I want to focus our attention today on the last paragraph of chapter 5.  As most of you are aware, we are studying the Sermon on the Mount, or what I prefer to call, the Manifesto of the Kingdom of Heaven.  This is the first recorded sermon of Jesus Christ.  And in it He has elucidated the characteristics of the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.   One of the most striking statements that Jesus makes concerning the kingdom of heaven is He says that no one will enter unless their righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. 

Read More…

There is a trend to use verses of scripture such as the one we are looking at today, by taking them out of their context of all that is taught in the Sermon on the Mount, as a pretext for the social gospel. And unfortunately, in a lot of mainstream churches today, the social gospel is the only gospel that is being preached. The social gospel is applying the teachings of Christ not towards personal conversion but primarily towards social reform, especially as it relates to matters of social justice, environmental issues, race and gender relations, and even economic disparities

Read More…

As we continue in our ongoing study of the Sermon on the Mount, we are now in the middle of an exposition which Jesus is giving concerning the law.  Jesus has said that rather than diminishing the law, or abolishing the law, He has actually come to accomplish it and fulfill it.  And in regards to our responsibility to the law, He has said that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees then we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. So to that point, in regards to how we must exceed the righteousness of the scribes

Read More…

As most of you are aware, we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount for a few months now.  And we have come to this particular passage today by the providence of God.  However, we must be careful to remember the context of the message, and not take this passage in isolation.   The context of the Lord’s sermon is that He is presenting the Manifesto of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord of the Kingdom of God, in which He reigns on earth in the hearts and minds of His people.  And so far

Read More…

We are studying the Sermon on the Mount; what might be called the Manifesto of the Kingdom of Heaven.  It was given by Jesus Christ the Son of God, very likely as His first public sermon on earth, or at least, the first recorded sermon that we have an account of.  Up to this point, Jesus has given us a series of Beatitudes, which are the characteristics of a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. In so doing, Jesus reminded of what we are, and then Jesus said what effect a Christian shall have in the world. As we concluded

Read More…

For the last several weeks we have been studying what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.  This is the first recorded sermon in the ministry of Jesus Christ.  That’s significant in and of itself.  That God incarnate, the Word made flesh, delivers the message of God to the world.  And we have this message before us today.  How essential it is that we should learn from it what God has to say to us.   What we have learned so far is that God has provided a way for men and women of the world to become citizens

Read More…

Last week we finished looking at the Beatitudes in our study of the Sermon on the Mount. The 8 Beatitudes are characteristics of a Christian – of a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus delineated the characteristics of someone who has been born again as a child of God.  The Beatitudes describe what we are by nature; the new nature that comes from a new heart as a gift from God in response to our faith and repentance.   But even in the last of the Beatitudes we start to see a transition, from what we are to what

Read More…