Peace at what price?

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9

Jesus made peace between sinners and God, who is holy. In so doing, Jesus did not pretend that sin does not matter. Not even close.

In September of 1938, Nazi Germany was gobbling up small European countries on the continent. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, met with the German Chancellor (Fuhrer), Adolf Hitler. The topic of discussion? Peace.

Chamberlain signed a treaty and returned home to England promising that the treaty ensured “Peace in our time.” It was one of the most naïve diplomatic blunders of all time. In order for Hitler to sign, England gave everything and demanded virtually nothing from Germany. Hitler’s diabolical track record exhibited the fact that he had no plans to halt his quest to rule all of Europe. And all who knew the Fuhrer knew that his word meant nothing at all anyway.

Sure enough, the Nazi war machine continued its stampede across Europe. Beginning in September 1940 until May 1941, the Nazis were reducing London to rubble with frenzied bombing raids.

Who can say for sure what would have happened had Chamberlain been wise enough not to make such a foolish diplomatic agreement for the promise of peace.  Chamberlain’s faulty version of diplomacy is called appeasement.

Believers are called to be peacemakers in our world. But how often are we guilty of appeasement? While we must seek always to be loving and winsome, we must not compromise truth with those who reject truth. Whenever we do—seeking to make friends with the unbelieving world—we are not only foolishly guilty of appeasement, we make ourselves enemies of God! (James 4:4 Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. )

When Christians wink at sin in hope of the gaining the world’s friendship, we are not peacemakers. We are fools, pushing God away. While there is a blessing for being peacemakers, there is no blessing for being foolish agents of appeasement.

The basis for peace with God is the gospel (Romans 1:16), which begins with calling sin, sin—and offering peace with God (forgiveness) to those who trust in Christ and who repent. No other terms result in peace. 

We are called to be peacemakers too!

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9

Jesus is the one true and ultimate Peacemaker, having made peace with God for His people. 

 As His people, we are to follow Him in making peace.  How?  Here are three essential ways:

1.  Let us be intentional about living in the peace with God He has made for us.  This means worshiping our Peacemaker, Jesus.  This means seeking to say no to temptation, since every time we sin we restate our declaration of war against God.  This means that when we do sin, we confess and repent of our sins as soon as we are aware of them.  Thank the Lord that when we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

2. Let us be intentional about living at peace with others because we have peace with God through Christ (Romans 12:18).  Our problems between ourselves are the result of not appreciating our peace with God.  Living at peace with each other means abiding in Christ that we may bear the fruit of the Spirit in our relationships with one another.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).  Who agrees that these would make for peace between us?

3. Let us be intentional about speaking about Christ and the gospel every time we have opportunity (Mark 16:15), declaring peace with God only through faith in Jesus.

These three are ways to show our appreciation for the peace with God that Jesus has provided for His people.  As we follow Him in these ways, we will also be peacemakers and we will receive the blessing promised in this beatitude!

Who is the ultimate Peacemaker?

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9

There is only one true and ultimate Peacemaker: Jesus. Sinful humanity has been declaring war on God since the Garden of Eden when Adam sinned. Not only are all Adam’s descendants born with sinful natures, we each act according to that sinful nature every time we sin in any way.

Enter the Prince of Peace: Jesus. Jesus made peace with God for His people by doing the following:

• He became one of us (becoming a human being, yet without sin).

• He lived sinlessly for us (living the life God requires of us that we have all failed to live).

• He died on the cross for us (receiving the penalty for our sins).

• He rose from the dead for us (proving that He is God, and defeating sin, death, & Hell for us).

• He ascended into Heaven where He ever lives to intercede for us.

Because of what He has done, “we [those He justified] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Truly Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the one true and ultimate Peacemaker. Blessed is He!

As those for whom Jesus has made peace with God, we are to be peacemakers. How? Next time.

When I am being rejected

This is a special blog post, not a part of the Sermon on the Mount series.

I received this from a dear friend who is a professor of Biblical Counseling at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. His name is Jim Newheiser, and he is one of the founders of FIRE (the association of churches to which our church belongs).

5 Things to tell myself when I am rejected:

1. In God’s sight I am precious, completely accepted, and loved.

Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

2. What God thinks really matters, not what man thinks.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

James 4:11-12 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

3. God can help me flourish even if people fail me.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. 7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

4. Jesus went through more for men that He is asking me to go through for Him.

1 Peter 2:21-25 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH"; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

5. If others are mistreating me it is because they are walking in the flesh.

Galatians 5:16-23 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Errol’s note: Of course there are times when we are not being rejected, in which case we need to understand that and let it go. But if we are being rejected, these are good points and passages to meditate on.

Pure hearts will see His beautiful face

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8

As with the other beatitudes, we must first acknowledge that no mere human being has a pure heart. Romans 3:9-19 summarizes the teaching of the whole scripture concerning the purity of the sinful human heart. There is none, no not one!

Based on that, it is clear that the blessing of purity of heart is not a reward for having a pure heart. It is the blessing of receiving a pure heart by God’s grace alone, received through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone. Only He has a pure Heart, but He graciously gives those who trust in Him new hearts that are pure as His heart is pure.

Wait a minute! The redeemed still sin! Yes, but according to Romans 6 and 7, the sinful people the elect were as children of Adam, died on the cross with Jesus and rose incorruptible with Jesus (Romans 6:3-10). As a result, the new creatures we are in Christ do not continue sin. The sin that saved people commit is because of the vestiges of sin that remain in us (Romans 7:17) even though we are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:18 & 22).

What has this to do with pure hearts? The first blessing is receiving the gracious gift of a pure heart when we were born again. The second blessing is that, having received a pure heart by virtue of being “in Christ,” we shall see God when we are glorified.

Don’t forget the Old Testament blessing of having God’s face shining on us. The fulfillment of that blessing is that we will at least see His face. We will see what we cannot see until we are glorified. We shall with pure hearts see the unimaginably beautiful face of God. What glory that will be!

Mercy is kindness

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Matthew 5:7

Let’s consider what mercy is. One of my favorite words is “kindness.” I remember a teaching video by R.C. Sproul on the fruit of the Spirit, namely: kindness. If I remember correctly, he said, “Kindness is not easy to define, but we all know when we have been treated kindly.” That is certainly true, especially in our increasingly angry, rude, and selfish culture.

Being treated kindly means being treated respectfully. Gently. With compassion and genuine care. Being kind means selflessly putting the other person ahead of ourselves.

And who is the arch-typical example of kindness? Jesus, of course. As those who have been treated kindly by Him, what are we to do and why? Treat others with kindness because we are to be like our Savior in every way, not the least of which includes kindness. Read Paul’s words on this matter of being kind as Jesus, and because has been kind to us:

Philippians 2:1-5 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. [And who supplies the pattern for such kindness?] 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…

I rather hope that none of us are overtly nasty and generally unkind, but I’ll bet I am not the only one who exhibits flashes of unkindness with sharp words, an impatient tone, and telling facial expressions. If so, join me in asking for forgiveness, praying earnestly about kindness, and seeking to be more intentional about being kind. May we all practice first in our homes and in our church. Being merciful just might begin with efforts to be more kind.

Getting things in the correct order

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Matthew 5:7

At first glance, this verse may appear to say that people receive mercy from God because they have been merciful to others. Is that so? Let’s hope not! If receiving God’s mercy is dependent upon us showing mercy, none will receive God’s mercy in the measure we need to be saved!

This is similar to the challenge later in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:14-15 that appears to say we will be forgiven by God based on how we forgive others. Again, who among us would want God’s forgiveness of our sins to be exactly like our forgiveness of theirs?

In both cases, we receive forgiveness and mercy from God by His grace alone. That means we have done nothing to earn or merit forgiveness or mercy. Then, having received God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy, we are to forgive and be merciful as a result. Our responsive forgiveness and mercy doesn’t earn God’s forgiveness and mercy. Neither is it payback. That we have been forgiving and merciful does not secure God’s forgiveness and mercy, but it does validate that we have received and are grateful for God’s forgiveness and mercy.

All that said, let us forgive as we have been forgiven. And let us be merciful as we have been shown mercy. What does that mercy toward others look like? Next time.

Mercy & Justice

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Matthew 5:7

Let’s consider what mercy is. My father used to say “The guilty man wants mercy, not justice.” True enough! In this sense, mercy is escaping justice when guilty. And since God’s Word declares that we are all guilty before God, who is holy and just, only a fool would desire justice. As those who are guilty (and we all are), who realize our guilt before God (which we only do because of God’s grace), we cry out for mercy.

What is the basis of God’s mercy extended to the guilty? Jesus. His sinless life for His people, His substitutionary death and resurrection for His people purchases mercy for all who trust in Him. Mercy is supplied while justice is still served, however. Jesus took God’s justice (that the guilty deserve), and gives the redeemed the reward of Christ’s righteousness (that He alone earned and deserves).

In God’s plan of saving grace, justice is served (on the innocent One), to give mercy to the guilty ones who Jesus came to save. Hallelujah!

Have you trusted in Christ and are you following Him? If so, you have God’s mercy. If you have not trusted in Him and are not following Him, please do! Even now!

Hungering and thirsting

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Matthew 5:6

Last time we considered the righteousness aspect of this beatitude. This time, a few thoughts about the hungering and thirsting aspect.

Hunger and thirst are God’s gifts to us to remind us to eat and drink, since both are necessary to remain alive. (I smile at needing to be reminded to eat since I like to eat whether I am hungry or not!)

The three most basic needs to remain alive are air, water, and food.

1. We can only live without air for a matter of minutes so God graciously ordained us to breathe involuntarily.

2. The next most important is water, without which we can live only for days before dying of dehydration. Thirst, therefore, is an important reminder to drink since drinking is not an involuntary action.

3. The third most important is food, without which we can live only for weeks before dying of starvation. And since, like drinking, eating is not an involuntary action, hunger demands that we eat to remain alive.

Deprived of water and food, thirst and hunger are urgent reminders to drink and to eat. And the more thirsty and hungry we are, the more urgent the need to drink and eat is.

Jesus issued a blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. There are two applications. The first refers to hungering and thirsting for righteousness in order to be saved (as discussed yesterday). The second refers to continuing to hunger and thirst for righteousness to remain healthy and to grow spiritually after we are saved.

And why does anyone hunger and thirst in either case? It is by the grace of God to reveal our initial need, and then our continual need for righteousness. Join me in thanking Him, won’t you?

Righteousness: empty, then full.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Matthew 5:6

This beatitude, like the first, must be taken as a whole. Taking only the first seven words ("Blessed are those who hunger and thirst”), without the second two words (“for righteousness”) may mislead readers. Jesus was not pronouncing His blessing on those with empty stomachs and parched tongues, who merely who hunger and thirst for food and water. As essential to physical life as food and water are, Jesus had a deeper spiritual point in mind.

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? This is a second phase of being “poor in spirit.” It is the essential step that one takes when one is actually concerned about one’s spiritual bankruptcy. It is indicative of longing to have one’s spiritual bankruptcy remedied.

Since we have no righteousness of our own, and are incapable of producing any (Isaiah 64:6), those who are blessed by God cry out to Him to do for them what they are altogether unable to do for themselves. Those who do this rightly abandon any hope for righteousness from any source but Jesus. The perfect righteousness of Jesus is given to those who place their faith in Jesus, alone.

The result? “They shall be satisfied.” That may be one of the greatest understatements of all time. The common understanding of being satisfied is that one has enough. In one sense Jesus does provide enough righteousness. This is so because the righteousness God requires is infinite, and since Jesus is infinitely righteous, His infinite righteousness is—well, enough.

In another sense let us rejoice that the infinite righteousness of Christ, at least in our finite understanding, is more than just enough. The righteousness afforded to those who hunger and thirst for it, receive an infinite super-abundance of righteousness. It is a righteousness that will never run out and that our sin cannot undo!

A little more about what it means to hunger and thirst next time…

The strength to be meek

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5

I remember hearing that biblically, “meekness is not weakness, it is strength under control.” Although the words meek and meekness are not often heard in common conversation in our day, here in the opening lines of Jesus’ most important teaching (the Sermon on the Mount) we are told of the promise of God’s blessing on the meek. What are we to make of that?

First, meekness, as God defines meekness, is not only good, but worthy of His blessing.

Second, meekness is an antonym of pride. That makes meekness a gospel issue. How? Pride refuses to acknowledge one’s sin and to cry out for forgiveness. Those who do acknowledge their sin and who do cry out for forgiveness in Jesus’ name, do so exercising meekness. It requires true strength to admit one’s weakness.

Third, living the Christian life after having received Christ also requires meekness—as disciples understand and seek to live according to Jesus’ words in John 15:5, about abiding in Him because, “without Me [Christ] you can do nothing.” It requires true strength to admit one’s weakness.

Meekness in the Christian context is not weakness. It is the strength to know the truth about ourselves apart from Christ. It is the strength to depend on the One who is our strength, especially in light of our intrinsic weakness apart from Him.

Notice that Jesus’ promise to the meek is that “they shall inherit the earth.” This is counter-intuitive since it appears that the strong (assertive, and aggressive) are the winners in the world while the meek (weak) are seen as the losers. Let us remember that God is always right. And when anyone or anything disagrees with God, God is still right and the dissenters are wrong.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. We have God’s Word on it!

Mourning before, after, and then never again

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4

The mourning referenced here is more specific than the mourning over temporal losses in this life that are common to all people. The second beatitude is closely associated with the first who are aware of their spiritual bankruptcy.

The more one understands his or her spiritual bankruptcy, and how awful the results of the bankruptcy truly are, the more likely that person will mourn over it. This mourning arises from the heart that grieves at the thought of one’s impending appointment with the wrath of God. Those who get this, and mourn over it, are elect of God because those who are not, don’t much care! But when the elect mourn regarding their lostness, they will cry out to God for mercy, which is found only in Jesus Christ (specifically His death and resurrection to save His people). These will be saved, but is their mourning ended?

Their mourning changes but is not yet altogether ended. As believers in Christ, who have received new affections to follow Jesus, they will mourn over their continued struggles against sin that are common to every believer. This is what Paul was mourning about in the later portion of Romans 7. As we grow in sanctification, we likely sin less, but continue to mourn over our sin because as we are sanctified, we become more aware of lesser sins about which we were once oblivious. This mourning over sin in the life of believers is punctuated with sweet relief as we confess our sins and are forgiven and cleansed again and again (1 John 1:9).

But praise the Lord, there is a time coming for those who mourned over their sins that brought them to saving faith in Christ, and who mourned over their sins as believers (though forgiven), when mourning will be altogether ended! This end of all mourning will be when those who trust in Christ are glorified in Heaven with Christ, where there is no sin over which to grieve. This confident assurance will be our comfort in Christ!

Spiritual bankruptcy and Heaven

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Jewish tradition in Jesus’ day said the opposite. They believed that material prosperity was a sure-fire sign of God’s approval and blessing. And to be fair, many today agree. But is it true? Not at all. While God does bless His people, His blessings are frequently not in the form of material prosperity. If we could give only one example, Jesus would do nicely. He had nothing:

Luke 9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Other examples abound throughout the Bible. From this we can safely conclude that while God does bless the righteous—sometimes with material prosperity—His spiritual blessings are of infinitely greater value. And God’s greatest spiritual blessing is forgiveness of sin and eternal life in Heaven.

Another consideration on this first beatitude is whether Jesus was pronouncing His blessing on the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), or on those who are merely poor (as in Luke 6:20). When comparing two parallel passages, we do not weight the verse that says less over the verse that says more. On the contrary, the one that says more frequently provides information necessary to understand the one that says less.

Earthly riches often stand in the way of the wealthy keeping them from acknowledging their need for salvation because the well-to-do often falsely believe their riches will save them. The facts are, being monetarily poor does not guarantee entrance into Heaven, nor does being wealthy axiomatically exclude the rich from Heaven. Numerous examples in scripture support both of these truths.

Therefore, the ones who receive this first blessing in the beatitudes are necessarily poor in spirit regardless of their financial holdings, or lack thereof. The crucial aspect of being poor in spirit is understanding the first point of the gospel: We are all sinners before a Holy God, deserving His just wrath. This is the deepest spiritual poverty.

The good news is that those who realize their spiritual bankruptcy and who receive Christ as Savior and Lord as the only remedy, are made spiritually rich in Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9). These are the ones who receive the kingdom of Heaven.

Footnote to yesterday's sermon (lamenting)

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25

We devoted two Sunday messages to “lamenting” over our personal sins, and lack of intimacy with the Lord. It occurred to me that as we celebrate the 4th of July this week, we might be wise to think about lamenting over our national sins. Our nation is still swimming in the backwash of our first national sin: slavery. At least that sin was outlawed, though it took a civil war to do so.

Then there is our current and ongoing national sin of abortion. To give a sense of the magnitude of this current sin, 620,000 lives were lost in the Civil war. 63,000,000 babies have been aborted since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973. 63,000,000 is over 100 times 620,000. And the war over abortion is still being waged.

My wife and I read the book of Amos this morning, a prophecy about God’s judgment on Israel. God’s judgment on the people He blesses, but who turn from Him, is greater than His judgment on nations that never acknowledged Him. The U.S. is arguably the most blessed nation in human history. We have turned from God. May we lament over our national sin, and plead with God to have mercy on the United States!

What it means to be blessed

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Many people wear t-shirts these days with the word “Blessed” emblazoned across the chest. I wonder how many of us understand what it means to be blessed by God. I assure you that it is so much more than anything we may desire from this world!

What does it mean when a man of God (in this case the very Son of God) pronounces a blessing. Pronouncing a blessing is a “benediction” (in Latin). The word bene-diction squeezes two words together making a new word. Bene means good, and diction means word or saying. A benediction is, therefore, a “good word.”

As a child growing up in church I looked forward to the weekly benediction at the end of the worship service, not because I was spiritual or looking for God’s blessing. I like the benediction because it signaled the end of the church service! Foolish me!

God pronounced many benedictions on His people throughout the Old Testament (OT). And acting as the ultimate Prophet, Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM) with a series of nine blessings, or benedictions.

God not only pronounced benedictions in the OT, He also pronounced the opposite of benedictions: He pronounced “woes.” Woes are God statements of His displeasure resulting in judgment and curses. Luke’s version of Matthew’s SOTM (Luke 6:24-26) includes woes as well as blessings which, by contrast, help define the blessings.

The blessings encourage God’s people, first, that God delights to bless His people. Second, the blessings also give the redeemed hope as we eagerly await the ultimate blessing that we have been promised. That blessing will be ours when the Lord takes us to Himself in glory in Heaven—where there is no sin and no sorrow—only the pure vision of His perfectly holy and beautiful face.

I pray that the beatitudes will encourage you!

NOTE: For a more comprehensive treatment of the beatitudes that is still short enough to be easily readable, may I suggest the booklet “How Can I Be Blessed?” by RC Sproul.

To whom was Jesus preaching?

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying… Matthew 5:1-2

The first question we should consider is: to whom did Jesus direct the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM)?

First, an incorrect opinion. Some who unnaturally divide Israel and the Church, and the Old and New Testaments, teach that the SOTM was aimed exclusively at Israel, not Christians, because Jesus spoke these words before He died and rose again. This is yet another grave error made by those who persist in wrongly dividing the truth!

The SOTM is, in one sense, for all people of all time. The teachings of Jesus, though referencing things more known by Jews than by Gentiles of that day, are timeless and not limited to any particular people group other than human beings.

Some point out that while the multitude was present, Jesus addressed His disciples specifically. The text supports this idea, but while disciples are the ones who will most readily understand the SOTM, we dare not say it does not apply to nonbelievers!

The impact of the Sermon on nonbelievers would be conviction of sin as Jesus raises the bar from the mere letter of the Law to the spirit of the Law. The Sermon tells nonbelievers that they are guilty before God and His Law, and therefore need a Savior.

As for non-believers who think that obeying the SOTM is the way to earn entrance into Heaven, they have missed the entire point of the Sermon! They missed on this crucial point in particular:

Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

These words clearly communicate the fact that salvation is in knowing and being known by Jesus—not by doing anything, including following the SOTM—which no one but Jesus could successfully accomplish!

The impact of the Sermon in believers is that it instructs us what holy living looks like. It is not merely about actions, but about changed hearts.

The Sermon on the Mount, Intro

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying…
Matthew 5:1-2

Having spent weeks meditating on the Ten Commandments, I believe considering the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM) is a wise next step. Why?

• Because the Sermon on the Mount can be described as the New Testament commentary on the Law—by Jesus Himself!

• The SOTM was addressed to disciples of Jesus, who at that time were all Jewish, and therefore familiar with the Law (5:1-2).

• Jesus began with the Beatitudes that explain what kind of person is most blessed by God. In this way Jesus shifted the focus of God’s blessings away from mere obedience to the Law onto the godliness of one’s character (5:3-16)

• Jesus then explained the difference between the letter of the Law, compared with the spirit of the Law—which raised the bar across the board! (5:17 - 7:12).

• Jesus concluded explaining final judgement and how to prepare for it (7:13-29).

The Sermon on the Mount is three chapters long (111 verses), and touches on many subjects, so we will be considering it for some time. I pray that it will be beneficial for your spiritual growth and increase your love for the Lord!

The Law can't save! Nor can faith in Christ plus the Law!

Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. Galatians 5:2-4

Paul wrote chastising the Galatians for teaching and believing that law-keeping was necessary for salvation. The specific law that was at issue was Jewish circumcision. The legalists insisted that male Gentile believers needed to be circumcised to become Jews in addition to trusting in Christ to become Christians. Paul used this specific error to teach the broader error of insisting that keeping any law for salvation was as wrong as wrong could possibly be. He made two essential points:

First, if a person makes circumcision, or any other aspect of the law, necessary for salvation, keeping the entire law would then be necessary: “he is a debtor to keep the whole law” (v.3). (Refer to the previous blog post for a more detailed explanation of that point.)

Second, those who insist on law-keeping as necessary for salvation “have become estranged from Christ,” and “have fallen from grace.” What does this mean, and not mean?

• Paul uses shocking words to drive the importance of his point home. Associating law-keeping with salvation is contrary to the gospel and is therefore an exceeding grave error.

• Those who teach such things remove themselves from Christianity, distancing themselves from Christ and the gospel.

• Does this mean that a true Christian can lose his salvation for believing and teaching such things? True Christians can be in serious error (the Galatians are a case in point), but if they are true Christians, their error cannot undo true salvation.

• However, if they are true Christians, they will repent. If they do not repent, they only reveal that they were never really saved. (See 1 John 2:19.)

• And, by the way, it doesn’t matter if one is making law-keeping the sole means of salvation, or is adding law-keeping to faith in Christ. Both are equally wrong because salvation is received through faith in Christ, alone!

Guiltless in Christ

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. James 2:10-11

“The Law” is not “the laws.” What is meant by that is that “the Law” includes all of the laws contained therein. Break one and you have broken “the Law” even though you have not broken everyone of the laws that make up “the Law.”

What difference does that make? We cannot consider ourselves less guilty because we have only broken some laws. Nor are we less guilty because we have broken only [what we might consider to be] minor laws. There is only “the Law,” which, if broken in any way, renders the offender to be guilty of breaking the entire “Law:”

Think of “the Law” as a chain. You are hanging onto the bottom link of the chain. How many links above need to be broken before you fall? One. That is how “the Law” works.

Is the point of this merely to accentuate our guilt? Though it does do that, let us also see how this truth exalts our Savior. Jesus kept “the Law” perfectly—never breaking even one of the laws that make up “the Law.” (He is the only one ever to do this!) He did it not only to be worthy to die for His people’s sins, but also to supply those who trust in Him with His perfect righteousness. When the Father looks at those who are in Christ, He sees us as never having broken any laws and therefore as never having broken “the Law.”

That is why “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” Romans 8:1

Three uses of the Law--for believers and non-believers alike!

Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Romans 7:12

What is the Law Good for? Historically, the Law has been recognized as having three distinct uses.

The Law convicts people of sin so they will look to Christ for forgiveness (Galatians 3:24). Jesus did not come to cheer us up and encourage us to have happier lives. He came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). So what should we make of those who “accept Jesus into their hearts” with no thought of forgiveness of sin? The only thing we can think is that they are not saved.

No one thinks they need a Savior unless they know they are sinners in need of forgiveness. How does anyone know this? The Law. This does not mean that one must hear a sermon on the Law, or read the Law directly out of the Bible to be presented with one’s sinfulness. What it does mean is that to be saved, a person needs to know that he or she is a sinner in need of forgiveness. The Law is the primary source of knowledge regarding sin. The Law has never saved, nor made a person righteous. The Law only tells us how unrighteous we are so we that will respond to the good news of Christ and the gospel by trusting in Christ and turning from sin. Without the Law doing its part directly or indirectly, no one would ever be saved.

The Law restrains evil (Deuteronomy 17:7, 19:19, et al). This is true both for non-believers and believers.

• Even non-believers desire to avoid the consequences of sin. Well-intentioned people work hard these days to convince us that punishment is not a deterrent to crime. God says it is, and He is right. The only time punishment is not a deterrent is if the punishment is not severe enough.

• Believers are deterred from sin, not merely because of consequences, but because we do not want to sin against the Lord who loves us and gave His life for us!

The Law reveals holiness (Leviticus 19:2). The Law is filled with examples that teach what holy living looks like, teaching us how to live lives of grateful obedience—not in order to be saved, but because we have been saved by faith alone in Christ alone.

Whenever the Law is presented as the way to live to be saved—it is being used falsely and unbiblically.