INTRODUCTION: Have you ever heard something that you thought to be truth, and possibly even told someone else what you had heard, only later to find out that it wasn’t true? It was just hear say ! I remember eating pop rocks when I was a little boy. You know those little hard candies that began to explode when they mixed with the saliva of your mouth. I stopped eating them because I HEARD that a little boy ate some and drank a Dr. Pepper and blew his stomach up! Boy was I mad when I found out that it was all just a bunch of hear say! I catch up now eating them with my oldest son.
Recently on the news, a story was released that P.O.W. Jessica Lynch was taken prisoner, but she went down fighting - killing several Iraqis before being taken captive. Later, she was interviewed and told the truth. She said her gun had jammed and she had no choice but to set and watch her fellow soldiers be killed by Iraqi gunfire.
I find it very concerning when I begin to think about how much of our religious beliefs are based on hear say, tradition, folklore, and habit.
That’s what today’s message is about. Jesus is going to challenge us to weigh out every belief that we have based on truth, not hear say. Let’s take a look at today’s text:
1. JESUS DID NOT COME TO ABOLISH TRUTH BUT TO CLARIFY, AND FULFILL IT (v 17-19)
(A) THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT IS NOT PROTOCOL TO SALVATION
Jesus begin this part of the message by saying that He isn’t against the law, not did He come to do away with the law! HE CAME TO FULFILL IT! The purpose of the law was never meant to save us! It’s purpose was to show us our desperation when trying to reach perfection. The law’s purpose was to cause us to cry out to God for help. JESUS IS THAT HELP! That’s how he fulfilled the law. The law did it’s purpose in condemning. Jesus does His part in forgiving. The sad reality is that you have a bunch of haughty believers that think that if you aren’t perfect you can’t be saved! Jesus wasn’t teaching that at all. He is attempting in these next 30 or so verses that we all stand condemned. We have a need for a Savior, not self righteousness.
(B) JESUS ISN’T TEACHING US TO OSTRACIZE OR CONDEMN THOSE TRYING TO SERVE GOD.
I think that it is very sad that people will take the Sermon on the Mount and use it to condemn and ostracize God loving and God fearing people. If you are so Godly that you begin to belittle everyone else, I think you better make sure that you got what you think you got! We all fail miserably in our attempt to please God.
For far too long we have beat up God fearing people. I feel the church owes a hurting, imperfect world an apology. Sometimes in our haughtiness we use verses where Jesus is trying to show all of us our need for Him, we tend to look around and say, "Yea, ya’ll need Him real bad!" And forget our own desperation for a kind and merciful savior.
I understand that there must be guidelines for leaders in the church! But there are people who have been forgiven that are still condemned. We must be careful not to be too concerning toward perfection when picking our leaders. Otherwise, no one would qualify.
JESUS WANTS US TO SURVEY OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD TRUTH AND WHAT THAT ATTITUDE EFFECTS. YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID.... BUT I TELL YOU!
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2. OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD TRUTH EFFECTS: (v20-48)
(A) OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD (v19)
This verse reminds us that our attitude toward truth, and the attitude that we have to teach others the truth has eternal consequences. We tend to live so much for today that we forget sometimes about eternity. Yea eternity! It’s closer than we think! We are going stand before God soon and we ARE going to be held accountable to how we handled the truth that God has set before us.
The problem isn’t that we don’t know the truth. The whole world has the source of truth through the Holy Bible. The problem is that mankind wants to debate truth! We want to accept only the parts of truth that we like! It doesn’t work that way! How we perceive truth and live truth will effect our relationship with God.
(B) OUR SALVATION (v20)
The devout Pharisee never made it to heaven. The reason being that they depended upon self righteousness. The Savior Of The World stood before them and they missed Him. The reason was they didn’t feel that they needed Him. That’s what this message is all about! Jesus isn’t preaching to the multitudes here. He is teaching His disciples. He is trying to get them to see the misleading teaching of the Pharisee.
There are many Pharisees around today, and they are in our churches, and they are many churches.
Anyone who is more concerned about tradition, code, and rules than Jesus is a Pharisee! If you are relying on anything other than Jesus Christ to save you, you too will miss heaven.
You may say, "But I go to church. I give my tithes. I do good deeds!" Without Jesus, it isn’t true!
(C) OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS (21-25)
CONTEMPT! That’s what Jesus is talking about. If we show contempt toward another person we are wrong! Jesus didn’t come to do away with the law of murder. He came to show us that our attitude toward hate is what causes murder so we must have the truth in order not to even hate someone, or even show contempt. The word RACA is interpreted IDIOT! How many of us are guilty of that? You see this isn’t a prerequisite, that you become perfect! It’s a willingness to admit that we have improper attitudes about hate, and how we treat others.
(D) OUR MARRIAGES (27-32)
SEE, LUST, ADULTERY, DIVORCE
I truly believe that there is a progression to these six verses. Is divorce a sin? Yes! Just like lust is!
Lust can lead to adultery. Adultery most times leads to divorce. Malachi says that God hates divorce. There is no question here if divorce is sin! Lust, Adultery, Divorce, SIN! Our attitude toward this warning will effect our marriages NO DOUBT!
The problem is that too many church leaders are using these verses to throw away many good, God fearing people. Sure it says that you are an adulterer. The last time I read 1 John 1:9 It says that if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and CLEANSE us from ALL unrighteousness. Remember, Jesus is clarifying the law from hear say, and fulfilling the law by saving sinners.
Don’t leave out the rest of this Sermon On The Mount! We want to accept the fact that God forgives murderers, liars, thieves and somehow say that divorcees aren’t forgiven. Yes, God hates divorce. Just as much as He hates all of our sin. BUT HE DOES NOT HATE US!
(E) OUR DESIRE TO TELL THE TRUTH (33-37)
What is the definition of is? What is sex? These are the words or our former president. I’m not using him in this message because he’s an easy target. I think that he is the perfect example for our attitude of truth. You see, I think when he said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." He meant it, because he believed it himself.
You see, there was a manipulation of words. The world feels that as long as you and I don’t agree on what the definition is for sex, we can manipulate the truth of the meaning. That’s exactly what the Pharisees were doing and teaching others to do as well.
Your attitude toward truth will determine your ability to tell the truth. Not mince words for your own benefit.
(F) OUR ABILITY TO FORGIVE & LOVE EVERYONE (38-48)
It’s very easy to forgive those who are easy to forgive, but will you forgive those who don’t deserve it? A young lady in my church recently came to my wife and I broken, and in tears. I knew this young lady very well. She had grown up in our youth group at church, and is now happily married to one of our young men. As an adolescent, her mother was murdered. I remember clearly when it happened. She met with my wife and I, in my office, and began to relive the memory of her mothers murder. She said that throughout her walk with God, she seemed to always get to the same place in her growth and would stumble around only to get back to that same place in her growth with God. She said that, without a doubt, God was telling her until she forgave the man for killing her mother, she was going to be at a standstill in her growth with God. She wrote the man a letter in prison telling him that she forgave him, and gave him the plan of salvation. I wished I could say that he wrote her back and said that because of her letter he accepted Christ. He didn’t. He wrote her back and told her that he was an atheist, but he did appreciate her letter. You know, she could’ve became bitter, but she has been liberated. Her forgiving him was for her sake. She did her part. Her attitude toward truth has set her free.
CLOSE: Jesus wants us to challenge every belief based on truth. Is that what you believe? Are your beliefs what they are because a preacher told you what to believe? Do you believe what grandma told you? Not that preachers and grandmas are bad, but we must measure every belief based on truth, not hear say.
