09/25/2023
Are we working hard to do all of those things that Jesus spoke of during His Sermon on the Mount? If so, how is that working out for us? Are we going at it alone, or are we leaning on Jesus for our success, and salvation? Sometimes we get tripped up by His simplest sounding instruction, and most certainly we fail if we continue to struggle along by ourselves. But, in Him we are able to succeed, for in God all things are possible.
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””
Matthew 19:26 ESV
Under Roman rule a soldier could legally ask a local person to carry his possessions a distance of one mile. This was common knowledge at the time in which Jesus spoke, and as you can imagine, the people didn't like hearing it much. But, Jesus was telling them not to be bitter, and to willingly carry the soldier’s burden two miles without complaint.
“And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Matthew 5:41 ESV
Some say this is a form of passive resistance, while others say it was an example of loving your neighbor... either way it would have been hard to do, and a demonstration of how Jesus wants us to behave. The teaching of Jesus on the Mount was filled with hard things to do; some physically difficult like our example today, but there were others which were just as behaviorally, or spiritually, demanding as this one:
“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Matthew 5:22 ESV
Our first example was difficult, but could be done if we were physically able, however this second one can be even more difficult. When was the last time anger surfaced in you? Before you say "I don't get angry" think about the last time you were in rush hour traffic... did someone make you to mumble under your breath or cause you to speak something in anger like "what in the world is wrong with you!"? Anger is such a part of us that we don't even realize how often we feel it.
Oswald Chambers wrote that conforming to all that Jesus taught during His Sermon on the Mount would be impossible without our becoming a new person; by our conforming to the image of Christ, listen...
"The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount." - Oswald Chambers
Sure, we can work really hard and do some of the things He taught us, but even so we wouldn't be doing them consistently, and certainly not with the heart that Jesus asks of us. Jesus tells us first that we will suffer and as He details out these ways He says we will be blessed (These are the Beatitudes); then He says we are the salt and light of the world, that He came to fulfill the law not to destroy it, and then He speaks about controlling our anger, and so many other things... each of them a challenge to perform, and impossible for us to do alone.
We might read these teachings and become discouraged, but remember that we have been chosen, and that Jesus will not abandon us to your own ability. We may have been acting and thinking like we are seeking Jesus, but in fact He is calling us.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”
John 15:16 ESV
We may think that we are working our own way to a stronger faith and salvation, but achieving that aspiration is impossible in and of ourselves. We must first be changed and then filled with the very essence of Jesus Christ.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:13 ESV
In this way we are saved; not by our works, but first, and foremost, by grace through believing. You see, we aren't able to do these things on our own accord, and then, by so doing, earn salvation. No, we can only do these things and perform them rightly, by believing, and having already been changed and filled with the spirit of Christ. We don’t earn salvation on our own, but receive it because we have already been saved by God’s grace, which is a gift obtained through our belief in Jesus.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
So let’s not become discouraged. Let’s lean on our Savior and pray to God for a full measure of strength and perseverance in our faith. Let’s realize the presence of Jesus within us, and abide in Him; even as He abides in us. Let’s find our strength as we abide in the Father even as He abides in us.
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."”
John 14:20-21 ESV
The hard things which Jesus taught are all possible if we will simply realize that we do not do them alone, and that we are perfected in, and through, God and Jesus Christ. This is how we should expect to receive salvation... not by earning it through our own works and pitiful struggling; but through this joint venture of faith we have with God and Jesus. In this way we can achieve what for us alone is impossible. It is God's desire that we be transformed, and made perfect in Jesus...
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48 ESV
Let's go to our knees this morning and thank God for His presence in our lives; let's thank Him not only for providing a means by which we can be saved, but for abiding within us to make it possible. He desires us to be perfect and is actively working to perfect us.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your presence in my life and in my person. I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; all He has taught, and in His active role in remaking me in His image; even as He is in yours. Perfect me Father and never let be lose sight of the fact that it is by your grace alone that my salvation, and perfection is possible. Never let me become disillusioned, or discouraged as I look at the difficulty of the road ahead of me; because in you all things are possible, and it is your desire that I succeed in joining you in eternity... perfected. Holy Father I praise your name and strive daily to allow you free reign in my life. You are my Help, my protection, my provider, my counselor, and my God. In you I find the strength for the hard things in my life, and in you I become more than my most desirous dreams. You are the one who perfects me, and the artist of my life. You write the story of my salvation and the adventure of my faith. In you I am perfect, and become a completed work.
“ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13 ESV
Rich Forbes