Quest 28
1. HIS WORDS GET TO OUR MOTIVATION.
Not behavior but motivation.
Murder and anger (Matthew 5:21-22) - “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”
Adultery and lust (Matthew 5:27-28) - “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
The intent is there; you only lack opportunity.
Legal divorce and divorce except for adultery (Matthew 5:31-32) - “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Making an oath and complete honesty (Matthew 5:33-34, 37) - “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all…. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
Retaliate with equity and not resisting (Matthew 5:38-39) - “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Love your neighbors and love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) - “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
2. HIS WORDS CAUSE US TO BE PRO-ACTIVE.
Silver Rule (Confucius, 500 BC) – -"Do not impose on others that which you yourself do not desire".
Silver Rule to the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) - “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus took the negative and made it positive.
3. HIS WORDS POINT US TO HIM.
It is all about him.
Matthew 5:11 - “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 7:24-25 - “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like aa wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
Note what Jesus said - It is not the one who hears but the one who hears and does them.
Principle of the Spirit: You have no spiritual experience outside of Jesus Christ. He is your life (Colossians 3:3-4) - For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
4. HIS WORDS LIFT US BEYOND WHAT IS NATURAL.
It is natural to retaliate, to hate our enemies, and to love those who love us.
Matthew 5:46-48 – “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Perfect comes from the Greek word teleios, which means complete. The word is used of adults as compared to children, as seen in The Living Bible (TLB) in Ephesians 4:12-13 - God's people will be equipped to do better work for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity; until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our Savior, God's Son, and all become full-grown [teleios] in the Lord-yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ.
In Christ, we live supernaturally (Romans 8:9, 12-13) - You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him… So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
