Weather report from heaven: Sunny and bright with an abundance of light, and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”- Romans 8:1-4
Insight: The Bible is a road map for our life and the only firm foundation of truth on which we can build our lives. However, one of the things I learned early in my 20 + years of reading the Bible and trying as best as I know how to incorporate its life changing message into my life in a way that can be a blessing to others is that there are many verses in the Bible that challenge every ounce of our being. They are the ones that if taken in proper context make us realize how far apart we are from where God calls us to be, which should in turn lead to humility, a humble heart, and a further surrender of our lives over to the only One who is fit to be King in our life, Jesus. There are hard teachings in the Bible that frankly many people don’t like, and try their best to avoid. It is what has allowed a huge following to emerge of the so called Prosperity Gospel which is no Gospel at all, but in a nutshell teaches only about the blessings of Christ gained from following Him, almost like Christ is our Cosmic Bellhop who is there at our whim with a shake of a bell, and not at all about the tough lessons of Christ that cause us to push back or rebel, such as the very nature of abdicating the throne of our life over to Him. For the next week, we will consider some of the toughest teachings of the Bible that cause so many to stumble such as: Learning to die yourself and pick up your cross daily ( Luke 9:23-25 ), Heaven is for saved people, not good people, which Jesus says in itself leaves everyone who is not saved automatically out, because none of us are truly good except God Himself ( Romans 10:9-10, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19 ), Only what is done in Jesus name and for His glory will last and be rewarded in eternity ( 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 ), Jesus’ teaching in The Sermon on the Mount, which takes the law and obliterates it to expose a whole new level of understanding of our sinful nature and rebellion against the the heart of God ( Matthew 5:21-48 ) and finally that we cannot effectively serve God and Money ( 1 Timothy 6:6-10 ).
These are tough lessons and require us to be honest with ourselves and admit how much we struggle in these areas so we can grow in our faith and allow God to use His scalpel to remove the strongholds in our lives ( 2 Corinthians 10:4 ) that keep us from truly understanding all aspects of the Gospel and truly following the crucified Christ.
Tonight we will consider the teachings from Jesus on the sermon on the mount, from Matthew Chapter 5, which many scholars consider to be His most powerful of His entire earthly ministry. This sermon starts with many aspects of Jesus’s compassion for humanity, and His plans to bring about righteousness for those who have suffered injustice and deep pain in their earthly lives. But it ends with Jesus challenging everyone to the core of their beliefs about what constitutes sin that is so much deeper than the 10 Commandments.
Jesus starts teaching in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-10 when He says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is giving hope to the hopeless, comfort to the mourners, and a sense of fairness and judgment that is coming to those who have been falsely persecuted. He is establishing himself as the righteous judge and the One who will be the final arbiter of truth and justice, not some fact checkers on social media. This is a direct assault on the senses of those who choose to reject Jesus during their life.
In the next part of His sermon, Jesus really ratchets up the heat in revealing the depth of humanity’s sinfulness by juxtaposing the condition of our hearts against the laws of the 10 Commandments from Exodus Chapter 20. Almost everyone is familiar with the laws in the 10 commandments, and most likely could name a few such as you shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, and you shall not steal. But Jesus says in a stunning fashion that “You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder.” Matthew 5:21 MSG Then He takes it a step further when discussing adultery in Matthew 5:27-28 “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.” Wow! These teachings cut right to the heart. Jesus is letting us know the depth of our sin, and the wickedness of the human heart. If we are angry with a brother or sister, it’s as if we have committed murder? If we look lustfully at a woman it’s as if we’ve committed adultery? Who can honestly say these verses don’t challenge us to the core? The purpose of Jesus’s teachings here I believe wasn’t to shame us, but rather to reinforce the point of how much we all need a Savior because of the depth of all of our sin. He was setting the stage for people to remember He was the Messiah who alone was sent as a lifeline to us to take away the sin of the world. These teachings remind us of the accuracy of Romans 3:23 which says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Humble repentance should be our only response when we come face to face with the depth of our sin. We are all incapable of fixing this on our own. Luckily Jesus died for our sins to be washed clean by His precious blood for those who wisely recognize Him as Lord & Savior.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, your teachings on the sermon on the mount cut right to our hearts. Thanks for helping us to see the depth of our sin, so we could see the depth of our need for a Savior, which is You. Amen!
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