Reflecting On The Sermon On The Mount

Direct Instructions from the Sermon on the Mount

Sterling C. Franklin

December 2007

North Suburban Evangelical Free Church, Deerfield, IL

Painters have both paintings and masterpieces. Some stand out more than others. The Sermon on the Mount has been interpreted in various ways, anywhere from completely allegoric to directly literal. Some statements that Jesus stated were harder to understand than others, but much of what He said here was pretty straightforward. Jesus had a lot of masterpieces, and really, I think all His teachings should be considered as such. In reflecting on Jesus' masterpiece known as the Sermon on the Mount, let us remember some of what Jesus taught us in this message:

- Rejoice when you are persecuted for righteousness' sake (Matthew 5:12)

- Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:16)

- Make relationships right before God before giving a gift to God (Matthew 5:24).

- Come to peace quickly in situations of disagreement, especially with your adversary (Matthew 5:25)

- Get rid of offenses of the flesh and body (Matthew 5:29-30)

- Do not swear oaths (Matthew 5:34)

- Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no' (Matthew 5:37)

- Do not return evil for evil, but rather do much good (Matthew 5:39-42)

- Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44)

- Bless those who curse you (Matthew 5:44)

- Do good to those who hate you (Matthew 5:44)

- Pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44)

- Be complete in your love/perfect (Matthew 5:48)

- Do not do your alms like the Pharisees, but rather do them in a spirit of humility (Matthew 6:1-4)

- Pray authentically and in humility (Matthew 6:5-6)

- Do not pray using vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7-8)

- Pray according to the model in the 'Lord's Prayer' (Matthew 6:9-13)

- Fast in humility, not in hypocrisy (Matthew 6:16-18)

- Lay up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21)

- Trust God to provide for life matters (Matthew 6:25-32)

- Seek God's Kingdom first and He will provide for your needs (Matthew 6:33)

- Do not worry about the future/tomorrow (Matthew 6:34)

- Do not condemn or judge hypocritically (Matthew 7:1-5)

- Do not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6)

- Ask in prayer persistently (Matthew 7:7-8)

- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12)

- Enter in the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14)

- Beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15-20)

Implicit Applications from the Sermon on the Mount:

- Be poor in spirit -- you will be heaven-bound (Matthew 5:3)

- Mourn -- you will be comforted (Matthew 5:4)

- Be meek -- you will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5)

- Hunger and thirst after righteousness -- you will be filled (Matthew 5:6)

- Be merciful -- you will obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7)

- Be pure in heart -- you will see God (Matthew 5:8)

- Be peacemakers -- you will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9)

- Endure persecution -- you will inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10)

- Be persecuted only for righteousness' sake (Matthew 5:10)

- Be sure that slander against you is actually false (Matthew 5:11)

- Follow Jesus and you will be persecuted and reviled (Matthew 5:11)

- Be glad in persecution since the faithful of the past were also persecuted (Matthew 5:12, cf. Hebrews 11)

- Christians need to be and are the salt of the earth -- useful and not good for nothing (Matthew 5:13)

- Christians need to be and are the light of the world, shining forth God's light (Matthew 5:14)

- The light of Jesus should be evident to all through the Christian's life (Matthew 5:14)

- Jesus came to fulfill the Law -- not to destroy it (Matthew 5:17)

- The Law of the Lord will be fulfilled completely before the end comes (Matthew 5:18)

- Keep the Lord's commandments and teach obedience concerning them to others (Matthew 5:19)

- Do not be self-righteous as the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20)

- Do not be angry at your brother without cause (Matthew 5:22)

- Anger harbored is murder in the heart (Matthew 5:22)

- Be wise in disputes (Matthew 5:25-26)

- Do not lust after a woman in your heart (Matthew 5:28)

- Lust harbored is adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28)

- Get rid of sin and sinful vices at all costs (Matthew 5:29-30)

- Fornication is the only reason in a marriage in which divorce is a valid possibility (Matthew 5:32)

- Keep heart matters intentionally focused between you and God, not you and others who see you (Matthew 6:1-8)

- The volume of words does not determine the direction of God's ear (Matthew 6:7)