How Relevant Is the Sermon on the Mount Today?

The Sermon on the Mount is more apropos now than when Jesus first presented it to the people. The time in which Jesus was teaching on the Mount was a period of transition, a changing from the old to the new. Jesus was easing the nation of Israel (who were representative of all men) from their adherence to the Mosaic Law and the traditions of men into the more demanding New Covenant, the Law of liberty. But, as He cautioned His audience,

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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.” Mat 5:17-18.

Because He had not yet died, which alone could make the New Covenant effective, Jesus was telling His followers to continue to strictly observe the tenets of the old law. Nevertheless He simultaneously was presenting them with the demands of the New Covenant that would shortly be in effect.

Obedience Without Commitment Can Be Awkward

There is a vast difference between the devoted follower of Christ and one who merely assents to, and obeys God’s various commandments without having a commitment to God. A beggarly lip service with no change of heart can produce a good law-abiding member of society, but one whose status is unchanged before God. No matter how much of Jesus’ teaching he observes, he is still an unrepentant sinner. He will not have experienced the new birth without which no man can enter the Kingdom of God. John 3.1-21.

Following God’s general directions makes for a more peaceful life for saint or sinner, although it may be rather difficult for the sinner. If the one still living in his sins turns the other cheek, if he goes the extra mile, if he treats his enemy as he would his neighbor and deals with his enemy as he wants to be dealt with – he becomes a living doormat with no God to look out for him. And how can the man who does not have the Spirit of God within him, fight the temptations that arise from his carnal nature and the tempter himself? Many passions can assail one who wants to walk according to the Sermon on the Mount: pride, sexual lust, wrath, envy. Without a God within him, the sinner cannot live up to what the God of the Bible decrees. He may lead a decent life, but his conscience will burn with shame because he does not have the empowering and justifying Spirit of God inside. The ability to fully please God is not there.

The Sermon on the Mount Is a Haven from Evil

Jesus’ pronouncements on the Mount of amazing and theretofore unheard of truths consisted of a true roadmap to peace for all who committed themselves to Him. It was, and still is, a refuge from the evils that sweep relentlessly down on the entire race of men.

Some events or happenings are predetermined by God: they will come to pass at a predestined time and they do not depend on man’s yea or nay. These events can occur in the life of a believer or an unbeliever and in either instance they may be beneficial or not. It depends on the attitude of the one afflicted. Even the believer has to accept what God sends as what is best for him (the believer); if he does not, the happening will be to his detriment. How much less chance does one who is not born again have when blasted by the storms of life that will come without fail and for which there is no man-made shelter against them?

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Comments

[Chailyn]

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