pharisees was unacceptable to God on every point. We can also see that the world is still full of Pharisee want to be's.
*****Our Text:
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
5.) Our attitude of influence(vs 12-16)
Can there be any doubt that Christ Jesus says when we get our attitude right that we can rejoice. The rewards in Heaven will come even if persecution comes.
To show the influence of this attitude adjustment on His disciples Our Lord used two figures.
a.) Salt:
Salt is used today as a preservative but in Bible times it had other uses as well. It was the function of salt to create a thirst so that the body may retain the proper amount of fluid. Salt created a thirst that, when satisfied, would maintain life.
If God had no other purpose for us after he saved us He would just take us on up to Heaven but He does have a purpose for every saved soul:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them [who are the called according to his purpose].
The believers are left in this world to create a thirst, both by their life and by their words, for Jesus Christ who saved us.
Saltless salt cannot perform this function and it is then no more than the sand that we walk on. Sand is plentiful everywhere you go, but salt was scarce in the Bible times.
What Christ is saying is that if we cannot maintain a good testimony after we are saved then we are worthless to Him while we are on this earth.
The Apostle Paul said:
1Co 9:19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
1Co 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
1Co 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
1Co 9:23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
1Co 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
He also had these words:
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Php 3:16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Php 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
b.) Light:
Light attracts to itself and it also exposes what is in that circle of light. Those that receive the words of Christ would be counted as light in the midst of darkness. It is impossible to hide a light in darkness.
A lamp is not lit just so it can be hidden. God does not save us so we can hide from the evils of this world. Each and every one of us are placed in a certain place so our lights will shine.
The Bible says:
Pro 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
The life of the believer is a light in this dark world. God reveals His lights to the world to bring praise to Our Heavenly Father.
The Bible says:
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Our Lesson may end here but let's highlight the remaining scriptures in this chapter.
Matthew 5:17-20:
How true righteousness comes:
In the law of Moses God did reveal His standards for holy living.
The Apostle Paul said to the early Church:
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Remember Jesus said that true righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus explained His own attitude toward the Law:
*****a.) We cannot seek to destroy the Law.
Jesus may have seemed to defy the Law by healing on the Sabbath and by paying no attention to the traditions of the Pharisees. Jesus associated Himself with known sinners and the hated publicans also contrary to the Law.
It was truly the Pharisees that were destroying the Law. By their traditions they were destroying the Word of God. By their hypocritical lives they did not obey the Law they claimed to protect. By adding to God's Word and in some cases changing it to fit certain situations for their own benefit they were embalming the truth of the living God so that God's Word no longer had life. Their rejection of Christ proved this to be true.
We now have so many so called [new versions] of the Bible that in a sense these books are stifling the life out of the truth of the scriptures. We need to learn from a Bible that is translated from the oldest scriptures such as the Textus Receptus. The one I use is the King James Bible.
*****b.) We can seek to fulfill the Law.
It is Jesus Christ Our Lord that fulfilled the Law and he will fulfill the whole Law!
1.) Jesus fulfilled the Law in every area of His life:
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
His parents were sure to to perform every ritual of a Jewish boy.
No one could accuse Jesus of sin:
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Jesus did not submit to the traditions of the Pharisees because He submitted to the Law that God had commanded.
Mat 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Mat 17:6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
2.) Jesus fulfilled the Law in His teaching:
Jesus broke away from the man-made traditions that had stifled God's Word and showed the World the truth of the scriptures. Jesus showed the World [a new and living way] that is still rejected by most religions today. To be a Christian is not to be in a religion, It Is Having A Personal Relationship With God! Jesus offered life, a real life that is eternal.
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
3.) Jesus fulfilled the Law by His death:
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Jesus broke down all the walls of His people:
Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
We no longer need man made temples:
Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
We no longer need religious rituals:
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 2:14 [Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us], which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
How do we fulfill the Law?
a.) Allowing Jesus to work in our lives:
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
b.) Allowing Jesus Christ to live out His life through us:
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Jesus obeyed the known will of God, which is the Word that we have from God and we should do the same:
Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
*****c.) We can seek to teach the Law:
This does not mean we ignore the New Testament and major in the Old Testament!
2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The Holy Spirit is our teacher. He teaches us God's Word and helps us to obey that Word. Sin is still sin and God still punishes Sin. We are certainly more responsible to obey God's Word because we have been taught more than any other people.
*****21-48)
1.) Murder(vs21-26):
Jesus did not say that anger leads to murder:
Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
Jesus said that anger without a cause was the same as committing murder.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
2.) Adultery(vs27-30):
Marriage was given of God to provide for the physical and emotional needs of God's people.
The Bible says:
Heb 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
We can see that there is a difference in marriage and other forms of living together.
The Bible says:
1Co 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
The physical responsibilities were also God given:
1Co 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1Co 7:4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Marriage is a benefit to society. God did not found society on the individual but on the family. It is individuals that make families and families that make communities and so forth up to making of nations. The Bible gives us the example of the Nation of Israel and tells us of many others that began with Abraham.
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
God also designed marriage to be an object lesson of the relationship between Himself and the believer.(Bridegroom, Jesus and Bride of Christ, the Church)
Jesus Christ and the Church are inseparable. The marriage and the family should also be inseparable. Therefore God forbade adultery.
The Pharisees saw this only as an unlawful act of an illegal sexual union but to refrain from the physical act only did not fulfill the spiritual demands of the Law.
The Law of Christ demands not only abstinence but also the desire to do these things!
Christ says we can remove the cause that begins in our heart then goes on into our mind and then on to a physical action.
2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
2Ti 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
3.) Divorce(vs31-32):
We must go back to square one. Jesus said your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
a.) The Pharisees viewed marriage as a social institution governed by the laws of men.
b.) Christ viewed marriage as a divine institution governed by the laws of God.
God had said that when two are joined together they become one flesh. One is an indivisible unit so an indivisible union was established.
The right to divorce was highly prized among the Jew. It was considered a gift from God. In fact a gift that God denied the Gentiles. Their thinking was that if Christ denied divorce it could alienate Him from the nation of Israel.
Divorce had been permitted in Israel's past and we can see a reason in the Book of Ezra:
Ezr 10:2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
Ezr 10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
Ezr 10:11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.
Ezr 10:12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
Ezr 10:13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.
Ezr 10:14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.
The purpose behind this allowance of divorce was because of the Law:
Deu 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, [because he hath found some uncleanness in her]: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
This uncleanness would be in that the bloodline was impure. A Jew could not marry outside his nationality and preferably from the same tribe.
The Bible said to Israel:
Num 36:6 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; [only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry].
We can see that this stems from Abraham:
Gen 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
This same process of marriage also was taught to the Church by the Apostle Paul:
2Co 6:14 [Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers]: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
We can see then that these are the guidelines for a Godly marriage.
Jesus said whosoever put away his wife except for marital unfaithfulness would cause the sin of adultery.
The Bible says:
Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
We can see Joseph would not have been ridiculed if he had divorced Mary even though they had not consummated their arranged marriage.
These marriages were for the most part arranged by the parents and this time of espousal was given for many reasons including this one.
It is the light of this context that Jesus made this statement.(vs 31)
The Bible does not teach that the offended mate has to get a divorce as we know Joseph took Mary and had many good years and several children. It is sad that the hardness of our hearts can lead us to do things that we would not do if we learned the ways of forgiveness.
Does this mean that those that marry outside these guidelines do not have a marriage under the terms of God. God forbid! Every effort should be made in marriage to keep them together.
The Apostle Paul gave us some guidelines for the Church:
I Corinthians 7:1-40(study the entire book)
Paul said:
1Co 7:6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
1Co 7:7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
1Co 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
1Co 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
1Co 7:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
1Co 7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
1Co 7:27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
1Co 7:28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
1Co 7:39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
Any divorce under these guidelines would automatically be permission to remarry.
If more time was spent trying to find the right spouse and then live as Christian should live, there would be less divorce:
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
If both parties have that God given charitable love, there would be no room for divorce because there would be two people that could not cause each other harm in any way.
4.) Swearing(vs33-37):
This not the sin of cursing. The Pharisees used all kind of tricks to sidestep the truth and using oaths was just one of them. They would avoid using the Holy name of God but they would come close by using the city of Jerusalem, heaven, earth, or some part of the body.
Jesus taught:
Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Pro 16:21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
Pro 16:22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
Pro 16:23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
Pro 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
5.) Retaliating(vs38-42):
In the Old Testament we see:
Lev 24:19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
Lev 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
Lev 24:21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.
Lev 24:22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.
If we believe that these words meant that a person could take the law into his own hands then we missed the point of these old laws. You know it's a good time to mention that the Jews did not just have the ten moral laws but they had in fact 613 laws to live by.
These laws were written for those that were in charge to have a means to exact punishment in the name of the Lord. We can see that corporal punishment is also listed here.
A person who retaliates himself, or takes the law into his own hands only makes matters worse and the results are more a settled war and not by peace.
In order to turn the other cheek, we must stay put and not run away:
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, [that ye may be able to stand] against the wiles of the devil.
It is better to be hurt on the outside than harmed on the inside. It takes not only faith but also love to stand in the name of God.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
It is the strong man that can love and suffer hurt; it is the weak man who thinks only of himself and hurts other people to protect himself.
This does not mean that we are to lie down and allow the evils of this world to walk all over us.
God has a reason for the things that happen to us and if and when these things happen we still have His protection:
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
God always has His angels watching:
Psa 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, [to keep thee in all thy ways].
Psa 91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Psa 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Psa 91:14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Notice the phrase "in all thy ways". This means these same angels can assist us in avoiding this kind of harm.
6.) The Love of our enemies(vs43-48):
The Old Testament states:
Lev 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
No where does the Old Testament teach us to hate our enemies.
Exo 23:4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
Exo 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
Christian love is an act of the will of God. Christian love is not an emotion or some lustful thing. If you accept this teaching then you must accept that God has the right to command us to love our enemies. After all God loved us while we were still His enemies:
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
When we find a way to love our enemies it will take the poison out of our attitudes.
When our attitudes are right we begin to become more perfect in the eyes of a Holy God. We will look more like Jesus Christ.
Our Father loves His enemies and seeks to make them His children.
OUR JOB IS TO ASSIST HIM!
Let's pray!
Text: Matthew 5
Our Focus: Matthew 5:1-16
The sermon on the mount, as it is called by scholars, is really misunderstood by a lot of people. It is treated by many people in this world as God's plan of salvation but it is not. There are those that say it is the rules God has given the world to live by. This also is not true. There are others that say this sermon has no application for today's world. They are also wrong. The first thing to realize is that all scripture is given to us from God for a purpose:
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
We must also know that to reach that point of "throughly furnished" we must rightly divide the Bible:
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, [rightly dividing the word of truth].
This is simply the acknowledgement that God basically spoke to three groups of people:
1Co 10:32 Give none offence, neither [to the Jews], nor [to the Gentiles], nor [to the church of God]:
This includes everyone that has ever lived on this Earth but if God separates these groups then He had some scripture designed for each group and their purpose. Though we must not forget that all scripture is profitable to all, we must realize some scripture was given to individual groups such as the moral laws to the Jew:
Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, [which have not the law], do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
But also realizing the fact of the "true Jew" in the eyes of God:
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 [But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter]; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Obviously then their are "Spiritual Jews" and there are "Jews by Nation". The term Jew comes from the old nation of Judah when the tribes of Israel split. A Jew is to Judah as an American is to America or an Egyptian is to Egypt.
This not complicated, It Is The Word Of God!
There are those that say that this sermon does not apply today and they are the most wrong [because there is never an instance in any part of our lives, where God's Word will not apply if it is rightly divided].
The Bible says:
Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
If God's Word is settled in Heaven, who are we to question it here on Earth?
Jesus Christ will rule during the Millennial Kingdom with a rod of iron:
Rev 2:27 And [he shall rule them with a rod of iron]; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, [who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron]: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and [he shall rule them with a rod of iron]: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
These may be those rules of His rulership but they are given to a saved people who have buried their love of God in their heart and not to a lost people to try to make themselves righteous.
The key to this sermon may be this verse:
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Though they were self-righteous, most of these scribes and Pharisees lived by every word of the Moral Law and even added to those making it harder, No making it impossible to obey them all. Yet we still have this verse of Matthew 5:20.
These religious leaders had an artificial, external righteousness based on the Law. Christ Jesus describes a real, vital, and true righteousness that comes from the heart. The Pharisees concerned themselves about the miniscule details of conduct, an outward show, while Jesus emphasized the character of each individual, character that can only come from a personal, one on one relationship with the Saviour of this world.
Christ Jesus gave this message to the individual believer, not to the unsaved world. The Holy Spirit gave this message to every writer of the Epistles for the Church of today. Jesus gave this message to those writers and those teachers:
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, [his disciples came unto him]:
*****Our Text:
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
We cannot over emphasize that though the importance of this message is great, It Is The Message Of "Grace" That Has The Most Importance In The Bible!
Many who change these priorities end up preaching a legalistic relation with God rather than God's mercy to those He loves. If not for "Grace" there could be no "Mercy".
The Bible says:
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Our salvation comes from the "Grace" of God not these rules to live by.
At this time Christ Jesus was still preaching the same message of John the Baptist. John was preaching the coming of the King and the nearness of that Kingdom, and righteousness was the only way to get into that Kingdom. This message is still true but our righteousness can only come through the blood of Jesus. This message will never change until the Millennial reign of Christ has ended.
This message was never challenged by these Pharisees nor the Elders of the nation of Israel nor the Sadducees who observed the ceremonial laws. The only question was what kind of righteousness was necessary to enter this Kingdom?
THIS IS WHY JESUS WAS PREACHING THIS SERMON TO THE DISCIPLES WHO WOULD SOON BE THE APOSTLES!
1.) Was it the righteousness of Judaism?
2.) Was it the righteousness that comes by "Faith" in Jesus Christ?
Righteousness cannot be earned by works but only as a "Gift" from the Almighty God. Jesus Christ offered Himself as the only basis for acceptance by the Messiah into His Kingdom!(the kingdom of heaven)
*****Blessed:
The Latin word for "blessed" is beatus. From this Latin word we get the term Beatitude.
In the Greek it means supremely blessed.
To the Jew this meant "divine joy and perfect happiness". In the Bible times this word was not used so much for humans. It described the kind of joy only a god could have or maybe the dead.
Blessed implies inner satisfaction that does not depend on an outward circumstance for happiness!
The Beatitudes do describe the attitudes that ought to be in the Church and in our own lives today!
1.) Our attitude toward ourselves(vs 3).
To be poor in spirit means to be humble. It is not a false humility of worthlessness. It is being honest with ourselves, to know ourselves, to accept ourselves and to try to be ourselves for the glory of God.
Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
2.) Our attitude toward our sin(Vs 4-6).
Those who try to cover up their sin or defend sin as is rampant in our nation now, have the wrong attitude. We cannot defend sinful living. We cannot defend abortion. We cannot defend the gay lifestyle. We cannot defend anything that goes against God's Word. These people who do have a wrong attitude toward sin.
We must mourn for our sin and despise all sin everywhere. We must see sin the way God sees sin and submit to the ways of God.
Meekness is not Weakness! "Meekness is POWER under control:
The Bible says:
Luk 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Again:
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Again:
Num 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
2Co 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
To be meek is to be among good company Moses and Our Lord Jesus and Paul were meek.
We must remember the righteousness of the Pharisees declared that they had No Sin in their lives but the righteousness that Christ demands is that we freely acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a personal Saviour.
Jesus Christ said the righteous are those that hunger and thirst, to have an appetite for the things of God!
The Bible says:
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
*****Our text:
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
3.) Our attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ(vs7-9).
Mercy is God's loving response to the needs of those that love Him and are the objects of His affection. To have known the mercy of God is to show mercy to all that are in this world we live in. That's what God did when He sent Jesus.(John 3:16)
To be in God's mercy we must trust in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Only then do we have a clean heart:
God's people must have a pure heart. Purity is not measured by what you practice but it is measured by the character of God Himself. Christ is our example of purity in the Church AND IN OUR LIVES.
1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
And God said:
Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
The Pharisees test for purity was conforming to their own traditions. How often do we see this today. Righteousness is not about traditions. IT IS about "faith" in the "grace" of God!
Only then can we be at peace in this life:
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
When we share these things God gives us with others, we then become peacemakers in this cruel world. The soul winner brings the message of peace to the lost so that all can be brought into harmony with God. To have peace with God is to be God's messenger!
The Pharisees taught that to be a son of God one ONLY had to be a descendant of Abraham.
4.) Our attitude toward the world(vs 1o-16).
If the Christian does not have a different attitude from that of the world then they need to go back to the altar.
God said:
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
If we do not come out from among them, then we have not obeyed God! A child of God should be on a totally different thought plan than the world. The world endorses sin especially when they can get away with it. The world is at war with the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus.
We must expect to be persecuted if we are serving God and Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Pharisees declared Christ Jesus an imposter and that He must be removed. We know that in the world we live in especially in America, God has been removed from the schools, He is removed from any action in government, He is removed from His own birthday and from His resurrection. He is now being written out of modern translations of the Bible and most so called gatherings are removing Him from the preaching of His Own Word. To be right with the world you have to leave Jesus out of your prayer.
Well I'm simply not going to do these things because He lives in me and to deny Him would be to deny my own life. He is a part of me I will not give up!
The Bible says:
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
a.) Jesus Christ requires repentance but the Pharisee denied any need for repentance.
b.) Jesus Christ demanded that people recognize their need but the Pharisees recognized that there was no need for God.
c.) Jesus Christ ask us to submit to His authority but the Pharisees refused the only One that had ever met the requirements of the Messiah.
d.) Jesus Christ expressed mercy but the Pharisees withheld mercy from those in need.
e.) Jesus Christ expected purity of heart but the Pharisees were only concerned with an outward show of purity.
f.) Jesus Christ appointed people to be peacemakers but the Pharisees stirred up discord and strife among their own brethren.
g.) Jesus Christ invited people to accept persecution for His Name's Sake but the Pharisees were the persecutors.
We can surely see that the righteousness of the Pharisees was unacceptable to God on every point. We can also see that the world is still full of Pharisee want to be's.
*****Our Text:
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
5.) Our attitude of influence(vs 12-16)
Can there be any doubt that Christ Jesus says when we get our attitude right that we can rejoice. The rewards in Heaven will come even if persecution comes.
To show the influence of this attitude adjustment on His disciples Our Lord used two figures.
a.) Salt:
Salt is used today as a preservative but in Bible times it had other uses as well. It was the function of salt to create a thirst so that the body may retain the proper amount of fluid. Salt created a thirst that, when satisfied, would maintain life.
If God had no other purpose for us after he saved us He would just take us on up to Heaven but He does have a purpose for every saved soul:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them [who are the called according to his purpose].
The believers are left in this world to create a thirst, both by their life and by their words, for Jesus Christ who saved us.
Saltless salt cannot perform this function and it is then no more than the sand that we walk on. Sand is plentiful everywhere you go, but salt was scarce in the Bible times.
What Christ is saying is that if we cannot maintain a good testimony after we are saved then we are worthless to Him while we are on this earth.
The Apostle Paul said:
1Co 9:19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
1Co 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
1Co 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
1Co 9:23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
1Co 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
He also had these words:
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Php 3:16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Php 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
b.) Light:
Light attracts to itself and it also exposes what is in that circle of light. Those that receive the words of Christ would be counted as light in the midst of darkness. It is impossible to hide a light in darkness.
A lamp is not lit just so it can be hidden. God does not save us so we can hide from the evils of this world. Each and every one of us are placed in a certain place so our lights will shine.
The Bible says:
Pro 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
The life of the believer is a light in this dark world. God reveals His lights to the world to bring praise to Our Heavenly Father.
The Bible says:
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Our Lesson may end here but let's highlight the remaining scriptures in this chapter.
Matthew 5:17-20:
How true righteousness comes:
In the law of Moses God did reveal His standards for holy living.
The Apostle Paul said to the early Church:
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Remember Jesus said that true righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus explained His own attitude toward the Law:
*****a.) We cannot seek to destroy the Law.
Jesus may have seemed to defy the Law by healing on the Sabbath and by paying no attention to the traditions of the Pharisees. Jesus associated Himself with known sinners and the hated publicans also contrary to the Law.
It was truly the Pharisees that were destroying the Law. By their traditions they were destroying the Word of God. By their hypocritical lives they did not obey the Law they claimed to protect. By adding to God's Word and in some cases changing it to fit certain situations for their own benefit they were embalming the truth of the living God so that God's Word no longer had life. Their rejection of Christ proved this to be true.
We now have so many so called [new versions] of the Bible that in a sense these books are stifling the life out of the truth of the scriptures. We need to learn from a Bible that is translated from the oldest scriptures such as the Textus Receptus. The one I use is the King James Bible.
*****b.) We can seek to fulfill the Law.
It is Jesus Christ Our Lord that fulfilled the Law and he will fulfill the whole Law!
1.) Jesus fulfilled the Law in every area of His life:
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
His parents were sure to to perform every ritual of a Jewish boy.
No one could accuse Jesus of sin:
1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1Jn 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Jesus did not submit to the traditions of the Pharisees because He submitted to the Law that God had commanded.
Mat 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Mat 17:6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
2.) Jesus fulfilled the Law in His teaching:
Jesus broke away from the man-made traditions that had stifled God's Word and showed the World the truth of the scriptures. Jesus showed the World [a new and living way] that is still rejected by most religions today. To be a Christian is not to be in a religion, It Is Having A Personal Relationship With God! Jesus offered life, a real life that is eternal.
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
3.) Jesus fulfilled the Law by His death:
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Jesus broke down all the walls of His people:
Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
We no longer need man made temples:
Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
We no longer need religious rituals:
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 2:14 [Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us], which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
How do we fulfill the Law?
a.) Allowing Jesus to work in our lives:
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
b.) Allowing Jesus Christ to live out His life through us:
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Jesus obeyed the known will of God, which is the Word that we have from God and we should do the same:
Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
*****c.) We can seek to teach the Law:
This does not mean we ignore the New Testament and major in the Old Testament!
2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The Holy Spirit is our teacher. He teaches us God's Word and helps us to obey that Word. Sin is still sin and God still punishes Sin. We are certainly more responsible to obey God's Word because we have been taught more than any other people.
*****21-48)
1.) Murder(vs21-26):
Jesus did not say that anger leads to murder:
Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
Jesus said that anger without a cause was the same as committing murder.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
2.) Adultery(vs27-30):
Marriage was given of God to provide for the physical and emotional needs of God's people.
The Bible says:
Heb 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
We can see that there is a difference in marriage and other forms of living together.
The Bible says:
1Co 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
The physical responsibilities were also God given:
1Co 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1Co 7:4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Marriage is a benefit to society. God did not found society on the individual but on the family. It is individuals that make families and families that make communities and so forth up to making of nations. The Bible gives us the example of the Nation of Israel and tells us of many others that began with Abraham.
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
God also designed marriage to be an object lesson of the relationship between Himself and the believer.(Bridegroom, Jesus and Bride of Christ, the Church)
Jesus Christ and the Church are inseparable. The marriage and the family should also be inseparable. Therefore God forbade adultery.
The Pharisees saw this only as an unlawful act of an illegal sexual union but to refrain from the physical act only did not fulfill the spiritual demands of the Law.
The Law of Christ demands not only abstinence but also the desire to do these things!
Christ says we can remove the cause that begins in our heart then goes on into our mind and then on to a physical action.
2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
2Ti 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
3.) Divorce(vs31-32):
We must go back to square one. Jesus said your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
a.) The Pharisees viewed marriage as a social institution governed by the laws of men.
b.) Christ viewed marriage as a divine institution governed by the laws of God.
God had said that when two are joined together they become one flesh. One is an indivisible unit so an indivisible union was established.
The right to divorce was highly prized among the Jew. It was considered a gift from God. In fact a gift that God denied the Gentiles. Their thinking was that if Christ denied divorce it could alienate Him from the nation of Israel.
Divorce had been permitted in Israel's past and we can see a reason in the Book of Ezra:
Ezr 10:2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
Ezr 10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
Ezr 10:11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.
Ezr 10:12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.
Ezr 10:13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.
Ezr 10:14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.
The purpose behind this allowance of divorce was because of the Law:
Deu 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, [because he hath found some uncleanness in her]: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
This uncleanness would be in that the bloodline was impure. A Jew could not marry outside his nationality and preferably from the same tribe.
The Bible said to Israel:
Num 36:6 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; [only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry].
We can see that this stems from Abraham:
Gen 24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
This same process of marriage also was taught to the Church by the Apostle Paul:
2Co 6:14 [Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers]: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
We can see then that these are the guidelines for a Godly marriage.
Jesus said whosoever put away his wife except for marital unfaithfulness would cause the sin of adultery.
The Bible says:
Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
We can see Joseph would not have been ridiculed if he had divorced Mary even though they had not consummated their arranged marriage.
These marriages were for the most part arranged by the parents and this time of espousal was given for many reasons including this one.
It is the light of this context that Jesus made this statement.(vs 31)
The Bible does not teach that the offended mate has to get a divorce as we know Joseph took Mary and had many good years and several children. It is sad that the hardness of our hearts can lead us to do things that we would not do if we learned the ways of forgiveness.
Does this mean that those that marry outside these guidelines do not have a marriage under the terms of God. God forbid! Every effort should be made in marriage to keep them together.
The Apostle Paul gave us some guidelines for the Church:
I Corinthians 7:1-40(study the entire book)
Paul said:
1Co 7:6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
1Co 7:7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
1Co 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
1Co 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
1Co 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
1Co 7:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
1Co 7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
1Co 7:27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
1Co 7:28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
1Co 7:39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
Any divorce under these guidelines would automatically be permission to remarry.
If more time was spent trying to find the right spouse and then live as Christian should live, there would be less divorce:
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
If both parties have that God given charitable love, there would be no room for divorce because there would be two people that could not cause each other harm in any way.
4.) Swearing(vs33-37):
This not the sin of cursing. The Pharisees used all kind of tricks to sidestep the truth and using oaths was just one of them. They would avoid using the Holy name of God but they would come close by using the city of Jerusalem, heaven, earth, or some part of the body.
Jesus taught:
Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Col 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Pro 16:21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
Pro 16:22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
Pro 16:23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
Pro 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
5.) Retaliating(vs38-42):
In the Old Testament we see:
Lev 24:19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
Lev 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
Lev 24:21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.
Lev 24:22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.
If we believe that these words meant that a person could take the law into his own hands then we missed the point of these old laws. You know it's a good time to mention that the Jews did not just have the ten moral laws but they had in fact 613 laws to live by.
These laws were written for those that were in charge to have a means to exact punishment in the name of the Lord. We can see that corporal punishment is also listed here.
A person who retaliates himself, or takes the law into his own hands only makes matters worse and the results are more a settled war and not by peace.
In order to turn the other cheek, we must stay put and not run away:
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, [that ye may be able to stand] against the wiles of the devil.
It is better to be hurt on the outside than harmed on the inside. It takes not only faith but also love to stand in the name of God.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
It is the strong man that can love and suffer hurt; it is the weak man who thinks only of himself and hurts other people to protect himself.
This does not mean that we are to lie down and allow the evils of this world to walk all over us.
God has a reason for the things that happen to us and if and when these things happen we still have His protection:
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
God always has His angels watching:
Psa 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, [to keep thee in all thy ways].
Psa 91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Psa 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Psa 91:14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Notice the phrase "in all thy ways". This means these same angels can assist us in avoiding this kind of harm.
6.) The Love of our enemies(vs43-48):
The Old Testament states:
Lev 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
No where does the Old Testament teach us to hate our enemies.
Exo 23:4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
Exo 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
Christian love is an act of the will of God. Christian love is not an emotion or some lustful thing. If you accept this teaching then you must accept that God has the right to command us to love our enemies. After all God loved us while we were still His enemies:
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
When we find a way to love our enemies it will take the poison out of our attitudes.
When our attitudes are right we begin to become more perfect in the eyes of a Holy God. We will look more like Jesus Christ.
Our Father loves His enemies and seeks to make them His children.
OUR JOB IS TO ASSIST HIM!
Let's pray!
