Citizens of the Kingdom (Part 5): Law of Christ- Sermon on the Mount

Law as Grace


The Torah was Grace. God didn’t say get right and then I’ll
free you from Egypt.

Torah was Israel’s instructions on how to live in a wise way
and how to properly represent God in the world. Not necessarily
rules but a way of life.



What is the Sermon on the Mount?


The context is about the kingdom of God (Matt 4). So this is
the kingdom ethos… the “law of the Kingdom”

The Sermon on the mount is an all-out assault on the ego… a
call to be crucified and live the Jesus way. 



Beatitudes


Makarios can mean happy or blessed. In classical Greek it
meant the divine life… the life of the gods



Poor in Spirit


Kenosis (Phil 2/ foot washing)

Poor= beggar… kingdom of the desperate

This flows into all the other beatitudes

Gentleness that renounces selfishness and my rights over
others

The capacity to mourn with the broken and not be obsessed
with fixing them

Mercy that puts aside dominance and coercion

The hunger for justice and God to set things right as in
the Amos, Micah, and Isaiah prophetic traditions.

The pure heart of the peace maker who does not demand
vengeance.





Salt and Light


Light bearers… it’s about reflecting God’s light to those we
come in contact with… bearing the name, imaging God

Salt is about impact. Salt was put on sacrifices (covenant),
purified things, preserved and restored, was also a weapon of
warfare (spiritual?), connected with friendship in the NT.

Light was connected to the gentile mission and Israel’s
calling to represent God and also connected to good works (1
Peter 2:11-12)



Dealing with the heart issues


Not legalistic but transformative

Murder… Don’t hate… go even further, actively seek
restoration (leave your sacrifice and go reconcile… remember
communion last week)

Adultery… Don’t lust

Don’t make Oaths… Be a person of integrity

From the heart your actions flow



Enemy Love


Eye for and Eye was about limiting retaliation in a violent
culture. Jesus says don’t even get retribution even if you are
entitled to it. This is a picture of Jesus forgiving enemies.

Our love must be displayed as God did… kenosis, service,
self-giving (not self-seeking) love.

If this is our high calling, how do we treat those that the
church has seemed to make into enemies… Muslims? Gays? Political
opponents? … religious, political, and opposites in lifestyle?
Jesus would eat with these people.



Be perfect


Telios means complete and the context of this is not moral
perfection or without error, but it is about love. Luke 6
translates this same verse as be merciful as your father is
merciful. The Jews concentrated on God’s mercy as his chief
attribute and not his perfection, power, or sovereignty. For a
Jew to be perfect was to be full of mercy.



Conclusion (Matt 7:12-28)


Jesus gives a few parables. Narrow and wide gates, true and
false prophets (I never knew you), and wise and foolish builders

We often hear these in the context of salvation… the real
context is in living the way of Jesus, walking his path. The way
of the sermon on the mount life is narrow (difficult)

Believers can do miraculous things but might not know Jesus.
Jesus is looking for the fruit of this sermon… Kenosis, Enemy
love, surrender, taking up our cross, …. It’s the christoform
life.