God’s Character In Action

Transcript

GRM 1031
5/24/2009
God's Character in Action
Matthew 5:33-48
Gil Rugh


We're studying the Sermon on the Mount together, so turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5 if you would. It's important that we keep in mind the setting of the Sermon on the Mount. Obviously, it's given on the side of the mountain, hillside. The context is Jesus the Messiah of Israel has been calling the nation to repentance for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That was the message that John the Baptist had proclaimed in preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. Now in chapters 5-7 as Jesus gives this extended discourse, He is not describing what life will be like in the kingdom that He establishes. This is not describing life in the millennium. Rather He is clarifying who will be able to go into the kingdom when He establishes it. There will be some excluded from the kingdom and many of those Jews who thought they were assured entrance into the kingdom are going to be excluded. That was the point of chapter 5 verse 20, for I say to you that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now this is a shocking statement to the Jews because the Pharisees and scribes are considered the most righteous people. They did the best job that could be done of keeping the Law, and not only the Law but all the detailed elaborations of the Law that had been added. Yet Jesus said that righteousness will not get you into the kingdom.

And so in verses 21 down through really the rest of the chapter with the last verse tying it together, you have a series of six contrasts drawn. We've already looked at three of them. Look at verse 21, the pattern is the same. You have heard that the ancients were told; verse 22, but I say to you. Verse 27, you have heard that it was said; verse 28, but I say to you. Verse 31, it was said; verse 32, but I say to you. Now He is not changing the Mosaic Law, He is not giving it a different meaning. He is explaining again to them what was always required. The Mosaic Law was never a way of salvation, the Mosaic Law was to be the response of obedience by the Israelites as a result of their having believed in God and the revelation He had given of Himself. They were saved by their faith in God and the revelation He had given. They manifest their true faith by obeying God and keeping the Law He had given to the nation Israel.

Turn over to Matthew 15, we've been here several times already but verses you need to have fixed in your minds, they are also given in Mark 7. Verse 18, but the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man. The Jews had come to think as long as you do your best in conforming externally to the Mosaic Law, you will be accepted by God and be part of the kingdom when He establishes it. Jesus is making clear, God is looking at the heart and until the heart is made acceptable, you cannot be acceptable to God.

This is not new truth, this was revealed as part of what was unfolded in the Old Testament to the nation Israel. They just lost sight of it. The trend is always to focus on externals. That happened to Israel, it happens in the church today. The Jews thought if they tried to keep the Law, went to the temple, offered the sacrifices, that would guarantee their salvation. People think if they go to church, if they get baptized, if they take communion, if they try to be good, that will assure them they will go to heaven. Both are equally wrong. You cannot be saved by these external activities. The problem is the heart.

Come back to Ecclesiastes 9. Very important verse, I love the way it is worded in our translation here, a verse you'll want to remember. It explains a lot of things. The context is he is reminding them that all go to the same end—the good and the evil, the righteous and the unrighteous, all are going to die. Now that's not the end of the story but we are all in the same boat, so to speak. For the last 2000 years believers have died, unbelievers have died. The most wicked and vile of men have died, and the best and most righteous of men have died. That's the context. Note what he says in verse 3, this is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, now note this, the heart of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. Did you ever find yourself thinking in the world as you look around, what is wrong with people? Why would they be doing what they are doing? Well come and read Ecclesiastes 9:3, insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives, madness some of your translations probably say. The problem is in the heart. They are full of evil, insanity is in their heart, madness. That's the problem. This is not something Jesus is revealing as new material, it's material that has gotten overlooked by the most religious of the Jews. It's material that has been overlooked down through 2000 years of church history that somehow somebody thinks he could be cleansed from his sins by getting baptized? Have they never read Matthew 15, that it's not external things that can cleanse a heart? People think they can be saved by partaking of communion? Those are physical things that go into the mouth. Jesus said they can't defile you, they can't cleanse you. God has to do a work in the heart, our hearts are full of evil, insanity, madness is in our hearts. We live in a state of rebellion against a holy God. And the result is behavior that manifests a wicked heart.

Back up to Ecclesiastes 7:20, indeed there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. Why? Because we have a sinful heart. Come back to Psalms 14:1, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. What is the result of this? They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds, there is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand and seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one. So our corrupt heart manifests itself in our corrupted behavior and we cannot solve the problem by trying to correct the behavior because God is looking at the heart. This is what Jesus is drawing attention to in this section in the Sermon on the Mount. You have focused on the externals, but your heart condition hasn't changed.

You're in the Psalms, I want to look at a series of verses with you that focus on the heart. You understand this is not new material for Israel. Psalm 24:3, who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? In other words who can come before the Lord and be accepted by Him? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. It's what we've seen in Ecclesiastes, man's heart is full of evil but God requires that we come before Him with clean hands, our behavior must be what it should be, and a pure heart. The reason our behavior is acceptable is because our heart has been cleansed. Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, who has sworn deceitfully.

Turn over to Psalm 32. The psalm begins, how blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. You see in his spirit, in his inner being. Remember we started this sermon with the beatitudes, blessed, blessed. Here we have it, how blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, how blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit. Down to verse 5, I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity I did not hide. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin. This is the starting point. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. We come to recognize the awfulness of our sin, it is an offense against the holy God. I come to bow before Him and to seek His forgiveness. Down to verse 11, be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous ones. Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart, upright in heart. The heart has to be changed to become acceptable in the sight of God.

Turn to Psalm 51:5, behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. Conception wasn't sin, but we were sinners from the moment of conception. The sin nature was passed on from Adam to subsequent generations, we were born sinners, we were born corrupted. Behold you desire truth in the inward parts, in the innermost being and in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. You desire truth in the innermost being, in my heart, the inward parts. So I have to have Him cleanse me so I can be clean. Make me whiter than snow.

Turn to Psalm 66:16, come and hear all who fear God and I will tell of what He has done for my soul. What has He done? He has cleansed me. Verse 18, if I regard wickedness in my heart the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard because I've come and called upon Him, trusted in Him and turned from my sin. You'll note, if I regard wickedness in my heart the Lord will not hear. We think as long as we look good on the outside, but remember we have already looked in Matthew 23 and Jesus said those who clean the outside of their lives up so they look good before people are like whitewashed tombs. They look good on the outside and inside they are full of dead men's bones. They are defiled, corrupt.

Psalm 73:1, surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. All this to say what? Jesus is not changing the Old Testament, He is not changing the Law. The Law required obedience of God's people Israel. That obedience was to flow from a heart that had been cleansed, made whiter than snow by believing in the God of Israel. Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness, Genesis 15:6, before the Law was even given. But the tendency is always to move to a focus on the externals.

So religious people become very, very offended when they are told their religious activity will not make them acceptable to God. The Jews were very offended by the ministry of Christ when He told them they couldn't be cleansed by their good works; religious people today get very offended. My church is as good as your church. I've done this, I've done that. Some of you come from backgrounds ............. I was baptized early, unsaved but baptized. Some of you were baptized because this will wash away original sin, as though some external rite could wash away your sin. The whole point.

So come over now to Matthew 5. What Jesus is doing is clarifying to the Jews the meaning of the Law, the Old Testament. It was always to be connected to a heart that had been changed. So the first comparison, verse 21, you have heard that you should not commit murder; I say to you everyone who is angry with his brother and so on. You are revealing the condition of your heart, you hate him in your heart, you are angry with him. Murder would be the next step. You may stop short of that but in your heart you are a murderer.

The next one verses 27-28, you have heard that you should not commit adultery; I say to you if you look with lust on a woman you have committed adultery in your heart. We look on the outside and say, they are not an adulterer, they are not a murderer. That's good. God is looking in the heart, He says I see a murderer, I see an adulterer.

Down in verse 31, it was said whoever sends away his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce; I say to you everyone who divorces his wife except for unchastity, fornication, they are guilty. God is looking at the heart, looking at the motives, looking at our response that comes from what we are. Nothing has changed. We make all these excuses. Well divorce.......... But now we've added this and this and this, now it is acceptable. You understand that comes from a heart that is in constant rebellion against God, looking for ways to avoid the clarity of what He says, not with a desire to obey Him.

Verse 33 picks up with the word again. That marks these off into two groups of three each, these six examples. Again, things are not changing the comparison, it is still comparing the Old Testament Law and their understanding of it with the reality that God intended. Again you have heard that the ancients were told, you shall not make false vows, but you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord. But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven for it is the throne of God, or by the earth for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king, nor shall you make an oath by your head for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be yes, yes or no, no. Anything beyond these is evil. Now the Law did make provision for giving an oath, making of oaths.

Turn back to Leviticus 19:12, you shall not swear falsely by my name so as to profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. That's what Jesus has said. You shall not make false vows. That's what the Law said. And you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord. Turn to Numbers 30:2, if a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. And a number of other passages—Deuteronomy 10:20, Deuteronomy 23:21-24.

Come back to the New Testament. So that's true, that's what the Law said. But what the Jews had done was build up a whole system that they could work with. Remember some of you, kids of today are beyond this, but when I was young and you were with your friends you'd tell them you were going to do something and then you didn't do it. And what did you say? They said, you promised; but I'd say, but I had my fingers crossed and it didn't count. As though that canceled the oath. So I said, I promise I'm going to let you ride my bike this afternoon. Then I could show my crossed fingers and say, see, it didn't count. Well the Jews were just like that, they had all these finger-crossings.

Turn to Matthew 23. You know it's like a silly kids game, but it's serious business because they are using it to get around what God has said. Later in His ministry Jesus is exposing the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees and we begin a series of woes beginning in verse 13. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Same thing in verse 14, same thing in verse 15. Now look at verse 16, woe to you blind guides. And who are the blind guides? The scribes and Pharisees He is addressing. Who say whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated. You fools and blind men. Which is more important? The gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated. You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore whoever swears by the altar swears both by the altar and everything on it, whoever swears by the temple swears both by the temple and by him who dwells within it. Whoever swears by heaven swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

You see what they had done? The oath was to be taken in the context of a binding obligation to do something, binding yourself by the authority of one greater. In Israel, the God of Israel. The Jews had come up with all kinds of things that were like crossing your fingers. I swear by the temple I will do this. They had their fingers crossed because it doesn't count if you swear by the temple, it only counts if you swear by the gold of the temple. What makes the gold of the temple significant? It's the temple that makes it significant. That's what Jesus said. But they had all these things so that their word didn't have to be held as true, they didn't have to be held accountable. What were they in character? They were liars and they had figured out how even to use an oath to delude people, but they wouldn't have to be obligated to it. So they had taken the law of Moses and now they had made all kinds of adjustments to it. This is what sinful men do. The law of divorce, what did they do? Well there is only one reason for divorce and that is fornication. Well now we have all kinds of reasons. What did they do with oaths? Well if you make an oath you have to keep it, but not if you made your oath on this basis.

We're not to be liars, we're not to be deceiving people. Back in Matthew 5:37, let your statement be yes,yes or no, no. Beyond any of this is evil. In other words my word is my word. If I tell you I will do something I am committed to do it. I don't have to say I'll meet you for lunch tomorrow at 11:30 at such and such a restaurant. I swear to God I will meet you tomorrow. What is that revealing about my character? My word is worthless, right, if I have to take an oath for everything. Did he say he'd meet you tomorrow at 11:30? Yes. Did he swear? No, he didn't. He probably won't be there. What does that say? He's a liar. Unless you can get him obligated, did he swear by the church or did he swear by the parking lot? He swore by the parking lot. That's good because if he swore by the church he wouldn't be there. You see what kind of person you are dealing with? Is it any wonder He calls these religious leaders hypocrites? They are playing a game, they are trying to put on one kind of face. But you can't call me a liar because I have my out. But you are revealing your character.

Now some take this to mean that there is no allowance for oaths at any time, any place. And I don't know that that's the point that Jesus is making. I have not problem with people who are convinced they shouldn't make an oath of any kind. Our court system, I understand, allows for you to affirm your word. But what is our court system based upon? People are liars. What do we hear going on in discussion even in our government, in our representatives? Well if we get them under oath where they can be held for perjury, then we have a lot more chance that they will tell the truth. In other words, we are presupposing they'll lie otherwise. We go to the court, we need to be bound by laws that will place us under penalty of perjury because we assume people are liars. And they are. But for us as believers, we are to be of a different character. My word is binding. Now my word, I give it with full intention to carry it out. I'll meet you for lunch tomorrow at 11:30. If my wife is deathly sick tomorrow and needs to be taken to the hospital, I won't be there at lunch. But we allow for that. He fully intended to keep his word but circumstances made it impossible. We recognize those kinds of things.

Paul had to deal with that as certain people said, you can't trust him because he said he was going to come but he didn't come. Well there could be circumstances that intervene. Doesn't mean you don't tell the truth. We all recognize you are telling me your intention to the best of your ability. That oath binds you irrevocably. But there are oaths after this in the scripture.

In fact, turn to Matthew 26. Jesus is on trial for His life. The high priest is conducting this trial, verse 62. As accusations are made against Christ, He remains silent. The high priest said to Him, verse 63, when Jesus kept silent. I adjure you by the living God. He's calling an oath. That you tell us whether you are the Christ or the Son of God. In this court you can no longer remain silent. He calls God to bear on this, that's a form of an oath. And Jesus responds, you have said it yourself. Nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Now Jesus doesn't take the oath here, but He responds to the oath.

Look over in Romans 1. Paul does the same thing on occasion, takes a form of an oath, really. What you do in an oath is you call a greater power as confirmation of something. The greater power is of course the living God in Israel's context. Verse 9, for God whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son is my witness, how I unceasingly make mention of you. Really a form of oath in that He calls God to testify to the truthfulness of what he is saying. Not that his word is not good, but here he wants to clarify, God would testify to this. A form of oath, you're calling a person greater than yourself here as a guarantee of the truthfulness of what you are saying.

Look at II Corinthians 1:23. This is that context where I said Paul was being accused of not being consistent with what he had said. Verse 23, but I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth. There was good reason and I call God to witness. That's a form of oath that God is the One invoked here for the assurance of the truthfulness and accuracy of what Paul is stating.

Over in Galatians 1:20. Now in what I am writing to you I assure you before God that I am not lying. Similar to our do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God. I understand we don't have all of that in all of our courtroom settings today, but that idea that we have become familiar with. What did Paul say? I assure you before God that I am not lying. He's calling God to testify, God to witness to the truthfulness of what he is saying.

So I don't think that the fact that we don't take oaths doesn't mean that never on any occasion, for example in a legal situation we would not give an oath. I don't have any problem giving an oath that I would tell the truth. That's different than going around in everything as we saw in the example in Matthew 23, all these variations that give me an out and so on as though my word is not good. My word is good and as a believer I would tell the truth. But I can understand our court system is based on the fact that men are liars. I can understand that and so it builds in these things that bring legal consequences for lying. But for us as believers the general pattern of our life is our word is good. We ought to remember that. We tell somebody we'll do something, you have bound and obligated yourself to do it. You are manifesting your character in being a trustworthy, truthful person.

Go to the Hebrews. It tells you something about an oath. Hebrews 6:13, for when God made promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself. You see the promise to Abraham is confirmed by an oath. When you take an oath you make it on the basis of someone greater than yourself. For the Jews swearing by the temple or the gold of the temple, it's the God of the temple that makes it valid. You don't swear by the house down the block, the temple, the gold of the temple, the sacrifices. These are in the context of God's sovereignty. You don't swear by your head because there is a greater authority who has ultimate determination as Jesus used the example. Here God could swear by no one greater but He wanted to establish it in the realm of men how ___________ it is. He swore by Himself. Verse 16, for men swear by one greater than themselves and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show the heirs of promise the unchangeableness of His purpose interposed with an oath. You not only had the word of God, you had an oath by God. And yet there are some people who think that the Abrahamic Covenant has been altered or changed. I don't know how else God could do it, He gives His word and then He gives an oath that confirms His word. And yet some people say the Abrahamic Covenant has been nullified by the stupidity of man, they have insanity in their hearts. It's insane to say that God changed His word when He said He did it by two things that couldn't be violated, verse 18. But what we want to note here is men swear by greater than themselves and that's the confirmation. That's what is going on in an oath.

Turn back to James. I shared with you James is most like the Sermon on the Mount of any book in the New Testament. If you read Matthew 5-7 and then you come over and read the book of James, you'll see many of the same things covered. And in James 5:12, but above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But your yes is to be yes and your no, no, that you may not fall into judgment. Remember James wrote this in chapter 1 verse 1 to the twelve tribes of the Diaspora because these Jews had fallen into this pattern. But for us today the point is the same—we are to be people of our word.

Come back to John 8. Jesus again addressing the Jews, and He says in verse 44, you are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Now God is our Father, He is the God of truth. When He sends His Spirit, He sends the Spirit of truth. So the children of the devil manifest the character of their father. They lie. The children of God manifest the character of their father, they tell the truth. That's the point Jesus is making. All these shenanigans with oaths just revealed your true character, the condition of your heart. Remember it is out of the heart, Jesus said in Matthew 15, that comes false witness. Lies. So that's what He is talking about, it's back to the heart. Why do they have all these adjustments to give oaths? Because they are of their father the devil, their word is meaningless. So that's the point. We ought to be willing to give our word. If I say yes, I'll do it, that means yes; if I say no, it means no. I don't have to swear, I don't have to give an oath. You shouldn't, none of us should as believers. Our word is good.

That doesn't necessarily rule out that in a courtroom situation that I would take an oath. Now if you are uncomfortable with that, you have the option perhaps to affirm your word so that you are still bound by the law and the rules of courtroom justice, perjury and so on. But for myself, I don't think that this is addressing that kind of situation and the action of Paul later we would see that he is comfortable with that. I'd be comfortable going and saying yes, I swear to tell the truth. Because that's the pattern of my life whether I'm in the courtroom or out of the courtroom, whether the threat of perjury hangs over me or not. You understand I'm a child of God and He is a God of truth. He has changed my heart, now as His child I manifest His character. That's the point.

Come back to Matthew 5. The next contrast, verse 38, you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Again He didn't have to elaborate because these Jews and Pharisees and scribes, they are the experts in the Old Testament law. For us we tend to be a little less familiar. But the law does say, eye for eye and tooth for tooth. Exodus 21:24-25, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21. That's what the law said. But I say to you, do not resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. Let me say something, we're not talking about life in the kingdom. Some dispensationalists have made that error. We're not describing life in the kingdom here. Remember, we're talking about who is going to be able to go into the kingdom, what kind of person will go into the kingdom. The Bible does say, eye for eye and tooth for tooth. This guaranteed equity in punishment. In other word, if you were guilty of putting someone's eye out, they couldn't come and put two of your eyes out. If you knocked somebody's tooth out, they couldn't come and knock all your teeth out.

Secondly, these were guidelines given to be carried out in the civil court of the nation Israel. You do have to go back to Deuteronomy 19 to understand this. Personal vengeance is not permitted here. We have the rule of law in the nation Israel. Deuteronomy 19:15, a single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed. On the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. And what you do here, if you have a false witness, verse 18, the judges shall investigate thoroughly. Come down to verse 21, thus you shall not show pity. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. But where is this being carried out? Verse 18, the judges do the investigating, so you bring this to the court and here you have the laws that are to be implemented. There is not to be personal vengeance, everybody taking “the law into their own hands.” So the law was given, you have the guideline for what the penalties will be.

Leviticus 19:17, this fits with what we talked about earlier. You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart. You may reprove your neighbor but no incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people. You see even the law forbade that personal vengeance.

Look over in Deuteronomy 32:35. Vengeance is Mine and retribution. That is God speaking. Now He sometimes meted out His vengeance through His appointed servants, civil authorities, like He does today. Romans 13, the governing powers don't bear the sword in vain. They have authority from God to mete out punishment. So it was in Israel. God designated what the punishments would be there.e

Come to Proverbs 20:22, do not say I will repay evil. Wait for the Lord and He will save you. You see that, do not say I will repay evil. He's talking about retaliation here, the idea to get back. And the law has been distorted to give the right for me to take the law into my own hands. That never was the intention of the law. And believers are to be willing to suffer loss. And here, do not say I will repay evil. We have to wait for it to be handled properly.

One more passage on this, Proverbs 24:29, do not say I shall do to him as he has done to me. I will render to the man according to his work. But I misunderstand the law and it's a misuse of the law to try to just use the law to justify this kind of behavior. You are revealing a heart that wants to take vengeance and retaliation to yourself. In that sense in Israel it was no different, Israel was an earthly nation with laws, with governing principles, with judges. There punishment could be meted out, it wasn't for the individual to take it and retaliate. The Jews had made the right here of the individual, and that's true for us today. We live in a nation with laws, there are punishments. When they do something to me, in the courts there can be punishment meted out, but I can't take that on myself. The Jews here had made adjustments and allowances, again to justify their desires.

We all know what it's like when there is a seething on the inside. Somebody has wronged you and there is a bitterness that develops, a resentment. And even though you don't get back at them, you roll it over in your mind. I can think of half a dozen ways that they could get it, and I'll be glad when they do. I may stop short of trying to take the retaliation, but what does the Lord see when He sees my heart? A person that is carrying it out, right? I'm getting the pleasure of thinking in my heart what would happen to them and the pain they deserve to suffer for what they did to me. How am I different? It's out of a heart that these actions come and I may stop short of the physical retaliation, but it reveals the condition of my heart.

Come to Romans 12. You understand Jesus isn't changing the Law here in that sense. The provision of the Law was for proper legal action and proper penalties, fit penalties that were just and fair, but not to give the right to an individual to do certain things. Verse 17, never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible so far as depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, and we read this, vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. If you enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. In doing so you will heap burning coals on his head. That will lead us to the next point in Jesus' discussion here, so just keep that in mind as He quotes again from the Old Testament. The point is never pay back evil for evil to anyone.

So come back to Matthew 5. We're dealing with the individual believer in Israel and how he manifests the change of character. This isn't the normal reaction, the normal reaction when something is done to wrong you, you immediately think you have a right to ______________ And there is allowance for that, Paul claimed his rights or Roman citizenship on occasion and so on. He didn't have to always just sit there and take another beating. He could declare, I am a Roman citizen, I have legal rights and I want to claim those. Fine.

If anyone slaps you, verse 39, on the right cheek, turn the other also. You know it doesn't matter if you can think I'm stronger than they, they slapped me, that gives me the right to beat the tar out of them. Well maybe legally you might have a right, but as a believer .............. What did Jesus do? He prayed for those, Lord, forgive them because they don't know what they are doing as they are so abusing Him and crucifying Him. We're manifesting the character of our God.. I can understand why an unregenerate person would get so frustrated and so frustrated with me that they would slap me. What's in their heart? Anger, the desire, the frustration, I can understand........ So do I have to say, they slapped me, that gives me the right to hit them back. Well, no. They manifest ............... I can understand something of your frustration, the desire to manifest really what's in your heart. They slap you on the other cheek. Well, that's why the Lord gave you two cheeks, get slapped on one and then the other.

What about the rest of it? If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. How far can we go with this? That's why some people say, this must be in the kingdom because you couldn't live like this. But within a reasonable bounds you can. I mean, we don't have to go to court for every little thing. That has become the characteristic of our society, but that doesn't need to be the characteristic of us as believers. We can take a loss. That doesn't mean I have to have someone, they walk up to me and say, I'm going to take your house and move in and make it mine or I'll sue you. So you have to give it to me. No, there is a reasonableness in this. Here is an item of clothing, even an important one. Well if it's that important to you, I can let you have that coat, I'd be glad for you to have it if it's important to you, it would be a privilege for me to give it to you. What did I do? I ___________ it. Now that doesn't mean every case that I have to do exactly that. But that ought to be my willingness. I'm not in it for what I can get. These are things. I want to be careful that I keep a balance in that.

Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Remember Simon the Cyrene? The Roman soldiers impressed him with the responsibility to carry the cross of Christ. Roman soldiers had the right to take a citizen, and if they were traveling the could require that citizen to carry their baggage to a point. Well easy for the Jew to think, these dirty Roman soldiers that take advantage of me, I do their dirty work, they walk up and say, carry my bag. Jesus said what? You have the right attitude, I'd be happy, sir, to carry your bag. In fact I can go on further with you, I can carry this bag another mile for you. That would be fine. This is where we get the expression, you go the extra mile. It ought to be characteristic of us as believers, we're not ready to fight for our rights, what is ours, to be sure nobody takes advantage of us, to be ready to get back. We walk on the edge of our rights and just try to cross that line and you'll find out. No, that's not to be characteristic of us.

So it says eye for eye and tooth for tooth. You put that in the context. There will be legal justice, Paul could claim justice. He said if I have done wrong, I'm not afraid to be punished. He's not doing away with all law and all action, but here in our general personal life we ought to be giving, caring people. I remember the day when a neighbor would come and knock on the door and ask, could you loan us a cup of sugar. I haven't had anybody come to our door that I can remember and ask for a cup of sugar but I remember it way back in the early years. You know you could say they can go to the store and get their own sugar. If they had planned a little ahead they wouldn't run out of sugar. You may have a five-pound bag of sugar and you think, why should I give it to them. You say, sure. They often brought their cup and you'd give them their sugar. Some day they would bring back the cup of sugar, maybe.

Well you know that kind of thing. We're ready to, sure, if I can help somebody. Somebody needs to borrow something. You say sure, I'd be happy to help you. That doesn't mean I have to be a fool. Proverbs warns, don't become a guarantor for a loan, don't sign for someone else, those kinds of things. Doesn't mean everything they ask I have to do, but generally we'd be giving, open people. My lawn mower broke, my lawn is getting high, could I borrow your lawn mower? I can't quite afford to ......... No, get your own. I can't loan you my lawn mower, you may hit a stone and dull the blade. Get your own. Well that's not the kind of selfish, self-centered people we are to be. That's what His point is.

One more. Verse 43, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Well it doesn't specifically say you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. It does say you shall love your neighbor. We won't go back, you're familiar enough with the law on these things in Leviticus 19:18 and so on. But there are passages. The psalmist says, I hate those who hate the Lord with a perfect hatred. But here in our actions toward people. This is agape love, we're not talking about having warm feelings towards these people, we're talking about acting for their good.

I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. Now see here we're talking about manifesting the character of our Father. The children of the devil manifest the character of the devil, the children of God manifest the character of God. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, He causes His rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. I may say, why doesn't God do something. But you notice how unregenerate people experience the common grace of God and the blessings that come with that? Why does God do that to His enemies? Well, we're children of our heavenly Father, we manifest His character. He does good things for His enemies, so we should do good things to those who are our enemies. If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax gatherers do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than other? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You know for the Jews, closed group, we don't even acknowledge the Gentiles. We walk by them on the street and we don't say, Hi. Well we are saved people, we are the family of God, we can be as friendly to unbelievers as we are to each other. We can treat them with kindness, we can do good to them as much as we have opportunity. That's what we're talking about here, agape love, acting for their good. My neighbor says, could you come over and help me move this plant. Sure. Not, I'm sorry, you go to an unbelieving church and you're on your way to hell. I don't want to help you with anything. You say, of course we wouldn't do that. But you understand, our attitude here toward unbelievers. I want to do the good to them that I can. Why wouldn't I? All the good they are going to get is going to be in this life. They are on their way to an eternal hell. It's a delight to good to them and hope we have the opportunity to tell them of the message of life.

So what does He summarize this saying, verse 48, therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. That's not saying basically anything different than He said back in verse 20. Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. In other words it has to come from an inner change. It doesn't mean we are sinless as God is sinless, but we are to be manifesting the character of God in our lives. The same basic thing as was required in the Law, you shall be holy for I am holy, Leviticus 19:2. And Peter quotes it in I Peter 1:15-16, you shall be holy for I am holy. That's God's requirement for His people, whether the Old Testament, New Testament. We partake of His character, His holiness, His righteousness, His perfection. Why would you treat somebody that was so mean to you that way? Well God was gracious to me when I was His enemy, when I was hostile toward Him. How can I have bitter feelings, resentment, animosity, treat them with unkindness. That's the point, God's character.

That's what Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount—who is going to be part of the kingdom? Those whose heart has been changed. How is our heart changed? When it is washed clean, when we are made new. Remember the words of Jesus to Nicodemus in John 3? You must be born again or you will never see the kingdom. How are you born again? We are born again by the living and abiding Word of God, we are born again by believing that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead. Salvation is by faith.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for the greatness of your salvation, its awesome power that cleanses us from sin and makes us new and enables us to live new lives, lives that are a manifestation of the character of our God. We have become partakers of the divine nature and now the beauty of your character is to be seen in all that we do. We cannot be saved by our works, we are saved by faith. But Lord your salvation brings a complete change of life because it makes us new. Old things pass away and new things come. We praise you for so great salvation. In Jesus' name, amen.