School of the Bible - Sermon on the Mount 4

  • Gordon Simmonds
  • Feb 17, 2009
  • Series: School of the Bible - Sermon on the Mount

Lesson 4 - Sins of the Heart

Outline:

  • 1. Fulfilling the Law
  • 2. Anger
  • 3. Adultery
  • 4. Divorce
  • 5. Taking Oaths
  • 6. Retaliation

1. Fulfilling The Law

Matthew 5:17-18

1.1 When Jesus makes this statement about "the righteousness of the Pharisees", he could have been misunderstood as the Pharisees had an appearance of righteousness. 

1.2 He is not speaking against outward observances but heart issues iow not the observing of all the requirements of the law, but against hypocrisy.

  • 1.2.1 The Pharisees were known for not keeping all the details of Law, instead they would keep laws externally, in an attempt to please God.

1.3 From a biblical standpoint, the "righteousness" of the Pharisees was not enough to save them. Salvation is a gift, and therefore the righteousness needed for salvation comes through faith and not works.

1.4 Therefore exceeding the "righteousness of the Pharisees" meant salvation by faith, and so God making the believer righteous clearly revealed a saving righteousness as opposed to a non-saving outward righteousness.

1.5 Jots and tittles are the smallest letters and marks in the Hebrew alphabet.

1.6 The disciples would have probably looked at this statement of Jesus from the perspective of outward sins - as demonstrated by the Pharisees. However Jesus is going to focus on sins of the heart!

1.7 Jesus is going to show the disciples how to recognize sin.

  •  1.7.1 You don't wait to recognize it until it shows up on the outside; you catch it while it is still on the inside. If you can stop the thought, the deed will never take place." [1]

Proverbs 6:16-19

2. Anger

Matthew 5:21-24

2.1 The inward sin anger is as bad as the outward sin of murder.

  •  2.1.1 The phrase: "You have heard that it was said to those of old" is used 6 times contrasting the Old Testament interpretation of the Rabbis with the teaching of Jesus. 
  • 2.1.1.1 It is important to note that Jesus is not necessarily quoting the Old testament but the interpretation thereof by the Rabbis which was frequently incorrect! 
  • 2.1.2 There is a difference between murder (phoneuo) on the one hand and killing (apokeino) on the other. There is no prohibition in the Word to killing in self-defence, but obviously pre-meditated murder is contrary to His will.
  •  2.1.3 The Bible says there is a time to kill, and there is a time to heal (Ecclesiates 3:3), but there never is a time to murder.  
  • 2.1.4 Proverbs 6:16, refers to hands that shed innocent blood. It is alright, at times, for hands to shed guilty blood. EG in Old Testament times when God required his people to destroy a nation, only when the nation was guilty and this was God's judgement. 

2.2 "Calling someone a Fool"

Matthew 5:22 

  • 2.2.1 Now Jesus focuses on inward murder (anger).  
  • 2.2.2 The Greek argizo refers to "provoking or enraging another or to become exasperated or become angry with another."  
  • 2.2.3 Notice that both anger and murder have the same consequence: "danger of the judgment".  
  • 2.2.3.1 This is not judgement but danger thereof, implying that the person is heading in the wrong direction. 
  • 2.2.4 "Jesus is not saying here that the thought is as bad as the deed. He's saying that the thought is the deed. The moment you thought it and meditated on it, God saw you pull out the sword and murder the person."[2]
  • 2.2.5 Is there a godly anger? 
  • 2.2.5.1 Jesus displayed a godly anger in the temple: John 2:14-17. See also Ephesians 4:26  
  • 2.2.5.2 "Anyone can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not easy." ARISTOTLE - The Nicomachean Ethics 
  • 2.2.6 There is not much difference in the meaning of the words fool and Raca, which is linked to the Aramaic word for "Empty-head".  
  • 2.2.6.1 The difference lies in offending God and man. There are certain words that can be used in certain cultures that will cause a person to be brought before the authorities but there are also times when words we say offend God.

 "Avoid not only violence of deed but violence of spirit." Martin Luther

  •  2.2.7 What Jesus is saying here is that when we lose our tempers (even if it is only light anger) and call someone "a fool" or a word that offends in a culture, we are guilty of judging that person and can appear before a natural court or have to give an account to God, or in fact both!

 2.3 Sin is progressive:

  •  2.3.1 A thought entering the mind
  •  2.3.2 Meditating on the thought 
  • 2.3.3 Calling someone a fool 
  • 2.3.4 Losing temper and becoming violent 
  • 2.3.5 Murder

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

2.4 Judging Oneself

Matthew 5:23-24

  • 2.4.1 God emphasizes unity over giving!!! 
  • 2.4.1.1 Notice that this says that if "your brother has something against you" - it does not say if you have something against your brother.  
  • 2.4.1.2 The reason for him having something against you is that you may have offended him!  
  • 2.4.2 Judging oneself before doing anything.  
  • 2.4.2.1 Jesus emphasizes a very important principle in the Word. 
  • 2.4.2.2 This means that a believer should resolve any issues (between himself and others as well as between himself and God) before giving, before operating in faith. See Mark 11:25.

2.5 Agreeing with the adversary

Matthew 5:25-26

  • 2.5.1 Agreement here has nothing to do with compromising God's Word.  
  • 2.5.1.1 A believer can never be in spiritual agreement with a Buddhist!  
  • 2.5.2 God requires us to make restitution when we have wronged somebody.  
  • 2.5.2.1 Sometimes we need to even go the extra mile. This can happen when we have wronged someone financially or physically. 
  • 2.5.3 It is so important for a believer to come to terms with his adversary before going to court. to make this restitution. 

Luke 19:1-10 

  • 2.5.4 There is a world out there looking for any and every reason to get believers to fall, and will think nothing of taking them to court.  
  • 2.5.5 Paul's counsel in 1 Corinthians 6 is that believers are not to take believers to court - the issue should rather be settled with the wisdom of church leaders as opposed to letting a heathen judge rule between brothers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  • 2.5.6 The progression of sin: 
  • 2.5.6.1 Thoughts enter our minds relating to anger when something in someone displeases us. 
  • 2.5.6.2 We then meditate on these thoughts resulting in an inward anger. 
  • 2.5.6.3 The next step is losing our tempers, which results in verbal abuse of the other person. 
  • 2.5.6.4 Following on from this is the other person wanting to sue us, this can be avoided by making right or even pleading with our adversary on the way to court.  
  • 2.5.6.5 When we land up in court and judgement is given against us this inward anger can turn quickly into a greater anger which turns to violence and even murder.

"I cannot keep the birds from alighting on my head, but I can restrain them from making nests in my hair." Martin Luther

3. Adultery

Matthew 5:27-30

  • 3.1 Jesus teaches what adultery is, and where it begins.  
  • 3.1.1 Adultery begins with the thoughts, not with the deed. When adultery is mentioned, most people think of the outward act, however Jesus says if a person looks to lust, he has already committed adultery in his heart.  
  • 3.1.2 God sees both the act and the thought as adultery.  
  • 3.2 No one who ever woke up and then found he had committed adultery. 
  • 3.2.1 It starts with the thought - the lust, progressing to the outward sin. The mind is bombarded with thoughts until finally the outward act of adultery takes place.  
  • 3.3 Notice that Jesus never said it was wrong to look or to appreciate beauty in the opposite sex.  
  • 3.4 Even though looking to lust is as bad as committing adultery; there will always be greater consequences for the actual sin!

3.5 Dealing with adultery

Matthew 5:29-30

  • 3.5.1 Jesus is not teaching self-mutilation. Believers should take whatever measure necessary in dealing with sin. 
  • 3.5.2 Eyes in verse 29 refer to mental sins, while hands refer to outward sins.  
  • 3.5.3 The implication here is that one should be as quick to ask God for forgiveness when committing a sin mentally as one would if the sin was committed outwardly.  
  • 3.5.4 How often do people walk around with lust on the inside and keep brushing it aside instead of asking for forgiveness?  
  • 3.5.5 Notice who is to do the "plucking" or "cutting off"! It is not my job to "cut off your hand" or "pluck out your eye". It is my responsibility to see that I walk in self-examination. 

"Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
FRANK OUTLAW

4. Divorce

Matthew 5:31-32

4.1 This verse must be interpreted in the context of Matthew 19:3-9, where Jesus teaches in more detail on the subject and needs to be seen in the light of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 where the Law was given relevant to divorce:

4.2 The following summarises the words of Jesus on divorce:

  • 4.2.1 Divorce was never God's intention as the two He had joined together were to remain one! 
  • 4.2.2 It is only permitted on the grounds of sexual immorality. 
  • 4.2.3 The Mosaic Law (specifically Deuteronomy 24:1-4) REGULATED divorce. (in the same way that an "eye for an eye" regulated the behaviour of the person who wanted death for an eye, so this law regulates divorce!) Divorce was permitted because of the hardness of the hearts of the people. It protected the wife from a man who wanted to divorce her for any reason by: 
  • 4.2.3.1 Needing a justifiable cause (sexual immorality) with two witnesses testifying. 
  • 4.2.3.2 A certificate had to be given to the wife so that she was not considered an adulteress - the certificate stating the cause.  
  • 4.2.3.3 The man divorcing her was not allowed to remarry her, showing the seriousness of covenant and divorce. 
  • 4.2.4 If a person divorces without adultery, the "innocent" party is considered to commit adultery in the subsequent marriage by way of the fact that he/she can no longer be faithful to the original covenant.

4.3 We must bear in mind that adultery is not the unforgivable sin and that forgiveness and restoration of the marriage is always a better option that divorce.

5. Taking Oaths

Matthew 5:33-37

5.1 Swearing means to take an oath or a vow. It is to bring something into a conversation which will prop up the statement because in itself the statement is weak.

  • 5.1.1 There is a place where vows and oaths can be made - this is when there are issues of great importance and here we see not only people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob etc making oaths but also God Himself.  
  • 5.1.1.1 The point is that we should not make oaths in ordinary conversation.

Matthew 26:63-64; Hebrews 6:16-18

6. Retaliation

Matthew 5:38-48

6.1 "An eye for an eye . . ." is a quote from the Old Testament Law. The context was that of judgement where someone wronged someone and was required to pay, as in a court of law.

Exodus 21:22-25; Leviticus 24:19-21

  • 6.1.1 Jesus teaches based on how a believer should react when the gospel is the focus of the persecution.

6.2 Turning the Other Cheek

  • 6.2.1 This does not mean that we allow people to do whatever they like EG a demon-possessed person to disrupt a service, as Paul himself cast the demon out of the slave-girl in Acts 16. 
  • 6.2.2 It also does not mean that we are not to resist evil people without exception as Ephesians 6:11 tells us to stand and resist. ("Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.") 
  • 6.2.3 Because attacks on the believer will sometimes be gospel related, and this attack is not physical in its origin, Jesus requires us to respond in a spiritual way.  
  • 6.2.4 The lower or more carnal way to deal with persecution is with fists, the spiritual way is to turn the other cheek! 
  • 6.2.5 The principle is that we should not seek revenge! 

6.3 Letting goods go 

  • 6.3.1 This again is talking about gospel related issues.  
  • 6.3.2 When someone takes something of ours, we have a right to have it returned and have the law courts at our disposal to ensure that justice prevails.  
  • 6.3.2.1 However this is not the root to go for believers as 1 Corinthians 6 1-8 tells us that a brother should not take a brother to court. If we take an unbeliever to court who has wronged us, he may still seek revenge later on, but when the matter is released, he will see Jesus and hopefully come to repentance.

6.4 Going the extra Mile

Matthew 5:41 

Matthew 27:32 

  • 6.4.1 A Roman soldier could, by law, compel a Jew to carry his pack for one mile.  
  • 6.4.1.1 At the end of the mile the soldier would expect the Jew to drop the pack and walk away.  
  • 6.4.1.2 There was nothing further that could be required of him. However, Jesus says to go the extra mile.  
  • 6.4.1.3 He requires believers to go way beyond what they are compelled to do, so that unbelievers will see something different and come to Christ.  
  • 6.4.1.4 It is the goodness of God manifest in believers that leads sinners to Him.

6.5 Giving to those who ask

Matthew 5:42 

  • 6.5.1 This instruction is never meant to violate the Scripture, which says that we are to provide first for our households before outsiders:

1 Timothy 5:8 

6.6 Loving Neighbours & Enemies

Matthew 5:43-44 

  • 6.6.1 The Old Testament says "love your neighbour" - it does not add hate your enemy.  
  • 6.6.2 Love is seeking nothing but the highest good for someone. 
  • 6.6.3 This is probably the greatest challenge of the Sermon on the Mount.  
  • 6.6.4 How can a believer "turn the other cheek", or allow someone to take away his goods? 
  • 6.6.4.1 The only way in which a believer can live at this level is by faith!  

James 2:14-20

  •  6.6.5 Faith without corresponding actions is not faith as faith will always act on what it believes.

6.7 Displaying Maturity

Matthew 5:45-48

  • 6.7.1 There is a difference between a son and a child. The Greek word for son huios has the meaning of maturity while the word for child tecknon refers to a young believer.
  • 6.7.2 There must be a difference in behaviour between believers and unbelievers. This is not only referring to the immoral parts of sin but to "going the extra mile".