BBC Sermon Cast

In Jesus’ authoritative application of the Old Testament in the Sermon on the Mount, he unearths the truth behind the command to not commit adultery. The righteousness that God requires involves more than merely abstaining from certain behaviours, but desiring the right things—desiring a covenantal relationship more than the fleeting pleasure of sin; desiring eternal life more than the indulgence of the flesh. In another convicting teaching, Jesus asks each one of us: What do you want? We consider this question under two broad headings:

1. The heart of the law (vv. 27–28)

2. The life it requires (vv. 29–30)

In this passage, Paul makes clear that the controlling factor in his life and ministry is the love of Christ as experienced in the gospel. He unpacks what it means to live with gospel motivation. Christ’s love for him was his life’s controlling motivation. It should be ours as well. We see this in three areas:

 

1. Paul’s Uncompromising Commitment (v. 11)

2. Paul’s Unconventional Conduct (vv. 12–13)

3. Paul’s Unconquerable Constraint (vv. 14–15)

According to Jesus, those who flourish are righteously related to the Father through his Son. They have a righteousness that exceeds a merely external righteousness. Jesus begins to unpack what this looks like by teaching concerning the sixth commandment. Here, we learn that honouring the sanctity of life is much deeper than not taking the life of another. We can summarise this teaching in four key ways:

 

1. Acknowledge Dignity (vv. 21–26)

2. Avoid Animosity (vv. 21–22)

3. Appreciate the Necessity (vv. 23–24)

4. Act with Urgency (vv. 25–26)

The flourishing life, as revealed throughout Scripture, and as expounded by the Lord Jesus Christ, is rooted in “the Law and the Prophets.” That is, it is grounded in a commitment to love and to live (and therefore to learn) the word of God. As Jesus reveals in Matthew 5:19–20, this flourishing life is both radically religious (v. 19) and radically righteous (v. 20).

Christians live between two homes: our earthly home of a fallen, mortal body, and a promised and prepared heavenly home of a sinless, immortal body. Therefore, we are at the same time “at home” and “almost home.” This raises a question: In the meantime, how should we live? Paul answers this, instructing that Christians are to have:

1. A Confident Disposition (vv. 6–8)

2. A Concentrated Motivation (v. 9)

3. A Certain Expectation (10)

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) prescribes the way of human flourishing, human happiness, human blessedness. In 5:17–18, the Lord Jesus reveals that such a life is lawful. The flourishing life is faithful to the word of God, all of it. The way to human flourishing has not changed one bit up the Incarnation. Those in the kingdom of God are committed to living in accordance with God’s word.

Christians sometimes have extrabiblical and/or unbiblical ideas about life beyond the grave. Second Corinthians 5:1–5 provides clarity about our future hope. Paul is at pains to make clear that Christians will be resurrected with a physical body into a material existence. He argues that that future hope provides us with what need to faithfully persevere until we die. There are four aspects to this future hope:

 

1. Confidence about the Future (v. 1)

2. Craving the Future (vv. 2–3)

3. Continuity with the Future (v. 4)

4. Confirmation of the Future (v. 5)

Zephaniah 3:9–20 offers a series of staggering promises to those who will seek God. We hear in these verses four sounds of salvation, which serve to encourage us as to what God promises and what God does for his people who seek him:

1. The sound of purity (vv. 9–10)

2. The sound of humility (vv. 11–13)

3. The sound of festivity (vv. 9–15)

4. The sound of deity (vv. 16–20)

Psalm 11 offers an encouragement to the righteous during times of crisis, when godlessness and wickedness increases around us, and it seems as though the foundations of justice, righteousness, and order crumble. The psalmist asks and answers two questions for the believer in times of crisis. The psalmist urges his readers to take refuge in the Lord and not to be overcome or give in to unworthy desires to “flee like a bird to the mountains” for safety. We consider this psalm under two broad headings:

 

1. Encouragement in Crisis (vv. 1–3)

2. Questions in Crisis (vv. 4–7)

At the birth of Christ, the sovereign Lord used his human means of Joseph and Mary to fulfil his purpose. Mary’s betrothed and eventual husband Joseph, was a good and godly man, whom God used in the life of his incarnated Son. He was a righteous man who raised Jesus in a righteous manner. As we consider Matthew 1:18–25, we consider three truths about Joseph and how God used him:

1. Joseph’s Trial (vv. 18–19)

2. Joseph’s Task (vv. 20–23)

3. Joseph’s Trust (vv. 24–25)