Matthew 7:13-29. This time we will examine our relationship to those on the narrow path, to false-prophets, and to Christ.

Matthew 7:1-12, our study this week. As Jesus concludes his Sermon on the Mount we find him addressing relationships. Our relationship to our brother and judging him. Our relationship to those who reject the gospel. Our relationship to our Father in prayer. Our relationship to our neighbor and how we treat him.

 In Matthew 6:19-34 our Lord examines the diagnosis of anxiousness and then prescribes the cure.

Last week Jesus gave three examples of that difference: alms giving, prayer, and fasting. But not only did Jesus point out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in prayer, but he also gave believers a model prayer. It's that prayer, the Lord's Prayer, that we'll be studying this week from Matthew 6:9-15.

Who doesn't love a pat on the back or an attaboy? If we're honest we must say we all love the praise and adulation of others for a job well done. But what about when it comes to practicing our religion? Do we do it before others for applause or before God and his approval?

We cannot forget the two word summary of the Sermon on the Mount and that is: Christian Counterculture. We see much of that in this week's lesson as Jesus continues to correct the Pharisaic perversions of the Old Testament.

In this passage Jesus tells us, it is not enough to simply not murder physically, but we also shouldn't destroy others' lives verbally. There is also the issue of the heart, that we ought not hate our brother in our heart. How many of us are guilty of murder without a knife or gun? Jesus also tells us it is not enough that we do not commit adultery with our bodies, but we also must not commit adultery in our hearts. How many of us are guilty of such lust? The third issue we will study is that of divorce.

We are now entering Jesus' teaching on the law in Matthew 5:17-20. Up to this point he seems controversial in the Sermon on the Mount, because Jesus has not spoken of the law. But Jesus shows that his teaching on the law and gospel go hand in hand. So much so that he actually fulfills the law and prophets, although that does not mean the law passes away. Instead the law is still to be used as a standard for Christian living. 

In Matthew 5:13-16 we find that Christians are two things: salt and light. We know that salt is a preservative meant to keep rot and decay away. That is exactly the Christian's job as a follower of Christ. The salt is to keep society and culture from plunging headlong into decay. This is only accomplished by Christians looking different than the world and staying true to Scripture, yet when Christians do not act differently they become worthless, good for nothing but to be trampled on. 

This week we will finish up with the last three Beatitudes. The first two, Beatitudes six and seven (Matt 5:8-9), being pure in heart and a peacemaker, are qualities that many in our culture would agree with, and yet we do not practice them as we ought. To be pure in heart we must be fully committed to the Lord with no room for idols. To be a peacemaker is to be at peace with God and others in the church.