| |
Words of Jesus
Part 2
Here is the famous words of Jesus called "The Sermon on the Mount."
I would have loved to have been among those that sat to hear our
precious savior's teaching.
Poor in spirit are those that are humble and see their need for the
Lord. It is the opposite of self-made and proud not knowing that we
are in need of God's mercy. It is so hard to get a proud person to
repent and seek God. That is why it is easier to get a child to come
to Christ. A child knows he or she needs help.
We may mourn over our sin and bring ourselves into repentance, we
may mourn over the sin we see in the world, we mourn over injustice
and wrong-doing, or we may mourn over losing a loved one. Whatever
the Lord means here is in a sense that we mourn in such a way that
God comforts us.
Meek means soft, gentle and not easily provoked or irritated. A meek
person will consider the feelings of others. Take this literally.
The meek shall inherit the earth. This is the opposite of boasters,
proud and those that exalt self.
The more we desire to have God's presence in our lives, the more we
will have it. If we neglect His word, try to explain away His
teachings, and do not call upon Him, it is not His fault if we are
empty and void.
If we seek righteousness then we will get God's righteousness. God
pours out His spirit upon those that genuinely seek Him. Why do we
only seek God for material things? He has so much better things for
us.
This is very important. We can't expect mercy if we show none to
others. God forgives us on the basis of how we forgive
others.
We could take this to mean that if we are not pure in heart, we
shall not see God. Pure is to be free from moral defilement; without spot; not sullied
or tarnished; incorrupt; undebased by moral turpitude; holy.
We will not like sin. If we see sin in ourselves, we will desire to
be free. If we see sin in others, we sill desire to see them set
free. Just because we may have intrusive thoughts that we
really deep down do not want, does not mean we are not pure. There
are times we have to resist intrusive thoughts and say to ourselves,
"That is not me, I do not want that." Our desire to be pure counts.
The devil is always out to defile us. We then keep looking to God
and saying, His power and love within me, is my constant desire to
have.
"Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face, there to sing forever of
His saving grace, on the streets of glory, let me lift my voice,
cares all past home at last ever to rejoice."
To me the ultimate despair would be never to see my blessed Lord. Once
we learn to love God, we will then learn to love our neighbor as
ourselves, thereby keeping the whole word of God. Rest in His grace,
trust in His love for us and we will have the joy of the Lord. It is
ours to have.
This one is the very opposite of our human desires and wishes.
Rarely do we see someone who desires to make peace between those
that are disputing. The flesh desires to see people mad at each
other. The flesh wants to hear the latest gossip. God says just the
opposite. We should desire that one is reconciled to his friends
instead of fighting with them.
A great blessing is in store for those who are treated badly because
they live godly lives. If we are mocked for our faith in Christ,
happy are we.
-
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake.
-
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you.
We should actually feel sorrier for the ones doing the persecution
because they will face a severe judgment from God if they fail to
repent of such actions. We who endure persecution will reap a reward
in eternity that one one can take away from us.
-
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if
the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is
thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden
under foot of men.
If salt or other spices are exposed to elements and lose their
effectiveness, it is worth nothing. If we lose our mercy, meekness,
love, godliness and lose our light before the world, we are good for
nothing.
-
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on
an hill cannot be hid.
-
15 Neither do men light a candle,
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house.
-
16 Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven.
We are to live in a manner that reflects the character of Jesus
Christ and not live any way the flesh desires to live. We are not to
be ashamed of Him but live openly for Jesus Christ without hiding
our light. This is done not to receive the praise of men but to
bring glory to God. Again I repeat all these things do
not come in our own strength but in trusting in the love and grace
of God. We must remember, He is out for our salvation and for our
well being. God does not want any soul to persih. He loves us.
People sometimes make the mistake of assuming the Old Testament is
no longer necessary. This is not true. Jesus refers to the
scriptures many times as we will be studying. The only scripture
they had at that time was the Old Testament. Jesus fulfilled the
law. The law showed us that all have sinned and are in need of a
savior from sin. Jesus came to fulfill that law, pay the price for
sin and make a way for all who believe to be delivered from the
curse of the law.
The law says that all have sinned and sin brings
death spiritually. Jesus made the way for us to be free from sin,
free from the curse of the law and by faith in Him we can inherit
eternal life. That eternal life was what we were meant to have
originally before mankind fell away and sin destroyed the whole
creation. Jesus reverses that. The only thing is that we have to
repent and believe Jesus before this salvation can be ours.
-
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass
from the law, till all be fulfilled.
-
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called
the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
This is the purpose for the particular study on the words of Jesus.
I want to take the literal words of Jesus very seriously. Before we
spread the gospel to others, we need to know what the gospel is and what it is
not. If we teach wrongly, we will account for it before God.
The Scribes and Pharisees only had outward righteousness. They
outwardly kept the ordinances of the law. In other words, they had
religion. They did not however, have true religion undefiled before
the Father which is to have compassion on widows, orphans and keep
themselves unspotted before the world.
-
Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them
of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be
in danger of the judgment:
-
22 But I say unto you, That
whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,
shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
We not just forbidden to kill but we are not even to get angry
without a cause. This too we overcome by remembering
God's love for us and His desire to save all who will believe.
Another verse says be ye angry and sin not. We may temporarily
become angry but we can resist that and love instead as we remember
God's love for us.
It's hard to pray when your angry at someone. That may be
one reason Jesus teaches this.
-
Matthew 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the
altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then
come and offer thy gift.
-
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly,
whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary
deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the
officer, and thou be cast into prison.
-
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by
no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost
farthing.
If we let things go by without making it right, the offended one
may fester with anger and it grow to the point where they retaliate
in some way. Even if they don't retaliate, they could be
in danger of hate that is hard for them to overcome. Sometimes this
is impossible if too many years have passed. In that case we leave
it in the Lord's hands.
-
Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them
of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
-
28 But
I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
This is plain language from our Lord here. Too bad so many are
ignoring it. God will give us power over sin if we desire it. We
don't have to look and lust after things that will destroy our
souls.
-
Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee,
pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body
should be cast into hell.
We surely need to watch what we look at and spend time viewing. What
we see has a great influence upon us. It has the power to destroy
us. If you eyes cause you problems with sin, stop looking at the
wrong things. Remembering that God has better things for
us. He loves us and wants us to be free from the junk that weighs us
down. He is more than a religion, He is the way to love, joy and
peace.
-
Matthew 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut
it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that
one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should
be cast into hell.
If something is our lives is giving us trouble, causing us to sin in
some way or causes us to get out of the will of God, we need to give
it up. For instance if you were a person who cannot stand up to
people easily, it would be better not to be around people that try
to persuade you to do evil. Cut off that relationship if it
continually wears you down and you aren't doing them any good
either. There are times when we have to stop trying to
change someone's mind and leave them to God once we have done all we
can to save them. Always keep them in fervent prayer though. Never
give up in our hearts. God wants to save them too but we sometimes
have to depart and leave them alone. Receiving salvation is
something we can never force on anyone. Forced religion is never the
true religion. Each person must make his or her own decision to
receive Jesus into their lives.
-
Matthew 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his
wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
-
32 But I say unto you, That whosoever
shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that
is divorced committeth adultery.
Although we can get forgiveness for this and any sin, we must take this seriously. We are not supposed to take advantage of
God's grace by going ahead and doing something by our own lust and
then repenting. That is not true repentance. Repent means to change
one's heart and mind. It means to turn away from sin and turn to God
for both forgiveness and victory over sin. Our attitude should be to
love God and love those that we are having trouble with, not go ahead and do what the flesh wants just
because we know God will forgive us. Imagine a child that
is secure with having a mom and dad that cares for them; then see
their parents fighting and separating. It is a bad example for them
and makes them very unstable. I've seen divorce harm the
children more than we realize. Yet if someone wants out of a
marriage, we can't force them to stay with us but let us not be too
quick to give up on our marriage without really taking all this to
God fervently
This commandment concerning divorce and remarriage is being ignored.
As a result there are just as many divorces in the Christian church
as there is in the world. We can't break the word of God without
consequences. It is sad to see us ignore these words of Jesus. He
doesn't make commandments just to annoy us, He makes them for a
reason. This is not just good advice as some suppose, it is the word
of God. Yet if one has gone through a divorce, keep
seeking the Lord knowing He still loves us and wants to restore and
save. John chapter 4 about the salvation of the woman who had 5
husbands is good to remember. God saves us out of messes. Don't give
up, but is is better to take the word of God seriously not get into
messes in the first place. God is so good though. His loves is so
great. Never give up on Him and rest in His grace.
-
Matthew 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath
been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but
shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
-
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
-
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his
footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great
King.
-
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy
head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
-
37 But let your communication be,
Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of
evil.
We are not to swear because there is no way we can know for sure
what is going to happen in the future. Instead we should say, "If
the Lord's will I will do such and such." I remember my daddy
always reminded me of this when I would make rash promises.
-
Matthew 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said,
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
-
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not
evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him
the other also.
If we get to the place where we can live like this, we have gotten
what they use to call, "The Victory." We are not to take vengeance and get back at people. The attitude of
Jesus when He was on the cross is a good example, "Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do."
I was reading this verse to my first born daughter once and she
said, "I not going to do that." So this one may take a little more
help from the Lord to do. That is why the Holy Spirit will shed that
perfect love within us if we allow trust Him to do just that. Jesus
did not say, Love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourself
if He wasn't able to give up the power to do just that.
-
Matthew 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at
the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
-
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a
mile, go with him twain.
-
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from
him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
-
43 Ye have heard that it hath been
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
-
44 But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
-
45 That ye may be the children of your Father
which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on
the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
It pleases God to see us kind to our enemies rather than getting
even with them.
-
Matthew 5:46 For if ye love them which love
you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
-
47 And if ye salute your brethren
only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
-
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.
To be perfect is to act in love, not in vengeance, strife and being
contentious. I don't believe this means for us not to speak out
against wrong. Jesus did that. His message about, "I was hungry and
ye gave me no meat," was an example of speaking out. We must
share
the gospel and warn those that ignore the word. We do so in the
spirit of meekness and never in cursing and vengeance. Never should
force be used to spread the gospel.
Words of Jesus part 3
Words of Jesus Index
|
|