The Teachings of Jesus Christ. Pt. 9 The Sermon on the Mount
It is that time of year to get the lawn mower out and bag up leaves that are starting to fall. It has been a sunny day with pleasant temperatures and the lawn looks great at least until our Pin Oak decides to dump more leaves.
Our Pin Oak is a majestic tree but it never drops all of its leaves all at once. Sometimes there are still clusters of leaves clinging to the branches the following spring.
Christ consistently gave out the Word of God
One thing we know about our Lord Jesus Christ when He ministered on this earth. He always gave out the Word of God and He always sought to lead people to believe on Him for salvation. Jesus always spoke truth that went directly to the heart of His hearers.
We are blessed to see Christ doing this in our study of His teachings. He is our model and Jesus has shown you and me that our priorities should be listening carefully to people we engage with and then giving them the Word of God. We cannot worry about how people may react when we share gospel truth and we must trust the Spirit of God to apply the truth to their hearts.
The next paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount is where Jesus introduces the main reason why He was born into a body of flesh. Jesus came to fulfill the law of God which is something that no man could ever do because we are all born with Adam's sin nature in our veins.
Matthew 5:17-20 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Christ fulfilled God's Holy law two ways
Jesus communicates two powerful truths. First, He came to fulfill the law. Jesus Christ always certified the unchanging standard of God's law and always stressed the need to obey it. Second, Jesus certified that not one small punctuation mark will every pass away. It is God's holy standard.
How did Jesus fulfill the law of God? He lived a life of perfect obedience to God's holy law. No one could ever convict Christ of having violated the holy law in any way.
Pilate said "I find no fault in him" after he had thoroughly investigated the accusations against Christ. Jesus was perfect and blameless under the moral law of God.
Next, Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial law of God by offering Himself as that perfect, innocent Lamb of God who paid for our sins. When Jesus rose from the grave, the law was satisfied and fulfilled in every respect. Nothing more could be added to the eternal sacrifice of Christ under the law as He fulfilled its demands for perfect righteousness.
Paul tells us that Christ is the end of the law for the born again Christian. This is the idea that we are not required to bring a sacrifice that the law demands when we sin, because Christ has accomplished a perfect sacrifice for us.
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Christ justifies those who turn to Him in repentant faith
Justification is a term that means to be declared judicially innocent in the courtroom of heaven. Salvation really is amazing because you and I are guilty of committing sins but they are blotted out by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (Col 2:14-15) The Father is satisfied when the blood of His son is applied to us as individuals. We are justified by faith in Christ.
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Romans 3:20-22 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. The Righteousness of God Through Faith. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Some Theologians say Christians can ignore the law but the law is the expression of God's holiness, and His holiness never changes.
The law is still providing moral guidance for born again Christians
It is of interest to note that all 10 commandments are repeated in the New Testament, with the exception of the Sabbath day. This is due to the church of Jesus Christ observing the Lord's day on Sunday. The Spirit of Christ lives in us and He will always lead us and prompt us in ways that conform to what God has said.
Note the glory of our salvation as set forth by Paul. Those who are born again are no longer under the condemnation of God. They walk after the Spirit not after the flesh. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross with regard to the law makes us free from the law of sin and death.
Notice the last phrase. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us when we walk after the Spirit not after the flesh. The indwelling Spirit of God is going to lead and guide and direct our paths to walk according to God's moral law.
Put another way, the Spirit of God will never lead a Christian to do anything that is contradicted by God's law. The Spirit will not lead us to lie or steal or blaspheme God. He will lead us to follow God's law as a pattern of moral conduct for our lives. In fact, we will discover that this is what we want to do as an expression of gratitude and love to our Great God who provided the salvation wherein we stand.
Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The born again Christian knows not to lie, steal or murder because He learns it from scripture. The born again Christian does not want to commit these sins because there is a new desire inside us to live in a way that honors God.
Jesus also taught that there will be consequences for breaking the law of God. Then He turns to His audience and tells them that their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. The reason Christ did this is because He is going to spend the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount exposing the hypocrisy that Judaism had fallen into.
Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Points to Ponder.....
Our Pin Oak is a majestic tree but it never drops all of its leaves all at once. Sometimes there are still clusters of leaves clinging to the branches the following spring.
Christ consistently gave out the Word of God
One thing we know about our Lord Jesus Christ when He ministered on this earth. He always gave out the Word of God and He always sought to lead people to believe on Him for salvation. Jesus always spoke truth that went directly to the heart of His hearers.
We are blessed to see Christ doing this in our study of His teachings. He is our model and Jesus has shown you and me that our priorities should be listening carefully to people we engage with and then giving them the Word of God. We cannot worry about how people may react when we share gospel truth and we must trust the Spirit of God to apply the truth to their hearts.
The next paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount is where Jesus introduces the main reason why He was born into a body of flesh. Jesus came to fulfill the law of God which is something that no man could ever do because we are all born with Adam's sin nature in our veins.
Matthew 5:17-20 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Christ fulfilled God's Holy law two ways
Jesus communicates two powerful truths. First, He came to fulfill the law. Jesus Christ always certified the unchanging standard of God's law and always stressed the need to obey it. Second, Jesus certified that not one small punctuation mark will every pass away. It is God's holy standard.
How did Jesus fulfill the law of God? He lived a life of perfect obedience to God's holy law. No one could ever convict Christ of having violated the holy law in any way.
Pilate said "I find no fault in him" after he had thoroughly investigated the accusations against Christ. Jesus was perfect and blameless under the moral law of God.
Next, Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial law of God by offering Himself as that perfect, innocent Lamb of God who paid for our sins. When Jesus rose from the grave, the law was satisfied and fulfilled in every respect. Nothing more could be added to the eternal sacrifice of Christ under the law as He fulfilled its demands for perfect righteousness.
Paul tells us that Christ is the end of the law for the born again Christian. This is the idea that we are not required to bring a sacrifice that the law demands when we sin, because Christ has accomplished a perfect sacrifice for us.
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Christ justifies those who turn to Him in repentant faith
Justification is a term that means to be declared judicially innocent in the courtroom of heaven. Salvation really is amazing because you and I are guilty of committing sins but they are blotted out by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (Col 2:14-15) The Father is satisfied when the blood of His son is applied to us as individuals. We are justified by faith in Christ.
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Romans 3:20-22 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. The Righteousness of God Through Faith. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Some Theologians say Christians can ignore the law but the law is the expression of God's holiness, and His holiness never changes.
The law is still providing moral guidance for born again Christians
It is of interest to note that all 10 commandments are repeated in the New Testament, with the exception of the Sabbath day. This is due to the church of Jesus Christ observing the Lord's day on Sunday. The Spirit of Christ lives in us and He will always lead us and prompt us in ways that conform to what God has said.
Note the glory of our salvation as set forth by Paul. Those who are born again are no longer under the condemnation of God. They walk after the Spirit not after the flesh. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross with regard to the law makes us free from the law of sin and death.
Notice the last phrase. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us when we walk after the Spirit not after the flesh. The indwelling Spirit of God is going to lead and guide and direct our paths to walk according to God's moral law.
Put another way, the Spirit of God will never lead a Christian to do anything that is contradicted by God's law. The Spirit will not lead us to lie or steal or blaspheme God. He will lead us to follow God's law as a pattern of moral conduct for our lives. In fact, we will discover that this is what we want to do as an expression of gratitude and love to our Great God who provided the salvation wherein we stand.
Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The born again Christian knows not to lie, steal or murder because He learns it from scripture. The born again Christian does not want to commit these sins because there is a new desire inside us to live in a way that honors God.
Jesus also taught that there will be consequences for breaking the law of God. Then He turns to His audience and tells them that their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. The reason Christ did this is because He is going to spend the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount exposing the hypocrisy that Judaism had fallen into.
Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Points to Ponder.....
- Jesus came to fulfill the law on our behalf. He is the sinless Son of God and He perfectly obeyed the law which is something we could never do.
- Jesus blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that were contrary to us by nailing them to his cross. Our sins have been removed and paid for by Jesus!
- We can be justified before God because Christ satisfied the law in our place.
- We are no longer under condemnation.
- The born again Christian will be walking in the Spirit not after the flesh.
- Walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit also mean living a holy life.
Born again Christians can rejoice that God gave us His law so that we know what actions honor Him and what actions must be avoided because they dishonor Him. We can rejoice because God sent HIs own Spirit to live in us to help us finish the race we are in until He calls us home. The Spirit of Christ will always lead us to do those things which please the Father and He will never lead us to do something that is contradicted by the Word of God.
We are called to live a holy life (1 Peter 1:15-16) yet it seems that many who profess to know Christ do not have any interest in pursuing holiness . Mark this down, a born again Christian will develop a passionate interest in living a life that pleases God. Those who are lost have no desire to pursue holiness.
Bob
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