Strength Under Control

Matthew 5:38-42

 

We live in a nation today that is very concerned with our rights.

We know that there are certain ways in which we have the right to live.

There are certain things that we have the right to do.

 

And if someone infringes upon those rights,

We only have to turn on the television and hear some lawyer say,

“You may be entitled too…”

 

Our system of government is even built upon certain unalienable rights.

We are all familiar with the constitution and the “Bill of Rights”

 

And don’t get me wrong, it is a tremendous blessing

To live in a nation that goes so far to guarantee the personal freedom

Of those who live in her.

Freedom is a good thing.

 

Even in Scripture freedom is a good thing.

Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

 

But as we studied last Sunday night, freedom can become CORRUPTED.

There are some who can take their freedom or their “personal rights”

To a level that God never intended.

 

For example, those same Galatians that Paul declared “free”

He turns right around and says this:

Galatians 5:13-15 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

 

While Paul did declare the Galatians free,

Paul immediately warned about the dangers of pushing freedom too far.

 

And freedom or “personal rights” are corrupted

When they become the chief concern and aim of a person.

 

In other words, if all a person is concerned with

Is making sure they are free and no one steals their rights from them,

Then that selfish mentality can actually turn freedom into a bad thing.

 

The end result is fighting, bickering, lawsuits, and wars.

 

In fact Paul likened corrupted freedom to a sort of cannibalism.

“But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

Instead, freedom must be balanced with love.

“do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

 

In fact that is why Scripture also teaches that freedom

Must also work hand in hand with submission.

 

1 Corinthians 7:22 “For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave.”

 

And we are reminded, that as Christians we are free,

But that is something we willingly forsake for the glory of Christ.

 

Remember all the teachings about not eating meat sacrificed to idols?

1 Corinthians 8:9 “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.”

 

Romans 14:19-21 “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.”

 

In fact, Paul was even a walking testimony of a man

Who sacrificed his own personal rights and freedoms.

 

First Paul listed the freedoms and “rights” that are his.

1 Corinthians 9:1-7 “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?”

 

But then listen as Paul speaks of willingly forsaking those “rights”

1 Corinthians 9:15 “But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one.”

 

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”

 

AND WE COULD GO ON WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

 

So we quickly understand that while freedom is a good thing,

Freedom is not the only goal.

We are not those who are looking to make sure we never get cheated,

Or that we never lose our rights, or that someone infringes upon us.

 

Instead we are those who would willingly surrender our freedom

If it means glorifying God and building up another person.

 

That is exactly what this portion of the Sermon on the Mount is about.

 

I titled this sermon “Strength Under Control”

By now most of you know that this is the definition for “meekness”

 

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

 

To be meek does not mean to be weak.

In fact before you can be meek you first have to be strong.

 

Meekness is someone who willingly submits even though they have the power not to. (A horse is a great example of meekness)

 

And of course ultimately Jesus is the greatest example of meekness.

Hanging upon a cross, being taunted by men,

When all He had to do was call 10,000 angels.

 

And therefore we know that meekness is a Godly attribute,

And one that the truly righteous must live and walk in.

 

However, meekness is generally a lost attribute in most of our lives.

• Most of the time we are focused on our rights.

• Most of the time we want to make sure no one cheats us.

• Most of the time we are concerned that no one takes our freedom.

 

And most of the time there is heck to pay if anyone tries.

 

Well friend this morning that is the concept we deal with,

And our text not only reveals us to the wrong way of thinking,

But even offers us the benefit of a real simple true / false test.

 

So lets study this 5th “You have heard…but I say” sermon.

#1 THE OBSERVATION

Matthew 5:38

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’”

 

Now before we do any digging as to what this command really meant,

Just take a moment and ask yourself what it sounds like it means.

 

It sounds like a Biblical mandate

To make sure no one ever gets the better of you doesn’t it?

It sounds like a biblical mandate to protect your freedom through revenge.

 

Now, before we even go to the Old Testament,

We know this is not the case don’t we.

 

WHY?

Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

 

So we know that even though it sounds like a right to get even,

We know it isn’t, for revenge belongs strictly to God.

 

Furthermore Scripture doesn’t teach

That we do unto others as they have done unto us.

 

Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

 

So we know that this command doesn’t promote or even permit revenge.

 

However, because that is all of the command most Jews knew

That is exactly how they were interpreting it.

 

They saw it as a bonified right to call the nearest lawyer and make sure that “That Sucker Pays for what he did to me”.

 

And because that is all of the passage they knew

They thought it was important to protect your personal rights at all cost.

 

But lets look at the passage in the Old Testament that say this

And see if we can discern exactly what God originally meant.

 

Exodus 21:22-25 “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”

 

There the command is given to the local civil judge,

In order to give him a guideline as how to punish an offender.

 

If someone wrongs another and you don’t know how to punish them,

Then deal out a judgment that fits the severity of the crime,

“life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”

 

And we see it other places as well.

Leviticus 24:19-20 “If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.”

Deuteronomy 19:16-21 “If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. “The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. “The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. “Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

 

There is a similar command, only with a twist.

This time a person has not been wronged, but he was about to be,

And God intervened in order to dissuade men from being evil.

 

And so reading those three commands

We can easily deduce God’s point in the Law.

 

1) TO DETER EVIL

 

We just read in Deuteronomy “thus you shall purge the evil from among you. The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.”

And that is obviously understood.

 

If you think that you will have your hand cut off for cutting someone else’s hand off, you will think twice before you do it.

 

This command was meant to deter evil from taking place.

 

2) TO PROMOTE JUSTICE

 

In other words, to make sure the punishment fit the crime.

God did not want you killing a man for bruising someone.

 

God laid down an ordinance that made sure the punishment

Was only as severe as the crime that was committed.

 

And in all cases the judgment and sentence was carried out

Through the local civil authority, never by the hands of the victim.

 

And so we know that God was promoting justice.

 

However, by conveniently failing to read the entire command,

The Jews had come to read that command as a license

To get even and protect your own personal rights and freedoms.

 

The slogan of the day was:

“No one has the right to walk on me, or I’ll do the exact thing back to them. After all, ‘an eye for an eye’”

 

They had taken God’s commands about justice

And used them to promote their own selfish interests.

I think we can understand this concept in our society.

 

Our judicial system may have been invented

To interpret the law and punish offenders.

 

But today it is much more than that.

We have judges with television shows

And lawyers who chase ambulances.

 

We all are familiar with the phrase, “I’ll see you in court”

 

It is the slogan of a society that wants to make sure that above all

They do not get cheated, wronged, or anything else.

 

Some even use it as a means to get more than they deserve,

And so it has even promoted greed.

 

It sounds a lot like Corinth.

1 Corinthians 6:1-8 “Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren.”

 

It was certainly how the Jews were living,

And they thought they were biblical in doing so.

 

After all, I have to protect my rights and my freedoms.

 

That was Jesus’ observation.

#2 THE EXPLANATION

Matthew 5:39a

 

“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person;”

 

That is really all the explanation that Christ gives

In regard to the command, and He says enough.

 

He commands the exact opposite of what was actually occurring.

 

But not only did Jesus say don’t go after them with revenge,

But He went further than that.

 

Don’t even resist them when they try to cheat you.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

 

It’s one thing to say I can’t get even and make them pay for harming me,

But You are actually saying I can’t even resist them when they try.

 

It is no doubt that Jesus here is

Speaking of a mindset that is foreign to ours.

 

• He is speaking of a person whose last concern is their own personal rights and freedoms.

 

• He is referring to a person who the last thing they think about is whether or not it is good for them.

 

• He is referring to a person who really doesn’t take self into the equation, and in fact may not even realize he is being cheated, because being cheated wasn’t even something he was concerned about.

 

WHAT KIND OF A PERSON ACTUALLY LIVES AND THINKS LIKE THAT?

Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

 

Or do you prefer this passage?

1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

 

Or do you prefer this passage?

Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”

 

Or do you prefer this passage?

Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

 

Or do you prefer this passage?

Luke 23:33-35 “When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”

 

• And should we continue about His willingness to live poor on the earth?

• Should we talk about His submission on the day He was arrested?

• Should we talk about the way He took the humiliation of Pilate & Herod?

 

We may find it hard to believe that anyone could ever live their life

With so little concern for their own personal rights and freedoms,

But we know one who did.

You see this mindset is foreign to us,

But that only reveals how unlike God we really are.

 

It is not just about not taking your own revenge,

But it is about having such a loving mindset that

When an evil person comes to take advantage of you,

Your last thought is to protect yourself.

 

That is meekness.

That is strength under control.

That is God-like-ness.

 

Now comes the third point.

Here comes the test.

 

If at this point, you think you are what Jesus just described,

Then let’s take this little four question true / false test.

 

#3 THE APPLICATION

Matthew 5:39b-42

 

Jesus gives you 4 scenarios, and you get to evaluate your life

By these four scenarios, and simply answer TRUE or FALSE.

 

Jesus allows you to come in contact with four types of people.

 

We know that because Jesus just told us not to “resist an evil person”

That all four types of these people are seen in an “evil” connotation.

 

So Jesus lets you on any given day come across one of these

Four evil people and asks you how you would respond to them.

 

So let’s take the test and look at these four scenarios

And see what true meekness looks like.

 

1) THE MOCKER (39b)

“but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

 

• We get up in the morning and go to Allsupps for caffeine.

• When we get out of our car, we see the mocker.

 

(Not physical violence, even apostles fled)

 

• This man humiliates us with a slap on the face (done in evil)

• They say something or do something that humiliates you in front of everyone.

 

HERE IS THE TEST, HOW DO YOU RESPOND?

I can tell you how your preacher too often responds – I fire right back.

(It is actually a curse to always know what to say, because too often I say it)

 

Instead of letting them get the last laugh,

I make sure that by the time we both get into Allsupps,

They are the one who is humiliated, not me.

 

Just like Jesus right?

Wrong – “when reviled He did not revile in return”

 

And so by defending my dignity, I tossed meekness out the window.

I was more concerned with what people thought of me

Than with what people thought of Christ, and I failed the test.

 

SO YOU MARK A “T” OR AN “F” ON YOUR PAPER

 

Now let’s move on in our day.

• You leave Allsupps a little annoyed at the scene.

• You get to work and in the parking lot a courier catches you to serve you papers.

 

2) THE GREEDY (40)

“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat as well.”

 

This is something big.

 

Exodus 22:26-27 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.”

 

The coat was a serious thing to a Jew.

 

• So this guy is suing you for something important.

• Apparently he is allergic to pecans, and he wants all your pecan trees removed.

• Furthermore he wants emotional damages for all the sneezing in the sum of $5,000

 

Cleary he is exploiting you.

To which you respond “Over my dead body”

 

Just like Jesus would have right?

Wrong – He left His home in heaven and let men gamble for His tunic.

 

Jesus would offer the wood from those pecans

As free firewood for you neighbor.

 

SO YOU ANSWER “T” OR “F” ON YOUR TEST

So our day is going pretty rough.

I had a bad encounter and now I am being sued.

 

So now I finally make it to work.

3) THE FORCEFUL

“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.”

• This is my boss (and remember in an evil connotation)

• This guy is a slave driver.

• Without asking, he demands that I work through lunch and stay late.

 

The Roman centurion could demand you to carry his load for one mile.

(Why Simon had to carry the cross of Jesus)

 

• Now like that centurion your boss is demanding you to work late.

 

To which you respond…

“No I’m not” or “You’re paying me extra” or “Why don’t you do something”

 

Just like Jesus right?

Wrong – He willingly walked the extra mile to the cross.

 

Jesus would actually volunteer tomorrow’s lunch hour too.

 

JUST MARK A “T” OR AN “F” ON YOUR PAPER

 

• But now I finally get off work.

• I’ve already had that encounter.

• I’m being sued.

• I’m tired from working late, and I make it to the grocery store just before they close.

 

4) THE LAZY (42)

“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”

• I’ve worked hard for my pay.

• This guy sits at home all day watching The Dukes of Hazzard.

• He doesn’t work at all.

 

“Can I have $20 for some groceries?”

 

To which I say – “Get lost” or “I don’t have it”

 

Just like Jesus right?

Wrong – He gave His righteousness to sinners who didn’t earn it.

 

Jesus says give it to him anyway.

 

JUST MARK A “T” OR AN “F” ON YOUR PAPER.

NOW, HOW DID YOU SCORE?

 

We know how Jesus did.

How about you?

 

And you see once again the point is made to us,

That despite what we like to think about ourselves,

We are not like God.

 

We do not measure up.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

 

And therefore the only hope for us is to be forgiven

And made righteous through the credited righteousness

That Jesus provides.

 

Again we see our need to run to Him and be forgiven.

Again we see our need to run to Him and be made righteous.

 

That is the point.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

This morning I again encourage you to give your life to Jesus

And not only receive His forgiveness, but also His Holy Spirit,

That you may begin to be transformed into a Holy person.

 

Let Him begin to work in you.

 

 

If you are a Christian let me just remind you that

Selfishness and personal freedom were never part of the deal.

 

Walk like your savior and lay those “rights” down

So that you may look like Christ in a fallen sinful world.

 

And as you do, enjoy the blessings of a life of meekness.

 

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

 

Liars Are Not Righteous

Matthew 5:33-37

 

As you know, we are studying the Sermon on the Mount.

And in this sermon Jesus is absolutely cutting to the heart of man.

 

He is preaching to the most self-righteous people who have ever lived

And His purpose is to confront, to convict,

And ultimately to lead them to Himself.

 

And thus far as we have heard Jesus expound God’s Law,

We have been overwhelmed with the fact

That we do not measure up to it.

 

• We have found that if we are angry then we are murderers.

• We have found that if we look at a woman and want her then we are adulterers.

• And we have found that we cannot reinterpret God’s Law to fit our desires.

 

This we learned last week while studying divorce.

The Jews thought divorce was OK so long as it was done legally,

Jesus said, NO.

Divorce causes adultery and we already settled where adulterers go.

 

Well this morning we get to our fourth “You have heard, but I say sermon”

 

And based on the title, and the text that we just read

You quickly realize that the topic is integrity.

Jesus is confronting and exposing the heart of lying.

 

And regardless of how relevant you found the first three,

None of us can deny the absolute relevance of this concept.

 

Our society is not one known for integrity.

WE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO BECOME SKEPTICS.

 

Especially during times like today,

In which ELECTIONS are just around the corner.

 

Someone once asked, “How can you tell if a politician is lying?”

To which another person replied, “His lips are moving.”

 

But in reality we know lying runs deeper than just campaign promises.

• Just wait until the next time you get pulled over by the highway patrol.

• Just wait until you do your taxes.

• Just wait (young person) until your next test.

• Just wait until you give a report on your latest fishing trip

 

Deception is everywhere today,

So much so that some have suggested that if everyone

Were forced to tell the truth for a day that our society would collapse.

We know what it is to be lied to.

 

Well rest assured they understood it in Bible times as well.

 

David said:

Psalms 116:11 “I said in my alarm, “All men are liars.”

 

Jeremiah noticed:

Jeremiah 9:1-9 “Oh that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the desert A wayfarers’ lodging place; That I might leave my people And go from them! For all of them are adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men. “They bend their tongue like their bow; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” declares the LORD. “Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; Because every brother deals craftily, And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. “Everyone deceives his neighbor And does not speak the truth, They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves committing iniquity. Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I will refine them and assay them; For what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people? “Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him. “Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself?”

 

Jeremiah wept because of the abundance of deception,

And God promised punishment on all those who do so.

 

Does anyone remember Ananias and Sapphira?

Acts 5:3-6 “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.”

 

And if you think that is severe,

Wait until you understand the eternal fate of those who lie.

 

Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

 

Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”

 

And so even though deception is prevalent,

We never come to the conclusion that it is OK.

And while we are on the subject can we just say for a moment why lying is so loathsome to God?

 

BECAUSE IT IS AGAINST THE VERY NATURE OF GOD.

 

1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

 

Titus 1:2 “… God, who cannot lie…”

 

God knows nothing of deception.

And so when a person deceives

They are clearly displaying a character unlike God’s.

 

WHOSE CHARACTER ARE THEY DISPLAYING?

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

 

Adrian Rogers used to say,

“You are never more like the devil than when you tell a lie.”

 

Lying is the absolute opposite of Godliness

And God hates it so much

That men are condemned to hell who participate in it.

 

Yet even though we know these things,

It is amazing how prevalent lying remains.

 

And that is why Jesus confronts it here in the Sermon on the Mount.

 

And so lets look at the 4th “You have heard, but I say” sermon.

ALL ABOUT INTEGRITY.

 

#1 THE OBSERVATION

Matthew 5:33

 

Jesus again begins the section with the observation

About what they have been taught.

 

“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’”

 

And here Jesus is actually quoting

From two separate passages in the Old Testament.

 

Two passages which have been conveniently taken out of context

And put together to make a much more enabling command.

 

Leviticus 19:12 “You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.”

 

Numbers 30:2 “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”

 

Now first let me tell you what the command meant.

 

The commands are clear.

“You shall not swear falsely by My name”

“If a man makes a vow to the LORD…he shall not violate his word”

 

The clear understanding of those commands is that

YOU ARE TO BE REAL WITH GOD.

You are not to be a hypocrite, you are not to be disingenuous.

 

Remember the 3rd Commandment?

Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

 

And people are still getting that command wrong.

 

If I were to give a test in here this morning that asked, what does that commandment mean?

 

Don’t use the word “G-D”

Others would say “Don’t cuss”

 

I am certainly not advocating those behaviors,

But that is not at all what is meant by that commandment.

To take God’s name in vain was to falsely take His name upon yourself.

 

It was to claim to be God’s child

And then to live in such a way as to deny Him.

Isaiah 1:1-4 “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.” Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.”

 

Today it would be seen as someone who claims to be a Christian,

But then lives their life in such disobedience

That they actually do God more harm than good.

 

This is what John indicated:

1 John 2:4 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;”

 

And all these commands in which God gave in regard to vows

Were meant to tell Israel to be real.

 

If you claim to be Mine, if you claim to obey Me,

If you say you will follow Me

THEN DO IT.

 

THEY DEMAND THE INTEGRITY IN ITS FINEST FORM

KEEP YOUR WORD TO ME

 

And this concept of integrity is seen throughout the Old Testament.

 

Numbers 30:2 “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”

 

Deuteronomy 23:21-23 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you. “However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. “You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God, what you have promised.”

 

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 “When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.”

 

And again you can see that all of those commands

Again reiterate that you are to be people of integrity.

 

Don’t tell God you will do something and then fail to do it.

And it doesn’t matter if it is something big or something small.

KEEP YOUR VOW TO GOD.

 

And Jesus recognizes that they have been told those commands.

 

However, He also recognizes that they are getting them wrong.

So let’s look at the next part of this sermon.

 

First – The Observation

#2 THE EXPLANATION

Matthew 5:34-36

 

I told you what the commands meant,

But now let me show you how they were re-interpreting them.

 

Jesus alludes to their misconception here.

We know based on verse 34 that they were making oaths “by heaven”

We know based on verse 35 that they were making oaths “by the earth”

We know based on verse 35 that they were making oaths “by Jerusalem”

We know based on verse 36 that they were making oaths “by [their] head”

And so we know their society had become a system of oath taking,

And one that included much more than honest oaths to God.

 

What was actually occurring in Israel’s day

Was a complete perversion of God’s command not to break a vow to Him.

 

Israel had actually gotten part of the command right.

• They knew you could not break a vow to God. (at least an external one)

• And they knew if you swore by God’s name you had to keep it.

 

However, they filled in the blanks to say

That every other vow could be broken.

 

In other words.

If you swear in God’s name, you have to keep it.

If you swear in any other name, you don’t have to keep it.

 

It was actually a system instituted to allow for lying.

 

And we see it occurring even in the New Testament.

Matthew 23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘ Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’”

 

And so it actually was a system designed to make it quite legal to lie.

 

And so the only time you could believe someone

Was if they told you something and then said, “I swear to God”.

 

IS THAT NOT WHAT WE SEE TODAY?

 

There is absolutely not punishment for lying in our society,

Unless you do it under oath, and then that is perjury.

All other lying is fine.

 

And that was exactly the mindset in Israel.

 

They had completely missed the point that God expected integrity

And reduced that command to say you could lie to anyone

So long as you didn’t do it under oath.

 

And that is why Jesus gives this explanation.

“But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by earth, for it is the footstool of the His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”

 

Now some have missed the point of this to say.

ALL OATHS ARE WRONG.

But that can’t be true.

• The Old Testament clearly taught making vows or taking oaths.

• God certainly recognizes the marriage oath.

• Jesus even made vows.

 

Matthew 26:63-64 “But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, ” You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”

 

Beyond that every time He said, “Truly, Truly” it was a form of vow.

 

• God Himself made vows.

Hebrews 6:13 “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,”

 

Acts 2:30 “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE,”

 

• Paul made oaths or vows.

Romans 9:1 “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,”

 

And so it is far-fetched to assume that all oath taking is wrong.

 

What Jesus is confronting is a person with such little integrity

That they are forced to take them to be believed.

 

And Jesus is saying you think

The only vow you don’t have to break is one to God.

But you don’t even have the authority to break other vows.

 

You can’t vow on heaven – “for it is the throne of God”

You can’t vow on earth – “for it is the footstool of His feet”

You can’t vow on Jerusalem – “for it is the city of the great king.”

You can’t even vow on your own head – “for you cannot make one hair black or white”

 

None of those things belong to you either.

And so you don’t have the authority to vow on them.

 

The point is not that taking a vow is wrong,

The problem is that breaking a vow is wrong.

 

You say not to break a vow in God’s name.

I say don’t break any vow,

And don’t live with such a lack of integrity

That you have to make a vow for someone to believe you.

 

BECAUSE YOU SEE, NOT KEEPING YOUR WORD IS LYING.

Telling someone you will do something and then failing to do it is lying.

Entering an agreement and then backing out is lying.

 

And we have already determined where liars are headed.

 

The Observation The Explanation

#3 THE APPLICATION

Matthew 5:37

 

The simple command is this:

“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’”

 

What does that mean?

James 5:12 “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.”

 

James said be a man of integrity.

When you give a “yes” then live a “yes”.

When you give a “no” then live a “no”.

 

And James said to do it this way

“so that you may not fall under judgment.”

 

Point being, if you don’t live up to that standard,

Then you are a liar and liars are judged.

 

And that is what Jesus means as well when He says,

“anything beyond these is of evil.”

 

It is another way of saying,

Failing to keep your yes or failing to keep your no,

Is just like the devil who is the father of lies.

 

Proverbs 6:12-15 “A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife. Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.”

 

And so this morning we simply ask,

HOW IS MY INTEGRITY?

 

Am I honest in all that I do?

(taxes, with the highway patrol, etc.)

 

The honest truth is that we are all guilty of a lack of integrity

And the fact remains that any and all deception

Is eternal guilt before God.

And the only answer for our guilt is to run to Jesus

Who can make us righteous in God’s sight.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

But there again, let me tell you

That you have to be honest when you do it.

 

Don’t make some vow to follow Christ that you never intend to keep.

Don’t take the name Christian upon yourself if you never intend to live it.

 

Jesus said:

Luke 9:61-62 “Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

If you determine to confess Christ today,

Then you must determine to obey Him for the rest of your life.

 

You can lie to me and tell me you want to be a Christian,

And you can fool me.

But if you lie to Him, He will know it.

 

This was the problem with Israel.

Psalms 78:34-37 “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”

 

Jesus said:

Matthew 15:7-9 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

 

You see there have been many people,

Who under the pressure of hell and judgment will tell God anything.

 

But God isn’t just trying to get you to scream mercy.

God wants you to fully give your life to Him in honesty in truth.

 

And so this morning if you know you are lost,

Then make a decision to give your whole life to Christ

And to never flinch on that commitment.

 

If today you have made that commitment, let me challenge you to keep it.

 

Don’t be a Sunday morning only Christian.

If you said your life belongs to Christ, then keep your vow.

Live your life for Christ.

Anything else is a lack of integrity,

And all liars will be destroyed in hell,

Even those who lied about having a relationship with Him.

 

 

So this morning get real and get honest with Jesus.

 

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

 

Divorce According to Jesus

Matthew 5:31-32

 

Well as you know we are presently studying the Sermon on the Mount,

And by now it is clear to all of us, the purpose in which Jesus preached it.

 

This was not a sermon on church growth strategy.

This was not a sermon meant to comfort.

This was a sermon meant to expose and condemn.

 

Jesus is taking the Law and expositing it for us.

Jesus is taking the Law and explaining it to us.

 

And because He is the most accurate and greatest preacher ever,

The conviction of the Law has hit us full force.

 

Paul said:

Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

 

Romans 5:20a “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase;”

 

Romans 7:9 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;”

 

The Law came to convict.

The Law came to expose.

The Law came to condemn.

 

And so it only stands to reason that as the greatest preacher ever

Explains the Law to us, that is exactly what it has done.

 

In particularly these last two weeks,

Where we all learned that if we truly understand the Law,

Then we are all murderers and we are all adulterers.

 

That has been the point of these “You have heard…but I say sermons”

 

• Jesus is taking a gross misconception of the Law and correcting it.

• Jesus is taking the Law and clarifying it.

• Jesus is taking the Law and enforcing it.

 

In fact this is what He said He would do.

Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “

 

And He proved that by taking the Law to a level

Many of us had never even considered.

 

They were the “You have heard, but I say” sermons.

 

In the first two, we saw Jesus take two of the 10 commandments,

And reveal they were only looking at them from an external perspective,

 

And not looking at the righteousness that was intended by them.

 

They were murderers in heart as revealed by their anger.

They were adulterers in heart as revealed by their lust.

 

So Jesus added the Internal concept to those commands.

 

Jesus continues to do that here,

Only here it wasn’t so much a failure to internalize the command

As it was the issue of misinterpreting it.

 

This morning Jesus brings up the concept of divorce,

While it was another area the Jews thought themselves to be righteous,

Jesus reveals that they had again missed the point.

 

They had missed the point.

They had twisted the Scripture.

 

The first two were issues of a failure to fully apply the command.

This is an issue of changing the command to fit their sin.

 

WE SEE THAT TODAY AS WELL

 

PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DRINK

“Even Jesus turned water in to wine”

 

PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET RICH

Quote verses about prosperity

 

PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT TO SIN

“Judge not lest ye be judged”

 

Our world is full of people who pick and choose verses of Scripture

To support or defend almost any action.

 

Even Satan used Scripture to convince Jesus to jump off of the temple.

 

Misinterpreting Scripture to satisfy your desires is nothing new.

And that is the issue Jesus is dealing with.

 

And the topic Jesus uses is DIVORCE

• Partly because divorce ties right in with adultery.

• Partly because divorce was so common.

• Partly because divorce made His point so well.

 

THAT BEING SAID

I realize that there are many topics that can be preached on

That are offensive to people, and this one may be top of the list.

 

It is no secret that the long arm of divorce has reached deep

Into our society, and in many cases even into our churches.

 

And for those in this place who instantly feel singled out

Because of a divorce in your past,

I want to address you for a moment.

 

This sermon is not meant to come down only on you,

As a means to beat you up for something in the past.

Our desire is not to treat the divorced as second class citizens

Or as the chiefs of all sinners.

 

But at the same time, the truth about divorce must be preached,

In order that others may avoid it,

And in some cases those who have unwarranted divorces

Can repent of past sin.

 

So if you are divorced, I am not trying to pick on you this morning,

But we cannot overlook the problem of divorce

Even though we run the risk of making some uncomfortable.

 

So this morning we listen to Jesus’ 3rd

“You have heard…but I say” sermon.

 

#1 THE OBSERVATION

Matthew 5:31

 

“It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’;”

 

And just to make sure we are on the same page,

You know that Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 24:1

 

And it is interesting that in regard to divorce

That this is the passage Jesus selected.

 

The fact that this was the prominent passage about divorce

Indicates that the people were not concerned about whether or not divorces occurred, but rather that they occur in the proper manner.

 

The verse they taught said nothing about the negative aspect of divorce,

But merely how to do it right.

 

It indicates that the people had come to believe

That divorce was acceptable.

 

And we know this is true based on a conversation

Jesus has later with the Pharisees.

Matthew 19:3-9 “Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

 

There it was the Pharisees who truly thought divorce was fine,

So long as you did it the proper way and gave the woman the papers.

 

They viewed sending the woman away without papers as the sin,

But there was nothing wrong with the divorce.

 

THE SAD THING IS THAT THIS MINDSET IS QUICKLY PERMEATING OUR CULTURE AS WELL.

 

Divorce has really become no big deal.

Some wish to avoid because of the financial implications,

But not because of it’s offense to God.

 

In fact some have come to see divorce as so inevitable

That many in our day have chosen simply to live with someone unmarried

So that when the time comes to split there is no messy paperwork.

 

And this is tragic.

 

Allow me for just a moment to remind you of what God has to say

About marriage and divorce.

 

First of all: MARRIAGE WAS CREATED BY GOD

Genesis 2:18-24 “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

 

God created marriage and said that it was good.

 

Later in the New Testament

Paul even identified false prophets as those who forbid it.

1 Timothy 4:1-3 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.”

 

God created marriage and said it was good.

 

And then, when God introduced His law,

Two of the 10 commandments actually served to protect marriages.

 

Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.”

 

Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

 

And as far as divorce bringing and end to a marriage,

God couldn’t have been clearer as to what He thought.

 

Malachi 2:16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the LORD of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

 

In the New Testament it was Jesus saying:

Matthew 19:6 “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

 

And so we get a pretty good understanding

About God’s view of marriage and divorce.

 

God by nature is a God of covenant.

God keeps His promises.

And so to give your word and then to break your vow,

Is the absolute opposite of Godliness.

 

BUT DESPITE THE CLEAR TEACHING ON DIVORCE,

GOD’S PEOPLE HAD MISSED THE POINT.

 

And that is what Jesus is confronting here.

“It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;”

 

LET’S LOOK AT THE PASSAGE JESUS IS QUOTING FROM.

 

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.”

 

WHAT IS THE LAW OF GOD TEACHING HERE?

 

It basically says, that if a man and wife are married,

And he finds some indecency in her, and he gives her divorce papers,

And sends her away, and she goes and marries another man,

Who finds the same problem, and he sends her away,

Then the first husband can’t have her back, because she has been defiled.

 

That passage is not teaching about the act of divorce,

But rather it is teaching that divorce causes adultery.

 

However, the Jews had been reinterpreting that verse to fit their desires.

 

They read into that passage that God was only concerned

That in their divorce that they be sure and give a certificate.

 

In fact, they even took the statement about “finds indecency in her”

And found grounds for any and all divorces.

 

What does this indecency mean?

 

“Indecency” translates Er-vaw in the Hebrew.

It is the same word for when Noah’s son looked upon his nakedness.

 

It had to do with a promiscuous woman.

A woman who was embarrassing to her husband

Because of improper, shameful, or indecent behavior.

 

WE KNOW HOWEVER, THAT IT DIDN’T MEAN ADULTERY,

Because death was the penalty for adultery,

Even during the engagement period.

 

Leviticus 20:10 “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

 

And so obviously we are talking about a woman who embarrasses you.

 

And in that passage, God was not saying

You could send a woman away for embarrassing you,

He was merely pointing out that that is why most women

Were being sent away, and this was causing adultery.

 

In fact in Jesus day men were divorcing their wives

For things as simple as burning the toast or not folding the socks right.

 

HOW RELEVANT IS THAT TODAY.

 

We live in a nation that has been plagued by divorce.

We all know about the 50% of all marriages end in divorce

 

NAMELY BECAUSE WE HAVE GROWN TO VIEW DIVORCE

LIKE THEY DID IN JESUS DAY.

 

Any reason at all is a good enough reason to get a divorce,

 

As long as we right a certificate of divorce,

Or in other words, make it legal.

 

And that was Jesus’ observation.

You think that divorce is ok for any reason, so long as you make it legal.

 

The Observation

#2 THE EXPLANATION

Matthew 5:32

 

Jesus here is teaching that very same truth that the Old Testament taught.

That Divorce causes adultery.

 

“but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

 

Notice Jesus simply spoke of two ways in which divorce causes adultery.

1) Divorcing your wife causes it

2) Marrying a divorced woman causes it

 

HOW?

It is NOT that if you are a woman and your husband divorces you,

Then you are instantly an adulteress.

 

However, you are now on the open market,

And the temptation is to go ahead and get remarried, and that is adultery.

 

WHY?

Because with God covenants are for life.

And just because the state of Texas may recognize your divorce,

That doesn’t mean that God does.

 

And in His eyes, even though you think you are free to remarry,

He sees what you are doing as adultery.

 

Let me give you an example.

TURN TO: GENESIS 20:1-7

Abraham almost caused adultery by sending his wife away.

 

And that is also true for the flip side.

 

A man sees a divorced woman and assumes she is now free to marry,

And because it is legal in our world, he does so.

 

And God sees it as him sleeping with another man’s wife.

 

It is adultery.

(And we learned last week the penalty for adultery)

 

Now we do want to be fair.

Jesus did say, “except for unchastity”

 

“unchastity” translatess “PORNEA”

It is where we get our term pornography.

It means, “illicit sexual intercourse”

 

That is the only reason Jesus gives that permits a person to get a divorce.

Why?

 

BECAUSE THE COVENANT HAS ALREADY BEEN BROKEN.

 

Marriage is a covenant in which God commanded two people

To honor it for the rest of their lives.

 

However, if one of the two breaks that covenant,

God does not hold the innocent part responsible, and He allows divorce.

 

BUT EVEN IN THAT, please know that adultery does not require divorce, you can forge a new covenant with them, it merely permits it.

 

I Corinthians 7:10-11 “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.”

 

And in the mode of still being fair.

There is a second reason given in Scripture that permits a divorce.

 

I Corinthians 7:12-16 “But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?”

 

If that unbelieving spouse wants to leave, let them leave.

Why is this so?

 

An adulterer was allowed to leave,

Because the covenant had already been broken.

A NON-BELIEVER COULD LEAVE,

BECAUSE IN GOD’S EYES THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A COVENANT.

 

2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

 

There is not a covenant there between believers and non-believers.

There is nothing there to mix, just as you can’t join light and darkness.

 

This is one of the few times divorce was ever commanded in Scripture.

Ezra 10:1-4 “Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam , said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.”

 

Because of this verse,

One could argue it is commanded to divorce non-believers.

Paul teaches us otherwise.

 

There are two reasons Scripture permits a divorce to take place.

One is adultery.

The second is being unequally yoked.

 

Beyond that, God sees marriage as a covenant relationship,

And when a divorce takes place, we are encouraging adultery,

Because we are basically putting our spouse on the open market.

 

This is exactly what was going on in Israel in Jesus day.

 

And now even though Israel was filled with state recognized marriages, Jesus saw Israel full of adultery.

By reason of all the divorce and remarriage, Israel was an adulterous land.

DIVORCE CAUSES ADULTERY

 

Now, suppose I’m here and I’ve been divorced and remarried.

Suppose I married a divorced woman.

 

WHAT DO I DO?

 

Do I end this new marriage?

No – Paul’s command to the married is that they stay married.

 

(But repentance may indeed be in order, and forgiveness through Jesus)

 

YOU SEE, THAT IS JESUS POINT

 

You think that because you gave your wife a paper

When you sent her away, and because the state recognized it,

That you are fine.

 

YOU ARE NOT!

You offended God, and as a result you are not righteous.

No more so than the heart murderers

No more so than the heart adulterers

 

And you need the forgiveness that only Jesus can provide.

 

Just because society says something is ok,

Doesn’t mean God says it is ok.

And if you have offended Him, you must seek His forgiveness.

 

And this is a forgiveness found only in Jesus.

 

• So this morning, if you have never cried out to Jesus, I encourage you to do so. GIVE YOUR LIFE TO HIM.

 

• This morning, if you have submitted your life to Him, then by all means LIVE LIKE IT, and don’t do anything that would offend Him.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

Christ died to make you righteous.

SO BE RIGHTEOUS

 

Adulterers Are Not Righteous

Matthew 5:27-30

 

As you know, we are presently in the middle of our study of

The Sermon on the Mount.

 

And as I told you at the very onset of this sermon,

The main point of the sermon is RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 

Jesus is confronting a people

Who have about a twisted a view of righteousness as you can have.

• Their righteousness was all external.

• Their righteousness was based on ignorance not truth.

• Their righteousness glorified self not God.

• Their righteousness was used to destroy others.

 

They had basically taken all that God had taught about righteousness

And messed it all up.

 

We learned last Sunday night about how false prophets come

And malign the way of the truth.

 

No doubt Israel was a victim.

They may have known that righteousness was important,

But it is obvious they no longer had a clue as to what righteousness was.

 

We certainly can sympathize with them today.

 

Few people today even agree that only the righteous go to heaven.

Even fewer agree as to what true righteousness actually is.

 

But God has always been honest.

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”

 

Now granted that verse does not tell us exactly what true holiness is,

Except that it reveals that God is holy.

Whatever God is, that is holy, and that is what we are to be.

 

Other passages explain it a little better.

Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

 

Obviously we see that the only type of person that is allowed

To dwell with God for all eternity is a perfect person.

 

Psalms 24:3-6 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face — even Jacob.”

 

And there it is again.

Only the perfect person gets to God.

 

Isaiah 33:14-16 “Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.”

 

And of course the point that we make is that

Throughout Scripture God has not only defined righteousness,

But has also stated that only the truly righteous

Will be allowed to dwell with Him in heaven.

 

Those who are wicked…

Those who are sinful…

Those who are rebellious…

Are not allowed to dwell with God.

 

This is precisely what Jesus is trying to point out through this sermon.

He is revealing what God’s true and perfect righteousness looks like

So that you can see where you stand before Him.

 

And if we are honest thus far

We must all admit that we have failing grades.

• We have seen 8 qualities that we do not possess.

• We have seen 2 expectations that we do not fulfill.

• And we have learned that our standard by which we measure ourselves may not be the actual standard.

 

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

It has grown increasingly clear that we do not measure up

To the standard God demands of us.

 

But in case that was not enough Jesus started getting specific.

 

Last week we began looking at the “You have heard…but I say” sermons.

 

And Jesus introduced to us what true murder is.

Jesus said, “that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court”

• He didn’t say everyone who tries to murder them…

• He didn’t say everyone who wishes they could murder them…

• He didn’t even say everyone who HATES his brother…

If said, if you’ve ever been angry, then you are a murderer in heart.

 

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

 

And the point of Jesus is that

He was living in a world of tremendous self-justification.

 

People who were not humble, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who didn’t hate sin, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who were not submissive, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who didn’t hunger for righteousness, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who were not pure in heart but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who were not merciful, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who were not peacemakers, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who were not persecuted, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who did not shine their light, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who were tasteless salt, but thought they were headed to heaven.

People who were murderers, but thought they were headed to heaven.

 

And as you can see they were self-deceived.

Well, it doesn’t get any better this morning

As Jesus cuts to the heart again.

 

As we look at the second “You have heard…but I say” sermon.

 

#1 THE OBSERVATION

Matthew 5:27

 

There again we see the observation of Jesus

As He recognizes what they have been taught.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;”

 

And there again, we know this to be true.

 

This is the 7th commandment

And it’s not like those commandments are any kind of a secret.

 

And as we said with murder, this is also a commandment

That Scripture speaks fairly forcefully about.

 

Leviticus 20:10 “’If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

 

Deuteronomy 22:22 “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.”

Proverbs 6:20-35 “My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids. For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished. Men do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry; But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; He must give all the substance of his house. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find, And his reproach will not be blotted out. For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom, Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.”

 

In other words adultery is very DUMB and it is WRONG.

 

I titled this sermon – “Adulterers Are Not Righteous”

I think we can all agree upon that.

 

Those who have a sexual relationship with someone who is not their spouse are not considered righteous before God.

 

Furthermore Scripture unequivocally states

That those people will not go to heaven.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

 

Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

 

“Immoral” translates PORNOS

 

Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”

 

And so we are all clear on the fate of those who commit adultery.

They are not righteous and they will not go to heaven.

 

Now, it is important to note that the issue here is not sex,

Just as the issue with murder is not killing a person.

 

And Scripture has also made it extremely clear that sex was created by God and is intended by God to be an important part of the marriage.

 

You only have to read 1 Corinthians 7 to hear Paul actually command

Husbands and wives to “stop depriving one another”.

 

And so sex is not the problem,

It is sex with someone who is not your spouse that is the problem,

And those who do it will not go to heaven.

 

But that is not new knowledge.

In fact, “You have heard” that before.

 

And that was Jesus’ observation.

#2 THE EXPLANATION

Matthew 5:28

 

Just as Jesus did with murder, here He internalizes it.

“but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

 

Now we are not just talking about a man

Who sleeps with a woman he is not married to.

 

Now we are talking about something

That seems much more innocent than that.

“everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her”

 

And when we read that, we understand

That we are talking about a sin that occurs

Before anything physical has ever happened.

 

 

But we really need to clarify it even more than that.

• Because most of us read that statement and think of some guy who is going around undressing women with his eyes.

• Or we think of someone who has a subscription to some pornographic magazine.

• Or we think of some perverted person who is doing everything he can to get women into bed.

 

But Jesus isn’t just speaking of that person.

 

When most hear the word “lust”

They immediately think about it in a sexual connotation.

 

But the word Jesus uses here

Doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with sex.

 

Most would think the word in the Greek is PORNOS, or PORNEIA, or some other form of that word used to describe sexual immorality. But it isn’t.

 

“lust” translates EPITUMEO

And it simply means to “desire or to covet or to crave or to lust”

 

And so let me help you understand that a little better.

Jesus is saying if you look at a woman

And want her for any reason that is adultery.

 

Do you realize that most affairs don’t begin with two people desiring to have sex with each other?

 

Most affairs begin much more innocently than that.

 

With sentiments like:

I wish my wife was as friendly as ___________”

I wish my husband was as attentive as _________________”

I wish my wife was as graceful as _______________”

I wish my husband listened to me like ______________”

 

It has nothing to do with sex.

It has nothing to do with a physical affair.

 

Yet it is to crave or want that person for any reason at all

And Jesus says that is adultery.

 

Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

 

Ever wish you had a wife like so and so does?

Ever wish your husband was more like so and so?

You are committing adultery.

 

NOW PREACHER, DOESN’T THAT SEEM AWFUL PETTY?

 

Not to God, because full blown sexual adultery

And simply desiring another person are the exact same sin in the heart.

And the heart is what God looks at.

 

In fact Jesus says:

“everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has ALREADY committed adultery with her in his heart.”

 

DID YOU CATCH THAT “ALREADY”?

That means that the heart even precedes the eyes.

 

Many today want to blame their adultery or lustful thoughts

On the environment around them.

 

“Well, if she wouldn’t wear that low-cut top I wouldn’t be looking.”

And so we assume that sin hits the eyes and then moves to the heart.

WRONG

 

If it wasn’t in the heart, it would have never affected the eyes.

 

NOW THAT IS NOT TO EXCUSE A SEDUCTIVE WOMAN

 

And by the way ladies don’t suppose you are innocent

Just because you are not visually attracted to men.

 

The way women dress in our society is an outrage.

It makes them nothing short of a seductress

And one who is leading others into sin.

 

And just let me tell you about people who lead other people into sin.

Luke 17:1-2 “He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”

 

The point is don’t suppose God would condemn a man

For looking at your body and then hold you innocent

For trying to show it to him.

 

Proverbs 11:22 “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.”

 

1 Timothy 2:9-10 “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.”

 

And so I would definitely say that a seductive lady is guilty before God.

 

BUT EVEN AT THAT, A MAN CANNOT BLAME HIS SIN UPON HER.

 

For if that man was not an adulterer in heart

Her body would not have appealed to him.

 

I mean honestly, do you suppose Jesus

Would have difficulty with lust in our society?

 

The visual images we see would not have enticed Him,

They would have nauseated Him, grieved Him, angered Him,

And would have broken His heart.

 

The point is:

Men, if you look at a woman and want her;

(Not just sex, but anything about her) it indicates that you have a corrupt heart and you are an adulterer before God.

 

Women, if you look at a man and want him;

(Not just sex, but anything about him) it indicates that you have a corrupt heart and you are an adulterer before God.

 

And we all already settled where adulterers are headed

Because adulterers are not righteous.

 

Forget the fact that you’ve never touched the person,

God is looking at the heart and He sees the blemish present.

 

That is Jesus’ explanation of the 7th commandment.

 

The Observation The Explanation

#3 THE APPLICATION

Matthew 5:29-30

 

Now admittedly, you read that and it is sort of hard to swallow.

 

IS JESUS ACTUALLY ADVOCATING SELF-MUTILATION?

I can confidently answer “No”

Even though His speech is pretty straight forward.

 

The reason I can answer “No” is because of what He just said.

 

If you truly wanted to get the sin out of your life,

Cutting off your hand or gouging out your eye would not work.

WHY?

 

Because the sin resides in your heart.

 

So technically if you were going to try to remove the sin from your life,

You would have to cut open your chest and remove your carnal heart.

 

The hand or the eye wouldn’t stop it.

 

SO WHY DOES JESUS GIVE THIS GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION?

 

Because He is trying to make sure that you don’t

Just pass your guilt as an adulterer off as no big deal.

 

You see in one sense the way Jesus preached on adultery

It is a whole lot more convicting.

(BECAUSE IT CONVICTS US ALL)

 

But that also creates a bit of a problem.

 

Since we are all guilty, it tends to make some think

That it might not be as big of a deal.

 

You could take a man in here who is presently in a full blown sexual affair,

Who is now saying, “Well heck, I don’t feel so bad about that affair

Now that I know everyone is an adulterer.”

 

Jesus knows that is a possible response to what He just said.

 

So in order to make sure that you don’t minimize your guilt

He uses this analogy to remind you that sin is no laughing matter.

 

In fact, your guilt (all be it common to all) is still enough

To send you to hell for eternity

And you ought to do anything you can to avoid that.

 

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO AVOID HELL?

 

The answer Jesus is pushing for:

WHATEVER IT TAKES

 

• None of us in this place could fathom going home and gouging out one of our eyes.

• None of us in this place could fathom going home and cutting off a hand.

 

Jesus shocked us with that on purpose.

To show us that even that would be better than going to hell.

 

Suppose you could talk to someone killed in the great flood.

That person has been in hell for something like 6 or 7 thousand years.

 

And suppose you told them that they could leave hell

If they would gouge out one of their eyes.

 

They would have their eyeball in their hand

Before you could finish the offer.

 

And that is Jesus’ point.

DON’T BE TEMPTED TO TREAT ADULTERY LIKE IT IS NO BIG DEAL.

 

The sin of adultery sends people to hell,

And you do not want to go to hell.

 

It’s like what Jesus said about murder earlier:

Matthew 5:25-26 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.”

 

In other words, don’t just be willing to hang on to your sin

And spend eternity in hell for it.

 

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO AVOID THAT HORRIBLE PLACE.

And at this point, now that you and I have realized not only are we murderers, but we are also adulterers, it ought to send us screaming:

 

WHAT SHALL I DO?

 

Peter answered a question just like that one day.

Acts 2:36-42 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

 

Peter didn’t tell them to start a pile of eyeballs over here

And a pile of hands over there.

Peter said – RUN TO JESUS

 

WHY JESUS?

Because He is the only one capable of fixing the heart.

 

You see many at this point find frustration.

“I can keep from touching a woman, but how can I keep from wanting to?”

 

You can’t – not with that old sinful heart.

“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”

 

You need someone to change your heart

And that is something only Christ can do.

 

He came and lived a sinless life and then used that spotless unblemished blood as payment for the sins of His people.

 

He made a way for sinful man to be justified in the sight of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

And that isn’t all that He did.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

 

You see not only does Jesus forgive your sin,

But He comes and gives you a new heart.

 

A heart not filled with anger and a heart not filled with lust.

And that is why I have told you that once you come to Christ

We no longer call ourselves sinners, but now we are called saints.

 

It is because Christ changed us.

 

This whole sermon I have been telling you that you are an adulterer,

But if you have given your life to Christ, that is no longer true.

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

 

That is the beauty of trusting Jesus.

So if you are saved, rejoice in what Jesus has done for you,

And strive daily to walk in His righteousness, not like the old man.

 

But if you have never submitted your life Christ,

Then realize what you are and why you need Him and give Him your life.

 

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

Get honest with God about the condition of your heart

And find the only answer in Jesus.

 

• He is the only One who can make you righteous in the sight of God.

• He is the only One who can allow you to escape the sentence of hell.

• He is the only One who can grant your entrance into heaven.

 

Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 

“Murderers Are Not Righteous”

Matthew 5:21-26

 

As you know, we are studying through the Sermon on the Mount.

 

It is a sermon meant to expose faulty righteousness,

And by now I think we can all agree that

This sermon accomplishes it’s goal.

 

Jesus first revealed to us 8 qualities of a righteous man.

(The Beatitudes)

He then revealed to us 2 expectations of a righteous man.

(Salt & Light)

 

And as we said, if we are honest with ourselves

We don’t measure up to any of them.

 

But at that point we did still held out hope.

Our hope was that He would say, “But don’t worry about all that, because I’m about to get rid of the Law anyway. It was too rigid, it was too difficult, and so I’m gonna narrow it down.”

 

If that was your hope (as it was much of Israel)

Jesus crushed your hope last week by revealing a startling truth.

“I did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets.”

 

The Law cannot be Abolished

The Law cannot be Annulled

The Law cannot be Avoided

You must measure up to it all.

 

And then came perhaps the most startling statement of all.

 

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

That was a very shocking statement by Jesus

The Pharisees, and scribes,

Looked like the most righteous people in the land.

 

In fact, there was a saying, “that if only two people went to heaven, one would be a scribe, and the other a Pharisee.”

 

And because you have spent time studying the word of God,

You know why they were not acceptable.

 

THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS WAS ALL FOR SHOW.

Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

 

Furthermore, THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS WAS ALL EXTERNAL.

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

 

And we know that with God, this does not cut it.

 

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

 

What that means, is God isn’t looking at the action.

Now if you break the Law in action, obviously you are a Law breaker,

But God doesn’t look at the action. God looks at the heart.

 

If God sees a heart that wants to break the Law,

Then He sees a Law breaker.

 

Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”

 

By human standards, a man is not a murderer, until he commits a murder,

By God’s standards, he is a murderer rather he commits the crime or not.

 

We’ve talked about this before.

Stealing doesn’t make you a thief, a thief steals because he is a thief.

Killing doesn’t make you a murderer, a man kills because he is a murderer.

 

The action doesn’t make the man, the heart makes the man,

Actions are only pictures of what is in that man’s heart.

 

And because the Pharisees were only clean on the outside, but not the inside, they did not measure up to God’s righteous standard.

 

So Jesus said, “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

And that means neither the righteousness they PERFORM,

Nor the righteousness they PREACH is acceptable to God.

 

And this prompts perhaps

The most famous section of the Sermon on the Mount.

 

The “You have heard…but I say” sermons.

And the first one Jesus deals with is Murder.

 

Now, I titled this sermon “Murderer’s are not Righteous”

CAN WE ALL AGREE WITH THAT?

 

I mean, it is one of the Big 10.

If you murder someone, then you have failed to meet God’s standard.

 

Certainly we all agree, and since we do,

We may all be in for a rude awakening.

 

Let’s see what Jesus has to say about the issue.

 

4 points

#1 THE OBSERVATION

Matthew 5:21

 

You will notice the observation that Jesus makes.

“You have heard”

 

In our introductory sermon to the Sermon on the Mount,

I told you that one of the problems of Israel is that they were ignorant.

 

Because they had bad teachers they had bad theology.

And their bad theology left them at odds with God.

 

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

 

This was certainly the case in Jesus day.

 

And here He begins His list

Of exposing the bad theology they have been taught.

 

“You have heard that the ancients were told “You shall not commit murder” and “Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.”

 

Now first, let me just point out that

There was nothing wrong with this command in and of itself.

 

Obviously Jesus is referring to the 6th commandment

 

And that is not all that Scripture has to say on the subject.

Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.”

 

Leviticus 24:17 “If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death.”

Numbers 35:30 “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.”

 

And so obviously as far as that command is concerned,

They were taught correctly.

 

And because Jesus did not come to abolish the Law,

He is not here to tell them that those commands do not exist.

 

He just merely makes an observation as to what they have been taught.

 

Then comes the second part.

#2 THE EXPLANATION

Matthew 5:22

 

So Jesus first analyzed what they have been taught,

And then He explains what they should have been taught.

 

And the first thing we notice is that Jesus internalized it.

 

“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court;”

 

And all of a sudden that command just got a whole lot more convicting.

• You see, I might be able to resist actually killing a person, but how can I resist being angry at them?

 

In fact our culture puts temporal punishments

That help us protect ourselves from irrational behavior,

But our culture puts no limits on what we feel inside.

 

For Example: You get a ticket for speeding in your car,

But there is no punishment for wanting to.

 

Yet we are dealing with God “who looks at the heart”

And all of a sudden we realize that the Law which Moses gave

Looked much deeper than our action, straight into our desires.

 

Isn’t that true of God’s Word?

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

 

God’s Word is not simply interested in what you do,

God’s word is interested in who you are.

 

And if you’ve read the Old Testament then you know

The issue was NEVER whether or not you killed someone,

But was always about the condition of your heart.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE TEACHINGS ABOUT THE CITIES OF REFUGE?

TURN TO: NUMBERS 35:9-25

 

And so we see that the issue was always the heart.

The wrong action with the right heart was defended by God.

Yet the right action with the wrong heart was condemned by Him.

 

And that is what Jesus reminds of here.

 

The Law came to examine your heart.

And so it’s really not about murder, it goes much deeper than that.

 

“everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court;”

 

Jesus says if you even have anger for your brother,

Then you are a murderer in God’s sight.

 

WHY?

Because murder and anger are the exact same sin.

(granted one is carried to a fuller extent, but they are the same sin)

 

And Jesus reveals that if you have anger “you shall be guilty before the court”

 

NOW TO BE FAIR.

What about these passages?

Ephesians 4:26 “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,”

 

Psalms 7:11 “God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.”

 

Or what about these?

Matthew 17:17 “And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

 

Or what about those passages where Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites or brood of vipers or declared their condemnation?

 

Or what about when Jesus cleared the temple?

 

AREN’T ALL THOSE INSTANCES OF ANGER?

So how is it condemned?

 

There are at least two differences between the righteous anger of Jesus and the condemned anger that is mentioned here.

 

1) Jesus anger was targeted at the sin and not the sinner.

 

Proven by His willingness to die for those same men

He pronounced condemnation upon.

2) Jesus anger was initiated because of the wrong suffered by others, not because of wrongs that He suffered.

 

When Jesus suffered He did not revile.

When Jesus suffered He was like a lamb led to slaughter.

When they accused Jesus He never became forceful.

 

It was when Jesus saw the sheep being oppressed that His anger arose.

 

And so we understand that the anger Jesus refers to here

Is an anger that arises out of selfishness

And one that is targeted at another person.

 

When you have that, you have just committed murder in God’s sight,

And you are guilty.

 

But obviously that is not all, for Jesus continues.

“and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court;”

 

This takes the sin the next step further.

Now the sin has moved from the heart to the lips.

(Might I point out that eventually it moves from the lips to the hands,

And that is why anger and murder are the same sin)

 

But now there is not just anger, but there is SLANDER

 

“good-for-nothing” transates RHAKA

It is a word of Aramaic origin and it simply means “empty”

 

It was to call someone a “brainless idiot” or “worthless fellow”

Today they might be called “a moron”

 

And the point is that there is an anger and animosity in your heart

That eventually comes out of your mouth.

 

Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”

 

We are talking about verbalized anger.

 

David spoke of them:

Psalms 140:3 “They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; Poison of a viper is under their lips.”

And this is precisely the same thing as murder,

For this person is “guilty before the supreme court”

 

This was actually the court that tried the more serious cases.

(Obviously Jesus is placing a heavier emphasis on this

Than was ever seen before.)

And Jesus doesn’t stop there.

“and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

 

It all started with anger.

Eventually that anger is revealed through slander.

And here we learn the desire of that anger.

 

To call a person a fool was to do more than call them stupid,

It was also to call them godless.

 

Psalms 14:1 “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.”

 

There are obviously fools on the earth,

And making them aware of that is not the problem.

The problem is wishing that upon someone.

 

If you want the translation of today it is to say to someone,

“You go to hell”.

 

It is far more than anger expressed,

It goes to the point of revealing the desire of that anger.

 

And according to Jesus this is also judged.

The person who does this “shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

 

And so I hope you get the point.

They all understood that murder was wrong.

 

What Jesus wants them to understand is that

Murder is a sin that begins long before the deed takes place.

 

Now human nature is to try and justify ourselves

So we say:

• I’ve never killed anyone

• I’ve never told anyone to “Go to hell”

• I’ve never even slandered anyone and called them a “blockhead”

 

BUT HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ANGRY?

• Then you are a murderer in God’s sight.

• You are filled with a wicked sinful nature.

• You have fallen short of the glory of God.

• God will judged you for eternity in hell.

 

God looks at the heart, and it is there

That He determines what you are, regardless of what you do.

 

That is the explanation.

The Observation, The Explanation

#3 THE APPLICATION

Matthew 5:23-24

 

Now if you aren’t paying attention here,

Jesus can kind of be like a horse that all ducks out from under you.

 

Because He went in verse 22 to talking about

You having something against your brother

 

To here in verse 23 where He is talking about

Your brother having something against you.

 

“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you”

 

So it appears we are dealing with the other side of the coin.

 

And here Jesus says if you are there giving your offering and realize that there is enmity between you and your brother, “leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

 

And all of a sudden Jesus took this command to an even deeper level.

 

Now it is not just that I should not be angry at my brother,

But that I should also do everything in my power

To make sure my brother has no grounds to be angry at me.

 

You see the law forbids murder,

And that means that in order to keep the law,

We do everything in our power to keep it from happening.

We are talking about honoring God’s desire for brotherly unity.

 

AND DID YOU CATCH HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS?

 

God would rather have that than your sacrifice,

Or your outward worship.

 

1 Samuel 15:22 “Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.”

 

Even if you have done nothing wrong.

Even if you are an innocent victim.

But if your brother is angry at you, God would rather have you fix that, than for you to bring an offering to Him.

 

AND ALL AT ONCE THE APPLICATION GETS CLEAR.

(This heart-murder thing is important to God)

You see the Jews always put the cart before the horse.

 

Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

 

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”

 

The Jews always tried to live however they wanted

And then to appease God with their religion.

 

Jesus says, you’ve got it all wrong.

GOD WANTS YOU TO BE RIGHTEOUS IN YOUR HEART

And that is more important than your outward religion.

 

And so don’t make their mistake.

 

DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN

TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT ANGRY AT YOUR BROTHER AND

TO MAKE SURE YOUR BROTHER HAS NO REASON TO BE ANGRY AT YOU.

 

Romans 12:18 ”If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

 

And so if there is some forgiveness that needs to take place in your life, Give it.

If there is some forgiveness that needs to be sought in your life,

Seek it.

 

THAT MATTERS MORE TO GOD THAN YOU SITTING IN THESE PEWS.

 

The application is that the heart matters more to God than your religion,

So make sure your heart is right before God.

 

The Observation, The Explanation, The Application

#4 THE ILLUSTRATION

Matthew 5:25-26

 

Jesus gives us here an illustration in our own worldly terms,

That will help us understand exactly how we are to handle this situation.

 

Jesus clearly teaches us that the time to make restitution is NOW.

 

When you have a problem and you are on the way to see the judge,

Now is the time to settle out of court, and fix the grievance.

 

 

But the real question is:

WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?

 

Because now it looks like Jesus is saying,

You had better go make peace with your brother,

Because if you don’t, then you will go to court and you will be judged.

 

That actually sounds opposite of what Jesus just taught.

Earlier it was the angry one who is guilty,

And here it sounds like it is the angry one who does the condemning.

 

WHICH ONE IS HE TALKING TO?

NEITHER

Now he is talking to you.

 

This parable is not about the discrepancy between two men.

This parable is about the discrepancy between you and God.

 

Jesus just said that if you are angry you are guilty.

And now He is saying you had better do something about that

Before you go stand before the Judge.

 

BECAUSE MURDERER’S AREN’T RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD

AND GOD WILL JUDGE THEM ETERNALLY IN HELL.

 

“Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.”

 

The whole point here is that because of your heart murder

You are guilty, and you are on your way to see the judge.

 

You had better do something to settle out of court.

 

HOW DO I DO THAT?

 

Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

Again we look back to that One who fulfilled the Law.

Again we look back to that One who perfectly kept every command.

Again we look back to that One who satisfied the wrath of God.

Again we look back to that One who said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

 

This morning see the need and run to Jesus!

 

Romans 10:13 “ for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”