SERMON ON THE MOUNT, LESSON 1a

THE EXPANDED OUTLINE

by Warren Rogers

The theme of the “sermon on the mount” concerns the new society of people that Christ wanted to create so that men might come to know and glorify the Father. The sermon contains the basic doctrine or teachings for the new people who were to form the new Kingdom then being announced. The sermon defines the new reality to be lived by those becoming disciples of Christ: a new life to be realized in a generous outburst of high spiritual principles, independence from the demands of materialism and perfected according to the completely new law of goodness toward all others and trust in God.

I. OUTLINE OF THE CONTENTS OF THE SERMON

A NEW PEOPLE

INTRODUCTION: The life principles of the new people (5: 13-16)

I. The new people's place in the world ( 5: 13-16)

II. The new ethical law (5: 17-48)

III. The new Spirit of Righteousness (6: 1-18)

IV. The new trust in God (6: 19-34)

V. Practical applications of the new life (7: 1-2).

Conclusion: warnings and exhortations concerning the importance of fulfilling the requirements     of the new life (7: 13-27).

II. SUMMARY OF THE CONTENTS OF THE SERMON

A. Beatitudes (5: 3-12): These are the life principles of the new people of Christ. In this section happiness is the foreseen state of life to those fulfilling or reaching upward to eight spiritual conditions, each of them leading to draw on a deep source for a happy, meaningful life.

HAPPY

BECAUSE

Those who live according to conditions of life that involve humility, contriteness, persevering commitment, deep earnestness, mercy purity, peacemaking and even in persecution will find full happiness in the new reality of the kingdom. Therein, will one find strength, all the good earth holds, foulness of life, mercy and , as sons of God, enjoy seeing and communing with God....all of this during the present life and even greater rewards in heaven.

B. The new people's place in the world (5: 13-16).

1. SALT without the savory, preserving and salutary presence of Christ's new people, the world is doomed to misery. If His people fail in their mission to influence their generation they are worthless in regard to their place in the world.

2. LIGHT without the illuminating examples of good done by the followers of Christ, which lead men to glorify God, the world would remain in darkness. Goodness fulfills its function, reaches its higher value when it guides men to God....it is worthless when withheld or isolated from the world.

C. THE NEW PEOPLE'S HIGHER ETHICAL LAW (5: 17-48)

God's law to the ancient people was not to be violated or disrespected but rather fulfilled through reaching up to the still higher ethical levels of the new law in Christ. Christ chooses six ethical examples from the practices of the Old Law, suggest the higher fulfillment of each and gives the spiritual motivation or justification (cf. Rom. 13: 9-10).

 While the practices of the old  law prohibited the worst of sins (murder, adultery, distrust) the new law of Christ prohibits whatever wrong against any other, in any measure and in any circumstance---even to thinking hurt or deception to another (adultery, swearing, falsely). While the practices of the old law conceded unilaterally disregarding the wife, vengeance, hatred and unconcern for the enemy, the new law of Christ orders respect to the martial bond, giving good for evil received and loving even enemies.

The reasons are clearly cited for straining every resource to reach upward according to these new ethics: 1. They are the natural outburst in the lives of those who seek the kingdom (vs. 19-20). 2. So is the Father and like Him must be His children (v. 48).....a turning away form the models around them (pagans, publicans, scribes and pharisees) and patterning one's life after the Father's good.

D. THE NEW SPIRIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ( 6: 1-18)

Christ passes from “goodness” towards men in social relations to the right relation (righteousness) with God. By means of three examples on alms, prayer, and fasting. Christ teaches the attitude toward God that His new people are to have and how they are to avoid the pretend piety of the hypocrites.

The outward, self-seeking formalism of the hypocrite, whose highest thought is recognition before men, is contrasted with the internal sincerity of the disciple, whose highest thought is approval by God, the Father.

  Each, following the methods leading to the chosen goal in life, will receive his reward: the  pretentious    hypocrite, the false and temporary feeding of his pride through the applaud of men; the  sincere, unassuming disciple, the rewarding knowledge and resulting sure reality that the Father has    seen and approved and will duly bring fulfillment and greater purpose to his life, with its eternal    dimensions.

The Christian's piety, both to avoid falling in the short lived joys and eternal evils of hypocrisy and to forever stand in a right relationship it the Father, must in all its expressions of mercy to others, praise to God and response to loss and contrition through fasting, be lived internally and sincerely before God and only for God. Otherwise, God's sovereign dominion (kingdom) does not become a reality in one's life....Christ's prayer that God's rule come over us on the earth remains without human response. True Christian piety becomes a reality in proportion to one's desire for God's rule over his/her life.

The so-called “Lords prayer” is an example of how to pray:

Simply: there are no words that are difficult, it is not long by very brief (not more than 70 words in any version). Prayer, in order to please God, does not need to be with impressive or many words. God wants the simple desires of the heart expressed.

Sufficiently: not much is said, but everything needed by man, praise to God, petition, confession are here included.

E. The New Trust in God ( 6: 19-34)

The serene attitude of trust in God can be measured by the degree of dependence on or detachment from material possessions and needs.

1. Trust in material possessions ( vs. 19-24). One who so places his trust (life security) forgets that such goods are easily broken and quickly taken. Only those things that are above such material threats hold out lasting security and resulting serenity. One must make a distinct choice in life: the god of material trust or the God of spiritual trust. Christ points out the inherit nature and results of these choices.

------to choose the accumulation of material possessions as a promise of serenity is to condemn one's life to darkness; to choose God is to fill one's life with light (illustration of the eye).

------to attempt the acceptance of two contrasting, mutually alien principles results in a wasted life and is destined to sure failure. One excludes the other and invariably a decision of loyalty will be required. To seek material assurance is to become a slave to “mammon:” to seek spiritual assurance is to become a servant of God.

2. A life priority to material needs ( v. 25-34). Recognition and securing the needs of life (food, clothing) is not here condemned. Rather the anxiousness and excessiveness that absorbs a person and causes him/her to consider material needs the priority of life....which Christ already declared in the previous verses as being impossible, damaging, futile and incompatible to being in the kingdom. He goes on to cite some further reasons why it is reasonable to place our full trust in God as we serenely serve n the kingdom.

------Having given us life, God will not fail to sustain our lives (v.25).

------Taking note of lesser creation, He will certainly take note or our needs (vs. 26, 28-30.

------Anxiousness (worry) is futile, cannot even extend our life (v. 27).

----- Our God is good, how could we reason as the faithless pagans (v. 32).

----- Our God knows our every need, why forget Him and worry (v. 32)?

----- Having promised us the kingdom, He certainly will not forget to supply our lessor material needs (v. 33).

-----In life there are already too many burdens in each day; why multiply them through worry (v. 34)?

All of this promised serenity takes on reality in our priority search for the kingdom of God (desiring most of all that He rules our lives)and knowing how to rightly stand before Him (righteousness).

(Christ, at no point in His teachings---and certainly not in this sermon—condemns material things or needs as evil and therefore to be avoided or refused. He was concerned about one's attitude toward material possessions and needs. How and why does one seek the material things assumes greater importance to Christ. No material possession, or even a material need, should take precedence to God ruling in our life. If the material excludes us from being able to stand rightly before God, it is to be excluded.)

F. Practical Applications of the New Life (7: 1-12). The five separate thoughts of this section serve partially to summarize the thoughts already presented in the main body of the sermon and to caution the disciples on the proper ways of carrying out the new, extraordinary teachings.

1. Judging (vs. 1-2). Having been presented such a spiritually new, more elevated level of living,there would have been a tendency for some to apply such to others and then be harsh toward those who yet had not risen to the new heights. Christ forbids such treatment of a brother.

Judgment is always in view of condemnation and sentencing and is therefore reserved to God who alone is in possessions of all the facts of any case. Not only is judging forbidden, but the reasons are clearly defined:

-----To avoid being judged by God

-----so God will not have to use the same harshness of judgment we may have used in judging a brother.

-----the extent (measure) of God's judgment on us will be in proportion to our judgment on others.

2. Fraternal Correction (v. 3-5) Christ wanted His people to help one another in reaching the new heights of living, but first with the power of a personal example and at the same time excluding the damaging influence of hypocrisy that discourages weak brethren. While refusing to condemn and sentence another (to save ourselves from God's judgment) fraternal correction is not forbidden but, rather encouraged and regulated.

-----Jesus condemns the hypocrisy and pride that causes one to correct a brother while being unconcerned of personal defects.

-----He commends one who first sets the example of self correction and discipline and then helps a brother.

-----Regardless of what may be wrong with the second brother, the first brother did have a defect (speck).

-----Jesus was saying that the removal of the grosser defect (beam) of the second brother was not that he should ignore the lesser fault in his brother but rather that now without the defect he could do better what he was doing poorly before: correct, remove the defect of his brother.

3. Regard for Sacred Things (v. 6). The great spiritual truths presented were at once charming and exciting. The non resistance to oppression, the open hearted treatment of enemies, the abandonment of worldly anxieties, etc. could be carried to an extreme: through reckless abandon, lay God's precious gifts open to ignoble and useless ruin (pigs-pearls) and open oneself up to needless persecution (turn and rend). Christ teaches restraint, care, reverence and seriousness in the handling of God's jewels--- not reckless agitation of evil and pursuit of persecution, adversity and abuse.

4. Prayer (vs. 9-11) The Lord had insisted on the sin of lengthy, wordy prayers to impress men with the prayer's spirituality. In contrast He had commended brevity, simplicity and sincerity in prayer. However, He here points out that such teachings on prayer must not result in infrequent praying, indifferent petitions. Rather, prayer should be prolonged and insistent—-believing that He who answers gives good things tot hose who earnestly desire them.

5. Treatment of Others (v. 12) The Lord urged the disciples to reach out, fill up the original intentions of the law (5: 17-20) and by so doing reach toward the perfection of the Father (5: 48). Treating others in the same spirit of respect, love and service with which one desires from others will fulfill the demands of God's highest intention for human relations. The new people are to show the way in the treatment of others.

CONCLUSION

Christ concludes the most remarkable of all the sermons with an appeal to live what he had just taught. Under four different forms, He teaches the necessity of a serious, attentive choice between saying and doing, between a verbal commitment to Christ (Lord, Lord) and an intensely obedient life guided by the words of truth.

1. Choose life, despite the present difficulties, not death, even if it is the popular easy way (vs. 13-14)

2. Exercise care in association with religious teachers, determining their worthiness by the fruits of their teachings and life (vs. 15-20).

3. Distinguish between busy doing “church work” and having your life fully committed to God (vs. 20-23).

4. Take care on which promises and hopes you build your life. Only on the teachings of Christ is there the strength to stand against what difficulties fall so commonly on all men. (vs. 24-27).

by Warren L. Rogers

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