Wisdom-Trek ©

Welcome to Day 2109 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Putnam Church Message – 06/27/2021

Sermon on the Mount – A Christian’s Prayer: Not Mechanical, But Thoughtful

hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]

but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

Hypocrisy is not the only sin to avoid in prayer, so is endless babbling like pagans (Non-Jews).  For they think they will be heard because of their many words. Hypocrisy is the folly of the Pharisees, and repetitive babbling is the folly of the pagans. Hypocrisy is a misuse of the purpose of prayer (diverting it from the glory of God to the glory of self); babbling on is a misuse of the very nature of prayer (degrading it from a real and personal approach to God into a mere repeating of words with no substantive meaning).

 

Again, we see that the method of Jesus is to paint a vivid contrast between two alternatives to indicate his way more plainly. First, regarding the practice of piety in general, he has contrasted the pharisaic way (flamboyant and selfish) with the Christian way (secret and godly). In particular, now regarding the practice of prayer, he contrasts the pagan way of empty babbling with the Christian way of meaningful communion with God. Jesus is always calling his followers to something higher than the attainments of those around them, whether religious people or secular people. He emphasizes that Christian right living is more excellent (because it’s inward), Christian love broader (because it’s inclusive of enemies), and Christian prayer more profound (because it’s sincere and thoughtful) than anything to be found in the non-Christian community.  Last week we learned about the Pharisee’s way of prayer and its issues. Today let us consider the following:

The pagan way of prayer

I am displaying both versions on the overhead as an example of how your Bible study can be more effective.  Comparing versions is one method I use. In verse 7, Christ starts to teach us the manner of prayer. (NIV) Do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (NLT) Don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

Also, for comparison, the KJV version, ‘But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.’ As can be seen, it is harder to understand unless it is clear that the emphasis is on ‘vain’ rather than on ‘repetitions.’

 

We see on the overhead that the NIV explains it better when it says pagans keep on babbling.  I think we understand that babbling is speaking a lot of nonsense.

 

If we then compare it to the NLT, it goes one step further with the babbling by the Gentiles (Non-Jews) explaining that it is just a repeating of meaningless words.

 

There is nothing wrong with perseverance and even persistence in prayer.  Christ has commended this trait in the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. But instead, Christ refers to long-windedness, especially in those who ‘pray without thinking about what you are saying.’

 

As part of Christ’s manifesto to us, he even teaches us how to pray correctly. Paula and I grew up in churches that would not even pray the Lord’s Prayer as we do each week because they thought it would become vain repetition.  I appreciate that we do recite the Lord’s Prayer each week at Putnam, but as we do, we should think about the words we are praying.

 

Christ expands his teaching in this passage so that we understand that it is not the number of words we say in prayer but our heart's attitude toward what we are saying.  We need to realize that we are having a conversation with God, who is our Father!  Our prayers should be like conversations with our closest family members. The pagans thought the more they said, the more likely they would be heard. It reminds me of the prophets of Baal vs. Elijah on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings. To get through to Baal, they babble repetitive meaningless chants, shout, dance, and cut themselves. What an incredible yet misunderstood notion! What sort of a God is primarily impressed by the mechanics and the statistics of prayer, and whose response is determined by the volume of words we use and the number of hours we spend praying?

 

In verse 8, Christ tells us, Do not be like them.  Why not? Because we, as Christians, do not believe in a God whom we must continually beg for mercy, forgiveness, and grace.  All of that is free through faith, which I like to express as our believing loyalty to God. The fact is, many verses in Proverbs tell us to keep our words few. Christ taught us in our promises to let it be Yes, I Will, or No I Won’t.

 

We are not to follow the pagan practices of prayer because we do not think as they think. On the contrary, verse 8 continues that your Father knows what you need before you ask him. God is neither uninformed, so we must instruct him, nor undecided, so we must persuade him. He is our Father—a Father who loves his children and knows all about their needs. If your mind works as mine, this is where you ask yourself, what is the point of praying? As citizens of God’s kingdom, we do not pray to inform God about things unknown to him or urge him to do his duty as though he were reluctant.

 

On the contrary, we pray to awaken ourselves to seek him and exercise our faith by meditating on his promises.  We also pray to relieve ourselves from anxieties by pouring them into our loving father as a child will pour out their heart to a loving parent. By our praying, we are instructing ourselves and learning more about right living in God’s kingdom.

 

The Christian way of prayer

The praying of the Pharisees was hypocritical, and the pagans' were mechanical and senseless. The praying of Christians must be genuine and sincere, not hypocritical. Our prayers must be thoughtful, not mechanical. Jesus intends our minds and hearts to be involved in our prayers. Prayer is seen in its true light. Not as a meaningless repetition of words, nor as a means to our glorification.  Prayer is true communion with our heavenly Father.

 

Christ teaches next what is referred to as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ given by Jesus as a model of genuine Christian prayer. According to Matthew, he gave it as a pattern to copy (Pray like this). However, we are not obliged to choose, for we can both use the prayer as it stands and model our praying after it.

 

The essential difference between pharisaic, pagan, and Christian praying lies in the kind of God we pray to. Other gods may like mechanical chants, but not the living, and true God revealed by Jesus Christ. Jesus told us to address him as (literally) ‘Our Father in heaven.’  Our Father wants us to address him personally.

 

God is just as personal as we are, in fact, more so. Yet, he is so much more loving. God is not a tyrant who terrifies us with hideous cruelty, nor the kind of father we sometimes read or hear about, such as an abuser, cruel dictator, playboy, or drunkard. On the contrary, God is the picture of perfect fatherhood in his loving care for his children. God is powerful. He is not only good but great. The words ‘in heaven’ denote his dwelling place, authority, and the power at his command as the creator and ruler of everything. He combines fatherly love with heavenly power, and what his love directs, his power can perform.

 

In telling us to address God as ‘our Father in heaven,’ we may come to him in the right frame of mind. First, before we pray, we should recall who he is. Then we come to our loving Father in heaven with appropriate humility, devotion, and confidence.

 

When we have taken the time and focus towards God and recall what manner of God he is, our personal, loving, powerful Father, then the content of our prayers will be radically affected in two ways. First, God’s concerns will be given priority. May your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  Secondly, our needs are in second place and can be committed to him (‘Give us …, forgive us …, don’t let us …’). In these two parts, the Lord’s prayer is concerned first with the glory of God and then with our needs as humans.  The two parts parallel the ten commandments. The ten commandments are also divided into two in the same order. The first five outlines our duty to God, and the second five our responsibility to others.

 

The first three requests in the Lord’s Prayer express our concern for God’s glory concerning his name, rule, and will. If our concept of God were of some impersonal force, then he would have no personal name, authority, or will to be concerned about.

 

God’s name is already ‘holy’ in that it is separate from and exalted over every other name. When we pray, his name is kept holy. We passionately desire that due honor may be given to His name, that is, to our Father, our lives, the church, and the world.

 

The kingdom of God is his royal rule. Again, as he is already holy, he is already King, reigning in absolute sovereignty over nature and history. Yet when Jesus came to earth, it was to re-establish the kingly rule of God, with all the blessings of salvation and the demands of submission that the divine rule implies to all nations. To pray ‘May your Kingdom come soon’ was initiated with Christ’s ministry and continues through the church’s witness of Jesus.  It will be fully established when Jesus returns in glory to take his power and reign.  That is when Eden will again be fully restored, covering the entire world, not just a tiny garden.

 

Based on Romans 12:2, God’s will is for us as citizens of his kingdom. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  If we follow this teaching, it will bring about his will for all of the earth.  May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  God’s will is to establish his kingdom on earth so that we can rule with him in a combined heavenly council with his created divine beings.

It is our vocation individually as citizens of God’s kingdom, and for us corporately as his church, to be salt of the earth and light of the world by taking on the character traits listed in the beatitudes. It is the right living to spread his kingdom and do his will.

 

To pray the words of the Lord’s Prayer with sincerity has revolutionary implications, for it expresses the priorities of a Christian. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are constantly under pressure to conform to the self-centredness of secular culture, as was mentioned in Romans 12:2. When that happens, we become concerned about our little name, little empire, and our own silly little will.  In the Christian counter-culture, our top priority concern is not our name, kingdom, and will, but God’s.

 

In the second half of the Lord’s Prayer, we turn from God’s affairs to our own. We have expressed our passionate concern for his glory and our humble dependence on his grace. God is ‘our Father in heaven’ and loves us with a father’s love. He is concerned for the total welfare of his children and wants us to bring our needs trustingly to him.  We see that our prayers can be simple when we strip away everything unnecessary.  It is our need for food and forgiveness, and deliverance from evil.  We will drill down on this next week as we learn about our concerns for money and possessions.  Let’s finish up with The Lord’s Prayer continuing with verse 11.

Give us today the food we need,[a]  First, I want to point out the slight differences in the versions.  The NIV refers explicitly to bread. The NLT is broader and says food. We also see a little [a] beside the line in the NLT.  If you have a study Bible or use Biblegateway online (free), it gives us additional insight. At the bottom, we see that it means either food for today or food today for tomorrow.  It doesn’t change the verse but may help gain a little better understanding.

 

Jesus is saying that we should ask for the necessities rather than the luxuries of life.  It is hard to imagine that most of us would lack food, clothing, and even shelter in our Western culture. However, it is a genuine issue in some parts of the world and even some in our country.

 

The petition that God will ‘give’ us our food does not deny that most people have to earn their living. As an analogy, we know that God will provide for the birds of the air, but he does not throw worms in the nest for them.  The birds must do their part. Our prayer for daily needs is an expression of ultimate dependence on God, who typically uses human means of production and distribution to fulfill his purposes. Moreover, it seems Jesus wanted his followers to be conscious of day-to-day dependence. Thus we are to live a day at a time.  Once again, we will drill down next week when we learn more about money, possessions, and worry.

 

Verse 12, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.  Forgiveness is as indispensable to the life and health of the soul as food is for the body.  Sin deserves to be punished. But when God forgives sin, he remits the penalty and drops the charge against us.  We are also to forgive the sins against us because God forgives only the repentant, and one of the chief pieces of evidence of true repentance is a forgiving spirit. Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity of our offense against God, the injuries others have done to us appear extremely small.

 

The last two requests should probably be understood as the negative and positive aspects of one in verse 13: And don’t let us yield to temptation,[b] but rescue us from the evil one.[c] Due to the translation in some versions, it would make you question whether God would lead us into temptation. The NLT, with its footnotes, helps to define what the original language meant.  God will never cause us to sin. It is our choice.  This model prayer is asking God for strength when we are in a situation of being tempted. Also, as we quote each Sunday, in some later manuscripts, is footnote [c]  For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

The final two verses are an expansion of verse 12.  Christ is teaching us that if we are willing to forgive others who sin against us, it shows a heart attitude of repentance, which is the attitude we need to receive his forgiveness. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.

 

Jesus seems then to have given the Lord’s Prayer as a model of real prayer, Christian prayer, in distinction to the prayers of Pharisees and pagans. To be sure, one could recite the Lord’s Prayer either hypocritically, mechanically, or both. But if we mean what we say, then the Lord’s Prayer is the divine alternative to both forms of false prayer.

Suppose we use The Lord’s Prayer to allow Scripture to fashion our image of God. In that case, if we recall his character and practice his presence, we shall never pray with hypocrisy but always with integrity, never mechanically but always thoughtfully, like the children of God, the citizens of his kingdom that we are.

Join us next week as we learn not to worry about everyday life!

Welcome to Day 2108 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Putnam Church Message – 06/20/2021

Sermon on the Mount – A Christian’s Religion: Real or Hypocritical?

We are on the sixth week of our series on the Sermon on the Mount. I pray you are learning and enjoying it as much as I am. We won’t complete this series in eight weeks, but that is okay. Looking back over the past five weeks, we see that Jesus began his instruction on the mount by revealing the essential elements of Christian character in the beatitudes. Jesus then incorporated those character traits into the metaphors of salt and light, which is the influence for good that Christians will exert in the community if they exhibit this character.

Further, He then described the Christian righteousness or right living, which must exceed the right living of scribes and Pharisees. Right living is accomplished by accepting the full implications of God’s law without dodging anything or setting artificial limits or a list of rules. It is the heart attitude or obedience rather than sacrifice. Christian righteousness is right living, unlimited. These teachings must penetrate our hearts, minds, and motives beyond our actions and words. It must master us even in those hidden, secret places.  So today, as we transition from describing our Christian Character, Chrisitan Influence, and Christian Righteousness through good deeds, which we taught in the seven lessons of Matthew 5, we move to our motive when we perform good deeds. Let’s read Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.

When we think we may be getting an understanding of right living, Jesus knows that we are prone to want to flaunt how wonderful and holy we are…Come on, admit it; we have that tendency. So Jesus gives us a wake-up call and warns us to, “Be careful!” in the NIV, or even stronger in the NLT, where he shouts at us, “Watch out!”

Jesus’s teaching switches from a Christian’s moral righteousness to his “religious” righteousness. He expands the focus from just right living to right living for the right reasons. As citizens of God’s kingdom, what is our motive behind right living?

Jesus draws the contrast between obeying the letter of the law through a public show and following the spirit of the law through humble and private devotion. He takes the flamboyant religion of the Pharisees first and says, “You must not be like the hypocrites” (verse 5). Next week Jesus moves on to the mechanical formalism of the heathen and says, “Do not be like them” (verse 8).  Thus again, Christians differ from Pharisees and pagans, the religious and irreligious, the church and the world. The teaching for Christians not to conform to the world is a familiar concept of the New Testament. We also see that we should not conform to strict rules and regulations through Jesus’s instructions about the scribes and Pharisees, the church leaders of His day.  Instead, a truly Christian community is distinct in its life and practice from the religious establishment. The religion of the Pharisees is religion compared to the morality of authentic Christian right living. Our right to living is not to be for show or external display, but one of the secret things of the heart.

Matthew 6:1

As we move on in our teaching, the key phrase is to be admired by others. Keep that in your mind.

At first sight, these words appear to contradict his earlier command in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” In both verses, Jesus speaks of doing good works publicly so they can be seen. In the earlier case, he commands it, while in the latter, he prohibits it. How can this discrepancy be resolved? The contradiction is only verbal, not substantial. The clue lies in the fact that Jesus is speaking against different sins. The first talks about being a coward. The second talks about our pride.

We need to show our light shining through us from God when tempted to hide that light. We must hide when tempted to show our good deeds as light comes from us. Let me explain it this way. (Analogy of two types of light)  Our good deeds must be the light that shines on God, not on ourselves.  It is so that glory may be given to God, rather than us. We are to let our light shine and do good deeds for others, which may be visible to others so that others may glorify our heavenly Father.  Anytime we do good deeds to focus the light or attention on us, it is empty religion.  When our good deeds bring glory to God, then it is right living.

The three examples of right living vs. religion which Jesus gives are providing for the needy, praying, and fasting. These three examples appear in some form in every religion. All Jews were expected to give to the poor, pray, and fast, and all devout Jews did so. Jesus expected his disciples to do the same, which includes us. Jesus did not begin each paragraph, “if” you give, pray, fast, then this is how you should do it, but “when” you do give, fast and pray (verses 2, 5, 16). He took it for granted that we would give, pray and fast. This trio of religious responsibilities expresses our duty to God, others, and ourselves to some degree.

To give to those in need is to seek and serve our neighbors. To pray is to seek God’s face and to acknowledge our dependence on him. To fast (to abstain from food for spiritual reasons) is intended at least partly to deny our needs and discipline ourselves. Jesus does not question whether his followers will engage in these things but, assuming they will, teaches them why and how to do so.

The three paragraphs follow an identical pattern. In vivid and deliberately humorous imagery, Jesus paints a picture of the hypocrite’s way of being religious. It is the way of showiness. They receive the reward they want, the applause of others. With this, he contrasts the disciple’s right living, which is secret, and the only reward we as citizens of God’s kingdom want, the blessing of God, who is their heavenly Father and who sees in secret.

Christian giving (verses 2–4)

There is much teaching in the Old Testament about compassion for the poor. Generosity is not enough, however. Our Lord is concerned throughout this Sermon with motivation, with the hidden thoughts of the heart. During the past two weeks, we learned that what is in our hearts is equally essential to our actions.  In the matter of giving, Jesus has the same concern about secret thoughts. The question is not so much what the hand is doing, but what the heart or mind is thinking.  That is why I like our boxes by the doors for offerings, or our ability for online giving; it is a discreet way of giving without a show.  The same applies to providing food to Gospel Mission Food Pantry.  There are primarily three motives when we give to the needy. First, we seek the praise of others. Second, we preserve our anonymity but are quietly congratulating ourselves. Third, we genuinely care about those in need and fulfilling our vocation as salt and light.  This last one will reflect that we are desirous of the approval of our divine Father alone.

Ravenous hunger for the praise of men was the troubling sin of the Pharisees. So insatiable was their appetite for human commendation that it quite spoiled their giving. Jesus ridicules the way they turned it into a public performance. He pictures a pompous Pharisee on his way to put money into the special box at the temple or synagogue, or to take a gift to the poor. In front of him march the trumpeters, blowing a fanfare as they walk, and quickly attracting a crowd.  To stand with money in one hand and a trumpet in the other is the picture of hypocrisy.

And “hypocrisy” is the word that Jesus used to characterize this display. In classical Greek, the hupokritēs was first an orator and then an actor. So figuratively, the term came to be applied to anybody who treats the world as a stage on which he plays a part. It is someone who lays aside their true identity and assumes a false one. They are no longer themselves but in disguise, impersonating somebody else, someone who wears a mask. In a theater, the actors play their parts without harm or deceit. It is an accepted convention. The audience knows they have come to a drama; they are not taken in by it.

On the other hand, the trouble with the religious hypocrite is that they deliberately set out to deceive people. They are like an actor pretending (so that what we see is not the actual person but a part, a mask, a disguise). Yet, they are quite unlike the actor in this respect: they take some religious practice which is an actual activity, and turn it into what it was never meant to be, namely a piece of make-believe, a theatrical display before an audience. It is all done for applause.

It is easy to poke fun at those Jewish Pharisees of the first century. Our Christian pharisaism is not so amusing. We may not employ a troop of trumpeters to blow a fanfare each time we give to a church or a charity. Yet, to use the familiar metaphor, we like to “blow our own trumpet.” It boosts our ego to see our name honored for our good deeds.  We seek and crave comments and likes on social media.  So we are not so unlike them.

So if we are hypocritical about the motive behind our good deeds, we may receive the recognition we crave. So Jesus teaches us; I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.

Jesus now tells us the desired Christian way, which is the way of secrecy. He expresses it with another negative: But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. The right hand is usually the active hand. So Jesus assumes we shall use it when handing over our gift. Then he adds that our left hand must not be watching. There is no difficulty in grasping his meaning. Not only are we not to tell other people about our Christian giving, but there is also a sense in which we are not even to tell ourselves. We are not to be self-conscious in our giving, for our self-consciousness will readily deteriorate into self-righteousness. So subtle is the sinfulness of the heart that it is possible to take deliberate steps to keep our giving secret from others while simultaneously dwelling on it in our own minds in a spirit of self-congratulation.

Christian praying (verses 5, 6)

In his second example of the “religious” kind of right living, Jesus depicts two men in prayer. Again the primary difference is between hypocrisy and reality. He contrasts the reason for their praying, and its reward.

What he says of the hypocrites sounds okay at first, “They love to pray.” But unfortunately, it is not the prayer they love or the God they are supposed to be praying to. No, they love themselves, and public praying gives them the opportunity to parade themselves.

Of course, regular prayer is good; all devout Jews pray three times a day, like Daniel. There was nothing wrong in standing to pray, for this was the usual posture for prayer among Jews. Nor were they necessarily mistaken to pray at the street corners and in the synagogues if their motive was to break down segregated religion and bring their recognition of God out of the holy places into the secular life of every day. Jesus uncovered their true motive as they stood in synagogue or street with hands uplifted to heaven so that others might see them. Behind their piety lurked their pride. What they wanted was applause. They got it. “They have received their reward in full.”

Religious pharisaism is far from dead. How can we pretend to be praising God when we are concerned that others will praise us?

There is a place for public prayers, such as when we worship as citizens of God’s kingdom. However, our worship time only occupies 1 out of 168 hours each week. Therefore, instead of saving our prayer power for public demonstration, Jesus teaches us to go to a quiet place.  Away from the noise and distractions of life and pray. That is the prayer that our Father, who is unseen to us, will see and reward.

I will expand our discussion about prayer in next week’s message, covering verses 7-15. To keep our theme of a hypocritical or honest Christian, let’s move forward to verses 16-18.

Christian fasting (verses 16–18)

The Pharisees fasted twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. John the Baptist and his disciples also fasted regularly, even often, but the disciples of Jesus did not. So how is it that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus seems to be teaching about fasting?  It would appear that he not only expected his followers to fast, but gave them instructions on how to do so.  When we think of fasting, we focus on not eating for a set time.  Especially in our western cultures, we don’t practice or like to go for very long without eating, so fasting is not practiced much.  Here is a passage of Scripture that is commonly ignored.  There is significant teaching about daily prayer and sacrificial giving within the Church, but very little on fasting. Evangelical Christianity, in particular, whose characteristic emphasis is on an inward religion of heart and spirit, does not readily come to terms with an outward bodily practice like fasting.

First, then, what is fasting? Strictly speaking, it is a total abstention from food. However, it can be legitimately extended to mean going without food, partially or totally, for shorter or longer periods. Hence, of course, naming each day’s first meal as “breakfast,” since we “break our fast,” the night period during which we ate nothing.

There can be no doubt that fasting has to do in various ways with self-denial and self-discipline in Scripture and our lives today. But, I humbly admit, that I have not practiced what would be considered fasting, and have not done enough study up to this point to drill down on it. That is a topic for a different series of lessons. The only thing I can equate to fasting is that I have maintained a strict exercise and diet regimen for many years, which may be similar.

This passage focuses on personal sacrificing and dedicating time to God.  We don’t have to flaunt it publicly by bragging and trying to appear more spiritual.  Accountability to others is a different topic. At times, we do need accountability from others to stay the course. As with giving and prayer, is your motive to appear holy before others, or to allow others to glorify God because of your good deeds?

So we must choose our audience carefully. If we prefer human spectators, we become hypocrites and lose our Christian integrity. The same will happen if we become an audience to ourselves. So, we must choose God for our audience. As Jesus watched the people putting their gifts into the temple treasury, God watches us as we give, pray, and fast secretly; he is there in the secret place. God hates hypocrisy but loves reality. That is why our giving, praying, and fasting will be real when we are aware of his presence.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

Welcome to Day 2107 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2106 of our trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today we continue with our ongoing series of messages I delivered at Putnam Congregational Church over the past couple of years. This first series of messages will cover the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5-7. I pray that it will be a conduit for learning and encouragement.

Putnam Church Message – 06/13/2021

Sermon on the Mount – A Christian’s Righteousness Part 2: The Spirit of the Law

We are continuing this week on the subject of right living, or a Christian’s righteousness.  If you remember, this is part of Matthew 5-7, commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is considered the closest to a manifesto in all Christ’s teachings. As citizens in God’s kingdom, our proclamation is to build that kingdom.  If we were in the army, this would be our marching orders.  That is an excellent analogy for these teachings because ‘We Are in the Lord’s Army’ as the old children's song goes. But, instead of violence, our weapons are the character traits in the beatitudes and are applied through us being salt and light.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, although I understand that it is safer to do so than a live horse, let us not forget what we learned in previous weeks.  Christ came to establish a Christian counter-culture, which turns our modern culture upside down.  Or better to say, it turns an upside-down world, right-side up! (Flip the globe right-side up)

 

So far, Jesus has spoken of a Christian’s character in the beatitudes and how if we take on those character traits, we can influence modern culture as we become the salt of the earth and the light of the world.   This salt and light are manifested through right living, which is ‘good deeds.’

Last week we covered Matthew 5:17-30, the first three of seven teachings covering the remainder of chapter 5. This week our focus will be on Matthew 5:31-48. The entire passage is broken down into seven lessons to learn.  Those seven lessons once again are:

Teaching about the Law

Teaching about Anger

Teaching about Adultery (Lust)

Teaching about Divorce

Teaching about Promises

Teaching about Revenge

Teaching about Love for Enemies

 

If you missed last week, please go to putnamchurch.org, where you can watch the message.  It is also on the church’s FaceBook page.

With that said, let’s move on to our fourth teaching, which is:

 

The fourth lesson about divorce follows the previous lesson about adultery/lust as a natural sequence. So often, failing to learn lesson three results in needing to know lesson four.  Under certain conditions, Jesus now says, remarriage by or to a divorced person is equivalent to adultery. We should not lose focus that Jesus’s primary emphasis in both passages is a call to fidelity in marriage.

 

I confess a reluctance to attempt an explanation of these verses. First, I understand that it is only by the grace of God that He provided me with an excellent and understanding wife.  I believe Paula is of the same perspective, at least most of the time.  Divorce is a controversial and complex subject because it is a subject that touches people’s emotions at a deep level. There is almost no unhappiness so distressing as an unhappy marriage.  My heart aches for those who have had to endure it.  Although I believe that God’s ideal plan in most cases is not divorce, in no way am I making a judgment on anyone that has gone through a divorce.  I know that each situation is different and very personal.

 

We understand from this passage that the Pharisees and religious teachers sought excuses to justify their actions.  They were throwing the letter of the law in Jesus’s face when they said... ‘Well, Moses said…’ We can rationalize anything we choose to do and then find Scripture verses to back up our decisions. This is not how we want to approach decisions in life.

Our Lord’s reply to their question was in three parts. It is revealing to consider these separately and in the order in which he spoke them. In each, he disagreed with the Pharisee’s focus and justification.

 

The Pharisees were preoccupied with the justification of divorce. Jesus was focused on the institution of marriage and its original purpose.

Their question was so framed as to draw Jesus out on what he considered legitimate grounds for divorce. Instead, Jesus focused on the original command in the garden of Eden. From the beginning of creation, marriage is a divine institution by which God makes permanent two people who ‘become one flesh.’

 

The Pharisees called Moses’ provision for divorce a command; Jesus called it a concession due to the hardness of human hearts

The Pharisees’ garbled version of the Mosaic provision was typical of the Pharisees’ disregard for what Scripture said and implied. They emphasized giving a divorce certificate as if this were essential to the Mosaic provision.

 

A passage that was not part of the Sermon on the Mount, but later in Matthew 19:8, Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

 

How, then, did Jesus respond to the Pharisees’ question about the regulation of Moses? He attributed it to the hardness of people’s hearts. In so doing, Jesus did not deny that the law was from God. He implied, however, that it was not a divine instruction, but only a divine concession to human weakness. Jesus told the Pharisees that it was for this reason that Moses allowed them to divorce. But then he immediately referred again to God’s original purpose, saying: But from the beginning, it was not so. Thus even the divine concession was, in principle, inconsistent with the divine intent of the institution of marriage.

 

The Pharisees regarded divorce lightly; Jesus took it so seriously that, with only one exception, he called all remarriage after divorce adultery.

I realize that there are other situations in addition to unfaithfulness with one or both persons within a marriage that may justify separating. Still, Jesus’s desire was to squash the excuses of the Pharisees, whose intent was to divorce so that they could marry someone else.  If that is their intent, it ties directly to the previous teaching section.  The Pharisees desired something that was not theirs to have.  The Spirit of the Law is to take marriage seriously, for it is a sacred promise between a man and a woman and God.  The promise dovetails into the following teaching.

 

If the rabbis tended to be permissive about adultery and divorce, they were even more permissive in their teaching about keeping promises. They had rituals for vows or promises they would make. They made a big deal if they swore their pledges on God’s throne (heaven), God’s footstool (earth), or by the holy city of Jerusalem, where the Messiah would come.  Jesus said, Stop it.  Don't make promises if you are so foolish that your promises don’t mean anything unless you attach them to something considered holy.  Even in our recent history, you will hear people say things like, I swear by my mama’s grave or on a stack of Bibles.   Today, we have legal contracts that are purposely hard to read and understand so that people can find loopholes to get out of their promises.  I could go on and on about keeping your promises, but for brevity, Jesus said, do not make promises unless you are confident you can keep them.  Do not use legal loopholes to hide behind.  I realize that in today’s culture, we need to protect ourselves, but as citizens of God’s kingdom, your word should be your bond, and your handshake your signature. In other words, verse 37 says:  Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Jesus’s half-brother James must have learned from his older brother when he wrote: James 5:12

 

It is so neat how these teachings about our good deeds continue to flow from one to another. For example, when someone does not keep a promise to us, we desire payback and revenge, leading to our following teaching.

 

The two final teachings bring us to a high point of the Sermon on the Mount.  This is where the rubber meets the road. These two teachings are most admired and most resented, namely the attitude of unconditional love which Christ calls us to show towards one who treats us unkindly and loving our enemies. Nowhere is the challenge of the Sermon as difficult. Nowhere is the distinctness of the Christian counter-culture more obvious. Nowhere is our need for the power of the Holy Spirit (whose first fruit is love) more compelling.  Remember what fruit is produced when the Holy Spirit controls us. Galatians 5:22-23

Did you catch that last phrase?  As we discussed last week, Jesus’s purpose was completed in His fulfillment of the law when he ushered in God’s earthly kingdom. So instead of being preoccupied with rules for our lives, we should determine if our lives produce this fruit.

 

This lesson teaches us not to seek personal revenge. Jesus was not prohibiting the administration of justice, but rather forbidding us to take the law into our own hands. ‘An eye for an eye’ is a principle of justice belonging to courts of law. We must eliminate all retaliation in word and deed and all animosity of spirit in our personal life. We can and must commit our cause to the good and righteous judge, as Jesus himself did, but it is not for us to seek or desire any personal revenge. We must not repay injury but endure it and overcome evil with good.

 

Jesus demands of us, as citizens of God’s kingdom, a different personal attitude toward evildoers. Our attitude must be prompted by mercy, not justice, which rejects retaliation so entirely as to risk further costly suffering.  Our character should never be governed by the desire to cause others harm, but always by determining to serve their highest good.  If it is a severe offense, it should be handled in law courts, not our desire for revenge.   The fact is, we will not get along with everyone, and others may hurt us.  Jesus has a solution for that, our seventh and final teaching in Matthew 5.

 

The Israelites were very sectarian.  After all, they were God’s chosen people.  They assumed then that they only had to love their fellow Israelites.  Their minds gave them the right to hate all the other nations, including the Samaritans, a mixed Jewish ethnic group.  Yet, we even see this form of nationalism in many countries today, including the USA.  This thinking was turned upside down as Christ fulfilled the law and came to establish God’s kingdom on earth.   Now God’s kingdom was open to all nations.  All who chose believing loyalty to God were now God’s chosen people.  As disciples of Christ, we are to love everyone, including those who do not accept Christ. Jesus indicates that our love for our enemies will express itself in deeds, words, and prayers. Jesus declares that only then will we prove whose children we are, for we will exhibit a love like the love of our heavenly Fathers.  God has provided common grace to all. Verse 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. God’s common grace covers all humans.  God’s divine love is indiscriminate, shown equally to a good person and a bad.

 

All human love, even the highest, the noblest, and the best, is contaminated to some degree by the impurities of self-interest. Every decision we make has at least a measure of self-interest.  As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are specifically called to love our enemies, which is impossible without God’s supernatural grace. While we will never show this love perfectly, we can take heart that, with God’s supernatural grace, we can take comfort in Verse 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.  Perfection in this verse speaks of a gradual process, but it begins with our Christian Character described in the Beatitudes. Applying those character traits to our lives allows our Christian Influence to show through being salt and light.  This influence will be manifested through right living, or as it is called, Christian Righteousness.

 

As we conclude for today, let our right living be reflected in the proper understanding that Christ fulfilled the law, His purpose.  Our vocation and purpose as salt and light are to live right by learning the lessons about anger, lust, divorce, promises, revenge, and loving our enemies.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

Welcome to Day 2106 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2106 of our trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today we continue with our ongoing series of messages I delivered at Putnam Congregational Church over the past couple of years. This first series of messages will cover the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5-7. I pray that it will be a conduit for learning and encouragement.

Putnam Church Message – 06/06/2021

Sermon on the Mount – A Christian’s Righteousness Part 1: The Spirit of the Law

So far, Jesus has spoken of a Christian’s character and the influence we will have in the world if we exhibit this character and if our character bears fruit in “good deeds.” He now proceeds to define further this character and these good works in terms of righteousness, or as I like to call it, right living. Jesus explains that the right living He has mentioned twice, is a character trait we, as his disciples, should hunger after. (6) We may even suffer as we conform to God’s moral law. In our passage for today, we learn that our good deeds, which we will call righteousness or right living, must be better than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. The “good deeds” are deeds of obedience. Jesus began his Sermon with beatitudes in the third person (“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”) He continued in the second person (“You are the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world.”) In today’s verses, he changes to the authoritative first person and uses for the first time his unique and dogmatic formulas “I tell you the truth” (18), and “I warn you” (20).

In verses 17-20, this first section teaches about the bridge of God’s old covenant, focused primarily on the nation of Israel and His new covenant, which is establishing His worldwide kingdom. It contrasts the New Testament and the Old Testament, between the good news and the law. I had initially planned to cover the entire passage listed in the bulletin, but unless you want me to speak for an hour, I thought it would be best to split it in half and finish the remainder next week. Therefore, we will cover Matthew 5:17-30 first. The entire passage is broken down into seven lessons to learn. We will cover lessons 1-3 first and the remainder next.

Teaching about the Law

Teaching about Anger

Teaching about Adultery (Lust)

Teaching about Divorce

Teaching about Promises

Teaching about Revenge

Teaching about Love for Enemies

Jesus begins by telling us not to misunderstand why He came.  It was not to abolish the law of Moses, but to accomplish its purpose.

First, the Old Testament contains doctrinal teaching. “Torah,” usually translated as “law,” means “revealed instruction.” All the great biblical doctrines are there. Yet, the law was only a partial revelation. Jesus fulfilled the law in the sense of bringing it to completion through his person, his teaching, and his work. The Old Testament is the Gospel in the bud, and the New Testament is the Gospel in full flower.

Second, the Old Testament contains predictive prophecy. Much of it looks forward to the days of the Messiah, and either foretells Him in word or foreshadows Him in type. Jesus “fulfilled” it all because what was predicted would pass in him. They were but a “shadow” of what was to come; the “substance” belonged to Christ. It is like when Paula makes a quilt. When she has all the pieces cut, I can’t envision what the finished quilt will look like, but it becomes evident as she sews them together.

Third, the Old Testament contains ethical precepts, or God's moral law. Yet, they were often misunderstood and even more often disobeyed. Jesus “fulfilled” them in the first instance by obeying them.  He does more than obey them himself; he explains what obedience will involve for his disciples. Jesus fulfills the law by declaring the radical demands of the righteousness of God. He stresses this in the rest of Matthew 5 by giving examples, as we shall see today.

Jesus summed up his position in a single phrase, “I came to accomplish their purpose.” Christ was the fulfillment of the law. From this point forward, the scenario changed.  What was begun in Eden and derailed due to disobedience, Christ set in motion once again, which is the building of God’s kingdom on earth.  Jesus states clearly this as his view of Old Testament Scripture.

As citizens of God’s kingdom, personal obedience is not enough; Christian disciples must also teach others these lessons as part of our vocation of being salt and light, which we learned about last week. While our salvation is not based on our good deeds, there is an indication in verse 19 that our obedience influences our standing in God’s kingdom.

The remainder of Matthew 5 contains examples of a greater, or somewhat deeper, righteousness which we are to aspire towards.  It consists of six parallel paragraphs illustrating the principle Jesus has just submitted in verses 17 to 20 of the permanence of the moral law.

What the scribes and Pharisees were doing to make obedience more readily attainable, they came up with a strict set of rules, which, if followed, could be considered righteous.  It is not unlike some churches today.  If you can follow what is deemed acceptable practices, you are considered a ‘good Christian’ regardless of your heart attitude.

Jesus disagreed with the Pharisees’ interpretation of the law; he never disagreed with the authority of God’s moral code. Rather the reverse. Christ was much more concerned with a person’s heart attitude than following a set of rules.

The commandment you must not murder is speaking of intentionally taking a person’s life due to anger or premeditation. It is not referring to war or accidental deaths, although both may have consequences if negligence is a factor. In my mind, I can see Jesus say; you are not to murder, DUH! Who doesn’t understand that? Instead, Christ says, let me teach you about your relationship with others while you are alive.

Jesus is teaching us that as a citizen of God’s kingdom, it goes beyond whether we follow through with the act of murder. If we are angry enough to kill another person, we have committed the action in our hearts.

Jesus goes even further in His teaching about anger. It boils down to how we treat our fellow humans, especially those who are also citizens of God’s kingdom. Jesus was more concerned about our relationships with others than if we dutifully followed a tidy set of rules. Where’s our heart?

Not all anger is evil, as is evident from the wrath of God, which is always holy and pure. Even flawed human beings may sometimes feel righteous anger, but we should ensure that any anger is slow to rise and quick to die down.

Christ drills down on our anger. Verse 22 is one that I may not verbalize, but it just might come to my mind, and it is calling someone an idiot. Jesus warns us against calling a person the Aramaic word, Raca. It appears that “Raca” is an insult to a person’s intelligence, calling him “empty-headed,” or some English parallels like “nitwit,” “blockhead,” “numbskull,” or “bonehead”!  The verse continues to warn us not to curse someone, which means to call someone a fool. A moron is another term that can also mean a fool. Still, it can hardly be used here in its ordinary sense, for Jesus himself called the Pharisees, and his disciples “fools” and the apostles, on occasions, blamed their readers for their folly.

Now, these things—angry thoughts and insulting words—may never lead to the ultimate act of murder. Yet, they are equivalent to murder in God’s sight. As we read in 1 John 3:15, “Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart.” Anger and insult are ugly symptoms of a desire to get rid of somebody who stands in our way. Our thoughts, looks, and words all indicate that, as we sometimes dare to say, we “wish they were dead.”

Jesus continued in verse 23 to give a practical application of the principles he had just talked about. His theme was that if anger and insult are severe and dangerous, we must avoid them like the plague and take action as speedily as possible. He offered two illustrations.

Today we would say if you are in church instead of the temple. The second example is a court of law. In both cases, the basic situation is the same, and somebody has a grievance against us. The lesson is the same, the necessity of immediate, urgent action. In the very act of worship, if we remember the grievance, we are to break off our worship and go and put it right. In the very act of going to court, we are to settle our debt on our way there.

We must not delay to put it right. We must not even allow the sun to set on our anger. Instead, to avoid murder in our hearts and God’s sight, we must take every possible positive step to live in peace and love with all people.

Continuing Jesus’s focus on our relationship with others, He is more concerned with the spirit than the letter of the law. Therefore, the reference in this verse to adultery focuses on specifically being faithful in marriage.

The prohibition of murder included the angry thought and the insulting word, so the ban on adultery included the lustful look and imagination. So we can murder with our words and commit adultery in our hearts or minds.

There is not the slightest suggestion here that relations within marriage commitment are anything but God-given and beautiful. The focus here is we should not desire and dwell on obtaining something that is not ours to have.  Yes, it applies to a marriage relationship, but it can also apply to desiring anything intending to take it outside lawful means.  Of course, in marriage, it applies both to the husband and the wife.  It also applies to all of our relations with others.   God knows it is a slippery slope from looking to lusting to obtaining what we desire. But, it always starts in our hearts and mind.

The remainder of this section of verses is somewhat troubling. The command to get rid of troublesome eyes, hands and feet is an example of our Lord’s use of dramatic figures of speech. What he was advocating was not a literal physical self-maiming but moral self-denial. We must be willing to deny our desires because our desire to please God is more important.  To follow Christ means to reject sinful practices so firmly that we put them to death.  So let me boil it down so that even I can understand.  Don’t look at what is not yours to look.  Don’t touch what is not yours to touch. Don’t wander to places where you would have the opportunity to look and touch.

So to recap for this week, and we will continue next week, Christ came to complete the Law and fulfill its purpose.  As a result of Christ fulfilling the purpose of the law, we should apply the character traits found in the beatitudes, manifested in our influence as salt and light in a decaying and dark culture. The evidence of our influence is shown through our righteousness (right living) in our teaching for today, which we will continue with next week. You won’t want to miss next week as we continue with the remainder of Matthew 5 on living right, evidenced through our good deeds.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!

Welcome to Day 2105 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2105 of our trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today we continue with our ongoing series of messages I delivered at Putnam Congregational Church over the past couple of years. This first series of messages will cover the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5-7. I pray that it will be a conduit for learning and encouragement.

Sermon on the Mount – A Christian’s Influence: Salt and Light

Last week we learned that the beatitudes describe the essential character of the disciples of Jesus, including us. As we continue with the verses today, the salt and light metaphors indicate their influence for good in the world, even today.

Yet, the notion that we, as citizens of God’s kingdom, can exert a beneficial influence in the world should cause us to pause and consider if this is true. What possible influence could the character traits described in the beatitudes exert in this challenging, harsh world? What lasting good can the poor and the meek do, the mourners and the merciful, and those who try to make peace, not war? Would we not simply be overwhelmed by the floodtide of evil? What can we accomplish if our passion is an appetite for righteousness and our weapon is a pure heart? Are we too feeble to achieve anything, especially if we are a small minority in the world? Consider, though, how vast the army of citizens of God’s kingdom grows each day. More than we can imagine.

It is evident that Jesus did not share our skepticism. When God became human in Jesus Christ, it was to continue His plan to establish His kingdom on earth, which began in Eden. It was only delayed because of sin. We read last week in verses 10-12 that the world will undoubtedly persecute the church, yet it is the church’s calling to serve this persecuting world with good deeds.

To define the nature of our influence, Jesus used two domestic and everyday elements as metaphors. At the time of Christ’s life on earth, every home, however poor, used, and we still use both salt and light. During his boyhood, Jesus must often have watched his mother use salt in the kitchen and light the lamps when the sun went down. Salt and light are indispensable household commodities. Nothing is more useful than “salt and sunshine.” The need for light is evident. Salt, on the other hand, had a variety of uses. It was both a condiment and a preservative. It seems to have been recognized from time immemorial as an essential component of the human diet and seasoning of food.  In particular, refrigeration was used to keep meat wholesome and prevent decay in the centuries before refrigeration was invented. Indeed it still is. If properly cured, meat can keep nearly indefinitely. Can you imagine a slab of bacon or ham without salt? It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

The fundamental truth behind these metaphors, common to them, is that the church and our modern culture are distinct communities.  Further, the metaphors tell us something about both communities. The world without Christ is a dark place, with little or no light since an external light is needed to illuminate it. True, the world’s elite are always talking about how enlightened they are, but much of its boasted light is, in reality, darkness. “There is none so blind as those who refuse to see.” The world without Christ is a world that is decaying. The notion is not that the world is tasteless and that Christians can make it less bland. It is up to the citizens of God’s kingdom to stop the decay and preserve the earth.  Like a slab of meat, modern culture cannot prevent itself from going bad. Only salt introduced from outside can do this. As the agent to build God’s kingdom, we who make up the church are placed in the world with a double role.  We are to be salt to arrest, or at least hinder the process of social decay, and as light to dispel the darkness.

When we look at the two metaphors more closely, we see that they are deliberately phrased to parallel each other. In each case, Jesus first declares (you are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world). Then he adds a provision, the condition on which the declaration depends (the salt must retain its saltiness, and the light must be allowed to shine). Salt is good for nothing if its saltiness is lost; light is good for nothing if it is concealed.

The affirmation is straightforward, “You are salt to the earth.”  As citizens of God’s kingdom, we not only contain salt, which is God’s spirit in us, we are salt. The culture (or earth) is in decay, like rotten fish or meat. We, the church, must hinder its decline and preserve God’s culture.

Of course, God has set other restraining influences in the culture through family and governmental structures. He has established these institutions in his common grace, which curb man’s selfish tendencies and prevent society from slipping into anarchy. Although recently, we have seen a decline in the impact of this influence. If you remember back to week one, King Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” The governments of the world have the authority to frame and enforce laws. Also, there is the home, including marriage and family life, which helps maintain order and structure. These exert a wholesome influence on the culture.  So as these institutions decline, so will the culture.

Nevertheless, God intends the most potent restraints within sinful society to be the redeemed, regenerated, and righteous people. We, as citizens of God’s kingdom. We, as His disciples, are to be a moral disinfectant in a world where moral standards are low, constantly changing, or non-existent.

However, salt's effectiveness is conditional: it must retain its saltiness. Now, strictly speaking, salt can never lose its saltiness. I understand sodium chloride is a stable chemical compound resistant to nearly every attack. Nevertheless, it can become contaminated by a mixture of impurities and become useless, even dangerous. During Biblical times, it was thought that what was popularly called “salt” was a white powder (perhaps from around the Dead Sea) that contained sodium chloride and had many impure elements since there were no refineries. The sodium chloride was probably the most soluble component of this mixture and the most easily washed out. The residue of white powder still looked like salt and was doubtless still called salt, but it neither tasted nor acted like salt. It was just road dust. Knowing this information can help us better understand the verse.

Christian saltiness is Christian character depicted in the beatitudes, committed Christian discipleship exemplified in deed and word. For effectiveness, Christians must retain their Christlikeness, as salt must retain its saltiness. Not all of us have the same character traits mentioned in the beatitudes. For some of us who are more hard-headed, God may use a grinder to help refine us.

If Christians become assimilated into the non-Christian elements of our culture and become contaminated by the world’s impurities, they lose their influence. The influence of Christians in and on our culture depends on their being distinct, not identical. If we Christians are indistinguishable from non-Christians, we are useless. We might as well be discarded like saltless salt, thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Let’s move on to our next metaphor.

 

Jesus introduces his second metaphor with a similar affirmation, “You are the light of the world.” True, he was later to say, “I am the light of the world.” But since we as believers are “in Christ,” we are too, shining with the light of Christ, shining in the world like stars in the night sky.

What this light is, Jesus clarifies as our “good deeds.” Once others see your good deeds, he said, they will glorify your Father in heaven. It is by such good deeds that our light is to shine. It seems that “good deeds” is a general expression to cover everything a Christian says and does because they are a Christian, every outward and visible manifestation of his Christian faith. Light is a common biblical symbol of truth. In the Old Testament prophecy about Christ, God’s Servant would be “a light to the nations,” fulfilled not only in Christ himself, the light of the world, but also by Christians who bear witness to Christ.

With both the salt and the light metaphors, they are tied to a condition. If salt can lose its saltiness, the light in us can become darkness. But we are to allow the light of Christ within us to shine out from us, so that people may see it. We are not to be like a town or village nestling in a valley whose lights are concealed from view, but a town built on a hill cannot be hidden and whose lights are clearly seen for miles around.

Then people will see us and our good deeds, and seeing our good deeds will glorify God. For they will inevitably recognize that it is by the grace of God that we are what we are, that our light is his light, and that our works are his works done in us and through us. So it is the light they will praise, not the lamp which bears it; our Father in heaven whom they will glorify, not the children who are imagers of God and exhibit a certain family likeness. Even those who condemn us may end up praising God for the very righteousness which they persecute us in Matthew 5:10-12.

The salt and light metaphors that Jesus used have much to teach us about our Christian responsibilities in the world. So let us learn three lessons about being salt and light as Christ’s disciples.

There is a fundamental difference between the Christian counter-culture and the modern culture, between the church and the world.

True, some non-Christians adopt a deceptive veneer of Christian culture. On the other hand, some professing Christians seem indistinguishable from non-Christians and deny their Christian name through their non-Christian behavior. Jesus said we, as citizens of God’s kingdom, are as different as light from darkness, as different as salt from decay and disease. We serve neither God, nor ourselves, nor the world by attempting to eliminate or even minimize this difference. We become tasteless and hidden believers.

This theme is essential to the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon is built on the assumption that we, as disciples of Christ, are different, and it calls us to be different. Throughout its long and chequered history, the greatest tragedy of the church has been its constant tendency to conform to the prevailing culture instead of developing a Christian counter-culture.

We must accept the responsibility that this distinction puts upon us

In each metaphor, we bring the affirmation and the condition together that causes our responsibility to stand out. Inexorable logic follows. You simply must not fail the world you are called to serve. You must be what you are called to be. You are salt, so you must retain your saltiness and not lose your Christian flavor. You are light, so you must let your light shine and not conceal it in any way, whether by sin, compromise, laziness, or fear.

What message do we have for our modern culture? So many within this culture feel strangled by “the system,” crushed by the machine of modern technocracy, overwhelmed by political, social, and economic forces which control them and over which they have no control. They feel themselves victims of a situation they are powerless to change. What can they do? In the soil of this frustration, revolutionaries are being bred, dedicated to the violent overthrow of the system. Although we have seen it in the past, recently, these flames of discontent are being fueled again.

As citizens of God’s kingdom, we feel frustrations, although from a different perspective. From the same soil, revolutionaries of Jesus can arise, equally dedicated activists—even more so—but instead of violence, cancel culture, or wokeism, we are committed to spreading his revolution of love, joy, and peace. This peaceful revolution is more radical than any violent program because its standards are incorruptible and will change hearts and minds.  Have we lost our confidence in the power of the gospel of Christ? We can have more impact with God’s Word than modern culture with all its violent groups, agendas, theories, and divisions.

So we are not helpless and powerless after all! For we have Jesus Christ, his gospel, ideals, and power.  Through Jesus’s teachings, when we apply them to our lives, we are all the savory salt and brilliant light this dark and decaying world needs. But we must be salt ourselves, and we must let our light shine.

We must see our Christian responsibility as twofold

Salt and light have one thing in common: they give and expend themselves.  The function of salt is to provide flavor and prevent decay. The function of light is to illuminate the darkness to find our way.

So Jesus calls his disciples to exert a double influence on the secular community. It is one thing to stop the spread of evil; it is another to promote the spread of truth, beauty, and goodness.  We are called to be both salt and light to the secular community.

Take first our vocation to be salt. The apostle Paul paints a grim picture at the end of the first chapter of his Roman letter of what happens when society suppresses (out of love for evil) the truth it knows by nature. It deteriorates. Its values and standards steadily decline until it becomes utterly corrupt. When men reject what they know of God, God gives them up to their distorted notions and perverted passions, until society stinks in the nostrils of God and all good people.

As disciples of Christ and as citizens of God’s kingdom, we are placed in secular society by God to hinder this decay process. God intends us to penetrate the earth. Christian salt has no business remaining snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; (display salt containers). Our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat to stop it from going bad. When society does go bad, we disciples tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather condemn ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: where is the salt?

Salt and light have one thing in common: they give and expend themselves. The function of salt is to provide flavor and prevent decay. The function of light is to illuminate the darkness to find our way.

So Jesus calls his disciples to exert a double influence on the secular community. It is one thing to stop the spread of evil; it is another to promote the spread of truth, beauty, and goodness. We are called to be both salt and light to the secular community.

Take first our vocation to be salt. The apostle Paul paints a grim picture at the end of the first chapter of his Roman letter of what happens when society suppresses (out of love for evil) the truth it knows by nature. It deteriorates. Its values and standards steadily decline until it becomes utterly corrupt. When men reject what they know of God, God gives them up to their distorted notions and perverted passions, until society stinks in the nostrils of God and all good people.

As disciples of Christ and as citizens of God’s kingdom, we are placed in secular society by God to hinder this decay process. God intends us to penetrate the earth. Christian salt has no business remaining snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars. Our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat to stop it from going bad. When society does go bad, we disciples tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather condemn ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: where is the salt?

What does it mean in practice to be the salt of the earth? To begin with, we disciples should be more courageous and outspoken in standing for truth. But, unfortunately, it may be that the standards of our modern culture have slipped for want of a clear Christian protest.

Christian salt takes effect by good deeds as well as our good words. God has created the government and the family as social structures to restrain evil and encourage goodness.  Christians are responsible for seeing that these structures are preserved and operated with justice. Too often, evangelical Christians have interpreted their social responsibility in terms only of helping the casualties of a sick society, and have done nothing to change the structures which cause the casualties. Just as doctors should be concerned with treating patients, preventive medicine, and public health. We, as disciples, should concern ourselves with what might be called preventive social medicine and higher standards of moral hygiene. However small our part may be, we cannot opt-out of seeking to create better social structures which guarantee justice in legislation and law enforcement, the freedom and dignity of the individual, civil rights for minorities, and the abolition of social and ethnic discrimination. We should neither despise these things nor avoid our responsibility for them. They are part of God’s purpose for his people. Whenever Christians are conscientious citizens, they act like salt in the community.  To try to improve society is not worldliness but love. To wash your hands of society is not love but worldliness.

But fallen human beings need more than barricades to stop them from becoming as bad as they could be. They need regeneration and new life through the gospel. Our second vocation is to be “the light of the world.” The truth of the gospel is the light, contained in fragile earthenware lamps, yet shining through our very earthiness with the more apparent brightness. We are called both to spread the gospel and frame our manner of life worthy of the gospel.

So then, we should never put our two vocations to be salt and light, our Christian social and evangelistic responsibilities, over against each other as if we had to choose between them. We should not exaggerate either, nor belittle either, at the expense of the...

Welcome to Day 2104 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Sermon on the Mount – A Christian’s Character: The Beatitudes

Everybody who has ever heard of Jesus of Nazareth, and knows anything at all of his teachings, is probably familiar with the beatitudes with which the Sermon on the Mount begins. Their simplicity of words and clarity of thought has attracted each new generation of Christians, and many others. The more we explore their implications, the more it remains unexplored. Their wealth is inexhaustible. We cannot plumb their depths. I will read each verse today as we go through the Beatitudes, so if you want to keep your Bibles open, we will be starting in Matthew 5:3.

Let us consider the beatitudes in detail. The first four beatitudes describe the Christian’s relation to God, and the last four the Christian’s relations and duties to their fellow humans.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (verse 3).

The Old Testament supplies the necessary background against which to interpret this beatitude. At first, to be “poor” meant to be in literal, material need. But gradually, because the needy had no refuge but God, “poverty” came to have spiritual overtones and be identified with humble dependence on God.  Thus, to be “poor in spirit” means acknowledging our spiritual poverty, indeed our spiritual bankruptcy, before God. For we are sinners, under God's holy wrath, deserving nothing but God's judgment. We have nothing to offer, nothing to plead, nothing with which to buy the favor of heaven.

To the poor, in spirit, the kingdom of God is given. God’s rule, which brings salvation, is a gift as absolutely free as it is utterly undeserved. It has to be received with the dependent humility of a little child. At the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contradicted all human judgments and all nationalistic expectations of the kingdom of God. The kingdom is given to the poor, not the rich; the feeble, not the mighty; to little children humble enough to accept it, not to soldiers who boast that they can obtain it by their skill. In Jesus’s ministry on earth, it was not the Pharisees who entered the kingdom. They thought they were rich, so rich in merit that they thanked God for their attainments. The Zealots did not dream of establishing the kingdom by blood and sword. The publicans, prostitutes, and the rejects of human society, who knew they were so poor, could offer nothing and achieve nothing. They could only cry to God for mercy, and he heard their cry. Still today, the indispensable condition of receiving the kingdom of God is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (verse 4).

One might almost translate this second beatitude, “Happy are the unhappy,” to draw attention to the startling paradox it contains. What kind of sorrow can bring the joy of Christ’s blessing to those who feel it? The comfort is offered not primarily for those who mourn the loss of a loved one but also for those who mourn the loss of their innocence, righteousness, and self-respect. It is not the sorrow of grief to which Christ refers, but the sorrow of repentance.

Mourning and comfort are the second stages of spiritual blessing. It is one thing to be spiritually poor and acknowledge it; it is another to grieve and mourn. In more theological language, confession is one thing, and remorse is another. We need to observe that the Christian life, according to Jesus, is not all joy and laughter. Some Christians seem to imagine they must wear a perpetual grin on their face and be continuously boisterous and bubbly. How unbiblical can one become? The truth is that there are such things as Christian tears, and too few of us ever weep them.

Jesus wept over the sins of others, their bitter consequences in judgment and death, and the unrepentant city that would not receive him. We, too, should weep more over the evil in the world, as did the godly men of biblical times. Paul wrote of the false teachers troubling the churches of his day.

Philippians 3:18

However, it is not only the sins of others that should cause us tears for we have our sins to weep over as well. Have they never caused us any grief? Was Paul wrong to groan in Romans 7:24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” I think not. I fear that we evangelical Christians, by making much of grace, which is greater than all our sins, sometimes make light of sin. There is not enough sorrow for sin among us. We should experience more “godly grief” of Christian repentance.

Such mourners, who mourn their sinfulness, will be comforted by the only comfort which can relieve their distress, namely the free forgiveness of God. “The greatest of all comfort is the absolution pronounced upon every contrite mourning sinner.” He was to be “the Comforter” who would “bind up the brokenhearted.” Christ does pour oil into our wounds and speaks peace to our sore, scarred consciences. Only in the final state of glory will Christ’s comfort be complete, for only then will sin be no more, and “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (verse 5).

The Greek adjective praüs means “meek, gentle, humble, considerate, and courteous,” and therefore exercising self-control without which these qualities would be impossible. Although we rightly recoil from the image of our Lord as “gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” because it conjures up a picture of him as weak and effeminate, yet he described himself as “meek (praüs) and lowly in heart,” and Paul referred to his “meekness and gentleness.” So, linguistically speaking, it is quite correct to refer in this beatitude to “those of a gentle spirit.” It seems important to note that in the beatitudes, “the meek” come between those who mourn over sin and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. The particular form of meekness that Christ requires in his disciples will have something to do with this sequence. I believe it is right to emphasize that this meekness denotes a humble and gentle attitude to others, determined by an accurate estimate of ourselves. It is comparatively easy, to be honest with ourselves before God and acknowledge ourselves to be sinners in his sight. It is much more difficult to allow other people to say things like that about me! I instinctively resent it. It may be easier to condemn ourselves than to allow somebody else to condemn us.

Meekness is essentially an accurate view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct concerning others. Meekness makes you gentle, humble, sensitive, and patient in all your dealings with others.

These “meek” people, Jesus added, “shall inherit the earth.” One would have expected the opposite. One would think that “meek” people get nowhere because everybody ignores them or else rides roughshod over them and tramples them underfoot. The demanding and overbearing people succeed in the struggle for existence; weaklings go to the wall. Even the children of Israel had to fight for their inheritance, although the Lord their God gave them the Promised Land. But the condition we enter our spiritual inheritance in Christ is not might but meekness, for, as we have already seen, everything is ours if we are Christ’s. The same principle operates today. The godless modern culture may boast and throw their weight about, yet actual possession eludes their grasp. On the other hand, the meek may be deprived and disenfranchised by modern culture, yet because they know what it is to live and reign with Christ, they can enjoy and even “possess” the earth, which belongs to Christ.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (verse 6).

God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. This general principle is personal here. The hungry and thirsty whom God satisfies are those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Such spiritual hunger is a characteristic of all God’s people, whose supreme ambition is not material but spiritual. Christians are unlike the modern culture we spoke about last week, which is occupied with pursuing possessions. Christ's disciples have set themselves to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first. Our hunger for righteousness drives us as appetite for our bodies will.

Proverbs 16:26

Righteousness in the Bible has at least three aspects: legal, moral, and social. Legal righteousness is justification, a right relationship with God. The Jews pursued righteousness but failed to attain it because they pursued it wrongfully. They sought to establish their own righteousness and did not submit to God’s righteousness, which is Christ himself.

Moral righteousness is that righteousness of character and conduct which pleases God. Jesus continues after the beatitudes to contrast this Christian righteousness with pharisaic righteousness. The latter was external conformity to rules; the former is inner righteousness of heart, mind, and motive. For this, we should hunger and thirst.

However, it would be a mistake to suppose that the biblical word “righteousness” means only a right relationship with God on the one hand and moral righteousness of character and conduct on the other. For biblical righteousness is more than a private and personal affair; it also includes social righteousness. As we learn from the law and the prophets, social righteousness is concerned with seeking man’s liberation from oppression and promoting civil rights, justice in the law courts, integrity in business dealings, and honor in home and family affairs. Christians are committed to hunger for righteousness in the whole human community as something pleasing to a righteous God.

Looking back, we can see that the first four beatitudes reveal a spiritual progression of relentless logic. Each step leads to the next and presupposes the one that has gone before.  In the second half of the beatitudes (the last four), we seem to turn even more from our attitude to God to our attitude to our fellow human beings.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (verse 7).

“Mercy” is compassion for people in need.  Jesus does not specify the categories of people he has in mind to whom his disciples are to show mercy. There was no need for Jesus to elaborate. Our God is merciful and shows mercy continuously; his kingdom's citizens must also show mercy.

Of course, the modern culture is unmerciful, as the church, in its worldliness, has often been. The world prefers to insulate itself against the pains and calamities of humans. It finds revenge delicious and forgiveness, by comparison, tame. The universal law of planting and harvesting is just as strong as the law of gravity. Those who show mercy will find mercy. We cannot receive the mercy and forgiveness of God unless we repent, and we cannot claim to have repented of our sins if we are unmerciful towards the sins of others. Nothing moves us to forgive like the knowledge that we have been forgiven. Nothing proves more clearly that we have been shown mercy than our readiness to show mercy to others. To show mercy and to receive mercy: these belong inseparably together, just like planting and harvesting. Interpreted in the context of the beatitudes, it is “the meek” who are also “the merciful.” To be meek is to acknowledge to others that we are sinners; to be merciful is to have compassion for others, for they are sinners too. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (verse 8).

It is immediately apparent that the words “in heart” indicate the kind of purity to which Jesus is alluding. Christ is looking for inward purity, for the quality of those who have been cleansed from moral—as opposed to ceremonial—defilement.

In his controversy with the Pharisees, Jesus took up this theme and protested their obsession with external, ceremonial purity. Jesus said in Matthew 23:25, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the cup and dish outside, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!

Christ wants us to have the heart pure, though outwardly, the person may be a laborer in the kitchen, working in the sewer, coal mines, or doing all sorts of dirty work. Though a common laborer may stink outwardly, inwardly, he is pure incense before God’ because he ponders the word of God in his heart and obeys it.

Jesus’s emphasis on the inward and moral, whether contrasted with the outward and ceremonial or the external and physical, is consistent with the whole Sermon on the Mount. The sermon requires heart-righteousness rather than mere rule-righteousness. The pure in heart are single-minded, free from the tyranny of a divided self. In this case, the pure heart is the single heart and prepares the way for the “single eye,” which Jesus mentions in the next chapter.

More precisely, the primary reference to the pure in heart is sincerity. This type of heart includes our thoughts and motives. It is pure, unmixed with anything devious or ulterior motive. Hypocrisy and deceit are abhorrent to the pure in heart; they are without guile.

Yet how few of us live one life and live it in the open! We are tempted to wear different masks and play different roles for each occasion. This duplicity is not reality but play-acting, which is the essence of hypocrisy. Some people weave around themselves such a web of lies that they can no longer tell which part of them is genuine and which is make-believe. Jesus Christ was the only person who was genuinely pure in heart, being entirely truthful.

 

Only the pure in heart will see God, see him now with the eye of faith and see his glory in the hereafter, for only the utterly sincere can bear the dazzling vision in whose light the darkness of deceit must vanish and by whose fire all facades are burned up.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (verse 9).

The sequence of thought from the purity of heart to peacemaking is natural because one of the most frequent causes of conflict is scheming, while openness and sincerity are essential to all true reconciliation.

According to this beatitude, every Christian is meant to be a peacemaker in the community, community, and church.  It is clear beyond question throughout the teaching of Jesus and his apostles that we should never seek conflict or be responsible for it unless we are forced to turn our loyalty from God to culture.  On the contrary, we are called to peace, and we are to pursue peace actively. We are to seek peace with everyone.

Romans 12:18  

Peacemaking is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and reconciliation.  We should understand that the words “peace” and “appeasement” are not synonyms. For the peace of God is not peace at any price. He made peace with us at immense cost, even at the price of the lifeblood of his only Son. We, too—though in our lesser ways—will find peacemaking a costly enterprise. To proclaim "Peace, peace," when there is no peace is the work of the false prophet, not the Christian witness. True peace and true forgiveness are costly treasures.

We may not be personally involved in a dispute but may find ourselves struggling to reconcile to each other two people or groups who are estranged and at variance with each other. In this case, there will be the pain of listening, ridding ourselves of prejudice, striving sympathetically to understand both opposing points of view, and risking misunderstanding, ingratitude, or failure.

Jesus prayed for the oneness of his people. He also prayed that they might be kept from evil and in truth. We have no mandate from Christ to seek unity without purity. We are to maintain purity of both doctrine and conduct.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (verses 10–12).

It may seem strange that Jesus should pass from peacemaking to persecution, from the work of reconciliation to the experience of hostility. Yet however hard we may try to make peace with some people, they refuse to live peacefully with us.

Not all attempts at reconciliation succeed. Indeed, some will take the initiative to oppose us, particularly to insult or slander us.  Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value systems.  Remember from last week that modern culture and Christian counter-culture are opposite.

How did Jesus expect his disciples to react under persecution? Verse 12: “Rejoice and be glad!” We are not to retaliate like an unbeliever, sulk like a child, lick our wounds in self-pity like a dog, or just grin and bear it like a Stoic, still less to pretend we enjoy it like a masochist. What then? We are to rejoice as a Christian should rejoice and even leap for joy. Why so? Partly because Jesus added, “great is your reward in heaven.” We may lose everything on earth, but we shall inherit everything in heaven—not as a reward for merit, however, because “the promise of the reward is free.” We rejoice partly because persecution is a token of genuineness, a certificate of Christian authenticity, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets “before you.” If we are persecuted today, we belong to a noble succession. But the primary reason we should rejoice in that we are suffering because of Jesus. Because of our...

Welcome to Day 2103 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2103 of our trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Beginning today, I will share the messages I have delivered at Putnam Congregational Church over the past couple of years. This first series of messages will cover the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5-7. I pray that it will be a conduit for learning and encouragement.

Putnam Church Message – 05/16/2021

Sermon on the Mount – The Upside-Down Culture

The Sermon on the Mount covering Matthew 5-7 is Matthew’s version of the good news. It is probably the best-known part of the teaching of Jesus, though possibly it is the least understood, and indeed, it is the least obeyed. Nevertheless, it is the nearest thing to a manifesto that Jesus ever uttered, for it is his description of what he wanted his followers to be and to do. In my mind, no two words better summarize its intention or indicate its challenge to the modern world more clearly than the expression “Christian counter-culture.” You might say it is an upside-down culture. Let me tell you why.

I realize that King Solomon tells us there is nothing new “under the sun.” Still, with our ever-advancing technology and ability to communicate instantly to the entire world at once, it appears that a Christian counter-culture is more necessary than ever before when we take to heart the manifesto that Christ preached in The Sermon on the Mount.

We have seen through the past several decades a spirit of disillusion. Each rising generation is disillusioned with the world it has inherited. Sometimes the reaction has been naive, though that is not to say it has been insincere. For example, there were times of unrest in the recent past coming out of the Vietnam War. There were riots and bombings in our country and many other places worldwide. But, unfortunately, we tend to forget those events quickly.

The pandemic of the past 18 months has brought to the forefront what has been brewing under the surface for several decades. The events and philosophies have been put into overdrive. When you consider the violent uprisings, riots, BLM, Critical Race Theory, Wokeness, Cancel Culture, Entitlement Mentality, and many other movements that we read about nearly every day, it seems like the wheels have fallen off the bus called common sense. It looks like someone has been passing out crazy pills. It is not just young adults anymore; adults of all ages have been influenced. Of course, with 24/7 always-on opinion newscasts, the talking heads constantly push an agenda. Add to that instant online social media; anyone can have their bully pulpit to spew their doctrine anywhere. When we begin to despair, we have to remind ourselves again. Although the noise may be louder today, there is nothing new under the sun.

In a way, Christians should find this disturbing alternative reality prevalent in our culture one of the most hopeful, even exciting, signs of the times. For we recognize in it the activity of God’s Spirit within us who, before he was our comforter, was our disturber. We know for our current society to find true peace and comfort, it will only find it through the Spirit of Peace.

Those pressing so hard against this Christian counter-culture are doing so because they desperately seek peace in their souls. In Matthew 16:25-27, Jesus tells us, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?  Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.”

The current culture looks for the right things, such as acceptance, equality, inclusion, meaning, peace, love, and reality in the wrong places. The first place they should turn is the one they usually ignore: the church. Too often, what they see in the church is not a Christian counter-culture but conformism to a set of rules and expectations. They perceive not a new life but a death of morality.

I opened with this information because it is an essential background to understanding the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon is found in Matthew’s Gospel towards the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Immediately after his baptism and temptation, he announced that the kingdom of God, long promised in the Old Testament era, was now on the threshold. Jesus had come to inaugurate the kingdom of God. With him, the new age had dawned, and the rule of God had broken into history.  The Sermon on the Mount is to be seen in this context. It portrays repentance, which is the Greek word metanoia, and means to have a complete change of mind, resulting in the right living that belongs in the kingdom. It describes what human life and the human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God.

What do living and community look like as we build God’s kingdom? Certainly something different than today’s culture displays! Jesus emphasized that his faithful followers, the citizens of God’s kingdom, were entirely different from others. They were not to take their cue from the people around them, but from him, and prove to be genuine children of their heavenly Father. A key text of the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 6:8, “Don’t be like them.” God had called Abraham to leave home and build a new nation that was distinct and set apart from all other nations. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ calls us (his church) to establish God’s kingdom on earth, comprised of all nations. Our character is to be utterly distinct from that admired by the world (the beatitudes). We are to shine like lights in the prevailing darkness. Our right living is to exceed that of those within our modern culture who believe they lead the crusade for new world order. The Sermon on the Mount, which we will be learning about over the next few weeks, is the new world order as we establish God’s Kingdom on earth. God’s kingdom is more than the USA, it is worldwide.

Every passage of the Sermon on the Mount shows the contrast between Christian counter-culture and today’s modern culture, which is growing ever-increasingly. It is the underlying and uniting theme of the Sermon, touching every aspect of how we should live.

As followers of Jesus, we are to be different—from church traditions not based on God’s Word, and the secular world. We are to be different from both the religious and the irreligious. The Sermon on the Mount is the complete definition anywhere in the New Testament of the Christian counter-culture. Here is a Christian value system, ethical standard, religious devotion, attitude to money, ambition, lifestyle, and network of relationships—all of which are opposite to the non-Christian world of today’s modern culture. This Christian counter-culture is the life of the kingdom of God, a fully human life under divine rule.

Today we are looking at just two verses: the introduction to the Sermon. It is brief but impressive.

Matthew 5:1-2

There can be little doubt that Jesus deliberately went up on the mountain to teach and draw a parallel between He and Moses, who received the law at Mount Sinai. Although Jesus was greater than Moses and his message was more good news than law, he chose twelve apostles as the nucleus of a new Israel to correspond to the twelve patriarchs and tribes of the old covenant. Jesus also claimed to be both teacher and lord, gave his authoritative interpretation of Moses’ law, issued commandments, and expected obedience. He later invited his disciples to assume his “yoke” or submit to his teaching, as they had previously borne the yoke of the Torah.

At all events, Jesus sat down, assuming the posture of a rabbi or legislator, and his disciples gathered around him, to listen to his teaching. Then he began to teach them.

As we consider the Sermon on the Mount, three questions may come to mind. First, what is written in Matthew’s authentic teachings of Jesus? Secondly, are its contents relevant to the contemporary world or are they hopelessly outdated? Thirdly, are its standards attainable, or must we dismiss them as a largely unpractical ideal?

Is the Sermon authentic?

The Sermon on the Mount occurs only in the first Gospel (Matthew). There is a similar sermon in Luke’s Gospel, sometimes called “The Sermon on the Plain.” Luke says it was delivered “on a level place” to which Jesus “came down” after having gone “into the hills” to pray. But the apparent location difference need not detain us, for the “level place” may well have been not a plain or valley but a plateau in the hills.

A comparison of the contents of the two sermons reveals at once that they are not identical. Luke’s is considerably shorter, consisting of only 30 verses in contrast to Matthew’s 107, and each includes material absent from the other. Nevertheless, there are also obvious similarities between them. Both sermons begin with “beatitudes.” Both end with the parable of the two housebuilders. In between contain the golden rule, the commands to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek, the prohibition against judging people, and the vivid illustrations of the log or speck in the eye and of the tree and its fruit. With a shared beginning and ending, this common material suggests that the two are versions of the same Sermon.

Bible scholars have some questions about whether these passages were given in one sitting or were an accumulation of Christ’s teachings during His early ministry. Since we believe that all Scripture is inspired, God allowed Matthew and Luke to record these teachings using their unique personalities and styles in the form of what we call a sermon as a means for us to grasp Christ’s teachings. Both give it a precise historical and geographical context, ascribing it to his early ministry in Galilee and stating that he delivered it “on the mountain” or “on a level place” in the hills. Matthew records the astonished reaction of the crowds when he finishes, primarily because of the authority with which he speaks. And both say that, when it was over, “he entered Capernaum.”

It is believed that Luke gives a briefer summary, omitting a good deal, while Matthew records more, if not most, of it. Another thought is that Matthew elaborates an originally shorter sermon, enlarging it by adding authentic and appropriate utterances of Jesus from other contexts. Nevertheless, we could still assert that the Holy Spirit directed the selection and arrangement.

Is the Sermon relevant?

Some people in our modern culture question whether the Sermon is relevant to everyday life.  We can only judge this by a detailed examination of its contents. What is immediately remarkable is that, however it came to be composed, it forms a wonderfully coherent whole. It represents the behavior that Jesus expected of each of his disciples, who are also citizens of God’s kingdom. We see Jesus as he is in himself, in his heart, motives, and thoughts, the secret place with his Father. We also see Jesus in the arena of public life.  We see his relations with his fellow humans.  He is showing mercy, making peace, being persecuted, acting as salt, letting his light shine, loving and serving others (even his enemies), and devoting himself to the extension of God’s kingdom and righteousness in the world. Let me briefly analyze the Sermon that will comprise our messages over the next few weeks and help demonstrate its relevance to us in the twentieth-first century.  As I prepare for the following few messages, we will see the following seven aspects to integrate into our lives.

A Christian’s character (5:3–12)

The beatitudes emphasize eight principal marks of Christian character and conduct, especially in relation to God and humans and the divine blessing that rests on those who exhibit these marks.

A Christian’s influence (5:13–16)

The two metaphors of salt and light indicate the influence for good that Christians will exert in the community if (and only if) they maintain their distinctive character as portrayed in the beatitudes.

A Christian’s righteousness (5:17–48)

What is a Christian’s attitude to God's moral law? Should the Old Testament law be abolished in the Christian life? Is Jesus advocating a new set of morals ‘not under the law?’  Jesus said he had not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them. He stated that greatness in God’s kingdom was determined by conformity to this moral teaching.  Jesus taught that entry into the kingdom was impossible without righteousness greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:17–20). He gave six illustrations of this greater Christian purity (5:21–48), relating to murder, adultery, divorce, swearing, revenge, and love. In each contrast, he rejected the easy-going tradition of the scribes, reaffirmed the authority of Old Testament Scripture, and drew out the full and exacting implications of God’s moral law.

A Christian’s righteousness (6:1–18)

In their religious devotion, Christians resemble neither the hypocritical display of the Pharisees nor the mechanical formalism of pagans. On the contrary, Christian righteousness is to be marked above all by reality, by the sincerity of God’s children who live in their heavenly Father’s presence.

A Christian’s ambition (6:19–34)

The “worldliness” that Christians are to avoid can take either a religious or a secular shape. So we are to differ from non-Christians not only in our devotions, but also in our ambitions. In particular, Christ changes our attitude about material wealth and possessions. It is impossible to worship God and money; we must choose between them. Secular people are preoccupied with the quest for food, drink, and clothing. Christians are free of these self-centered material anxieties and instead give themselves to the spread of God’s rule and God’s righteousness. Our supreme ambition is to be the glory of God and not concerned with our recognition or material well-being. It is a question of what we “seek first.”

A Christian’s relationships (7:1–20)

Christians are caught up in a complex network of relationships arising from our relation to Christ. Once we correctly relate to him, our other relationships are all affected. New relationships are created; old relationships are changed. Thus, we should not judge our brother but serve him (1–5). We are also to avoid offering the gospel to those who have decisively rejected it (6), to keep praying to our heavenly Father (7–12), and to beware of false prophets who hinder people from finding the narrow gate and the hard way (13–20).

A Christian’s commitment (7:21–27)

The ultimate issue posed by the whole Sermon concerns the preacher's authority. The fundamental question is whether we mean what we say and do what we hear. On this commitment hangs our eternal destiny. We are wise only when we obey Christ as Lord. For only he is building his house on a rock foundation, which the storms neither of adversity nor judgment will be able to undermine.

When we conclude our teaching about the Sermon on the Mount a few weeks from now, we will see the crowds were astonished by the authority with which Jesus taught. It is an authority to which the followers of Jesus in every generation must submit. So to answer the second overall question, we understand the lordship of Christ is as relevant today, both in principle and in the detailed application, as when he originally preached his Sermon on the Mount.

Is the Sermon practical?

This third question is that of the pragmatist or realist. It is one thing to be convinced of the Sermon’s relevance in theory but quite another to be sure it will work in practice. Are its standards attainable? Or must we rest content with admiring them wistfully from afar?

When we consider the reality of human perversity, are the Sermon standards on the Mount unattainable? Should we say that its ideals are noble but unpractical? Are they attractive to imagine but impossible to fulfill? How can we be meek if we know something of our self-assertive egotism? If we know about our absolute sexual passion, how can we refrain from lustful looks and thoughts? How can we be forbidden to worry if the world's cares absorb us? We know our proneness to anger and thirst for revenge; how can we be expected to love our enemies? More than this. Is not the requirement to turn the other cheek to an assailant as dangerous to the health of society as it is beyond the attainment of the individual? Inviting further violence in this way leaves it unchecked and actively encourages it.  After these questions, we may conclude that The Sermon on the Mount is of no practical value to individuals or communities. At best, it represents the unpractical idealism of a visionary. It is a dream which could never come true.

At the beginning, I said that the Sermon on the Mount was best characterized as a Christian counter-culture that Jesus was making exceptional demands for an exceptional situation. It is upside-down from today’s culture. Only when we understand that our primary purpose as believers is to promote and build God’s kingdom will we be able to understand and apply Jesus’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Otherwise, we will view His teachings with foolish optimism or hopeless despair. Jesus spoke the Sermon to those who were already his disciples.

If we are his disciples, we are the citizens of God’s kingdom and the children of God’s family. The high standards he set are appropriate only for those who are building His kingdom. We do not, indeed could not, achieve this privileged status by attaining Christ’s standards. Instead, by fulfilling his standards or similar to them, we give evidence of God’s free grace and gift we already are.  It is not the Sermon on the Mount that is upside-down. It is our modern culture. As disciples of Christ, it is up to us to turn our culture right-side up.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Welcome to Day 2102 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2102 of our trek. Establishing good habits is imperative for living a Godly life and one habit I have practiced nearly every day for the past 45+ years of my adult life is to read the chapter in the book of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. This single habit has been the catalyst for gaining wisdom and creating a living legacy.

Adopting this habit can do the same for your life. The realization that God’s Wisdom is the only true wisdom drives me to seek God’s wisdom each day, and there is no better way to do this than to meditate on God’s book of Wisdom.

Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. So we are on a daily trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today I will read Proverbs 31.

The Book of Proverbs - Chapter 31

O son of my vows,

3 do not waste your strength on women,

on those who ruin kings.

Rulers should not crave alcohol.

5 For if they drink, they may forget the law

and not give justice to the oppressed.

6 Alcohol is for the dying,

and wine for those in bitter distress.

7 Let them drink to forget their poverty

and remember their troubles no more.

ensure justice for those being crushed.

9 Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,

and see that they get justice.

She is more precious than rubies.

11 Her husband can trust her,

and she will greatly enrich his life.

12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

and busily spins it.

14 She is like a merchant’s ship,

bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household

and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She is energetic and strong,

a hard worker.

18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;

her lamp burns late into the night.

her fingers twisting fiber.

20 She extends a helping hand to the poor

and opens her arms to the needy.

21 She has no fear of winter for her household,

for everyone has warm[c] clothes.

She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,

where he sits with the other civic leaders.

24 She makes belted linen garments

and sashes to sell to the merchants.

and she laughs without fear of the future.

26 When she speaks, her words are wise,

and she gives instructions with kindness.

27 She carefully watches everything in her household

and suffers nothing from laziness.

Her husband praises her:

29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,

but you surpass them all!”

but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

31 Reward her for all she has done.

Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Today, as you ponder Proverbs 31, please encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!

Welcome to Day 2101 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2101 of our trek. Establishing good habits is imperative for living a Godly life and one habit I have practiced nearly every day for the past 45+ years of my adult life is to read the chapter in the book of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. This single habit has been the catalyst for gaining wisdom and creating a living legacy.

Adopting this habit can do the same for your life. The realization that God’s Wisdom is the only true wisdom drives me to seek God’s wisdom each day, and there is no better way to do this than to meditate on God’s book of Wisdom.

Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. So we are on a daily trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today I will read Proverbs 30.

The Book of Proverbs - Chapter 30

I am weary and worn out, O God.

2 I am too stupid to be human,

and I lack common sense.

3 I have not mastered human wisdom,

nor do I know the Holy One.

Who holds the wind in his fists?

Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?

Who has created the whole wide world?

What is his name—and his son’s name?

Tell me if you know!

He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.

6 Do not add to his words,

or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

let me have them before I die.

8 First, help me never to tell a lie.

Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!

Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”

And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.

and do not thank their mother.

12 They are pure in their own eyes,

but they are filthy and unwashed.

13 They look proudly around,

casting disdainful glances.

14 They have teeth like swords

and fangs like knives.

They devour the poor from the earth

and the needy from among humanity.

that cry out, “More, more!”

no, four that never say, “Enough!”:

16 the grave,

the barren womb,

the thirsty desert,

the blazing fire.

and despises a mother’s instructions

will be plucked out by ravens of the valley

and eaten by vultures.

no, four things that I don’t understand:

19 how an eagle glides through the sky,

how a snake slithers on a rock,

how a ship navigates the ocean,

how a man loves a woman.

then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”

no, four it cannot endure:

22 a slave who becomes a king,

an overbearing fool who prospers,

23     a bitter woman who finally gets a husband,

a servant girl who supplants her mistress.

25 Ants—they aren’t strong,

but they store up food all summer.

26 Hyraxes—they aren’t powerful,

but they make their homes among the rocks.

27 Locusts—they have no king,

but they march in formation.

28 Lizards—they are easy to catch,

but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

no, four that strut about:

30 the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,

31the strutting rooster,

the male goat,

a king as he leads his army.

cover your mouth in shame.

Today, as you ponder Proverbs 30, please encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!

Welcome to Day 2100 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2100 of our trek. Establishing good habits is imperative for living a Godly life and one habit I have practiced nearly every day for the past 45+ years of my adult life is to read the chapter in the book of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. This single habit has been the catalyst for gaining wisdom and creating a living legacy.

Adopting this habit can do the same for your life. The realization that God’s Wisdom is the only true wisdom drives me to seek God’s wisdom each day, and there is no better way to do this than to meditate on God’s book of Wisdom.

Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. So we are on a daily trek to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today I will read Proverbs 29.

The Book of Proverbs - Chapter 29

will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

But when the wicked are in power, they groan.

but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.

but one who demands bribes destroys it.

is to lay a trap for their feet.

but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.

the wicked don’t care at all.

but the wise will calm anger.

there will be ranting and ridicule but no satisfaction.

but the upright seek to help them.

but the wise quietly hold it back.

all his advisers will be wicked.

the Lord gives sight to the eyes of both.

his throne will last forever.

but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.

but the godly will live to see their downfall.

and will make your heart glad.

But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

the words may be understood, but they are not heeded.

than for someone who speaks without thinking.

will become a rebel.

a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

while humility brings honor.

You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify.

but trusting the Lord means safety.

but justice comes from the Lord.

the wicked despise the godly.

Today, as you ponder Proverbs 29, please encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!