Bible Talks - Traditional Church (Sunday 8am)
Citizens of the Kingdom
Sunday, 11 June 2006
This morning we're starting a series of sermons on the Sermon on the Mount from Chapters 5 to 7 of Matthew's gospel. The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best known and arguably the least understood part of Jesus' teaching and is possibly the least obeyed. Michael Green in his introduction to the Sermon on the Mount in his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel calls it “The supreme jewel in the crown of Jesus’ teaching.” It is the nearest thing to a Christian manifesto that Jesus ever uttered and it is a direct challenge to all us Christians to evaluate our commitment to the culture in which we live in the light of the counter-culture to which Jesus is calling us.
Throughout the Old Testament the role of the prophet was to call the people of God back to that relationship with God that had been first established with Abraham, then with the Isaraelite nation at Mt. Sinai and later with King David. This relationship or covenant was expressed by the people in their adherence to the Old Testament law. This law was summarizes by Jesus in the 2 great commandments. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength and you shall love your neighbour as yourself". Jesus then made the comment that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Throughout the history of Isarael there has always been a few who have remained faithful to God even though the nation as a whole turned away from him. This faithful remnant was the true covenant community. The bulk of Israelite community however was confident that, having been chosen by God, as long as they went through the motions of serving him they would always remain the chosen people. They couldn't conceive of the possibility that God might unchoose them if they didn't keep up their end of their responsibilities under the covenant.
When John the Baptist , the last of the Old Testament style prophets appeared, he told the pharisees & the sadducees "do not presume to tell
Yourselves 'we have Abraham for our father' because I tell you God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones" the Sadducees were the church establishment of the day and the Pharisees were the popular pious movement. Like say the Lambeth Conference of bishops and archbishops on the one hand and the charismatic fringe element on the other. Yet both were told that there is no room for complacency in claiming the promises of God.
Part of the Christian message is that those who believe in Jesus as Lord and saviour are the new true blue children of abraham. You and I, if we have committed our lives to Jesus in response to the call of the spirit are the present covenant community. We are the inheritors of the promises of God. It is not the high, low, or middle anglican church; it is not the organized church, the reorganized church or even the disorganized church. It is not one particular sect or denomination. It is simply those who believe in Jesus, those who acknowledge him as saviour and Lord. The body of believers who exist within and across the superficial groups and divisions.
Belonging to this covenant community places responsibilities on each one of us and Jesus describes these responsibilities in the Sermon on the Mount. But the Sermon on the Mount is not just a guide to Christian living which if followed will ultimately lead to our union with christ in heaven. Rather it is Jesus' prophetic message in which he calls his people to obedience to the requirements of the covenant. It defines who belongs to the covenant community and lays upon them the responsibility of behaviour appropriate to the children of the covenant. It is Jesus' manifesto for the christian counter-culture.
Jesus' identifies those who belong to the covenant community in the opening part of the Sermon on the Mount which we call the beatitudes. They are called the beatitudes,because each pronounces a blessing on those who belong to the Kingdom of Heaven . Christians and non-Christians belong to two entirely different realms. The first thing we have to do is realize that as Christians we belong to a different kingdom to the non-Christians around us. We are not only different in essence but we live simultaneously in two different worlds. The temporal world which will pass away and the spiritual world which endures for ever. The Apostle Paul said that we are to be in this world but not of this world. In the Old Testament the Isaraelites were told to see themselves as only temporary dwellers in the land. Their citizenship, like ours, lies elsewhere, it is spiritual rather than earthly and Jesus sets out for us the characteristics of those who belong to his spiritual kingdom, God's forever family.
1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
All other christian characteristics result from being poor in spirit. We cannot be filled until we are emptied. It is the renunciation of self; those who are proudly self-sufficient are excluded from the kingdom. There is a direct contrast with the world in which we currently live. The world places such a large emphasis on self-reliance, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-control, self-expression, self-determination and generally doing your own thing. In contrast Christians are those who while not destroying individuality empty themselves before God and allow him to fill them with his spirit, his love,& his compassion.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
This mourning is not mourning for a lost relative or friend. It is the mourning, the feeling of utter loss, helplessness and hopelessness in the face of the realization of our sinfulness. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Romans ch.7 "O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death." The comfort we will receive is the fact that God will not look on our sinfulness on the day of judgement but on christ's perfect sinlessness in our place.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Meekness in the biblical sense is a characteristic in direct contrast with the values of the world. It negates militantism in any form for any cause. It negates the idea that organization can overcome opposition. Christ was the supreme example of meekness. It is putting the other person first no matter how strongly you want to assert yourself. Meekness doesn't come easily. The old ego is always pushing itself forward. Me, me, me first, I want, I'm alright jack, blow you. Meekness is putting up with the hurt and not retaliating and far from being weakness it is strength of the highest order.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Does this really need any explanation or expansion except to ask "Do we do it?' do we hunger and thirst after righteousness, striving to be the sort of people God wants us to be. Are we actively pursuing the goals of being free from sin, right with God and positively holy.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
This one strikes at our attitudes and our actions. Mercy is not only pity for another person's circumstances, it is also doing something about it. It is responding to need and suffering with positive action and the reward to the merciful is God's mercy. The Isaraelites were accused time and again by the prophets of expecting God's mercy on them without them showing mercy on the needy within their society. Evangelism is not the only motivation for christian social action.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
This sounds a bit like the emperor's new clothes. Unless you are pure in heart you won't see God. The pure of heart are those who have been freed from the tyranny of a divided self, those who don't try to serve God and the world at the same time. Jesus takes up this idea later in the Sermon on the Mount when he says you can't serve God and money. Our loyalty needs to lie firstly with God. It's not only money that competes for and divides our loyalty. It is work, pleasure,sport, family, possessions, power, anything and everything that is given precedence over God in our lives. Jesus tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all the other blessings of life will be added to us.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
The gospel we preach is the gospel of reconciliation. Reconciliation between man and God, man and himself, and man and man. True lasting peace will come only from Christ. No amount of summit talks, detente, United Nations, political treatis, SALT agreements, nuclear deterrents will achieve peace, because the real problem is one of alienation from God in the first instance, ourselves in the next and each other in the last. This alienation is only overcome through christ.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Closing the description given in the beatitudes is the statement that those who are persecuted for righteousness sake belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. By worldly standards most of the qualities the beatitudes urge us to exhibit are regarded as negative rather than positive, yet God says these are the characteristics that members of my Kingdom display.
How do you stack up against this list ? Do you really give your first loyalty to the Kingdom of God or are you trying to serve both God and the world?
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus concludes by saying don't be surprised when you're persecuted because your following him. All God's prophets got the same treatment. The fact that you are persecuted is a sign that you are having an impact on the world and your true reward will come from heaven, not men.
A mistake we often fall into is that we look for our reward on earth, here and now, from men rather than from God. We get upset when the people we minister to in God's name reject God and reject us. Jesus tells us to expect it. The gospel is God's Good News unto salvation to those who receive it but it's bad news to those who reject it and they also reject those who bring it. Jesus identified the disciples with the prophets of old and we too share in the same identification. We too have the responsibility of calling people out of darkness into light, out of sin into salvation. We too have the responsibility of living lives that make the others feel guilty before God and they will resent it and reject us and what we stand for. But the Kingdom of Heaven is ours not theirs, and so we should pity them because they are going to hell.
13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
We are meant to be salt and light in society and we will be if the characteristics of the blessed life are seen in us. There’s a purity about salt, salt is a preservative but mostly salt adds flavour. And that is what we as Christians are meant to do. To add the flavour of Christlikeness, a sparkle of joy, a taste of unselfishness as we move amongst those around us.
Light too is a very 3evocatrive image. The warning given by a lighthouse; the attraction given by a lighted window in the fog; the guidance given by a torch or a flare path when you’re trying to find your way at night. The illumination of good lighting that helps us to see clearly. We are to be all these things to the world. There is no excuse for secret discipleship. Jesus Christ is the “light of the world” and we too are to reflect that same light, We shine as we are lit up by him and as we do this people will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.
Do you live your life in such a way that people observing you praise God? It’s a challenge isn’t it?
The Apostle Paul was conscious of the challenge to live the godly life. He wrote to his protégé Timothy “15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life”.
On another occasion he wrote to the Corinthian Christians “I urge you to imitate me. 17For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.”
On the one hand we have that consciousness of our sin and failings that keeps us humble and returning to the Lord for forgiveness and renewal. On the other hand we have that awareness that having the Holy Spirit within us we are to live lifes that are an example and inspiration to others.
These Christian images of salt and light remind us that we are to be involved in our society, in our world. They militate against any form of separation or withdrawal.. We are not promised that we’ll be able to Chriatianize the world so that the laws and values and behaviour of everyone will please God but we, ourselves are challenged to march to a different drum from the world and to call upon our society and our world to heed God’s standards.
Over the next 6 weeks or so we will be continuing our look at the Sermon on the Mount, finding out how Jesus says we should live as members of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Christian Counter Culture.
Let us pray.