General Articles

Keeping The Sermon On The Mount? :: By Grant Phillips

Published on: by RR7

Is it possible today to live by the Sermon on the Mount? Many folks seem to think so. Even the world today pushes its liberal agenda, thinking its anti-God programs fulfill the message Jesus gave in Matthew 5-7.

The Sermon on the Mount is also provided in the other three Gospels, but not as completely as in Matthew. One Bible teacher stated years ago that he believes Jesus pointed out all ten of the commandments and not just the two that are shown in the Scripture. This makes sense because the apostle John says:

“And there are also many other things Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (John 21:25).

For example, it is obvious that He healed many, many more people than are listed in Scripture, definitely thousands. With a casual reading, it is evident that all who came to Him, and there were thousands, He healed them all.

That being the case, it is obvious to me that the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount is not provided for the reason the apostle John stated in John 21:25 above, but the largest section of it is provided in Matthew 5-7.

After carefully reading Matthew 5-7, how can anyone possibly think they live by that Sermon? Beats me … but they sure do.

Folks, living by the Law of Moses is hard enough (in other words, we can’t). The Sermon on the Mount takes the Law to the nth degree. Living by the Law would be like trying to carry a car on your back for a twenty-mile run. Living by the Sermon on the Mount would be like trying to carry Earth on your back. It ain’t gonna happen, at least not now. I’ll return to this thought later.

In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus says, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Even in our society, anyone who commits murder will be dealt with by our governmental justice system. Yes, I realize that isn’t always so, but that is the way it is supposed to work. In other words, one who commits murder should be put to death, even though this is rarely the case in our society. However, God says:

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

“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:12).

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

“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. ‘Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death” (Numbers 35:30-31).

“Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen'” (Deuteronomy 27:24).

Now back to the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:21-22 (shown above). The Sermon on the Mount is so much more stringent than the Law; we are found guilty if we have one wrong THOUGHT toward another person.

So, can any of us truthfully say we have never murdered someone? Hopefully, we have never done so by a physical action, but what about our thoughts? Where do we stand when it comes to what we think? How many times have we been guilty of murder by the Sermon on the Mount definition? Maybe we kept the Law in that regard, but have we kept the Sermon on the Mount in that regard?

Now let’s see what Jesus says about His second example from the Ten Commandments … adultery.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;

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” (Matthew 5:27-28).

Now obviously, this applies to both sexes, male and female. Maybe we all can puff our chest out and brag that we have never committed adultery, but again, what about those thoughts that crossed our mind?

Can any of us, if we’re honest, truthfully say that we have never, not even once, had the wrong thought toward someone of the opposite sex? (I’m not even going to address the homosexual situation. I’ve done so before, and it is clearly and without argument a vile sin against God.)

With all the garbage that comes over the television, theaters, magazines, Internet, etc., it is very difficult for a decent person to avoid what is shoved in our face. Even aside from that, can we truthfully say we have never once had that unclean thought? Again, the answer is obvious, whether we’re talking about murder (above) or adultery in this passage.

Especially the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were very proud of their supposed ability to keep the Law, but Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, tells them about a higher Law, a Law that will be observed at a later time. The Sermon on the Mount is all about the Kingdom age (the Millennium or 1,000-year reign of Christ).

If we fail in one point of the Law, we are guilty (Romans 3:9-20, 23; James 2:10). If we even THINK the wrong thought toward another person, we are guilty. In other words, we break the Law of Moses by our ACTIONS, and we break God’s higher Law by our mere THOUGHTS.

At this time, we break both laws. We may keep some or most of the Law of Moses in the here and now, but it is impossible for anyone to keep any of the Law of the Kingdom age that Jesus is revealing. Anyone who makes such a brash statement that they keep the Sermon on the Mount is, I kindly say, a fool. Does that mean we might as well ignore the Sermon on the Mount for daily living? Of course not, no more so than we should ignore the Law of Moses, even though we are no longer under the Law, but under Grace.

No one but Jesus has ever kept the Law of Moses and the Sermon on the Mount, but here is the good news. All who belong to Jesus in the Kingdom age will keep the Sermon on the Mount. I believe that those who are born on the earth during the Millennium will also be able to thru Jesus, if they are saved during that time. All who are born on the earth during the Millennium who do not come to Jesus to be saved will be judged by the Law of the Sermon on the Mount.

Remember that Jesus said when referring to that time:

“AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father” (Revelation 2:27).

“And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne” (Revelation 12:5).

“From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15).

The Millennial Kingdom is a wonderful time to anticipate, for those who belong to God. Just think, IF the Rapture occurred today, the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ could be only a mere seven years or so away.

Then it will be a time when the world will be properly governed by Jesus Himself. FINALLY, it will be run, not by politicians and despots, but by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then, we can truthfully say (those who belong to Jesus) that not even a sinful THOUGHT is ours. That old sin nature that now haunts us will no longer be around.

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com

Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com

Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

Treasures in Hedges :: By Tom Tillman

Published on: by RR7

I really like finding golf balls; ever since I was a child living on a golf course in Palm Springs, finding a golf ball was always like finding a little treasure. Even now, it’s the same. We live next to a golf course with a hedge of laurel between us and the fairway. I’ll often walk along the hedge and find anywhere from 5 to 15 golf balls, and here, they’re almost always bright new shiny ones because this is an exclusive, private course where the members can afford to always use brand new balls.

If I wanted to bother, I could easily find 100-150 balls each month, but I’ve already got so many hundreds of golf balls in my basement stacked in egg cartons that we give them away as gifts to other golfers. I do golf occasionally with my friend Tom on a public course, but even then, I end up finding 5 to 10 more balls than I lost… and I do lose many… but I’ve gotten to the place where I don’t even bother to look for them anymore because I know that I’ll probably find that very ball next time we golf.

Now, back to that laurel hedge. Inside the hedge is where I find most of the balls. Many balls end up out in the open on our side of the hedge, but one of our neighbors also hunts the balls, so I try to beat him to them. But even if I don’t, I’ll still find plenty inside the hedge because, if you’ve ever tried to pass through a laurel hedge without a gap in it, you know that it’s close to impossible. Laurel grows thick and heavy; thankfully, laurel doesn’t have thorns, but there are blackberry vines growing throughout the hedge, which makes it very difficult to enter into the interior of the hedge. But… none of that can stop me in my quest for the next golf ball… especially if it is one of the fluorescent-colored ones… just like finding Easter eggs… I can’t help myself.

‘Why should any of this interest you,’ you ask?… It’s about the hedge.

We are God’s Easter eggs, His offspring, born of Easter or, rather, born of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. We are His treasure, and He is not about to allow any interloper, like my neighbor absconding with my golf balls… He is not about to allow us to be snatched away from His care. He has placed a hedge of protection around us that cannot be moved.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

Many false teachers tell us that we are to be about the business of looking for demons with whom to do battle, that they have the power to unleash all manner of evil upon us and our loved ones. None of that is borne out by God’s Word. Demons have no power over us but to whisper lies in our ears… that’s it!

When God instructs us concerning the Armor of God, every piece represents simply the things that we are to set our minds on when an attack comes so that we will be able to stand still and stand firm in the Lord; in so doing, we are resisting the devil, and he must flee. We are to remember and think upon: Truth, Righteousness, the truth of the Gospel, Faith, our Salvation, and the Word of God.

Speaking of Job, Satan said, “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land” (Job 1:10). Apart from God’s will and His plan, Satan could not touch Job in any way, nor can he touch us.

The Psalmist wrote, “Those who trust in the Lord Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever” (Psa 125:1-2).

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” (Psa 34:7).

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them that those who love your name may rejoice in you” (Psa 5:11).

“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psa. 32:7).

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word” (Psa. 119:114).

“Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings” (Psa. 17:8).

“For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock” (Psa. 27:5).

“You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues” (Psa. 31:20).

”Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst'” (Zech 2:4-5).

We are God’s treasure, far more valuable than even solid gold golf balls; He will never leave us or forsake us; He will be with us always, even to the end of the age.

The end of this age, the age of Grace, the time of the Church, will end, suddenly, one day soon. Then, soon after that, the times of the Gentiles will end, and we will rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ for 1,000 years and then forever… over this Earth, over a new Earth and throughout all the far-flung Universe. Never doubt, never lose heart… He is coming for us soon!

By the way: as of this writing, May 14, 2021… It is exactly 73 years since the miracle of the rebirth of Israel. Jesus said that the generation that saw that would not pass away until everything was fulfilled, until His return with us at Armageddon. If the Rapture happens today, the additional 7 years of the Tribulation would cause this generation to have lasted for 80 years.

Never in Scripture is a generation longer than 80 years.

Tom Tillman

https://heartsoflove.org