A
number of years ago, I challenged myself to read the Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5, 6, and 7) every day. Here’s what I learned. Law is hard; law brings
condemnation. Yes, it was a great idea, but when I missed, I felt my failure.
To be
sure I DID read the Sermon on the Mount many times over, in fact, so much so
that the pages fell out of my Bible and eventually were lost. That is the point
of this post. This sermon of Jesus’ describes a spiritual life that is
beautiful. It inspires and compels us. But it also condemned me when I
failed...which I did, and do...almost daily...ouch!
When
God separated the Israelites out from among all the peoples of the earth, He
gave them a precious gift and a curse. He gave His “Rules for Lining””—the Law.
This law was the way for them to live in relationship to God. That was the
blessing. But the relationship was limited, partial, and ultimately only served
to show them their failure and condemnation when they could not keep it.
Jesus’
Sermon on the Mount took the law even further. Jesus preached that it was no
longer enough to keep the outward requirements of the law; God was looking for
inward purity. It wasn't enough to refrain from adultery; if one even looks at
another woman with lust, he is guilty. I have to remove “the log” out of my own
eye before I can talk about the splinter in someone else. These teachings must
have worn on the disciples’ soul for eventually they would cry out, “Who then
can be saved!” Exactly! It is impossible to win God’s favor by keeping the law.
But God provided the way.
The
Law, written on tablets of stone, was stone to hardened hearts. In this Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus was declaring the coming of a new kingdom in which Jesus’
cross work would ultimately bring the Holy Spirit to our hearts. His power
would transform stony hearts to receive a new royal law of liberty written on
hearts of flesh, and that is faith working through love.[1]
The
disciples were right. No one can be saved by the law, and neither can we be
made righteous by our depraved efforts to keep it. I once read an article in
which the author proclaimed that the 50 commandments of Christ would transform
the world. The missing pages from my Bible explain why this is a problem. Striving to live this sermon by our own self
efforts is a lost cause. It is simply law heaped upon law. None of our “good
works” can merit us the benefits of God’s favor and grace.
It is
only through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit living in us that we can
live this beautiful sermon. I did
eventually copy the lost verses and replace them in my Bible. God’s Word itself
explained the solution to my problem. Jesus died and rose again to redeem me
from the curse of the law: the condemnation for my failure. Salvation is the
way into His Kingdom, and that is the good news of the Gospel. In the same way
Jesus also provides the means to live in His kingdom. He is the One who grows
us, and changes us as we obey Him.
As we
read through the next three chapters of Matthew, I pray that you will know the
transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ through the salvation He provided
and the enabling power of His grace to live it as you yield to Him. His yoke is
easy and His burden is light.
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