The Sermon on the Mount

Sunday Sermons

Mark Dunagan
04/06/08 - Sunday Morning

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told a crowd at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, that he believes the Sermon on the Mount justifies his support for legal recognition of same-sex unions. He also told the crowd that his position in favor of legalized abortion does not make him "less Christian." "I don't think it [a same-sex union] should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state," said Obama. "If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans." After I read this quote I decided to take a good look at the Sermon on the Mount and see what it really teaches:

God’s will is clear and doable

“He who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21); “Everyone who hears these words of Mine andacts on them” (7:24); “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man” (7:26).

I must reject the idea that people cannot understand the Bible alike and that a unity based on practicing Jesus’ teaching is impossible.
I must reject the idea that the common man cannot properly interpret the bible and must rely upon professional help to make it to heaven.
I will be judged on the basis of whether I acted upon the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, whatever Jesus commands is essential for my salvation, and whatever He commands I can perform.

Hell is Real

“Shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell” (5:22); “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (6:15); “The way is broad that leads to destruction” (7:13); “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (7:23).

God is indeed loving, yet this loving God will consign people to a fiery hell, where the fire is unquenchable (Matthew 3:12).
Hell is not merely reserved for the worse of the worse. People who refuse to forgive (6:15), people who do not control their anger (5:22), sincere religious believers who are wrong (7:23), and men who lust after other women (5:28-29) are condemned as well. Not only will God allow people to end up in hell, but God will allow “many” to end up there.
In essence, any sin that a person holds on to, and refuses to let go of will bring person to this place (5:29-30).

More is necessary than just being a good person

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20); “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles, do the same?” (5:46-47).

Far more is necessary that just believing in Jesus

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (7:21).

Obviously I must reject the popular idea that all one must do to spend eternity in heaven is believe in Jesus or accept Jesus as one’s personal Savior. This sermon records not only people who believed in Jesus, but also people who were active in all sorts of religious things, yet who ended up lost! (7:22-23)
As I read 7:22-23 I also must reject the idea that all professed Christians are saved or that one can never lose one’s salvation. Here we learn that people can call themselves Christians and be very busy in all sorts of religious deeds and yet not be doing the will of the Father.

I must have far more than just a casual interest in God

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (5:6); “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees” (5:20); “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (6:33).

“’The basic lesion of the Sermon on the Mount’”, Oswald Chambers wrote, ‘is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ’. In another place, he wrote similar words concerning sanctification: ‘Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of your body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone’. We must not only learn to look at everything from God’s perspective, we must learn to look at everything only from His perspective. To look past the worldly appearance of things and see things as they really are—to see them, in other words, as God sees them. A worthy and fruitful relationship with God must be more than simply one item on a crowded agenda. It must be the central focus and aim of our lives, the only thing that really matters. And when we’re making decisions, we must do more than simply consider God’s viewpoint as ‘helpful’ input. In every case, God’s way of looking at things ought to be decisive” (Diligently Seeking God, Gary Henry, July 11^th).

Far more is needed that just attending a worship service now and then. Far more is needed than just thinking a “spiritual thought” now and then. God must be the absolute center of my life and not merely a side interest.

I must believe far more than “just the basics”

Now and then someone will argue that all one must believe or accept in the Scriptures are just a feel basic or fundamental beliefs or practices. I find that this Sermon goes far beyond what some consider to be “the essentials”:

It is even wrong to lust after another woman (5:28).
I am in sin if I ignore God’s commands concerning marriage, divorce and remarriage (5:32).
I must be willing to love and pray for my enemies (5:44).
My motives for praying must be genuine (6:1-4).
I must get a handle on worry (6:25).
The main object of my love and devotion cannot be earthly things (6:19-21).
Jesus even noted that what some would consider the “least commandments” (5:19), are essential in His eyes.

There is only One Way to God

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it”
(7:13-14).

This truth is equally seen in the fact that Jesus in this Sermon clearly notes that the scribes and Pharisees are on the wrong path (5:20; 6:1-5), and so are the Gentiles (6:7-8 “So do not be like them”). The religious leaders among the Jewish people and the religiously minded among the non-Jews were equally lost.

Someone is doing it Right

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (5:6); “Blessed are the pure in heart” (5:8); “Who hears these words of Mine and acts on them” (7:24).

I must reject the cynical idea that no one is really following everything the Bible says. Or that every professed Christian is secretly a hypocrite and involved in some sin.
The Sermon argues that there are a few who are actually doing the will of the Father, who have no ulterior motives, whose motivation is pure and who actually have pure hearts and minds.
Therefore I must get out of my mind the fantasy that at the Judgment Day no one will be found who truly pleases God, so God will be forced to lower His standards rather than see everyone end up lost.

Judgments Must Be Made

It is inexcusable to argue that Matthew 7:1-5 is teaching all judgments must be suspended and that we are not allowed to restate what the Supreme Judge has already judged as evil. The Sermon is filled with the need to make judgments:

False teachers must be detected and avoided (7:15-17).
The will of God must be understood and shifted from all that is not His will (7:21-23).
A judgment must be made concerning when to stop preaching to someone (7:6).
Matthew 7:1-5 is not teaching the suspension of all judgments, but rather the ending of hypocritical judgments, that is, condemning someone when we are actually doing something worse (7:3). Verse 5 actually commands us to have the discernment to remove what is sinful in our lives so that we can remove what is sinful in the lives of others.