Tilling and Planting

Category: Sermons

  • Real and Fake

    Real and Fake

    Intro

    Wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount, we enter into a list of real and fake Christians and how to identify them. I think these passages are all pretty familiar to us (as has been most of this sermon), but I hope to not only refresh your memories, but also bring new perspective on each of them.

    Spotting the Fakes

    Real quick before delving into each of the individual sections, I want to tie this to my post about judging rightly. In that post, I explain that Jesus wants us to judge, but to do so with humility, love, and kindness. Not with condemnation or a holier-than-thou attitude. And these sections very quickly destroy the claim that Christians can’t judge people period. After all, how in the world can we spot the fakes if we don’t discern (judge) their actions? And how can we then warn others about them if we haven’t determined (judged) that they are fakes? Food for thought as well as additional arguments for judging rightly. This allows us to not only steer people back onto the narrow path, but also help to spot the real from the fake Christians.

    Real and Fake Prophets

    “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

    Matthew 7:15-20 (NIV)

    This first warning Jesus issues about “real and fake” deals with false prophets. I think a lot of times when we read this, we think about people outside the church either intentionally trying to deceive people to get money or self-proclaimed prophets like Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism) who added onto the Bible with his Book of Mormon. And while that certainly could fit, the passage also says they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. We as Jesus’ followers are called sheep. Therefore, this passage also refers to people within the church who claim to be Christians and yet are not living for God. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be the leaders. Could be anyone.

    Jesus says we know them by their fruit. In other words, we can identify them by their actions, their lifestyles. Are they producing fruit consistent with the Fruit of Holy Spirit? Do their lifestyles match the lifestyle that Jesus tells us to live? If they aren’t producing fruit watch out! They may be hanging around church to deceive, disrupt, or distract the body. And we must be able to discern that and reject anything they say that does not line up with the Word of God. We should do the loving thing and try and correct them (gently) but if they reject us, then it would be better to interact little with them. If they aren’t seeking God and they find their message is being ignored, they’ll move on.

    If you find that the false prophet is in leadership, approach someone else who’s in leadership there. Because it could be that person has also deceived the others on the leadership team. But you may also find that the entire leadership team falls into this camp of false prophets. At that point just leave.

    Real and Fake Disciples

    “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

    Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)

    The next warning Jesus issues about “real and fake” are disciples. Unlike the previous one where there’s much more intent of deception and a focus on people gathering a following, this one is more broad and more introspective. Jesus is warning us about self-deception. His desire is for all His disciples (that’s us) to be genuine and seek His will and do His will for the glory of God the Father. However, many so-called Christians deceive themselves into doing lots “for God” but not for His glory. They’re doing it either for the praise of man, or their doing it because they’ve deceived themselves into believing in a works-based salvation rather than trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.

    This one is scary because so many people will go their whole lives believing that they are going to Heaven because the did such-and-such for the Lord. But they’re going to get there and get a rude awakening. And Jesus lists out some pretty impressive things including prophesying and miracles. Honestly it’s hard for me to imagine anyone being able to perform miracles in Jesus name and not be saved. But Jesus seems to say it’s possible. But how?

    There’s really two possibilities here and both could fit the overall context of the Bible. And some people might fall into one category or the other on the day of judgment. But one thing they have in common, they never came to true faith in Jesus and thus will not spend eternity in Heaven with God.

    The Options

    The first possibility on how unsaved can perform miracles is the deception of Satan. The magicians of Egypt were able to mimic a few of the plagues as well as the staff-to-serpent sign. Now it is possible that these magicians used sleight of hand and similar things. But it’s also possible there was some demonic activity going on. The New Testament also warns about false signs and wonders designed to deceive people. Again, some of these are going to be fake and not miracles at all, but some could be demonic. Then there’s the example of the psychic girl that Paul rebuked. These types of “miracles” are likely the most common for the demonic – after all they can communicate with each other and spread information around to make psychics appear genuine. And as my pastor says, they can also “predict” the future by causing the future they just predicted.

    The second possibility is that God will empower unbelievers for His glory. The best Biblical example of this is Judas Iscariot. He followed Jesus for His entire ministry and performed miraculous signs and wonders like the other eleven. However, his heart did not belong to the Lord. And he ultimately betrayed Jesus and then hung himself in shame. God saw fit to use Judas alongside the other disciples for His glory despite the condition of Judas’s heart. And God might continue to do that today and in the future. Why? I don’t know. But Paul said that there were people preaching the name of Jesus out of envy and rivalry (Philippians 1:15-18) and he rejoiced! Why? Because the gospel was still being preached. So if these miracles are genuine, then praise the Lord and give Him glory.

    What do We do?

    So what do we do if we suspect that someone performing these miracles are not true disciples? Two things: determine if their message lines up with Scripture, and determine if their fruit lines up with Scripture. If either of these is “no”, talk to them in love and gentleness and try to steer them onto the narrow path. If they refuse to listen, then they are probably in the “false prophet” camp and we should avoid them and warn others about them.

    But as I opened this section with, we must beware that we are not deceiving ourselves into falling into this camp of false disciples. And we may have the right message to boot! But don’t live in fear about whether you’re actually saved or not; if you’re questioning it, there’s actually a good chance you are saved. If you need assurance, pray. Pray hard and read your Bible. Talk to someone who’s more mature in the faith. Search your own life for fruit. If you find you are living in sin and have no desire to change, that’s a red flag. If you find that over time since your point of salvation you have been making progress in overcoming sin and are producing more fruit of the Spirit, then those are indicators that you are truly saved.

    Real and Fake Builders

    “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

    Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)

    This is a story I first learned through song format. Which is kind of funny when you think about it. “What would make a good children’s song?” “How about the story of a couple of guys building houses and the one guy’s house comes crashing down.” “Perfect!” I titled this section “Real and Fake Builders” because only a fake builder would build on a foundation of sand. So be sure to check that guy’s credentials before you hire him!

    All joking aside, this store contains powerful truths and warnings. Again, this one is more introspective. Jesus warns His followers against merely hearing His words and then doing nothing with them. He compares such people with a foolish person who builds his house on a sandy foundation. Sand is very unstable and pretty much guarantees that something is going to go wrong. And this isn’t a warning about ignorance. The foolish person is not stupid or ignorant. The foolish person already heard the truth. But the foolish person chose deliberate action to not do what they know to be the correct way of doing something.

    In contrast, the wise person hears the words of Jesus and puts them into practice. As a result, he can weather anything that life throws at him because he has Jesus’ teaching and Jesus Himself to fall back on. Jesus and all of His teaching forms a foundation that is rock solid.

    Sidenote

    An interesting tidbit about this parable is that it echoes many Proverbs that contrasts wise and foolish people. So His listeners hearing the initial part of “a wise man” probably expected to hear the contrasting actions of the foolish man. This was a common style of teaching for the Jews and was very familiar to His listeners. This wasn’t the first time Jesus used a familiar style of teaching, nor would it be His last. Though in many of Jesus’ familiar styles of teaching, He often subverted expectations in some way. Does Jesus do that here? I say yes. After all Jesus opens this parable with “everyone who hears these words of mine”. That’s bold. Jesus is putting His words on par with Scripture and on par with the very words of God. That definitely ruffled some feathers amongst the religious leaders. Which actually leads to my final point.

    True Authority

    When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

    Matthew 7:28-29 (NIV)

    In the end, we see that the crowds were amazed. Because Jesus taught with authority, unlike the religious leaders of the day. Honestly, given how much the religious leaders puffed themselves up, it’s almost weird to hear such a statement. They lorded themselves over the common people, so how could Matthew write that the teachers of the law didn’t teach as if they had authority?

    Well, what I found out when I asked this question is that the religious leaders actually would have always appealed to the highest authority. In rabbinic tradition, it often meant referring to the which “line” of rabbis a particular teacher came from. In more genuine cases, the teachers might have appealed to the authority of Scripture and the author – either the human author or God Himself. But when Jesus taught, the authority He appealed to was Himself. No other teacher, no rabbit, etc. For Jesus was and is, the ultimate authority.

    And at the end of the day, we can identify real and fake people by whether they accept the ultimate authority of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:1-3).

    Wrapping Up

    We all need to be able to discern those who are real followers of Christ and those who are fake. The ones that are fake are dangerous since they often sound good, but underneath are not living for Him. These people can deceive many others into believing false doctrines. So we must be alert to not fall into that and to help guide people out of it.

    That’s the end of my series on the Sermon on the Mount. In many ways it feels like it went too fast. I didn’t go into real depth on most of the topics, so if there is one that you you want me to go into greater depth, please leave a comment on this post or on the post where I touched on that topic! I don’t want this blog to only be what comes to my mind, but also what you, my readers, want to understand better. So please leave a comment or reach out to me through the contact form.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Seek and Find

    Seek and Find

    Intro

    In these next couple of sections, Jesus invites us to ask His Father for good gifts. He lets us know that if we seek after His Father and if we walk His path, we will find Him and eternal life. These are the core elements to get out of these verses. But there is a lot more to be pulled from this text. As well as some confusion and misconceptions to clear up. So let’s get started.

    Don’t Stop Asking

    “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

    “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

    Matthew 7:7-12 (NIV)

    Ask and you shall receive is a phrase that I think we have all heard over the years. The problem is when we start asking for the wrong things and then we get upset when God (or our parents) don’t deliver. “But you said to ask and we shall receive,” we whine. Yes, Jesus did say that. And yes, parents have said that. But to understand what “ask and it will be given to you” means, we need to read the rest of the passage. And it goes on to say “seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” and then affirms that everyone who does these things will be satisfied.

    Not Just Anything

    And then the next paragraphs starts. Jesus asks His listeners if they would give bad things to their children when they ask for good things. And Jesus asked rhetorically. Obviously none of them would. And that – Jesus says – is the type of Father that God is. He gives good gifts to His children when they ask for them. The key here is “good” gifts. And the definition of good here is God’s definition. In His infinite wisdom and knowledge, knowing past, present, and future, He knows what we need and what will benefit us the most. I covered in an earlier post Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus clearly states that God knows what we need, and He will provide them to us. In that passage, Jesus says to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added.

    Elsewhere, Jesus states that if we ask in His name, He will do it (John 14:14). Now to ask of anything in Jesus’ name is to invoke His authority, but it is also to pray in His will. I mentioned that God knows what we need and will give us the good things we ask for. If what we ask for will lead to destruction or is just plain wrong, He will refuse to give it to us – just like a loving parent will refuse to give their kids ice cream for every single meal.

    God Honors Our Prayers

    What’s awesome about this passage, is that when we understand what God will honor, and if we truly seek His will in all things, we will find Him and we will find what we are looking for – because a prayer that honors God and His will is one that God will honor. And while I’m not going to go into depth here, God wired us to have certain desires and if those desires are honoring to God, He will grant them as well – perhaps not as quickly as we want, but they will come. Case in point, I got married several years later than what I had desired and prayed for. But God needed to prepare both me and my wife. It wasn’t that it was a bad thing to get married, but my timing of that marriage wasn’t right.

    God needed to get my heart to a place of being okay being single and needed to work out a couple of other issues in my life to prepare me for my wife. And He needed to do similar things for her. So if what you ask for is good, and you’re confident it is within God’s will, keep asking! Keep knocking on the door of Heaven! But above all, seek God and a greater relationship with Him and you will find Him. And He will – in His perfect timing – bring about what you are seeking.

    The Golden Rule

    The last verse in this section contains what we commonly call “The Golden Rule”. There are a couple of variations you may have heard depending upon which translation of the Bible it came from. The two most common I hear are “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” and “Treat others the way you want to be treated”. In either case, the meaning remains the same.

    If you want others to be kind and gentle with you, then you should be kind and gentle towards others. If you want others to show you grace and mercy, then you should show grace and mercy. And if you want others to forgive you, then you should forgive others. The list goes on and on. And there’s no reason for me to continue. Insert your own thing that you want others (broadly) to demonstrate towards you and become that kind of a person.

    Pick the Right Gate

    “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

    Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

    Jesus wraps up what we call chapter 7 with a bit of a cautionary warning. He informs us that the way to life is through a narrow gate and down a narrow path. It’s not easy. Much easier is the path that leads to destruction – wide gate, broad road, piece of cake. But here’s an interesting interpretation I found of this passage that is different than what I think most people assume. I for sure assumed that Jesus is referring to the path to Heaven. But in light of the rest of the Sermon on the mount, Jesus is more likely referring to heart posture vs outward piety.

    We can refrain from murdering someone and thus obey the law, but we could still harbor hatred toward that person – which Jesus said earlier equaled murder. That hatred leads us down the broad path that leads to destruction. And the same goes for all of the other things Jesus refers to in this sermon. Effectively, these two verses sum up everything Jesus said already by saying that all the outward actions with no heart change is the wide gate and broad path leading to destruction. And having the proper heart attitude leads to life.

    Jesus doesn’t want us to just seek after pious actions, He wants us to seek heart change – which leads to those actions. And if we seek that heart change with the help of Holy Spirit, we will find it.

    Wrapping Up

    I hope you now have greater confidence to ask God for things that you know are good and align with His will and desires. If you aren’t sure, ask Him! Seek council from the Word, from Holy Spirit, and from men and women in the faith who are maybe a little wiser. If you earnestly seek to understand what God seeks to give you, you will find it. He doesn’t want to hide His desires for your life from you, but if you don’t seek Him, how will you ever know what those are?

    And heed Jesus’ warning about taking the easy road. The one that leads to destruction. Even those of us who are on the road to Heaven can take detours that destroy various areas of our lives. Relationships, reputation, etc. So beware and seek guidance from Holy Spirit.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Judge Rightly

    Judge Rightly

    Intro

    To judge or not to judge, that is the question. People who know little to nothing about the Bible do know “Do not judge” is in there. Rather than make this just one of a few topics from the Sermon on the Mount squished into a single post, I’m going to address the first six verses of Matthew 7 separately. It’s a topic that has been misunderstood, misused, and abused over the years. And yet, it’s so important to understand. Too many Christians judge poorly and frankly, we need to judge rightly. If we can’t do this, we become ineffective at so many things that Jesus calls us to do. So let’s dive in and find out how to do this correctly.

    What Does it Mean to Judge?

    “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

    Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV)

    I’m going to just get this out of the way up front: Jesus wants us (His followers) to judge. However, as I mentioned earlier, all too often we judge wrongly. And that’s why I’m going to explain what Jesus was talking about here when He says “Do not judge”, that way we can all learn to judge rightly. Christians have been scared into silence because of unbelievers pointing their fingers and saying, “You can’t judge me”. But the problem is that what those people are claiming is that by “judge” Jesus means “Don’t reject alternative lifestyles” or “Accept everyone and don’t encourage them to change”.

    But this is just wrong. If that was Jesus’ meaning then He would be the biggest hypocrite of them all. After all, He called the religious leaders “vipers” and “hypocrites”. He also told the young rich man that to inherit eternal life he needed to sell his belongings and give to the poor. And how about the woman caught in the act of adultery? He told her to “go and sin no more”. Jesus clearly rejected the lifestyles of the Pharisees and encouraged people to change. So, Jesus can’t mean any of those commonly believed interpretations of “Do not judge”. So what is He saying?

    The Definition

    The Greek word for “judge” here is krino which can mean “to discern”, “to decide”, or “to condemn”. And I’ve already pointed out that Jesus can’t mean “discern” or “decide” because He discerned that the rich man had a great love of his wealth and that needed to change. And likewise, He discerned that the woman’s accusers were trying to trap Jesus, so Jesus flipped the tables on them. That really leaves only condemnation for Jesus’ meaning. And this fits the overall context. After all, later in chapter 7 of Matthew (coming soon to a blog near you), Jesus starts telling us how to identify (judge) fake and real people. And later, Paul calls Christians to approach sinning brothers and sisters and point out their sin and urge them to repent (more on that in the next section).

    In Jesus’ conversation with the woman caught in the act of adultery, He asks her “Has no one condemned you?” And the He says, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:10-11). So very clearly, Jesus is not about condemning people, but He is about making a judgment about a person’s lifestyle and then encouraging them to change it to line up with how God wants them to live.

    So, in conclusion here, Jesus calls us to not condemn people. After all, we don’t know what’s in their hearts. It’s not our job to condemn people. It’s our job to love people and bring to them the truth of the gospel and introduce them to Jesus. Let Him sort out their messes. He’s better at it then we are.

    Measure it Out

    How about that phrase “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”? What’s that all about? This one is pretty simple. If you routinely look in condemnation upon people – and verbalize it – than other people will do the same to you. It’s another form of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. If you treat people poorly, expect people to treat you poorly at some point. Show grace, kindness, and love towards others and you can expect the same to come back to you.

    Moving on we’ve got a couple of more sections of this passage to cover in order to really grasp what it means to judge rightly.

    Speck Vs Log

    “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

    Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)

    I think people have taken this passage on specks and logs too far as well. To the point where some Christians think (or non-Christians try and tell us) that we have no right to point out other people’s sin because we ourselves have sin in our lives. And once again, we must use context. As I mentioned earlier, Jesus pointed out other people’s poor behavior, attitudes, and sin. So He can’t be saying that here. And as I also mentioned before, Paul tells Christians to come to other believers and gently point out sin in their lives.

    What Jesus is addressing here is what He’s been addressing throughout this entire sermon: hypocrisy and holier-than-thou attitudes. In this context, this passage would be like a Pharisee telling people how bad their sin is and what they can do to fix themselves – while being ignorant of how much fixing they need, because as religious leaders who followed the Law to the letter, they must be perfect.

    In light of this, I think the log isn’t what we might think of as a traditional sin, i.e., drunkenness, sexual immorality, etc. I think the log is pride. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were swimming in pride and self-righteousness. And pride blinds us to our own faults and magnifies everyone else’s. It makes us feel like we’ve got it all together. But what Jesus wants is for us to humbly remember that we too are sinful and avoid the self-righteous attitude if/when we come to a brother or sister and point out that they are living in a way that is dishonoring to God. This is another aspect of what it means to judge rightly. Humbly admitting that we ourselves are imperfect and with mercy and grace approach the one with the speck.

    Avoid Criticism

    Another aspect to this speck vs log is to not be critical. And I don’t mean constructive criticism. I’m talking about being critical and offering no additional help. Basically the attitude of “What a horrible thing you’re doing that God’s going to judge you for. Have a nice time in Hell!”

    Now this might sound a little extreme, but being critical of another person’s lifestyle (to their face) without offering grace, mercy, hope, or any way around it, is just plain mean. Even the religious leaders didn’t do that (most of the time). Sure they were pretty critical, but they usually followed it up with “If you would just follow the Law…” etc. So they offered a solution, even if it was done with disgust and a holier-than-thou attitude. At times, with the “worst of sinners”, they might be less “helpful” and have a more critical disposition. And this is what we must avoid if we want to judge rightly. Our words must be laced with love, grace, and mercy. Not criticism. We must be gentle, not harsh.

    Dogs and Hogs

    “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

    Matthew 7:6 (NIV)

    In this last section, Jesus does one of the things He does best: throw out a metaphor that seems to be completely out of left field and not make any sense given what He was just talking about. Except that perception tends to be for the modern reader rather than His first century listeners who could usually pick up on most of the cultural cues. In this case, and in this context, Jesus is telling His followers that if the person with the speck refuses to listen to you and rejects your correction – even when you do it with love and respect – then don’t bother telling them anything more. If you keep doing it over and over, they’ll likely come to resent you and the gospel and become even more hard-hearted. At that point, your best option is to let it go and pray for them.

    That can be hard to hear if the one you’re trying to love into the Kingdom is a relative or a close friend whom you dearly love. But sadly, not everyone wants to hear that they’re living a sinful lifestyle that’s going to send them to Hell. Some people just don’t want to change. And having the discernment (judgment) to know when a person is in that place and drop the subject – without coming down critically or holier-than-thou – is the last piece of what it means to judge rightly.

    Wrapping Up

    As you can see here, there is a right way and a wrong way to judge others. Jesus doesn’t want His followers judging people the way the self-righteous religious leaders of His day judged others. He wants us to be wise and discerning, always falling back on loving others. If we learn to judge rightly – with love, grace, and mercy – we’d be amazed at the spiritual growth we’d see in others – and ourselves. It’s going to take practice. And forgiveness. And probably some apologies along the way, but with God’s help, we can do it.

    One more thing. During my research and reading articles written by others, I found this from one blogger named Matt Walsh that I’d like to quote because I agree with this wholly (full post here).

    I am a sinful person. If you would ever consider accepting and celebrating my sins for the sake of being “non-judgmental,” please do me a favor and stop doing me that favor. I don’t want to be made comfortable and confident in my wrongdoing.

    I’d rather have you hurt my feelings as you help me get to Heaven, than protect my feelings as you usher me right along to Hell.

    And to be honest, if a Christian strongly disagrees with this statement (i.e., doesn’t want to hear where they’re going wrong), then I fear they are too comfortable in their sin and they need God to wake them up before it’s too late. Who knows, maybe He’ll use you or me to do it with a well placed conversation.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Humility Honored

    Humility Honored

    Intro

    Continuing on in our series on the Sermon on the Mount, we now get to Matthew chapter 6. Here I’m going to tackle the entire chapter. And if there’s a main theme to be had, it’s that our humility before God is honored. The first three sections hammer this point home with the next one issuing a warning about greed – which is a form of pride (“I deserve to have more”) – and the last one confronting the type of worry that comes from thinking you don’t have enough. Even thought these last two sections don’t obviously praise humility, the theme is still present. I will explain that in more detail when I get there. But for now, we’re starting at the beginning.

    Giving to the Needy

    “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

    Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)

    Jesus starts out by warning His listeners against doing good things (“practicing righteousness”) for the purpose of being seen by others. Unfortunately, many of the religious leaders did just this. They wanted everyone to see what good things they were doing and how well they obeyed the law. The religious leaders loved the attention and respect of the people and the more those people saw their good deeds, the more attention and respect they would get.

    And in this first of three works that Jesus points out, He calls out giving to the needy. The religious leaders gave willingly to those in need so that others would see them, praise them, and honor them. However, as Jesus points out, this is their only reward. They receive no honor from God because these deeds were performed with the wrong heart. Conversely, Jesus tells us to give in secret. We should strive to not make a point of letting others know that we are giving – and especially not how much we give. And through giving in this way, our Father rewards us and our humility is honored by Him.

    Now there are some people who will know how much you give. It’s impossible to conceal it from the person you give to. And Church treasurers will always be aware of how much people are giving so they can handle the finances appropriately and send out giving statements. Similar with giving to other non-profit organizations. However, the important thing is that you are not talking about your giving to other people who have no business knowing. Your friends don’t need to know that you give $50 dollars a month to this missionary and another $100 to that organization, etc.

    Prayer

    “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray:

    “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

    “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

    Matthew 6:5-15 (NIV)

    The second of the three that Jesus calls out is Prayer. Much like giving, religious leaders loved to pray in loud voices in public using flowery words in order to get the praise of man. Jesus rebukes such practices and says that – like with the giving – those who pray in this manner receives no reward from God. Jesus tells us that the preferred type of prayer is one that is humble and honoring to God. He also points out that God doesn’t care about flowery words, He cares about the heart. And in our prayerful humility, we are honored by Him.

    This passage contains the most talked about and dissected prayer in the Bible. Known as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gives us a template to use when we pray. Jesus doesn’t say that we need to pray these exact words (or even that this template needs to be followed 100% of the time), He says this is “how” we should be praying. That is an important distinction. By saying “how”, Jesus is saying “Here’s the guideline for some great prayer content. Now make it your own.” God loves to hear our words. Not just someone else’s – even if those words are His Son’s. He made us unique and we all have unique styles to our prayers. So we should use them.

    A Practical Breakdown

    Here’s some key points in the Lord’s Prayer that would be good to remember and incorporate in our prayer life.

    • Our Father in heaven. Acknowledge God is our Father. As Father, this means God is close to use. He’s not a distant, creator God who doesn’t care.
    • Hallowed be your name. Praise and worship Him.
    • Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. We should pray for God’s will to be accomplished on this earth – and in our own lives.
    • Give us today our daily bread. Pray for our needs no matter how small. Include physical, emotional/mental, relational, and spiritual needs.
    • And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Ask God to point out any unconfessed sins and ask for forgiveness. And thank Him for forgiving you of all your sins. It’s also good to ask for help in forgiving people. Forgiveness is hard. And if you’re struggling, ask God for help. And tell God you choose to forgive that person. Keep saying that every day. At first you may not feel like you’ve forgiven them, but in time God will change your heart and attitude to match that prayer.
    • And lead us not into temptation. First, I wish to point out is that God never tempts us (James 1:13-14). We become our own worst enemies and Jesus is trying to teach us to pray against that. We should pray not only for strength to overcome temptations, but also a transformation so that those things that tempt us, would cease to tempt us. Also, we should pray that we don’t unintentionally tempt others.
    • But deliver us from the evil one. Lastly, Jesus tells us we should pray for deliverance from the very real enemy that seeks to devour us.

    Forgiveness

    This section contains a statement from Jesus that confuses many people. He states that “if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (vs 14-15). This sounds like there are times when God will withhold forgiveness from people, even when they seek His forgiveness and have faith in Jesus’ sacrifice. But this isn’t the case at all.

    Unforgiveness Means Condemnation

    There are two main interpretations. The easier of the two to describe is that unforgiveness is the mark of an unbeliever. Or to put it another way, if you refuse to forgive someone, that means that you yourself have not truly received God’s forgiveness and are still in your sins and on your way to Hell – despite whatever prayer you may have prayed.

    Personally, I don’t agree with this view mostly because believers can experience great heartache caused by another person long after they’ve become a believer and they still find it difficult to forgive.

    Daily Washings

    In the second view, Jesus is not referring to that initial reconciliation between a person and God that occurs, i.e., the moment of belief where you receive God’s forgiveness and Holy Spirit comes to indwell in you. Bur rather, Jesus refers to more that “daily washing” of our sins. This coincides nicely with Jesus’ washing of the feet where he tells Peter “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” (John 13:10). Here Jesus makes a comparison to an initial cleansing and then small follow-ups as required.

    I take a shower on a daily basis, but if I get my hands dirty, I only need to wash my hands. Likewise, living in this sinful world, we are bound to mess up and need to go to God and confess such sins. This is imperative to maintain a close relationship with God. And Jesus is pointing out that if we don’t forgive others, our relationships suffer. And with that, it’s also hypocritical of us to withhold forgiveness from others and expect God to forgive us.

    This sounds much more plausible to me as I feel it better fits the overall message that Jesus preached and of the New Testament in general.

    So let us strive to to be honored by God in our humility by forgiving others.

    Fasting

    “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

    Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)

    In the last of the three works, Jesus touches on fasting. Once again He contrasts what the religious leaders do – “disfigure their faces” – to show people how much they are suffering with what Jesus wants us to do – “put oil on your head and wash your face”. Once again, the point here is that by making a show, the reward is simply man’s praise – nothing from God. On the other hand, by not displaying such things or talking about such things, we demonstrate godly humility and that is honored by God.

    And we should always strive for anything that honors God. Not just because God honors (rewards) those who honor Him, but simply because He is truly worthy of that honor. The fact that He honors is in return is a bonus.

    Treasures in Heaven

    “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

    “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

    “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

    Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV)

    Coming on the heels of being humble and how God rewards the humble, Jesus jumps into another very famous passage. He starts out here warning against storing treasures up on earth and encourage us to store treasures in Heaven. And if you’re curious as to how to do that, reference the three preceding sections. As I mentioned, God’s reward doesn’t always come on this side of Heaven. We will have to wait until we get there before we receive our full reward. So, a few ways of storing up treasures in Heaven is by giving, praying, and fasting in a God-honoring, humble way. Anything we do in obedience to God counts as treasures in Heaven.

    I’m going to jump down to serving two masters. It more clearly fits in with the treasure theme. I don’t think I have to say much about it. It’s clear that Jesus is warning about pursuing money and things of this world. His warning is pretty strong. Pursuing both God and things of this world is not possible without being devoted to one over the other. Take your pick, you can’t have both.

    Going back to the middle piece, it sounds like Jesus is suddenly getting changing topics before going back to His original topic. However, that’s not the case at all. The phrase “healthy eyes” in the Greek implies a generous heart and “unhealthy eyes” implies the opposite. This fits with everything Jesus is talking about here! If we are generous people, we will be filled with light and be a light to others. If we refuse to be generous, then the opposite is true.

    Clearly, generosity is a big deal to God. And generosity is a huge indicator of humility. And as I’ve been preaching this whole time, humility is honored by God.

    Do Not Worry

    “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

    “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

    Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

    The last section in Matthew 6 handles worry and anxiousness. The first thing to clarify before moving on is that Jesus is not talking about chronic anxiety. I know that people who suffer from that don’t always find comfort in these verses. If that’s you, I encourage you to go to God in prayer, and also seek counseling.

    For the rest of us, what is Jesus talking about? I see two clues about the type of worry Jesus talks about here. The first is the fact that He brings it up after comparing hypocritical vs righteous deeds. The second clue is in verse 32 where He says “pagans run after all these things”. Based on that, I believe what Jesus refers to here is the type of worry and anxiousness people get from believing that they never have enough. And they want more, they “run after” food and clothes and things of this world. They constantly ensure that their pantry’s and closets are full – or overflowing so now their complaining about not having enough space. And Jesus is saying “don’t worry about all that, just seek God and you’ll have what you need”.

    To be clear, Jesus is not telling us to not go out and buy food when we need it or buy clothes when we need it. As with the rest of chapter 6, He’s focusing on the excessiveness that ensnares people. And at the end, Jesus warns about worrying about tomorrow. Ever look at this world and worry about what the future will hold for future generations? Yeah, me too. But Jesus is saying don’t do that. What’s the point of worrying about something that we can’t predict?

    And here we see that our reliance on God is a form of humility that is honored by Him.

    Wrapping Up

    God wants us to be humble. When we display humility, it will be honored. In some way, whether in this life or when we arrive in Heaven. And that’s an important note. We may not see the Lord honor our humility while we’re still on this earth. We might not see the rewards until we arrive in Heaven (I guarantee we won’t see all the rewards until we get to Heaven, Matthew 25:31-40). And the question is: can you live with that? If not, you might struggle with false humility. Pride wrapped in humility. The enemy loves that. After all, he masquerades as an angel of light. Lies wrapped in a nugget of truth is one of his favorite weapons. So let us remember the importance of remaining humble before God. And let us allow Him to decided if our humility will be honored in this life or the next.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Higher Standard

    Higher Standard

    Intro

    After giving us the Beatitudes, Jesus throws out a couple of nice sounding things and then He lays down the law. Pretty literally. Jesus cites several Mosaic laws saying “You have heard that it was said”. But then He amps it up to another level. Jesus’ whole point was to call His followers to a higher standard of living than that of the other Jews who were just fulfilling the bare minimum requirements of the law. Jesus didn’t want followers who did the bare minimum of the textual Law; He wanted followers who fulfilled the Spirit of the Law and went above and beyond. And He still calls us to that today. There’s a lot here in the rest of Matthew Chapter 5, so let’s get started.

    Salt & Light

    “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

    “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

    Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)

    These first few verses after the Beatitudes are among the most famous that Jesus spoke. Many sermons have been preached on these passages. Consequently, I don’t feel a need to spend a lot of time explaining them. I will briefly touch on what Jesus means here by salt and light and point out the higher standard we are called to from these passages.

    As salt, Christians are called to be preservatives in this world. As salt served as a food preservative in first century Middle East, so we serve to preserve society from ungodly people and the corrupting nature of sin. Secondly, salt served (and still does) as a flavor enhancer. In the same way, we “enhance the flavor” of this world by influencing it in a positive and godly way. One other note here: just as too much salt can damage the flavor of food, shoving the gospel down a person’s throat does more harm than good. Sprinkle your salt with love and gentleness, don’t try and throw a block of salt at them.

    Lastly, Jesus calls His followers “lights”. I think this one is a little more clear than the salt. We should stand out from the rest of the world by what we say and do. And as long as our deeds are done to glorify our Father in Heaven, we will stand out. As light stands out and shines through the darkness, we stand out and shine the light of Christ in this dark world of sin.

    Fulfilling the Law

    “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

    Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV)

    The next words Jesus spoke serve as an interesting segue into the next several topics that He covers in the rest of chapter 5. Here He introduces the Law into the Sermon on the Mount and ends this paragraph with another call to His followers to be more (not just do more) than the religious leaders.

    Jesus wanted to make it clear that the Law was not going to be replaced by His teachings. Therefore, the commands written in the Law still apply. Now this does not mean that we as Christians need to observe every cleansing ritual or every single one of the different commands in Leviticus. However, the Spirit behind the commands still apply and there are plenty of “equivalent” commands that bear that same Spirit. And by that I mean that much of the law applies to cultural things (“don’t cook a young goat in its mother’s milk”) that simply don’t apply to our society. Many of them are commands to not perform the same rituals that the nations around them performed to worship their gods. We can apply that today right here in America.

    Exercises

    As an exercise, think about some of the ways that people show honor or “worship” their idols (whether celebrities, money, etc.) that God doesn’t call us to do when worshipping Him, and consciously choose not to do those same things when honoring and worshipping God. For example, we live in a sex-obsessed society. People buy and sell sex like a commodity. In the realm of prostitution, it can serve as a worship of money. People use sex like a status symbol (worship of fame or self). Or even worship of others in a way. Or even just worship of sex itself! God never asks for us to use sex as a form of worship to Him.

    In a different vein, think about all the ways that people worship their idols that are much like how God expects us to worship Him. These methods are not so much “don’t do” as they are simply misdirected. Time and attention are two major ones. How much time do people spend following their favorite movie stars or singers? How many people get tattoos of their favorite celebrities? I’m not saying that tattoos are sinful, just pointing out how they are used to effectively worship an idol. Then there’s the big one: money. So much of what we do in America revolves around making and spending money. We spend so much time trying to make money and then we spend it on stuff. Stuff we don’t need and can get without. God calls us to honor Him with our time and money. Talk about a higher standard to live up to.

    Fulfillment

    Real quick, what did Jesus mean by saying He came to fulfill the Law? Elsewhere Jesus claims that the Law points to Him. So when Jesus fulfills the Law, He fulfills what was written about Him. All the sacrifices point to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. Jesus obeyed all the Laws and didn’t break any. All the other Laws and rituals become the lifestyle that Holy Spirit molds us into. And by putting Holy Spirit in us, we gain the power to fulfill the rules and regulations of the Law as well.

    Murder

    “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

    “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

    “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

    Matthew 5:21-26 (NIV)

    Now we enter into the “You have heard that it was said…But I tell you” passages. They perfectly follow Jesus’ statements about not abolishing the Law and calling His followers to have a righteousness that surpasses the religious leaders. The religious leaders already set a pretty high standard for the people to follow. So for Jesus to set an even higher standard for His followers likely shocked them. And Jesus’ whole point in the following passages is to address the heart issues behind the actions. The sin nature behind the Laws.

    Starting out, Jesus touches on murder. I’m sure everyone in Jesus’ hearing was innocent of committing murder. However, Jesus amps it up by telling them that anyone who is angry or hateful toward another without repentance is guilty of murder. God is a God of reconciliation and of peaceful living between people. So to have division and strife is to not be walking in the ways of God. And truly, even though the person may still be alive, by not reconciling nor being repentant of your anger or hate, you have murdered that relationship.

    What happens if the other person is dead and you can’t reconcile? That’s the beauty of forgiveness. You don’t ever need to speak to the other person to forgive them. Yes, the relationship may not be able to be restored in this life (and maybe not the next either), but you can forgive them and let all that negativity in your life go. The healing you experience from that will allow you to live your life to the fullest.

    Adultery

    “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

    Matthew 5:27-30 (NIV)

    I feel like this next one makes it go from difficult (but doable) to nearly impossible without God. Which is kind of the point. Jesus wants us all to know that we can’t fulfill the fullness of the Law without Him. And we can’t live any kind of Christian lifestyle without Him. We need to be fully dependent upon Holy Spirit living in us to live how He calls us to live.

    It’s a bit harder to claim that everyone within Jesus’ hearing had not committed adultery. Mostly because Jesus spoke these words to crowds of people and adultery is one of those sins that can remain secret and hidden a lot longer than murder. However, assuming they were all free of this sin of adultery, I can guarantee that the crowd was not free of lust – the higher standard Jesus called them to. As a man, I can say that it isn’t easy. Especially in our sex-obsessed society. It’s all too easy to see an attractive individual and begin imagining things.

    Important disclaimer! The initial thought of temptation is NOT sinful. That’s the enemy trying to trap you into sin. It’s taking that initial thought and dwelling on it, expanding it, developing it into a full fledged “mental sex”. Or maybe just trying to imagine what that person might look like without clothes on. Lustful thoughts are often just the beginning. Give too much time to them and pretty soon you could find yourself performing other sins like masturbation, watching porn, or seeking out one night stands. Or actually cheating on your spouse. I hope you can see a progression here so you can recognize it if it ever starts to happen to you. This one is more subtle than murder, yet just as devastating.

    Divorce

    “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

    Matthew 5:31-32 (NIV)

    This next one flows pretty well from the previous one. And is a big point of debate and controversy yet today. Old Testament Law allowed divorce if the husband found anything “indecent about her” (Deuteronomy 24:1). Jewish leaders would long debate what is meant by “indecency”. Original wording strongly suggests that the original intent was indecent sexual behavior – though not adultery since that carried the death sentence. And Jesus reaffirms this original intent. Which kind of begs the question “Where’s that higher standard that Jesus calls us to?”

    Despite what the Law said and the original intention, a school of thought arose among the Jewish leaders that allowed for husbands to divorce their wives for almost any reason, not just sexual indecency. So Jesus called out that particular school of thought with His statement here. And in today’s culture, we can certainly relate to that. People divorce for some of the strangest reasons. Most involve money. Jesus doesn’t want us to divorce for petty reasons or for reasons that can be worked through easily enough – maybe with a little outside help. And Jesus’ call to unilaterally forgive means that people could work through even infidelity without a divorce – though Jesus and Paul both make exceptions for infidelity.

    Many Christians today allow for divorce too easily because “that’s the way society is”, which is not a good mindset. After all, Jesus calls us to a standard higher than what the world lives.

    Oaths

    “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

    Matthew 5:33-37 (NIV)

    Oaths. Vows. Swearing by. Whatever you call it, it’s a risk. Breaking your word breaks trust, damages relationships, ruins reputations, etc. That’s why Jesus warns against doing it flippantly – i.e., “I swear on my mother’s life” or other similar things from everyday conversation. How do I know He’s addressing flippant oaths? Because He references swearing to heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and your own head. In that culture, the leaders considered only public oaths sworn by God’s name to be binding. In everyday, private conversation if you make an oath by heaven, earth, or anything else that is not God’s name, then it’s not binding. This created a loophole by which people could lie or change their minds about something.

    Jesus wants any oath or vow made to be 100% binding 100% of the time. That’s a pretty high standard. And not easy to do. How often do any of us in everyday conversation say “I swear this is true” or “I promise I’ll do that”. Using such words tells people that you will follow through. After all, you wouldn’t break your word, would you? For me personally, if there’s something I’m not certain on, I straight up tell people “I’m not sure I’ll be able to, we’ll see”. Or something similar. I do my best to not make promises or guarantees when I know there’s a chance that I’ll have to back down. I chose to adopt this standard so other’s don’t see me as a man who routinely breaks his word.

    Eye for Eye

    “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

    Matthew 5:38-42 (NIV)

    The Law of Retaliation as it has been called. You do something to me, I have the right to do something of equal scope back to you. Unfortunately, that’s not what the Law taught. The Law was all about publicly administrating justice. Not private “get even” fights. Religious leaders allowed people to get their “eye for an eye” without going through the proper public channels. And that’s what Jesus wanted to address. This misapplication of the Law. The reason for the Laws about retaliation and justice were to protect the accused from a punishment too high for the crime, and also prevents private justice that could spiral out of control with back and forth feuding.

    So, what’s the higher standard here? For one, don’t seek private justice and retaliation. For severe things, leave that to the proper channels. Secondly, if someone strikes you on the right cheek, that’s a back-handed slap (assuming he’s right handed). The culture of the day interpreted back-handed slaps as an insult. So this passage is less about bodily injury and more about how you should respond to an insult. Jesus’ response: don’t respond in like manner and be prepared to receive injury if that should occur. Allow the insults. Jesus demonstrated this by not responding to any insults or accusations heaped upon Him prior to His death.

    The Heart Attitudes

    Looking to the other parts of this passage real quick, verse 40 with the shirt and coat deals with a heart of giving. Be prepared to give, give, and give – and not begrudgingly. In verse 41, when we’re drafted (like the Romans could do with the Jews to carry their stuff for one mile) into things – military, jury duty, etc. – we should strive to do our very best in that situation. And once again in verse 42, Jesus calls us to be generous.

    In conclusion to these three verses, Jesus’ standard is to be generous with our time, talents, and possessions (money most often). And to do it all with a positive attitude – not begrudgingly.

    Love Your Enemies

    “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

    Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)

    Hang with me a little longer, we’re in the home stretch! The last standard to address is all about loving your enemies. Interestingly about this one is that while the Old Testament certainly says “love your neighbor”, nowhere does it say “hate your enemy”. However, given that the Jews had many enemies upon whom God pronounced judgment on, it’s not much of a stretch to believe that hating the enemies of God honored Him. And this is a part of what Jesus calls out here. He’s telling us that if we hate those who hate us, we’re no better than the very people we hate! Rather we should strive to love all people the way God loves all people. Not an easy one, that’s for sure. That’s why Jesus calls us to pray for our enemies. The more we pray for them, the more our hearts becomes like God’s heart.

    Wrapping Up

    In all of these, Jesus wanted to address the sinful attitude and heart posture behind the sins. You don’t just wake up and murder someone without motivation – probably starts with anger/hate. Likewise, you probably don’t just randomly choose to cheat on your spouse. You see them first and become attracted and you don’t do anything to temper your lustful thoughts until it spills out and is too late. Dealing with the heart was a major part of Jesus’ teaching ministry.

    To be sure, this higher standard that Jesus calls us to is not an easy life to live. In fact, it’s impossible to live this life without the Spirit of God indwelling us. And that’s a huge part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus wanted to make sure His listeners and followers understood that they needed Him if they were to fulfill this calling. He wanted them to understand that they couldn’t do it on their own – despite what the religious leaders said.

    That’s all for now, see you next time as we start Matthew chapter 6!

    Outro

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