Ah yes! The Sermon on the Mount! Considered the greatest sermon ever preached, by Christians and by secular teachers, philosophers, and historians. But what does it teach us? Many will take this teaching and make it one of the greatest works passages in all of scripture. A way to earn your right in heaven. Or as a way to please God in some way and He'll stamp on you His approval.
I think the key to understanding the Sermon on the Mount and where grace fits in is found in these two verses:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 5:3
" For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20
First, what does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? Here are some scriptures to help us get a better understanding of what Jesus is saying.
Isaiah 57:12 "I will declare your righteousness and your works, For they will NOT profit you. "
Isaiah 64:6-7 "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities."
Romans 3:10-11 "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, no not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.'"
The great C.H. Spurgeon has said,
"The fact which he has ascertained is an old truth, for the man always was spiritually poor. From his birth he was a pauper, and at his best estate he is only a mendicant. "Naked, and poor, and miserable" is a fair summary of man's condition by nature. He lies covered with sores at the gate of mercy, having nothing of his own but sin, unable to dig and unwilling to beg, and therefore perishing in a penury of the direst kind.
This truth is also universal, for all men are by nature thus poor. In a clan or family, there will usually be at least one person of substance, and in the poorest nation there will be some few possessors of wealth; but, alas for our humanity! its whole store of excellence is spent, and its riches are utterly gone. Among us all, there remains no remnant of good; the oil is spent from the curse, the meal is exhausted from the barrel, and a famine is upon us, direr than that which desolated Samaria of old. We owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing wherewith to pay; even so much as a single penny of goodness we cannot find in all the treasuries of the nations."
Mankind is spiritually bankrupt, dead, depraved and perishing. We have nothing to offer. The very best we have, according to Isaiah, is nothing but filthy rags after a woman's monthly cycle. Sorry for the visual, but it's an awesome picuture of who we are compared to God's holiness.
Now we have a problem. Jesus said that there is no way we can enter the kingdom of heaven unless our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees. I can't imagine what went the minds of those hearing this from Jesus. To many, the Pharisees were the prime example of righteousness. But here comes Jesus telling us we need to 1 up them - or more! Is there hope?
We naturally have to answer the question, "If my own righteousness is NOTHING how in the world am I to have a righteousness good enough to see the kingdom of heaven?"
Good question. Let's look at some more scripture:
Romans 3:22-26 "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
1Cor 1:30: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption"
2Cor 5:21: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
The answer to the question is Jesus. The righteousness we need to possess to see the kingdom of heaven is found in Jesus and in Him only - by faith. The rigtheousness God demands cannot be performed, worked for or even sought after. It is impossible! The righteousness we need was perfected by Jesus and only received by faith in Him.
The Apostle Paul put it this way in Philippians 3:9, "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith"
I think once we grasp these truths we begin to see that the Sermon on the Mount can only be lived by Christ in us. Philippians 1:11 says "being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory of and praise of God."
It is impossible to do so apart from Jesus!
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Thanks Wes! I too was struck by 5:20 and Jesus' call to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. And even more so His statement that whoever does and teaches the law will be great in the kingdom. Is it a call back to Old Testament law keeping?
ReplyDeleteAs you pointed out, Jesus goes on to explain the reality of keeping God's law is a heart issue, not an external issue. And only by having a renewed heart given by Jesus are we able to truly follow God's law. The external righteousness of the Pharisees was not acceptable or pleasing to God because their hearts were wrong before Him.
I was strongly reminded this morning that what God cares about most is my heart, and that when my heart is right before Him then my externals will fall in line. I know my heart wasn't right during our first softball game last night, and I'm excited and eager to have another chance tomorrow night!
What God has taught me recently, mainly through Pastor Jim's teachings on Sunday, is the Beatitudes are characteristics/fruit/evidence of a person who already possesses the kingdom. These aren't things that we "try to be" they're what "we are" as regenerated followers of Christ. Very helpful in understanding the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.
ReplyDeleteReally should cause all of us to examine ourselves.
I really like what Pastor Jim says in that the Beatitudes are evidence of a person who already possess the kingdom. Trying to fulfill these characteristics leads us into legalism and thus away from what Jesus said at the beginning about being "poor in spirit." Being poor in spirit to me is self-sufficiency and I struggle with that often. As mentioned earlier, if you can't realize that apart from God that you are nothing, you are not going to have the characteristics that Jesus describes later in the sermon.
ReplyDelete6:14-15 was something that I really studied probably for the first time ever, and it was such a good feeling that God revealed Himself to me in those verses! Pretty much I understand verse 15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions," to not talk about forgiveness in the context of not being forgiven of our sin and thus condemned to hell. Rather, the sin in our lives requires us to ask for forgiveness daily and that this sort of forgiveness is a "simple washing from the worldly defilements of sin, not a repeat of the wholesale cleansing from sin's corruption that comes with justification." -J. MacArthur
An example related to me pictures this kind of forgiveness as the washing of feet rather than a bath (which is the forgiveness that leads to justification). So essentially I take this passage to mean that God will withhold this other type of forgiveness (the daily cleansing of worldly defilements) to those who refuse to forgive others.
I want to make sure that I understand this correctly. Any comments or suggestions as to whether I am interpreting this correctly? Thanks!
I have a bunch to say on this subject of forgiveness from sin, but will refrain somewhat. Just a few things to consider...A question to ask and answer.
ReplyDeleteQ: Am I forgiven upon the basis of faith in Jesus Christ or on the basis of "asking" for forgiveness?
A: Many people sight I John 1:9 which says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." What a wonderful verse, but I think it is misunderstood. If you take it to mean that you need to tell God about your sins everyday in order to receive a "fresh cleansing" as MacArthur put it, then in what sense am I not cleansed now?
Looking at the context of I John 1, properly understanding “homologeo” or “confess”, and understanding Romans 4 will help us understand how to handle sin.
First, consider Romans 4:5-8 – “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
Notice that Paul is referring to the overarching topic of justification by faith alone apart from the deeds of the law. He is proving his case with Abraham, but here quotes Psalm 32. He says “Faith is counted as righteousness.” This is clearly a salvation text. He then says David speaks of the blessedness of the one who gets such credited righteousness. Look at what he says, “Blessed is the one whose lawless deeds are forgiven.” In other words, forgiveness of sin is synonymous in Paul’s mind with credited righteousness. And how does one receive such righteousness – his faith is counted as righteousness. What I am trying to say is, forgiveness of sin is ascertained at the moment of faith alone in Christ alone. To Be continued…
Second, we must look at the context of I John 1 and the meaning of “homologeo” – to confess. John says we get “forgiveness” IF WE CONFESS. Now, after hearing Paul say you get forgiveness upon faith in Christ, we have a seeming contradiction.
ReplyDeleteFirst notice the context is about whether you have true fellowship with God or not. Fellowship is not referring here to Christians who are in or out of fellowship with God. Rather, “fellowship” is synonymous in this text with whether you are a true believer or not. Read I John 1:5-7. Notice the distinguishing mark of one that has fellowship with God: “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.” So what is the mark of the person that has TRUE FELLOWSHIP with God? “He walks in the light (vs. 7). What does John mean by walking in the light? We must understand the way John uses the word “light.” John 3 helps us here. He says that the condemnation that has come to the world is that “Light has come into the world (Jesus), and men love darkness rather than light.” He goes on to say that “neither do men come to the light lest their deeds be reproved.” So to come to the light, to walk in the light, is to come to Jesus with open admission (not secret concealing) of our status as wicked sinners.
We know is what John has in mind in I John 1 because he defines “walking in the light” in verse 8 which says, “If we say we have no sin…the truth is not in us.” In other words, walking in the light is to openly admit our utter sinfulness before God. So if we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us, but if we “homologeo” our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But if we say we have not sinned, His word is not in us. (I John 1:8-10)
The point of the text is clear – either you agree with God about your sin and openly come to the light or you deny such a claim and walk in darkness. The consequences are heaven or hell. This is not a text for believers that have sin to be dealt with. This is a text dealing with the nature of those who have the word of God abiding in them. They “agree” with God about their sinfulness.
The word homologeo means to “speak the same word” or to “agree.” The issue is not when I sin, I must tell God what I did and ask for forgiveness. According to verse 7, I already have it. According to Romans 4 I already have it. The issue is whether I have an ongoing agreement with God about my sinful actions.
So here is how I handle my present sins. I say something like this: “Lord, I just sinned against you. You saw, and You hate it. So do I. I thank you for the forgiveness you gave me at the cross. Please work in me to will and to do of your good pleasure. Keep me from evil when temptation arises again. Help me to act in a way consistent with who I am in Your Son.”
You see, I am not asking for forgiveness. I already have it. I am declaring my agreement with God about that sin because my heart feels it. Now back to Poverty of Spirit and Mourning over sin. That is why Jesus can pronounce you blessed. Yours is the kingdom of God. The truth is in you if this is the way you approach God.
I hope these comments help and don’t confuse more. Questions are welcome if you need clarification.
One more note, Seth. I realized I didn't totally answer your question rereading it just now.
ReplyDeleteIf you interpret "neither will your heavenly father forgive you" as meaning some fresh cleansing, then what is to be done with such a person in heaven with "unforgiven" sins?
No, I would say that Jesus is indeed speaking about forgiveness of sins that takes you to heaven or lack thereof that sends you to hell.
The issue is not that I forgive so that I can be forgiven. Rather, the evidence that you are a forgiven man is that you are a forgiver of others. Chapter 6 is continuation of the theme of the Sermon on the Mount which is "Your righteousness must exceed the scribes and the pharisees or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
What Jesus is doing in the WHOLE SERMON is describing the way God works in people from the Heart to produce fruits of righteousness. Be very careful that you maintain that the deeds Jesus calls you to in the Sermon on the Mount are not earning of salvation, but rather evidence of salvation.
I believe that is a more pointed answer. I love John MacArthur, but find myself disagreeing with him sometimes. But I am pretty sure he would see that text in the same way.
Further discussion or questions are always welcome.