2004-04-09
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
This morning, I’m led to continue writing about “A New Perspective.” There are a number of different outlooks on the Sermon on the Mount, and admittedly, I don’t agree with them all. But in all fairness, I feel compelled to present them. 1) Some people feel the that Sermon on the Mount lifestyle serves no useful purpose, except to point out mankind’s sin. This rather jaded point of view leaves me feeling that those who hold it have no real understanding of the Scriptures. While God did give the Law to point out mankind’s sin [RO 7: 7], the Covenant of Grace, at least as I understand it, has presented sinning mankind with a way out through faith in Jesus Christ and willingness to repent from that sin. Certainly, the prophecy of the New Covenant found in JER 31-31-34 has come to pass. I think HE 8: 12 seals this argument closed. “I will forgive their sins and will no longer remember their wrongs.”
2) Another approach to the Sermon on the Mount says the Law doesn’t belong to the age of grace. Grace wouldn’t be required for this one; people could act any way they want, and because of grace they would automatically be forgiven. This was the “grace without license” outlook held by the Anti-nomians, a group of formerly pagan early Christians who argued with Paul’s teaching. Christ Himself illuminates the wrongfulness of this outlook in MT 5: 17, “Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true.” Paul further explains this in RO 10: 4, “For Christ has brought the Law [note the capital “L”] to and end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God.” Please believe that God has never wanted His law to be taken out of the picture. Once again in my humble opinion, we can see God historically taking mankind, who had been thrust into uncivilized behavior due to the inheritance of sin, through a gradual process of civilization. We all know that a large portion of mankind will reject God and never become free of their sin. However, the rest will become faithfully obedient believers who will end up spending a blissful eternity with the God Who loves them so very much. RO 10: 4 is not an easy concept to understand. However, it is clear that God wants as many of the people that He created to take the hard steps necessary, to have the discipline He demands of them, to travel that hard road that leads to eternal life with Him [MT 7: 13-14; JN 6: 39-40; COL 1: 19-20].
3) Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a brilliant and self-sacrificing man, called the Sermon on the Mount merely “interim ethics”-a means to make one suitable for the Kingdom of God. He asserted that if we could live it in our own strength, it would hold us till the Kingdom was realized. I still have a problem with this view, because it seems to me that there is too much dependence on man’s strength here. From my point of view, we are skirting on the inherent warning that we find in PR 3: 5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way.” People who know me would hardly call me a “blindly compliant” personality. The fact that I’m not is probably why God has had such a difficult task bringing me to true faith through the Holy Spirit. I’ve certainly paid a price in the past for my stiff-necked stubbornness about coming to faith. Who am I to differ with Dr. Schweitzer? But, I do. I have come to the conclusion that I am totally dependant on God for the faith I have and my own ability to endure in it against all the challenges the devil can muster. That's grace! [I speak about my own faith and opinions here, because I can’t speak for that of others]. If God wants a person to endure in his faith, He will make it happen by testing that faith and equipping the individual to pass the tests. Are we His puppets on a string? No, because He yielded a small portion of His power to us, so that we could decide for ourselves whether we want to come to faith and afterward, whether we are going to sin when tempted. My feeling of total dependence on God is my way of saying, that without Him and the ability to live the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle that He gives us today, there would be no Kingdom to inherit. Yes, Dear Ones, I believe that the Kingdom of God is now. PS 93: 1-2, “The Lord is King, He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, He is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved; Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.”
There are more of these outlooks on the Sermon of the Mount for us to examine together, but that will have to wait until next week’s message. However, I would be remiss in closing this one if I didn’t express what I believe to be God’s desire. He wants us to look deeply into the condition of our own faith, try to understand the stands that others take against the backdrop of Scriptural truth, and ask for His direction in coming to whatever conclusions we do. Without God’s direction, it is so very easy to stray off track right into the trap that the devil sets for us.
PRAYER: O Lord, where is our strength to endure and our fortitude against the fiery arrows Satan sends our way, but in You? You have told us over and over again about our own spiritual poverty and our utter need for Your presence and direction in our lives. You offer us so much more than that, because You love us so very much. The words of PS 31: 1-5 are brought to mind. “I come to You, Lord, for protection; never let me be defeated. You are a righteous God; save me, I pray! Hear me! Save me now! Be my Refuge to protect me; my Defense to save me. You are my Refuge and Defense; guide me and lead me as You have promised. Keep me safe from the snare that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; You are a faithful God.” By inspiring writers such as Peter and John, You have helped us to better understand the enemy. 1PET 5: 8, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” JN 8: 44, [referring to unrighteous and legalistic people] “You are the children of your father, the devil, and you want to follow your father’s desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies.” Dearest Abba, You gave us Your word, Your Son to be a perfect, once-for-all substitute sacrifice on the cross for our salvation, Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and Your constant loving presence in our lives [JN 1: 1-4; JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25; HE 10: 10; RO 6: 9-11; JN 14: 16-17]. Such love is not available from any other source. We stand before You today as imperfect sinners confessing that sin, acknowledging Your Sovereignty and Supremacy over all, and eternally grateful for Your superior attributes and valiant deeds for our benefit. You deserve nothing less that our loyalty, devotion, worship, adoration, honor, glory, thanks, and praise. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
As mentioned above, next week’s message will have more outlooks on the Sermon on the Mount. The closer we look at this magnificent revelation of God’s will for us and the blessings He is eager to give us, the more convincing it is that we must make the changes in our lives necessary to take up the lifestyle in it. I have a picture in my mind that I would like to share with you. It is one of our Lord in His flowing robes standing on top of a hill with His arms outstretched. He is saying to all of us, “Time is a limited commodity. For the sake of the Father Who loves you, do not waste it. Conform to the lifestyle standard now that I have taught you.” Maybe this picture is simplistic, and maybe not. All I know is that I feel the urgency to be living that lifestyle, knowing that I still have sin that needs to be exposed and expunged from my life. I feel an urgency to ask for the Lord’s help and feel confident that if I ask for it with a contrite and open heart, He will give it to me [JN 15: 7]. We can’t make these changes alone. To this day, I can’t forget the picture in Bruce Wilkinson’s book, “The Prayer of Jabez,” of all those gifts wrapped in white with red ribbons, which represent all the blessings God is eager to give to us, if we will only ask Him for them. By study and prayer, He has told me that His greatest desire is that we should all be present at the wedding feast of the Lamb [REV 19: 5-10] and enjoy that eternally blissful fellowship with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Hope to see each of you there!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn