Matthew 5:17-32

Matthew 5:17-32Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness

July 8, 2007

Part 3 in Sermon On The Mount series

     Although Sally and I don’t have children, those of you who know us know how much we enjoy being around children.  We enjoy the times we can be around children – and truly appreciate those of you who “share your children with us.”

      We enjoyed being around the kids Wednesday evening at the July 4^th cookout – and somehow both of us managed to stay dry during the water balloon fight! I also enjoyed taking Colton and his friend to the baseball game and fireworks display after the cookout. I think Sally tolerated it – but I enjoyed it! Any time you combine July 4^th, baseball, fireworks and kids you can be sure that I want to be in on that! We’re looking forward to the fun of VBS this week also. Yea – Sally and I love being around children.          

   I particularly enjoy watching other’s children grow and develop.  It amazes me when I watch parents teach their children how to do certain tasks – like how to walk.  The children and the parents are usually very proud of the accomplishment! The past few months I’ve been watching Marion, Cindy, Amanda and Rachel as they have been teaching Mason how to walk.  They have all been extremely proud of his accomplishments!              As I have watched Mason learn to walk, I have thought about how we all need to learn to walk. Maybe we don’t need to learn to walk like Mason is learning – most of us know how to physically walk – but we need to learn how to walk spiritually – how to walk in God’s ways – how to walk as God wants us to walk.  The truth is that – just as parents teach their children to walk – Jesus can teach us how to walk in His ways.  Just as a parent holds the hand of a child and smiles proudly as the child learns to walk – Jesus can take us by the hand and teach us how to walk in His ways – and smiles as we do His will.  Like children learning to physically walk we aren’t going to walk in Jesus’ ways perfectly – we’ll stumble and fall – but just as a parent will pick up a child and help the child try again –  Jesus picks us up and helps us try again to walk in His ways. Jesus has taught us how to walk in His ways. We need to look at His words – His teachings – so we can walk as He taught us how to walk. We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught. We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.

     This summer we’re looking at one of the places where Jesus taught us how to walk in His ways.  We’re looking at what is called The Sermon On The Mount – Matthew chapters 5-7.  As we look at these chapters we’ll see how Jesus taught us to walk – so we can learn how to Walk Like Jesus TaughtWalk Like Jesus TaughtWalk Like Jesus Taught – that’s our theme for the summer. We’ve already seen how the Sermon On The Mount is an important piece of scripture.  It’s the longest segment of scripture with just the teachings of Jesus – and it’s a piece of scripture where Jesus gives the guidelines for how His followers should live. Matthew places it at an important point in Jesus’ ministry.  As Matthew records the story of Jesus, Jesus has been born – raised in Nazareth – has been baptized by John – has been tempted by Satan in the wilderness – and has now begun His ministry of teaching and healing.  He has begun to attract crowds of people — and has even called some to be disciples.  But – the crowds – and especially the disciples – must have wondered how they were supposed to live – how they were supposed to act – what they were supposed to do.  The disciples had given up their old lifestyles to follow Jesus – and they were probably wondering how they were supposed to live now that they were following Jesus. Well – they were about to find out. As Jesus climbed that mountainside – He began to teach His disciples how He wanted them to live.And the disciples began their attempt to walk like Jesus taught.

     Walk Like Jesus Taught

     Walk Like Jesus Taught

     Four weeks ago we looked at the first 12 verses of Matthew 5 – what we call The Beattitudes – and saw how the first step to walking like Jesus taught is walking in  God’s blessings by surrendering yourself to God, giving Him control of your life, and serving others with a heart of compassion.

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

     That’s the first step. 

     Two weeks ago we looked at Matthew 5: 13-16 – and saw how we can be the light of Christ in the world as we live like Jesus lived – or – as I put it — walk like Jesus walked.  

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like Jesus

     These are the first 2 steeps we must take. Today we’re going to look at the third step. We find it in Matthew 5:17-32. As we look at Matthew 5:17-32 we’re going to see that – if we are going to walk like Jesus taught – we are going to have to walk in righteousness.

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness

     Listen to God’s word:

     Read Passage

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk in God’s blessings.

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk Like Jesus

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness      

        Thursday morning I was here working on my sermon,  I went home at lunch time and Sally asked me what I was preaching on this week.      

      “Sin”   was my one word reply.     

         She had expected more of a response than just the word “sin” – so she asked:            “And what are you going to say about sin?”      

      “I’m against it.”  as my 3 word reply that time.  

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness 

     Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness 

     You know – it is unfortunate – but too many times we are not as “against” sin as Jesus would want us to be. We do not deal with sin as seriously or as ruthlessly as Jesus might want us to. Just looking at the moral condition of many of our Church leaders and the responses of the congregations when a leader falls into sin shows that we don’t deal with sin as Jesus would have us to, and are not as “against” sin as Jesus calls us to be. Many times we as Christians seem to be more influenced by our culture than by the Bible. Our culture feeds on lust – sex – materialism – violence — and the like – and too many times we go along with that and even join in. Here are some facts that I find – not interesting – but disturbing: 

·        Over 75% of all internet users on line after 10 o’clock are viewing pornography. The largest group viewing are boys between the age of 13 and 18.

·        ½ of all married people will commit adultery during their life time. ·        The level of adultery among Christians is half the national average.

·        1 in 4 Christians has committed adultery.

 ·        1 in 10 pastors have committed adultery

     Yea – we are not as “against” sin as Jesus calls us to be.Too many times our culture influences our beliefs about what is right and wrong more than Jesus does.It’s time we learn to walk like Jesus taught. It’s time we learned to walk in righteousness.

 Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness 

Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness

  “Do not think I have come to think I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets” Jesus says. Jesus didn’t come to do away with the laws against lust, pornography, adultery, violence.

“I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”Jesus says.

     And then – He says:“unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”I’m sure that must have surprised those who originally heard Jesus speak these words.  “What does He man by that?” they must have thought.The Pharisees seemed to be the most righteous people in their society.  What did Jesus mean they must be more righteous than the Pharisees?  How could they be more righteous than the Pharisees?Well, Jesus knew some of the Pharisees better than others did. He not only knew how they appeared to be on the outside – how they acted – but Jesus also knew how they were on the inside – what they thought – what was on their minds – what was in their hearts – and what they did when no one else was looking. And Jesus knew that we have to be more righteous than some of them were.  “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness   Jesus said: you have heard it was said, ‘do not commit adultery’ but I tell you that anyone who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery in his heart. In saying this, Jesus is overthrowing the traditions of the Pharisees. You see — the Pharisees had relegated obedience to external adherence.  As long as their behaviors followed the law or the traditions they were ok. But Jesus is saying that the issue of obedience is much deeper than mere conforming to the law or a set of rules. It’s much more than just acting in ways that don’t go against the laws. Jesus is saying that obedience goes much deeper than that. Our culture of today and, unfortunately, many times the church often deals with moral issues by getting people to conform to the law – to get their actions right – and that’s all we worry about. Jesus is not satisfied with adherence to the law or traditions. He’s not satisfied with just our actions being right.  He wants our thoughts, our motives, our hearts, and what we do when no one else is looking to be right, also.  That’s why Jesus says: “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven”Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  At another place Jesus had this to say about the Pharisees:“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:25)Sin goes much deeper than just how you act. Walking in righteousness goes much deeper than how you act. Jesus is concerned with much more than how you act. Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Jesus said:If you have looked lustfully at a woman you have already committed adultery in your heart. The issue here is not act of adultery.            The issue is the heart.
          The issue is that we need to have our hearts radically changed by Jesus so that we want to think and want to do the right thing. Sin is more than acts of disobedience. The act of sin arises out of a heart that is sinful. Too many times our hearts are polluted and contaminated, and sin arises from a corrupt heart. The issue is more than acts or deeds that are sinful.  The issue is sin itself. Thoughts that are sinful are just as bad as deeds that are sinful. . Sin is more than what we do or not do — sin is a power and influence in the heart. It has a life of its own that seeks to rule you like a master. Addicts know what it is like to be mastered by their drug of choice — whether it be alcohol, narcotic, pornography, or whatever. Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Sin is subtle. It seeks to come up from behind and hook you before you know what has hit you. Fishermen use bait that either is something the fish wants or is designed to look like something the fish wants. The bait is not the only important aspect to fishing. How the bait is cast is equally important. You need to be able to cast the bait in such a way that the fish thinks it is real – even if it is artificial. The fish strikes at the bait thinking it is the real thing until the hook rips into its flesh. But then it is too late. In life we might “strike” at something that looks “real” and that looks “good” – yea – it might look “real good” – - but in the end it will catch us! We think we can play with it and get a way with it.  But – friends – even a quick look, a quick glance, is dangerously wrong. We are really playing with fire. Sin is like the diesel fuel that you put on a pile of wood you want to burn. Put one small match to it and before you know it you have roaring fire.The act of sin is only the symptom of the sin in our hearts. Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  We must deal with ruthlessly with sin. We must deal ruthlessly with the sin that is in our hearts. We must be ruthlessly “against sin”. We must be serious about the sin that is in our hearts – because it can so easily become sin in our lives.    Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Jesus is serious about sin. His way of dealing with it is violent. Now — He does not mean to literally tear out your eye or remove your hand because – as we have already seen — sin is not in the eye or in the hand. Sin is in the heart. But what Jesus is saying is to be ruthless and radical with sin.  What Jesus is saying is to get rid of everything and anything that leads you down the path of sin. Be Radical. Be ruthless. Don’t play around with sin. Cut off the source of it.  If it is TV, get rid of it. If it is the internet, cut it off.If it is magazines, stop the subscriptions. If it is the newspaper, cancel the subscription.Cut off the source – whatever it is!  Here’s the question you must answer:How badly do you want to get rid of sin in your life? How much do you love Christ and hate sin? How much do you want to walk like Jesus taught?Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  It has been said that there is a mean streak to authentic self-control. Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in self control, we, not only grow in our relationship with Christ and begin walking in righteousness, we also demand a hatred for sin of ourselves.  The only possible attitude we can have toward a desire that is out of control and even bordering on sin is an attitude of all-out war.  Thomas Dishman – the young man who was welcomed at a  member of Hopewell today — can tell you from his training – and soon from experience – that there is something about war that sharpens the senses. You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little of no sleep, being at war can keep you vigilant – or at least it should.We must wage war against sin. You must suffocate the sin. You must cut off the life-line. Sinful deeds have a life line that must be cut. We must cut off the hands and gouge out the eyes — not literally – that would do no good – but with that kind of violent heart-work. You kill the bad fruit by cutting off the bad root.Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Ok – but how do we kill suffocate sin – cut off it’s life line – cut off the bad root that produces the bad fruit? I suggest 3 steps.
Step One: Set Your Mind on the Things of the Spirit
You don’t just look at the temptation and say NO. Of course, that is a part of it.  But you have to do more —  you have to direct your mind — your heart —  your spiritual focus in another direction —  namely to the “things of the Spirit.”So that’s the first step.  Don’t just quit thinking about sinful things – start thinking about spiritual things. Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Next: Think about the word of God.   
If we are going to put to death the sinful things that attract us, we have to think about and focus on the things of God – the words of God. Reading – and even memorizing scripture so you’ll have a verse in mind the moment you feel tempted – are vital to defeating sin. Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness              Set your minds on the things of the spirit.             Think about God’s word.Then – receive the help God gives you. God gives us the strength to kill sin – but we have to receive the strength God gives us – and use it!  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness              Set your mind on the things of the spirit.             Think about God’s word.Receive the help God gives you. Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  We are not left helpless in our fight against sin – our fight to rid ourselves of the sinful thoughts that lead to sinful actions. When temptation comes, God can strengthen us to respond with a very powerful and resolute NO – and to look to a word from God, especially a word that promises He will be more for us and do more for us than what this sin promises. If you believe His promise you can begin winning the main battle – you can sever the root of sinWalk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk In Righteousness  How badly do you want to get rid of sin in your life? How much do you love Christ and hate sin? How much do you want to walk like Jesus taught?You can immerse your mind and heart in the fountain of truth and life and power – the promises and the presence of God — and when temptations come, God can give you the strength to kill it before it becomes sin. We can never become perfect at this – but – praise God – God can strengthen us to become better. Let’s strive to set our minds on the things of the Spirit – to think about God’s word when we are tempted – and receive the strength God gives us. Let’s strive to walk like Jesus taught.This means walking in God’s blessings. This means walking like Jesus walked .This means walking in righteousness. Amen.