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LOST RIVER CHURCH OF CHRIST | |||||||
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Sermon On The Mount XIII: Applications of the Gold Standardby Lawrence Kelley
We are in that section of the Sermon where Jesus contrasts the popular teachings of His day with the moral standards of His kingdom. His contemporaries were strict about the law in some ways, but were experts at finding loopholes. These loopholes enabled them to uphold the letter of the law, while making meatloaf of its spirit. Jesus shows over and over that when God condemns a particular act, He implicitly condemns the attitudes that go with it. Thus, the prohibition against murder ruled out contemptuous speech and malicious hate. The law against adultery also forbade the lustful imagination. The law's provision for divorce was not a license to put away your old wife in order to fulfill your desire for another. This morning we will finish up this section by analyzing the last three contrasts and emphasizing the fundamental law behind each of these individual laws - You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Be true to your word (vv. 33-37). Under Moses, the people of God were required to take oaths on occasion. When they did, they were to do so only in the name of the Lord (Deut 6:13). They were strictly warned against swearing falsely by His name (Lev 19:12). It appears that by the time of Jesus, they had taken this to mean that when you swore by the name of the Lord, you had to keep your word, but if you swore by some lesser thing you were not as strongly obligated. Jesus tells us that anytime we swear an oath, God is witness to it. By virtue of who He is and His authority over all things, whenever a man swears by anything, whether it be: heaven, earth, Jerusalem or his head, he necessarily includes God in the oath. Furthermore, God's people are to be a people of truth and as such our word must be unimpeachable. We should not have to swear by our "grandmother's family Bible" in order to convince people that we are telling them the truth. Kingdom people are people of the word of truth and therefore are to be a people whose word is truth. Give better than you get (vv. 38-42). God gave Israel the law of lex talionis - the law of exact retribution, for certain crimes. Most scholars believe this was intended to place a limit on the punishment a person could receive for damages they had done. Human nature is not usually satisfied with getting even, we want to get "one up" on our enemy. Recognizing this, God allowed an eye for an eye, thus forbidding a man who had been kicked in the shin to get a settlement that included having his assailants foot cut off. In the modern world this would rule out receiving millions of dollars in damages from a company whose hot coffee you spilled in your lap in their drive through. There seem to be two basic principles we should take away from this: First, resist the impulse to get even; the tendency currently being illustrated by the two worldlings, Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell. Second, not only should we not seek to "get even" we should seek to "give more." Do more than you are required to do. Help more than you are expected to help. Demonstrate the kind of love that Jesus has shown to a world that mistreated Him. Seek the highest good of everyone (vv. 43-48). This point flows naturally from the one preceding it. Anyone can love his friends; it is easy to extend kindness when we know it will be appreciated or repaid. But Jesus calls His people to live at another level. Our goodness is to be available to all men, enemies included. Our prayers in response to their persecution and our blessing as payback for their cursing. The reason given for such bizarre behavior is that we might become more like our Father. After all, this is what redemption is really about, being restored to the image of God. |
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