The "X-Rated Sermon"
A preacher by the name of Wilbur Reese once preached a message in which he presented a listeners guide to sermons. Reese stated that sermons ought to be rated in much the same way that movies were rated. Which would of coursed seem particularly relevant for our situation.
"G" sermons are messages that are generally acceptable to everyone one, they contain phrases such as "Go ye into all the world and smile" or "What the world needs is peace, motherhood and fewer taxes." Sermons such as these are often greeted with the response "Oh wasn’t marvellous, or that was simply wonderful." every one loves a good "G" message and they will never offend anyone. There are some people who would refuse to listen to a message that wasn’t rated "G"
"PG" sermons are for more mature congregations, and they have mild suggestions for change but they’re subtle enough to allow the preacher to back peddle and change his meaning if he finds that he has inadvertently offended someone. An example of a brilliant "PG" statement would be "The either/or of the existential situation provides a plethora of alternatives, both specific and non-specific. When one grasps the eschatological aspect of incarnationial Christology." You know that someone has preached a message like this when people walk away in wonderment shaking their heads and saying things like, "That was deep, most thought provoking" Of course if you’ve done a "PG" sermon really really well nobody actually knows what you said, but nobody is willing to admit it.
The there are the "R" rated sermons this is when the Preacher tells it like it is. These usually indicate that the pastor has an outside source of income and a fairly healthy self image. Sermons like these are usually followed by comments such as "disturbing or controversial" These sermons definitely aren’t intended for everyone only for those who wish to be challenged in their spiritual walk.
And then there are the "X-rated" sermons. These are the explosive ideas of the kind that got the prophet Amos run out of town and Jeremiah thrown into the well, that is Jeremiah the prophet not Jeremiah the Bullfrog. When you preach a "X-rated" sermon" you preach them with your suitcase packed and the moving van ready. Comments range from "Shocking and disgraceful" to "Being in poor taste".
Jesus was the master of "X-rated" sermons" and the sermon on the mount is the mother of all "X-rated" sermons" "Oh no Pastor" you object, "That just isn’t true, why the sermon on the mount is one of my favourite scriptures and I don’t find it in the least bit shocking or offensive" That my friend is because you’re not reading it the way that Jesus preached it.
Mark Twain was asked once if he found the Bible hard to understand Twain responded by saying he wasn’t bothered by the parts of the Bible he couldn’t understand as much as he was bothered by the parts he could understand. We try to rationalize the Sermon on the Mount, or we try to explain it but if we got right down to brass tacks, right down to where the rubber meets the road and took the Sermon on the Mount at face value it would not only change the church it would change the world. After all it was preaching like this that got Christ crucified. But we try to soften the blows and turn the Sermon on the Mount into a G, PG, or even a R rated sermon.
The early church tried to take the Sermon on the Mount Sermon on the Mount as a literal code as an alternative to Jewish legalism. Eventually this was relaxed to include only those who had separated themselves from the world, for example those in Monastic orders. The early reformers rejected the double standard saying that if the Sermon on the Mount applied to some Christians they it should apply to all Christians. Makes sense. Of course they reasoned if you couldn’t keep the commands in the Sermon on the Mount they you could always rely on grace to save you. Of course the indication of whether or not you were under grace was whether or not you could follow the rules. If you followed the rules you were under grace if you didn’t follow the rules then you weren’t under grace. What the reformers had done was to resurrect the Jewish legalism which Jesus had spent the entire Sermon on the Mount denouncing.
The orthodox Protestants viewed the rules of the Sermon on the Mount as simply gimmicks to drive men to despair. Christ never intended for us to keep the commands they were just meant to show us our utter dependence on God. It was a set up pure and simple.
By the late 19th century another view came along and that said that Christ was not laying down rules for either the church of the world. Instead he was trying to develop fundamental attitudes in us. This line of reasoning goes something like this "Jesus didn’t remove the yoke of Jewish legalism to put us under bondage to another set of rules." In other words Christ was telling us what we ought to be not what we ought to do.
Today we believe that Christ meant exactly what he said, every word, every common, every period. The words that Christ spoke were spoken to be obeyed. 2000 years ago. The Sermon on the Mount can’t really be taken serious by those of us who function in today’s world. They can’t apply to the political, economic and social realities of today’s world. What with Bosnia, and Iraq who could really take serious the admonition to not resist our enemies. And who could we seriously consider giving to everyone who begs, think about it, the T.V. evangelist alone would break us. And I’m sure that it was a lot easier to not lust after women when they were covered from their neck to their toes with robes. I mean it was hard to say what was under all that. Have you seen what they’re wearing these days? What with blouses cut down to here and skirts cut up to there. When we were in Australia & went to the beach there were women who must have forget half of their two piece swim suits at home cause they didn’t have them with them.
Or maybe, it’s not that the Sermon on the Mount isn’t for the past as much as it is for sometime in the future. You know a glorious new time when God established the new Jerusalem. Maybe the Sermon on the Mount is just a cosmic preview of the Sweet by and by.
Although these views are presented by sincere Christian men and women they were formulated for one reason only and that was to take the sting our of Jesus’ words and to soothe our guilty conscience for neglecting to implement in our life style the words of the Sermon on the Mount.
You see the Sermon on the Mount can be a "G" "PG" or "R" rated sermon but when you begin to view it as commands for your life today, in this world then it very quickly becomes a "X" rated sermon. I wonder what would happen if instead of looking at the Sermon on the Mount as a set of quaint antiquated teaching we put the words of Christ into action and practice on an everyday basis? If we accepted his ideas as the rule and not the exception, both as individuals and society? I wonder what would happen if we sought to make the words of Christ come to life in our personal relationships, international relationships, political relationships and economic relationships. I can’t answer that because in the 2000 years since we were given the Sermon on the Mount we have failed to take it serious because it contains ideas that make us nervous. And because we have failed to implement the basics that Christ laid out for us we have ended up with a pretty messed up society and church. So let’s start by laying down some guidelines about the Sermon on the Mount.
1) The Sermon on the Mount does not contain everything that Jesus taught. The Gospel of Matthew contains five major discourses of Christ. The Sermon on the Mount is the first of them. and that means that several of Christ’s major teachings are not treated in that sermon.
The great commandment, the meaning of Jesus death and resurrection, Justification by faith, the work of the Spirit, the definition and purpose of the church, baptism, nor the Lord’s supper are covered by the Sermon on the Mount.
The Sermon on the Mount is not a complete body of Christ’s teaching. Instead it is the meaning of everyday discipleship. Up to now Matthew has covered the birth of Christ, introduce John the Baptist, narrated the account of the baptism and temptation of Jesus. We have watched the first four disciples being called. And we have allowed Christ through His preaching and healing ministry in Galilee.
Christ has been at work long enough now to have built up a group of recognized followers or disciples and it’s to them that he talking, telling them what will be expected of them and ultimately what will be expected of us.
The Sermon on the Mount is not a full blown theology of Christ. Instead it is practical instructions to those who dare to be His disciple. Realistic and literal not an ivory tower fantasy those who dare to take the message of the Sermon on the Mount serious will change the world.
3) The Sermon on the Mount is not a system of laws for the Christian. Christ didn’t plan on his followers simply exchanging one set of rules for another set. His mission here was to free us to be what we were designed for and that was to be Christ like. Up to this point the kingdom of God was seen as being at the top of the ladder of righteousness, and you climbed said ladder rung by rung until you reached the top. The rungs were the rules and rituals that you followed to find favour with God.
And so you can imagine everyone’s surprise when Jesus announces, "No, no, no you’ve got it all wrong, you’re looking in the wrong direction, the Kingdom of God isn’t up there it’s down here. You don’t have to climb ladders to qualify. (and you’ll never know the relief that is to me.) All you have to do is to repent and to believe.
Well if we aren’t to view the Sermon on the Mount as some cosmic rule book how do we see it? If it isn’t guidelines for God’s approval in our Christian life then what is it? Well let’s ask ourselves, who was it written for? That’s easy, it was written for those who had already entered into the Kingdom of God. After all it was delivered to the disciples of Christ. Christ was being harassed by miracle seekers and we read in Matthew 5:1-2 (NIV) Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them
Who did He begin to teach? The Crowds? Uh-huh. We he saw the crowds he left and went up on a mountainside. It was the disciples that he was teaching. The words of this sermon were for them. The Sermon on the Mount was not rules by which you get into the Kingdom of God, instead it was guidelines to be followed after you’re in the Kingdom. The are goals for Christians, not ideals but goals.
And ideal is something which hasn’t got a real big chance of being reached, like peace on earth and good will to men. It’s something to strive for and yet it is virtually unobtainable. A goal on the other hand is something unreached but reachable, unachieved but achievable The Sermon on the Mount is not a pipe dream. It is a set of principles that we can live by, if we couldn’t live by them then God wouldn’t have asked us to.
Salvation is a wonderful gift. God gives it to us, we can’t earn it, ever. We couldn’t earn it by following the ten commandments and we can’t earn it by following the Sermon on the Mount it is a gift freely given. But that does not mean that we are without obligation after we get salvation. To accept the Kingdom of God is to accept a new way of life, new goals, new objectives and a new power to move toward those goals and objectives.
3) The Sermon on the Mount is arranged around the concept of the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God which are one and the same. The kingdom of God refers to God’s sovereignty over any person or community that acknowledges Him as King. The kingdom is God’s rule over his people.
a) The kingdom has always existed. From the time of creation people have chosen to accept it or reject it, free choice.
b) The kingdom is today. Everyone who accepts Christ as saviour begins to enter the kingdom.
3) The kingdom is tomorrow. There will come a time that everyone will acknowledge God as king, and His kingdom will fill the earth. Philippians 2:10-11 (NIV) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We sang "We have a Vision" last week and one line says "We have a vision for this nation we have a dream for this land we join the angels in celebration, by faith we speak revival to this land, where every knee shall bow and worship you and every tongue confess that you are Lord."
Christians are God’s partners in bringing about the kingdom of God and that means that the Sermon on the Mount is a manual for God’s partners. To transform the world is to take the Sermon on the Mount seriously and to reach for the standards that Jesus laid down for us that sunny afternoon on a hill outside of Jerusalem. To the world around us these standards seem absurd, given what surrounds us, but they are the keys to the Kingdom of God.
We have never dared to take the Sermon on the Mount serious, but have pawned them off as dated, impractical and idealistic teachings. Instead of using them to change culture we have allowed culture to change them. We have to hear Jesus’ sermon one more time, this time the way he preached it. During the next eight months we are going to do exactly that we are going to look at the Sermon on the Mount. And during that time I trust that you will read it several times in different translations. And perhaps, like me you will discover that your impressions of what the Sermon on the Mount says and what it really says are two different things.
