Matthew 7:1 may be the most often quoted verse in the Bible. It may also be the most misunderstood. In a society that calls for tolerance and acceptance and inclusion of all, Matthew 7:1 has become the quick reply to anyone who would suggest moral boundaries. We are told, judge not that you be not judged. Of course, close companions to Matthew 7:1 are John 8:7, let him who is without sin cast the first stone; and the second greatest commandment, you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Each of these are wielded to silence anyone who would violate societies standards of tolerance on Biblical grounds. That said, as we come to Matthew 7:1, it’s important that we see how it’s been misused and abused – but that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is that we hear what Jesus is saying, understand it rightly and commit ourselves to obeying His command.

Worry. It’s a temptation that is common to us all. We all have things we fear may happen, or things that we fear may not happen. We don’t know the future and there are things that are out of our control, and so we worry. We are tempted to worry about big things and small things – things that matter a lot and things that really don’t matter all that much. But in Matthew 6 Jesus calls on the people of God to stop worrying. In fact, He says it three time in ten verses – Do not be anxious. And His repeated command should get our attention. Jesus is showing us that our worry reveals something significant about our hearts and about our trust in God. Thankfully Jesus doesn’t simply tell us to stop worrying. He doesn’t simply acknowledge anxiety as a problem, but He goes on to help us see the solution or the answer for our anxiety. Jesus turns our attention to God and helps us recognize that as those who are in the care of the Father, we have no need to worry. We can replace our anxiety with a deep and steadfast confidence in God.

Throughout the Scriptures we read of men and women who lived their lives with remarkable faith in God and with the belief that there are things worth living for beyond what we can see. In Hebrews 11 we have a reminder of some of these men and women who did things that from an earthly standpoint don’t make sense. But they were living by a different standard, they were living for a greater reward than the things of this life. As we read the Sermon on the Mount, we recognize that Jesus is helping us see what it looks like live this kind of life. He is telling us what it looks like to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God. It’s a call to live counter-culturally. To love the things that God loves and value the things that God values. To live for heavenly things rather than earthy things. In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus uses three different ways to identify who or what we are living for. As we consider our treasures, our vision and our master Jesus is calling us to evaluate our hearts. Are we living for God and things of God or for ourselves and the things of the world?

What Matters to God - Matthew 16:13-20

In Matthew 6:1 we get a warning from Jesus. This verse serves as the heading for the entire section (6:1-18). What’s clear is that Jesus knows our weaknesses and that we will be tempted to live for our own praise and to long for the approval of men rather the approval of God. In 6:1-18 Jesus deals with three areas of righteous living that He saw being used for the praise of men rather than for the praise of God. Giving to the poor, praying and fasting are all things that God calls His people to do, but they are also things that can easily be used for selfish gain. Using these three acts of piety as examples, Jesus calls us to avoid hypocrisy. He calls us to live for the praise of our heavenly Father instead of living for the praise of people. He wants us to recognize how subtle sin is and that we can take good things and use them in sinful and selfish ways.

To be seen, or not to be seen? That is the question. Early on in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells the people of God that we should live as lights so that others may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven. But now, just a little further into the sermon, Jesus warns us against practicing our righteousness of the sake of being seen by others. At first glance it may seem like these verses are at odds with one another, but Jesus is not contradicting Himself. Rather, in both cases Jesus is calling His people to pursue the praise and glory of God. As we live God’s way we should want people to see Him through us. And, at the same time, we must be careful that we don’t desire to be seen in order to be praised by others.

We live in a time and in a culture where we are encouraged, if not expected to have enemies. And not only to have enemies, but live with a sense of enmity towards other people. It’s not enough to have disagreements, we are expected to hate those with whom we disagree – and unfortunately, this attitude comes far more naturally than most of us would care to admit. But as we come to Matthew 5:43-48 we hear Jesus calling the people of God to a different standard. While the world says hate your enemy, Jesus says we are to love our enemies.

Retaliation and Responding as the People of God - Matthew 5:38-42

Here’s the truth: By nature, we are not honest people. Sometimes we add something to the story to make ourselves look better and other times we hold back details that would paint us in a poor light. In our flesh we are prone to exaggerations and half-truths and even blatant lies. But as we come to Matthew 5:33-37 we hear Jesus calling the people of God to be people of the truth. While the scribes and Pharisees had developed a system of oaths that allowed them to shade or sidestep the truth, Jesus wants us to know that God calls His people to a greater level of honesty. It’s a passage about oaths and the misuse of oaths, but beyond that it’s a passage about telling the truth.

What does the Bible say about marriage, divorce and remarriage? In a world where marriage is often avoided or minimized and divorce is often normalized and even praised it is important that we consider how God would have us think about these significant matters. As we come to this passage, we must acknowledge that for many people this topic is very personal. Almost everyone has been impacted in some way, directly or indirectly by divorce. For some the topic elicits reminders of the some of the hardest moments of life. Thankfully, as Christians we know that Jesus came to bring grace and forgiveness for all who have sinned and hope and restoration for all who have been sinned against.