Matthew 5v38-42

 

Turning the other cheek – going the 2^nd mile!

 

Introduction.

The modern western world in which we live is a strong defender of individuals’ rights!

Workers’ rights!

Patients’ rights!

Students’ rights!

Teachers’ rights! Etc………

 

The legal profession has flourished in this climate of defending the rights of individuals or groups.

The thing is that it is inevitable that your inalienable rights and my inalienable rights are inevitably going to conflict at some point.

Whether in family, business or between two nations when each party insists on their rights things begin to unravel.

 

Unless rights are balanced with responsibilities – unless there is give and take on both sides – trouble will follow. ILLUS.: There are those who live by the give and take rule – “You give and I take!”

 

However, is Jesus simply saying we must balance rights and responsibilities or is he saying much more than that?

 

1. 1.     “You have heard … BUT I say …”

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ (NIV)

This well-known law is to be found in Exodus 21, Leviticus 24 and Deuteronomy 19.

Three things need to be remembered about this law:

a)     However prescriptive this law may have been it was also and probably, more importantly, restrictive. It was to prevent retaliation with interest.

ILLUS.: You accidentally cut off my brother’s finger  so I cut off two of your fingers, so you retaliate and cut off my brother’s hand so I then cut off your whole arm  etc… the result is blood feuds and tribal warfare that go on forever.

This law restricted such practices.

 

b)    When the whole law is read it becomes clear that others restitution was also possible. Monetary compensation.

 

c)     The law was given to the Jewish people as a nation. It was not designed to be executed by individuals bend on personal vendettas. It was for the judiciary!

 

By Jesus day some of these restrictions were overlooked and personal retaliation was pushed to the limits – bitterness, recriminations, revenge, malice, etc. were common place.

 

Jesus then responds to this situation with ringing authority..

39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. …

How are we to understand this statement?

 

a)     Is Jesus saying no one should ever resist evil people but simply give in and give them what they what?

There are those who have and do hold such a view. Tolstoy, for example, held that there should be no police, military or magistrates as they resist evil people.

However, such a position goes beyond what Jesus said ~ it says that no one can resist an evil person who is attacking a third party! So if I see someone being attacked in the street I must just watch? If I know someone is abusing a child I must not resist? NO!! I don’t for a minute believe that Jesus meant that. Such a position is untenable.

 

b)    Is Jesus saying that no Christian should resist evil directed at him and by extension therefore no Christian should be in the military or police or any other law enforcement agency?

Those who hold such a view acknowledge that God has given certain powers to the State [Romans 13] but Christians shouldn’t be involved. These would generally be committed pacifists!

 

1. 2.     Four illustrations and a principle.

 

As with any text of scripture if we take it out of context and also fail to understand the background and idiom of language we are liable to misinterpretation.

So we must balance what Jesus says here with what he says elsewhere – and the Bible in general. If we don’t we end up distorting and misinterpreting what Jesus means.

 

ILLUS.: So to take Jesus point about giving to everyone who asks to a literalistic extreme. Am I to give to a beggar who preys on me for money to by alcohol or drugs ~ never to question, never to restrain his habit?

If I did I would soon have nothing to look after my family and be worse than a pagan … 1 Timothy 5:8 8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (NIV)

 

In these verse Jesus is not talking about being a police officer or a soldier or a magistrate RATHER he is talking about personal attitudes and action and personal self-sacrifice. This is the theme that runs all the way through the Sermon on the Mount and if we ignore that we distort Jesus’ meaning.

 

Jesus gives 4 illustrations:

a/ Be willing to sacrifice your right to personal dignity.

 

Matthew 5:39 If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (NIV)

Why the right cheek? Most people are right-handed so to be struck on the right cheek means it’s a backhand. It is an insulting slap – design to humiliate more than physically injure / hurt. This attitude of not retaliating to abuse is esp. truth when the reason is righteousness for the sake of God’s kingdom – [we saw this in 5v10-12] but it is not limited to attacks for righteousness.

ILLUS.: There is a story about an Irish preacher who used to be a boxer. At a heated argument after one of his meeting a man punched him. People wondered what he would do. He simply offered the man his other cheek – the man obliged and knocked him to the floor. The preacher stood up, “The Lord gave no further instructions!” Smack!

I don’t think that is what Jesus intended.

The principle is non-retaliation. Our natural response is, “I have my rights!” Smack back!

Jesus is our example of how to react ~ 1 Peter 2:23 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (NIV)

This principle applies not just to physical insult ~ it is more often verbal but non-retaliation still applies … Proverbs 15:1  A gentle answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger. (NIV)

 

b/ Be willing to sacrifice your right to personal security.

Matthew 5:40 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. (NIV)

 

This is about lawsuits and the security of our possessions. The tunic would be our suit of clothes and the cloak would be our overcoat. The outer coat was recognised in Jewish Law as someone’s inalienable possession. Exodus 22:26-27 26 If you take your neighbour’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, 27 because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

It may seem unlikely that people would go to court over a change of clothes – but the principle is “even those things which we regard as our rights by law we must be prepared to abandon.

Jesus is really saying, “It is better to lose your cloak than to irreversibly sever a relationship!”

This is true of all relationships but esp. within the body of Christ ~ among the people of God. 1 Corinthians 6:7-9

7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.

9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: (NIV)

 

c / Be willing to sacrifice your right to personal privacy.

Matthew 5:41 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. (NIV)

Jesus is speaking to a group of people who are completely at the mercy of the Roman military. An ordinary Roman soldier could legally commandeer any civilian, for example, to carry his luggage one-mile.

In the account of Jesus crucifixion Simon of Cyrene was commandeered to carry Jesus cross – he did offer nor did he have a choice!

Jesus is saying, “Instead of doing it grudgingly and irritably rather do it willing and cheerfully and offer to carry it further.”

We don’t like having our privacy invaded ~ esp. in this country, hence the inherent opposition to ID cards. We see it as a violation of our privacy and our human rights.

What Jesus is really say is, “You don’t really have any rights!”

 

d / Be willing to sacrifice your right to personal property.

Matthew 5:42 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (NIV)

This last illustration Jesus gives is telling us to be cheerful lenders and givers. The issue is not that we give to every Tom, Dick or Harry who wishes to bleed us dry. NO, what Jesus will not tolerant is a mercenary, penny-pinching, tight-fisted attitude. Don’t always be asking yourself, ‘What’s in it for me?’”

In other words be generous, magnanimous ~ Think of what God has done for us, God’s attitude to us while we were still his enemies.  Ephesians 1:7-8 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (NIV)

1 John 3:1  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (NIV)

 

What Jesus is calling to do is show the same attitudes and actions toward others that he has shown towards us.

 

Jesus emphasises one principle:

As follows of Christ the attitude of rights, restitution, retaliation and revenge are superseded by an attitude of redemption, love, mercy and grace ~ in other words the way of the cross!

Will we suffer abuse and have our rights infringed?

OF COURSE!

Either because of our faith or simply because that’s life!

 

Jesus in this passage is not saying there shouldn’t be justice or restitution. BUT it is not our place to take the law into our own hands.

 

On the contrary we are to act redemptively ~ to turn these difficult situations which may be impositions or insults into opportunities to do good in return.

 

I don’t know about you but I find this very difficult to swallow! You see, when someone hurts me I want to hurt them back or if I can’t I want to ignore them or secretly I wish them ill.

 

BUT the way of the cross doesn’t allow me do that.

Romans 12:14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Paul -1 Corinthians 4:12-13 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly.

 

Our natural reaction is to want to force the other person to do what is right – i.e. to uphold what I believe to be my rights.

BUT God calls me to ‘turn the other cheek’ – ‘to go the second mile’. To demonstrate self-control, self-denial and self-sacrifice.

The normal Christian, Christlike, life is a putting aside of accepted secular behaviour and replacing it with behaviour that is enlivened and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

In other words to respond like Jesus.

1 Peter 2:23-24 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

He is calling us to live righteously: –

–         Instead of reaction blindly to provocation to act lovingly.

–         When I say no to my rights and ‘yes’ to God I am responding like Jesus “Father, not my will but your be done”.

 

What happens when I respond instead of react?

I begin to build / repair bridges instead of tearing them down and destroying them. EASY? Never!!

 

BUT remember God has given us an example in Christ and the power of his Holy Spirit to enable us to live this kind of life!

 

So our prayer should be this:-

“O fill me, Saviour, Jesus with your love!

Renew me with your Spirit from above…

            … the words from the 4^th verse of our closing hymn

(Prasie #727: Beyond all knowledge {It passeth knowledge})

Turning the other cheek – going the 2^nd mile!

Matthew 5v33-37.

“Plain Speaking”

 

Introduction.

It is very common in our society to hear people use God’s name. Often it is used as a profanity or an exclamation – “O my God!” Sometimes it is in order to give weight to what they are saying, “I am telling you this is the honest-to-God truth!” or “By all that is holy!” Or they preface what they say with “Well, to be honest …!”  ( You mean that what you have been saying so far is not honest?!

 

I realise that for many – maybe for most – it is probably just a habit! However the fact is tat we live in a society where truth telling is becoming an increasing rare activity!

 

When you hear Politicians and Spin-doctors do you take everything they say as being open and honest?

What is the underlying problem about the present crisis with Iraq? – Isn’t it that we can’t trust the word of Saddam Hussein – but then we heard Pres. Bush and PM Blair and other leaders and we wonder if what they are telling us is accurate – Is there a hidden agenda?

In the end it makes us sceptical – who do you believe to be telling the truth? The result is that in the end even if the truth is then told we tend not to believe it because of all the spin-doctoring that has been going on.

 

The situation in Jesus’ day was not dissimilar! Let’s look at it.

1. 1.     The original intention.

Remember that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus laid down Kingdom principles in the Beatitudes. He sets the standards very high – in fact at perfection level – “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect!” [5v48]

Jesus moves the focus of righteousness [right living] for outward compliance to a set of rules to inner attitude of heart and mind.

Thus it is no good priding myself on the fact that I haven’t murdered anyone if in fact I treat them with anger and contempt – or that I haven’t had sexual intercourse outside marriage if in fact my heart and mind are full of lust and immoral thoughts.

 

Having dealt with the Jewish leaders permissive attitude on divorce he now deals with their similar attitude towards oath taking / swearing.

Matthew 5:33  “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ (NIV)

This is not a direct quote from any one OT law but rather a summary of many times where oath taking is mentioned.

Exodus 20:7  “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Deuteronomy 23:21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. (NIV)

There are numerous other examples – the intent is clear – don’t make a vow and then break it – don’t swear-falsely – don’t commit perjury!

 

1. 2.     The convenient distortion.

 

How then were the Pharisees and Jewish Religious Leaders distorting this original injunction?

Human being are ingenious at squirming their way out of promises.

ILLUS.: As kids we would cross our fingers so that what we said was not binding.

The Pharisees were doing a similar thing – they shifted the attention away from the vow itself to the formula for making the vow!

The moved the focus from the vow to the Lord’s name.

In practice it meant the following:-

1)    I promise by the hair on my head to pay you £100. Breaking this promise was not considered wrong because God’s name wasn’t used.

2)    I promised, in the name of God, to pay you £100. Breaking such a promise was considered to be wrong because God’s name was invoked.

 

They concocted all kinds of elaborate formulae to make vows but could weasel out if the Lord’s name wasn’t used. Jesus shows contempt for their scheming in Matthew 23:16-22 where he calls the Pharisees ‘blind guides’,  “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. (NIV)

 

What Jesus teaches here in the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5] is the same.

 

1. 3.     The truthful implication.

“Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’!”

 

Jesus is arguing that the formulae for making vows is completely irrelevant. Because whatever distinctions one tries to make the vow is still taken before God as all the world is his.

So if they vowed by ‘heaven’ it is God’s throne, if by ‘earth’ it is his footstool, if by the temple it is his too…

 

It is quite simple to follow Jesus logic here – if the precise wording of the vow-formula is irrelevant then there is absolutely no point to having special vows. As all vows are made before God, all should be solemnly kept.

If that is so then we should simply be people of our word and do what we say we will do! In other words…

Matthew 5:34 & 37 34 .. Do not swear at all: … 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’, ‘No’; …

 

Of course, not to keep one’s word is to lie! … thus Jesus adds ‘… this comes from evil!”

Either from the evil of our hearts. Matthew 15:18-19 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean’. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (NIV)

 

1. 4.     The practical application.

1)    If vowing / swearing is criticised by Jesus why does God himself do it?

When Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son. Isaac…

Genesis 22:16-17 16 [God] said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make …

CF…Hebrews 6:13

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no-one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,

 

The purpose of a divine oath is not to increase God’s credibility … because God can’t lie Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, rather it is to strengthen our faith and help our unbelief. God accommodates himself to our level.

 

2)    If oath-taking is prohibited, is it an absolute rule?

So, for example, should we be sworn in in a Court of Law? “I swear by almighty God to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!”

There are certain groups like the Quakers [Society of Friends] who hold this view.

ILLUS.: In Matthew 26 Jesus didn’t refuse to reply to when the High Priest put him under oath …Matthew 26:63-64The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

64 “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. …)

Jesus didn’t say we should refuse to take an oath BUT he was correcting an abuse of oath-taking and emphasising that honest people don’t need to resort to oaths — simply be truthful all the time!

 

3)    Why do people resort to oaths

“I swear to …”

“By God I tell you it’s true …”

WHY? It is a kind of manipulation – an effort to add weight to our words so as to put pressure on the other person. Instead of simply saying something and allowing the other party to make a sensible judgement those who habitually use oaths are trying to bypass the others understanding and judgement.

ILLUS.: My experience of some salesmen …

“Let me be honest here …” ‘You mean you have been lying so far!’

“I am telling you hand on my heart / hand on the Bible …”

If we hear this kind of talk too often / all the time it become meaningless – in fact we are less inclined to believe such a person.

So we must be careful not to be like that.

Jesus calls us to plain truthful speaking.

 

4)    Plain speaking is no excuse for rudeness or unkindness! We are to speak the truth in love…[Eph.4v15]

Build each other up…[1 Thess.5v7]

“I was just being honest…” YES! And at the same time were unkind, hurtful and rude!

 

James in his letter has a lot to say about the use of the tongue – what we say can build up or destroy.

Sometimes we say too much.

Sometimes we say too little or nothing at all – a look can be just as destructive as a word.

 

Conclusion.

The use of oaths / vows arises because too often people are lairs. And by an oath we try to assure / convince the other party we are telling the truth.

We need also to be careful to use words correctly – by which I mean if we constantly use exaggeration or hyperbole or superlatives we end up devaluing language and promises.

ILLUS.: A celebrity recently describe an intrusion into her wedding party as ‘being violated’ – NO! a woman who have been beaten and raped has been violated!

We resort to unnecessary exaggeration and swearing usually to try and portray ourselves in a better light and diminish someone else in order to gain maximum benefit for self!

Paul tells the Ephesian Christians… Ephesians 4:25… each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of one body. (NIV)

Paul tells the Corinthian Christians 1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (NIV)

 

Jesus is urging us as Christians / as members of His Kingdom to speak plainly – say what you mean and mean what you say – be honest, loving and kind!

Plain Speaking!

Matthew 5v31-32; Mark 10v1-12

 

Marriage and Divorce

 

cf. Matthew 19; 1 Corinthians 7; Deuteronomy 24; Hosea.

 

Recap.

Last week we looked at “What the Bible says about sex” –

REVIEW OHPs

 

Matthew 5v27-30; Song of Songs.

 

Contemporary views of sexual relationships.

For many can be either heterosexual or homosexual

• Entertainment

• Recreational
• Dating-sex
• Cohabiting
• Marriage

 

Research and Reflection.

 

• Marriage most stable relationship

–          most fulfilling emotionally, socially and physically.

–          most stable and secure for children.

–          key ingredient for stable community.

 

• Growing number of woman opting to wait

 for marriage before starting a sexual

 relationship.

• The sexual revolution has favoured men.
• Husbands make the best lovers!

 

 

 

What does the Bible say?

• Sex is a fact of life.

–          divine creation – Genesis 1v27

–          divine command – Genesis 1v28

–          divine concern – Genesis 2v18 & 24

 

• Sex is a facet of love.

–          agape (sacred)

–          philia (social)

–          eros (sexual)

 

The kingdom view of sexuality.

• Not just actions but attitudes.

–          Guard your eyes – Job 31v1;

1 John 2v16; 2 Peter 2v14

–          Guard your heart – Matthew 5v28; Mark 7v21-23

 

• Sexual sin is not unforgivable.

1 John1v9; John 8v1-11; Psalms 32 & 51

 

• Sex in the boundaries of marriage is a

gift from God to be enjoyed and valued.

Genesis 2v24-25; Song of Songs.

_____________________________________

 

Introduction.

We come this morning to one of the difficult issues of life – divorce! It is difficult because it breaks hearts, it negatively affects children and it weakens society in general.

It is challenging for Christians because on the one hand we are called upon to uphold marriage God’s sacred institution and we are also called upon to reach out to those in society who are hurting and need support and comfort.

 

I am not going to bore you with reams of statistics – We all know that today fewer people marry as many more simply co-habit. Of those that do marry about 1 in 3 get divorced. It is estimated that with in the next 20 years half the children in Britain will live in stepfamilies or with only one parent. The sociological implications of this we have yet to fully realise.

 

What does the Bible have to say about this issue.

In Matthew 5v31-32 we have Jesus’ teaching about this issue – Matthew 19 / Mark 10 is almost the same but adds a few things. Paul deals with a number of issues about marriage in 1Corithians 7.

In the OT we generally tend to go to Genesis 2 and Deuteronomy 24, both of which Jesus refers to.

 

1. 1.     The Pharisees’ 1^st question.

The Pharisees were not particularly anxious about divorce – their purpose as on other occasion is to trap Jesus – and as before Jesus avoids the trap and deals with the issue.

Matthew 19:3  Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” (NIV)

 

Background:

Two schools of thought amongst the Pharisees at the time.

¨     One groups argued that a man could divorce his wife for the slightest reason.  If he didn’t like the way she ironed his shirt / or if he suddenly decided that he no longer like her hairstyle – trivial things.

¨     The other group argued only on the ground of “unfaithfulness” on the part of the wife.

Both based their reasons on Deuteronomy 24:1

1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, [some uncleanness in her (KJV)] and he writes her a certificate of divorce, …….

She was then free to remarry BUT if later divorced again was not permitted to remarry her 1^st husband.

 

In Jesus day a man could divorce his wife but not vice-versa.

Also, the Pharisees who opted for easy divorce – on trivial grounds – was operating on the basis that his happiness, not his wife’s, was the all important issue. This is so relevant today – People feel they have an inalienable right to personal happiness and to remove anything / anyone who does not serve that end.

 

The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in jumping into one or other of their camps – he does neither.

 

1. 2.     The Pharisees’ 2^nd question.

 

Jesus responds by asking a question.

Matthew 19:7 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

 

Jesus knows their thinking – they are bound up in legalistic argument. And their understanding was shallow because they were focussing on the laws to regulate their failures instead of focussing on the first principles of God’s original intention.

 

Their response was accurate – Moses did allow a man to write a divorce certificate for his wife and send her away.

However this God allowed under Moses not because it was his wish BUT because the people were not living up to his standards and he wants the situation to be properly regulated and controlled and the abandoned wife afforded some measure of protection. This permission was only granted Jesus reminds them in v.5 because the human heart is often so hard and so sinful that divorce becomes necessary.

 

1. 3.     Jesus’ Response.

Back to first principles

 

Jesus takes the Pharisees back to God’s original intention for marriage.

“It was not like this in the beginning…” –

 

Matthew 19:4-6 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (NIV)

 

Jesus taught the Marriage is God’s idea – it is not an arrangement that man has evolved and that he can change to suit himself.

 

Jesus then, quoting from Genesis 2 gives three key elements marriage.

¨     Leaves – it talks of leaving mother and father  – a new family unit/ relationship is established. This new unit is recognised by society at large.

¨     United – a mutual / permanent relationship is established

¨     One flesh – there is a coming together in sexual union in this marriage relationship. It is within this union only that sexual activity is permissible.

 

This is God’s design – and so Jesus adds – Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate –

 

God makes allowance for our weaknesses and sinfulness

Matthew 19:8  … “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. (NIV)

 

Divorce is against God’s original design. The Jewish men of Jesus day wanted an easy way out and they made the rules –Jesus will have none of it and echoes what God said through Malachi – Malachi 2:14-16 14 …. the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner/ companion, the wife of your marriage covenant.

15 Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

16 “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “…

God was so angry with those in Malachi’s day who were divorcing their wives esp. because the wife had been faithful. “The words “wife of your youth” and “Partner/companion” are put in to show the aggravated nature of the offence. She was thus wronged, the companion of those earlier and brighter days, when in the bloom of her young beauty she left her father’s house, and shared your early struggles, and rejoiced in your later success; who walked arm-in-arm with you along the pilgrimage of life, cheering you in its trials by her gentle ministry; and now, when the bloom of her youth is faded, and the friends of her youth have gone, when her father and mother are in the grave, then you cruelly cast her off as a worn-out, worthless thing, and insult her holiest affection by putting another in her place.” – Larry Richards

 

This was the result of the selfish pleasure seeking men of Malachi’s day and God says “I hate it….”

 

Jesus now states that to divorce one’s spouse and marry another constitutes adultery. Straight forward enough!

However – Matthew expands this statement and puts in and exception clause.

 

Matthew 19:9 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (NIV)

 

Matthew 5v32 adds … and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. (NIV)

 

Here Jesus gives one reason for which divorce it permitted – marital unfaithfulness.

 

¨      Marital unfaithfulness is treated as a special case because it breaks the oneness of the one flesh union of the married couple. Hebrews 13:4 4 Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. (NIV)

However, forgiveness is possible, both by God and the offended party, and divorce is not therefore inevitable. After genuine sorrow and forgiveness restoration is possible. BUT even so there are scars and consequences as King David discovered to his cost.

 

¨     Although Jesus permits divorce on account of marital unfaithfulness this permission / concession must be seen against the background of his strong endorsement of the permanence of marriage. The gospel is the gospel of reconciliation.

ILLUS.: Hosea is the classic example of a man with an unfaithful wife and yet he pursues her, and loves her and restores her – in spite of her blatant adultery.

Therefore divorce should only be pursued after every effort has been made towards reconciliation with the guilty party.

It is easy for me as one who is happily married to says these things and I don’t in any way want to diminish pain and hurt a person feels when his/her spouse has been unfaithful. BUT I honestly believe this is God’s way – reconciliation.

 

¨     HOWEVER – in spite of our best effort reconciliation is not always possible – God is a loving, understanding and compassionate father. Thus is believe that God allows divorce as an option in cases of martial unfaithfulness where reconciliation fails.

 

¨      Another justification for divorce is found in 1 Corinthians where Paul deals with the case of a Christian married to a non-Christian. 1 Corinthians 7:15  But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. (NIV)       1 Corinthians 7:15 15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. (KJV)

If the unbeliever insists on leaving the believer has to acquiesce. Here again permission is granted reluctantly.

 

4. The question of remarriage.

 

¨     What about the matter of remarriage of those who have been divorced because their spouse has been unfaithful or desert them because he/she is a believer. Godly scholars have disagreed on this issue for centuries! I don’t believe it is possible to be dogmatic – no doubt some will disagree.

• Does “except for marital unfaithfulness” [Matt.5 & 19] refer to divorce only or to divorce and remarriage. It seems to me there are two reasons for allowing remarriage in these circumstances:-

1)    To me the most straight forward reasoning of the text is thus – Mark says “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery” [and vice versa] Matthew adds the clause “except for marital unfaithfulness” – In other words the one who divorces and remarries commits adultery EXCEPT in the case where there was unfaithfulness – in which case the one flesh relationship is broken // and under the OT laws such a one would be put to death leaving the offended party free to remarry.

2)    In the OT divorce and remarriage were permitted [Dt.24] – Jesus does say Moses was wrong to allow this – just that this was not God’s original purpose.

• What does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 7v15 when he says “not bound” [NIV]  / “not under bondage” [KJV] – Does he mean that the believer whose unbelieving spouse has deserted him/her is free to divorce only or doe he mean the marriage is dissolved and the believer is free to remarry? We can’t be certain!!

 

It seems to me that re-marriage is permissible under the circumstances I have outlined.

 

HOWEVER – Any Christian contemplating re-marriage should carefully consider the following:-

• Don’t even consider marrying a non-Christian
• Remember we are all imperfect human beings – and so is anyone you subsequently marry. ONLY Jesus is perfect and the ultimate source of satisfaction and fulfilment.
• It may be God’s will that you remain single – prayerfully consider and seek counsel from mature Christians you value.
• A depressing fact is that second time marriages are more likely to end in divorce than first time marriages.

 

5. What about singles?

 

In Matthews account there are some extra verses added:

Matthew 19:10-12         10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” (NIV)

 

Jesus disciples found the standards Jesus set for marriage extremely high and demanding and considered whether it was better not to marry at all.

Jesus reply is amazing – “Not everyone can accept this word,… i.e. that ….. it is better not to marry.” –

He lists three groups:-

– Those born impotent

–       those who were castrated as a requirement for service where they were surrounded by royal women

–       and those who live as singles for the sake of God’s kingdom {Paul says that same thing}

Jesus teaches that singleness is a perfectly viable option for life – no better than marriage and certainly not inferior, in fact God esp. calls some to such a position.

 

Concluding Comments

 

Given the state of marriage in our nation we need to affirm the high place that God’s gives marriage. It is good for the couple, for the children, for society and indeed for singles who are part of society. Marriage is God’s design – God’s ideal.

On the other hand, God knows our world is far from ideal. God is compassionate, merciful and understanding of our human weaknesses.

 

May God give us his wisdom as we continue to grapple with this and other difficult issues.

May he also give us his deep compassion and love for hurting people.

Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage.

SEX! What does the Bible say?

 

Matthew 5v27-30

 

Introduction

 

“Enough of this moralising. Sleep with whoever you want, whenever you want, but do it carefully.” – so said a university’s safe sex week leaflet back in 1993!

 

Our young people face enormous pressure in a society that exploits and misrepresents sexuality. The condom culture has emphasised protection (or safe sex – really should be safer sex as 100% safety is not possible) – BUT it has done little or nothing to help people understand the place and purpose of sex.

Someone, in their late teens or early 20’s, who is still a virgin is considered to have something wrong with them!

 

The danger we face as Christians – and the perception that those outside the church have – is that Christians are prudish, puritanical, judgmental and out-of-touch with real-life. And we have to say that such a perception is not totally unfounded.

 

Let me say this now and I will come back to it later – Sex is great! WHY? Because it was God’s idea!

It is not sordid, or sinful or sterile (if you’ll excuse the pun!) Our sexuality, our attraction to the opposite sex, our need for physical intimacy is a gift from God. LATER!

 

1. Contemporary views of sex.

 

These are broad-brush strokes – I am sure you know them well.

• Ø Entertainment – to participate in or watch. The pornography industry is huge – esp. now with the internet. Its addictive. More of a problem for men but not exclusively.
• Ø Recreational / casual / playboy-playgirl image whether in a heterosexual or homosexual relationship.

The one-night-stand. Multiple partners.

• Ø A dating sexual relationship – almost expected that if a couple have a steady dating relationship that they will be sleeping together even if they don’t live together.
• Ø Cohabiting – this is so accepted in our society now that with some people to talk about your husband / wife is not as PC as to say “partner”. Some cohabiting couple have long and committed relationship BUT the fact remains that cohabiting couples are 80% more likely to split up than married couples.
• Ø Marriage – still many marry but divorce is much more prevalent – England and Wales 100 years ago ~ 600 per year now about 170,000 – despite far few marriages.

 

 2. Research and Reflection.

 

What is interesting to observe in recent years is the growing body of research that is showing how marriage is the most stable relationship – the most fulfilling sexually – the best suited environment for children to feel secure and happy, the best ingredient for stable society, etc.

For example statistics show, contrary what some tried to tell us, that the marriages least likely to break down are amongst the group of people who did not live or sleep together before marriage!

 

A recent opinion poll in USA showed that increasing numbers of girls are refusing pre-marital sex – wanting to save themselves for a husband who will commit his life first!

Interesting – recently read a book review – (I can’t remember the title) – written by a Jewish lady in the USA [a psychologist or sociologist] who was arguing that the sexual revolution since the 60’s far from empowering women, sexually and in others ways, has actually done the opposite. In the days when most people married before a sexual relationship started, there was a mystic about a woman and a man had to make a commitment to her before he could satisfy his sexual desires. Now men can have want they want with no commitment.

 

This difference in approach between men and women is shown in an experiment conducted on a University campus: [from the book – and TV show – by Prof. Robert Winston, Human Instinct]: “… male and female researchers accosted students of the opposite sex and asked if they wanted to have sex. Some three-quarters of the men said they would agree to immediate sex; none of the women agreed (although a small minority accepted a dinner invitation). [page 106]

Thought for the Day, 14 November 2002 -Anne Atkins

Here’s the latest absolutely revolutionary research. Marriage makes you happy. Well, duh. It’s been popular since the dawn of time, so presumably there’s some reason other than a biologically driven need for wedding cakes and new hats. The magazine Top Sante has polled two thousand women, and discovered further gobsmacking news. Husbands make the best lovers. I ask you. If you could choose between a man who disappears at dawn without cleaning his teeth and one who can keep you satisfied night after night for a lifetime – there’s not much contest, is there? The security of marriage, continues the survey, allows for more imagination and innovation in the bedroom.

Sexual morality is by no means the heart of Christianity – more a fringe benefit, if you like – but it’s much talked-about, and much misunderstood. We can all imagine God, can’t we? The great Killjoy in the sky; like a divine dietician denying us every cream cake for our benefit. In fact, the bible doesn’t start with prohibitions at all, but with a glorious image of the true and original sexual relationship: a man and woman preferring each other before all the world – exactly what modern woman finds fulfilling. How extraordinary: God isn’t spoiling our fun at all, but redeeming it.

 

So what does the Bible say?

 

 

 

3. What does the Bible say?

 

• Ø Sex is a fact of life.

I don’t mean the usually awkward and embarrassing exchanges between Father / son and Mother/daughter at the onset of puberty.

Rather – the fact that sexuality is a Divine Creation.

Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (NIV)

The differences in human sexuality were part of God’s plan. It is not for embarrassment or under the counter exploitation. It is a creation of God for which he should be praised.

Sexual activity is a Divine Command.

Genesis 1:28 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

Sadly the church has often been silently respectful or just negative about the area of sexuality. But God is positive about it – the Bible offers clear and sensible understanding and teaching if we will care to look!

Sexual activity is a Divine concern.

Genesis 2:18  The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Genesis 2:24  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

God is saying “Adam, you need and companion and helper. The ‘one flesh’ is referring to a physical relationship. It concerns God when two people marry but have an unhealthy sex life. It also concerns him hen two people have a sexual relationship outside the marriage bond – this is contrary to his design and purpose.

An aside about being singles, and I will say more about this next week – In affirming marriage the Bible is not saying that singles are somehow inadequate or incomplete – far from it – each and every person is significant and valuable in their own right. They can have a happy and fulfilled life and can often make a contribution to life and society in ways that married people never can!

 

• Ø Sex is a facet of love.

Facet is one surface of a cut gem. Sex is one facet of love.

The Greeks had three words for love – we have one.

Agape (sacred) – an unconditional sacrificial love – used to describe God’s love for us, esp. in Jesus sacrifice for us! A love we are to reflect to others esp. a spouse.

Philia (social) – a brotherly love, a deep affection, a social kindness, a care and concern and so on.

Eros (sexual) – English word erotic –

First two should be seen in the life of any Christian – all three in the ‘one flesh’ marriage relationship. There needs to be spiritual unity, social unity and sexual unity.

 

Sexuality is a very strong human desire and out of control can lead to chaos and pain and suffering. Thus Jesus raises the standard from just the act of sexual infidelity to one of heart and mind!

 

4. The Kingdom View of sexual attitudes.

 

We have seen throughout the Sermon on the Mount so far that Jesus raises the standards of kingdom living from the level of outward action to inner attitude.

In dealing with adultery he does the same thing.

I will deal with this in greater detail next week when we look at divorce and remarriage.

 

Last week we looked at anger and contempt which unchecked ended in violence and murder. Now Jesus moves on to sex.

This is today’s news – violence and sex are two of the greatest problem areas in our society today.

 

Jesus knew that the men of his day who might consider themselves to be pure and right because they had not committed a physical act of adultery where the same men who would follow a woman with their eyes.  – absorbed by her body and lust in their eyes – fantasising about what it would be like to touch her and have intercourse with her.

 

We all know this kind of activity because there are few who have not at some time engaged in it. It includes all types of men – pastors and plumber, professors and postmen. In this day of equal opportunity women as well – and also between those of the same sex.

 

• Guard your eyes.

Job did this – Job 31:1  “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. (NIV)

John mentions this in his letter.

1 John 2:16 …the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes …

There are things we can’t help seeing – but looking longingly and lingering lustfully – feeding a fantasy is where sexual infidelity starts.

So we need to guard what we look at!

 

But listen to Jesus … Matthew 5:29 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (NIV)

Same about hands!

Is Jesus suggesting that we mutilate our body? NO but rather making a point to his hearers that even if you dismembered your body to the point where physically it would be impossible to murder, commit adultery, even look lustfully – it would still be possible to be full of anger and sexual lusting. WHY?

Mark 7:21-23 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’.” (NIV)

 

• Ø Guard your heart.

Matthew 5:28 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (NIV)

This can also apply to woman of course.

We must be careful not to go beyond what Jesus is saying.

 

Sexual desire is not, in itself, wrong – so long as it is use correctly.

Temptation is not, in itself, wrong – Jesus was tempted. But we should not wilfully enter into it.

 

Looking at a woman (or man), in itself, is not wrong.

“Looking lustfully” at someone who is not your spouse is what Jesus is talking about. It is looking at her with the purpose of desire her. Indulging and cultivating that desire – fantasising about having sex with that one. Peter puts it graphically – 2 Peter 2:14 14 With eyes full of adultery, …

 

For many this is a chosen habit that they indulge and enjoy.

BUT it is not the type of character required by Jesus to be a member of his Kingdom.

 

• Ø Sexual sin is not unforgivable.

The church has too often treated those who have sinned sexually as if it is worse than other sin. While doing so they committed the sin of pride and judgementalism.

God forgave David; Jesus forgave the woman caught in the very act of adultery.

Remember we are all guilty at heart level – and Jesus says that counts for more!

Whatever we may have done God is always ready to forgive and give us a new beginning.

 

• Ø Sex in the boundaries of marriage is a gift from God.

God only gives good gift.

The Song of Songs, a part of which we read, is that wonderful erotic poem in the middle of the Bible that talks about sex more than all the rest, and it never even mentions self-restraint. It is an intoxicating celebration of all that sexual love is and can be: a magnificent abandonment of two people to one another, exclusively and for life, for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.

To quote Anne Atkins in closing –

According to one commentator …, sex reduces stress, boosts immunity, increases confidence, slows aging and gives you a good workout. …. Exciting though this is, however, it’s nothing to what is to come. Sex isn’t just good in itself; it also symbolises the selflessness, fidelity and durability behind the primary human relationship, that between man and woman, on which all social bonds are founded.

But there is something more inspiring still. Over and over again erotic love, in the bible, is used to picture something more crucial and life-giving even than the love between man and woman: that between God and us. No wonder it’s important to get it right.

Erotic love is for life: divine love is forever. Man’s love for woman is as strong as death and unyielding as the grave. But God’s love for us is stronger than death, and even overcomes the grave. copyright 2002 BBC

 

SEX! What does the Bible say?

Being a salt-and-light Christian.
Matthew 5:13-16

If Jesus was bodily present in our church this morning, we would delight in introducing him to others.

The statisticians tell us that something like 85% [or more] of the British public believe in God. Yet only about 5% attend church on a regular basis [compared to about 12% a decade ago]

Most people are too polite to tell us to our faces but they perceive the Church and Christians as dull and boring and irrelevant.

Most are not interested in committing their lives to Christ unless they observe attractive and consistent patterns of living in the Christians they know. Joe Aldrich, author of the book Life-Style Evangelism, put it like this: “Christians are to be good news before they share the good news.”

Jesus put it like this…Matthew 5:13-16 – “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Though it’s tempting, to run ahead and talk about practical tips for communicating our faith would be premature.

Bill Hybels in his book, Being a contagious Christian, points out that in the medical world if someone is going to be contagious they must first have the disease. So in a similar way before we can become highly contagious Christians, salt-and-light Christians, who positively influence others for Christ, we must first live in a way that convinces people around us that we actually have it ourselves!

Note in these verses Jesus asserts that we are salt and light; he says nothing about what we have to say?

• He doesn’t give us a three point evangelistic sermon.
• He doesn’t teach us the four spiritual laws.
• He doesn’t even draw us the bridge illustration.

If we want to be the kind of high-impact salt-and-light Christians that Jesus said that we are to be, we’re going to have to first take some preliminary steps of self-examination and then be willing to make any needed character adjustments. We must start by making certain that the way we live backs up the words we’re speak.

To repeat the cliché, “Does you walk match your talk”.

Jesus knew the importance of perceptions. That’s why He gave us such clear instructions about being salt and light. He knows that as you learn to live out these guidelines in tangible ways, people will begin to “see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Do you see what Jesus was getting at in these verses in Matthew 5? He was telling us that the attitudes and actions of each of His followers either draw people toward a relationship with God or push them further away.

As we saw last week it is possible to live in the light and / be light and to offend and invite persecution because people who are exposed will either accept Christ or reject him and often persecute the messenger! But let the offence caused be because of the message of the cross and Not because of the messenger.

So Jesus was pleading with His people – then and now – to live in a way that would draw people toward the Father. Think about it: how we conduct our daily lives has implications that reach all the way into eternity.

1. Christians who repel others from Christ.
Salt and Light can be good. But it can also be bad.
The Christian who repels the lost is the salt that has lost its potency and the light that has been hidden. The Christian is not having the desired impact on the people around them.

Let’s look at three types of Christians that repel people from Christ.

1) The “in-your-face” Christians
These are the hard sell, confrontational evangelists. They are the ones who stop you in the street, “Do you know you are going to hell without Christ.” The Bible-basher always trying to ram their beliefs down someone’s throat.
2) The “holier-than-thou” Christians
These are the smug and the self-righteous types. They have exchanged their priestly, Pharisaic garments for more contemporary clothing, but their hearts are just as judgmental. They make it plain that you probably couldn’t live up to their level of spirituality, so you might as well not try. They are the ones who expect people to live and behave like them. You become like us and then God will accept you – that is the message that is conveyed even if they preach salvation by grace in words, their attitude say otherwise. You know the type don’t you?

3) The cosmetic Christians

These are the Christians which seekers realise only have a veneer of Christianity. Their faith, only skin deep, doesn’t change their character and values. The seeker sees these people, and says, “There is no real difference between me and them, except that I might have more fun.”

One writer, “If sin dims our testimony so that our “light” is no longer visible, some of those we might have influenced for Christ may drift on in spiritual darkness.”

But that is the warning. That is not how it is meant to be. It is as Michael Green wrote in his commentary, “If Christians are insipid they are useless to Christ. There should be a flavour of Christ-likeness, a sparkle of joy and unselfishness about him or her that is immensely attractive.” That is what we are calling Contagious Christians, those who draw lost people toward Christ.
2. Christians who draw people toward Christ.
Christians who appropriately are a flavouring influence on those around them, and demonstrate the reality of their faith are salt-and-light Christians. They are the Christians who demonstrate what are called “good works”, that influence people toward Christ.

Three examples of salt-and-light Christians .

1)    The Costly Christians

Believers who live out their faith even when it demands sacrifice.

To demonstrate the power of costly Christianity in his transition from atheism to Christianity, Lee Strobel, author of The case for Christ and The Case for Faith, shares the story of Ron Bronski.
Ronnie was a member of a street gang in Chicago. A rival gang had beaten up his brother, so Ronnie decided that he was going to get even.
One night, he got a pistol, and waited for, Gary, the guy responsible for his brother’s beating. When Gary came out of the building with a few other gang members, Ronnie came up behind them, yelled his gang name, and pulled the trigger. The gun just clicked. The gang members turned around, and Ronnie pulled the trigger again. This time a shot was fired into the air. The members of the gang began to run off in different directions.
Ronnie ran off in hot pursuit of Gary. He shot again and caught Gary in the back. Ronnie walked up to Gary, turned him over, and putting the gun to his head, pulled the trigger once more. This time the gun locked up. He dropped the gun and ran.
Ronnie knew now he had to get out of town. So he packed up his girlfriend and they left that night for Portland, Oregon.
In Portland, Ronnie got a job, where several Christians worked, and over time he made a commitment to Christ. Ronnie began to transform. He became a model member of his church and community.
But something deep inside continued to gnaw at his soul. He knew he had been restored in his relationship with God, but not yet to society. There was still a warrant out for his arrest for attempted murder although the Chicago Police had discontinued looking for Ron Bronski a long time ago. He could have stayed in Portland without ever being caught, but he knew what he had to do.
He kissed his wife and children and took a train to Chicago, to turn himself in. He knew he was looking at up to 20 years in prison.
Lee Strobel, still an atheist at the time, was assigned to the criminal courts building by the Chicago Tribune. He was used to hearing people who were obviously guilty trying to exploit the system, trying to find any loophole to get out of responsibility for the crime they committed.
Then in walks Ronnie who tells the judge, “I did it. I’m guilty because not only did I shoot him, I was trying to kill him. But now I have become a Christian and I realise what I did was wrong. I’m sorry for what I did.”
Lee Strobel’s assessment “this drew me towards Christ.” To see someone so convinced of their faith that they were willing to be faithful even when it meant up to 20 years in prison made a remarkable impact, and showed him that Ronnie’s faith was for real.

Bill Hybels has written, “Sacrifices impact people for a lifetime. And in a day when narcissistically ’looking out for number one’ has been elevated to an art form, almost any kind of sacrifice will cause a stir.”

2) The Compassionate Christian

When action-oriented compassion is absent, it’s a telltale sign that something’s spiritually amiss. Whether the problem is with the organisation or the individual, uncaring Christianity does not attract inquirers into its fold. But a clear and consistent demonstration of Christ-like love is a powerful magnet that pulls people toward Him. So let talk about being a compassionate Christian.

One of the primary reasons God calls His followers to be extraordinarily caring people is because acts of mercy open up people’s hearts like nothing else can. Put another way, there’s tremendous pulling power in the expression of even a single act of kindness. And God wants that power to draw people toward his Son.

Not just one-off tokens but intentional efforts to serve the real needs of people God has placed around us. It is the cooking of meals for a neighbour’s family who is ill.

It is child minding for those who don’t have someone readily available. It is volunteering to help them work on the car, or the house. The list could go on and on because it is any type of service that demonstrates in a very practical way the love of God.

 3) The Consistent Christian

ILLUS.: Definition of an English Gentleman – A man who uses his butter-knife even when he dines alone.

Same principle applied to the Christian — We are talking about those who demonstrate integrity of faith even when you don’t know you are being watched.

Being authentic about the struggles present in our lives. Being honest, what we would call being “real”.

What people need to see in you and me are more than pasted-on smiles and religious slogans? They need to see us grapple with fear and sadness and anger and jealousy and loss. They need to hear us talk openly about our struggles with issues of purity. They need to watch us work out your faith without discounting the everyday realities of life.

ILLUS.: Story of a business owner who had employed scores of Christians in his company. He watched them like a hawk. “You know, I was naturally drawn to God by observing Christian workers who were conscientious and kind and thorough and aggressive on the job,” he said. “But I’ll tell you what really impressed me. One day a guy who I knew to be a fresh convert asked if he could see me after work. I agreed to meet with him, but later in the day I started to worry that this young religious zealot might be coming to try to convert me, too.”
“I was surprised when he came in my office with his head hanging low and said to me, ’Sir, I’ll only take a few minutes, but I’m here to ask your forgiveness. Over the years I’ve worked for you I’ve done what a lot of other employees do, like borrowing a few company products here and there. And I’ve taken some extra supplies; I’ve abused telephone privileges; and I’ve cheated the time clock now and then.
“’But I became a Christian a few months ago and it’s real – not the smoke and mirror stuff. In gratitude for what Christ has done for me and in obedience to Him, I want to make amends to you and the company for the wrongs I’ve done. So could we figure out a way to do that? If you have to fire me for what I’ve done, I’ll understand. I deserve it. Or, if you want to dock my pay, dock it whatever figure you think is appropriate. If you want to give me some extra work to do on my own time, that would be okay, too, I just want to make things right with God and between us.’”
Well they worked things out. And the business owner said that this conversation made a deeper spiritual impact on him than anything else ever had. It was the single most impressive demonstration of true Christianity he had ever witnessed.

What was it that made this new believer so contagious? Was it a clever new gospel presentation? Was it a well-rehearsed testimony? Obviously not. It was merely a genuine and humble admission of wrongdoing along with a willingness to make it right. It was consistent Christianity.

Perhaps there’s something you should confess at work, in your home, or in your neighbourhood. Or there could be an area of your life that you know isn’t right, but you’re still trying to cover it up in the hope that nobody will find out. Maybe now God’s Spirit is prompting you to go to somebody and say, “Because I mean business about my relationship with God and I want to be right before Him and with you, I need to apologise.”

Can I give you an inside scoop? People who are investigating Christianity don’t expect perfection from Christians. They’re too streetwise for that! What they do hope to find is someone with the courage to confess their blunders and make things right. They want to see humility and repentance, and maybe even restitution.

Conclusion:
Last week we finished looking at the Beatitudes – the characteristics of people who belong to God and to his Kingdom.

When people see Jesus disciples living like that many will glorify our heavenly Father.

These words of Jesus contain warning as well as instruction. Romans 1:22  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools / acted foolishly.

What has this to do with being salt and light.

Same word – losing saltiness / becoming tainted = foolish.

SO – if the salt fools around it looses its impact / effectiveness. Jesus assessment “Such salt is good for nothing” – his testimony is worthless. Wouldn’t you rather Jesus’ assessment of you was “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

What is Jesus urging us to do – in today’s language “Get out there and shine!” How are we to shine? Jesus spells it out – clear and unequivocal – works! That’s shakes some of us evangelicals!!

We are not saved by works BUT we are saved to do good works!

James 2:17-18 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action / works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (NIV)

“If faith doesn’t wok, it is highly suspect. It can shout, it can preach, it can pound the pulpit but if it doesn’t work, it’s dead!”

How is my LIGHT-LIFE?

a)     Kindle the flame – if you light is a flicker instead of a flame tell the Lord, I admit I’m a pretty pathetic light. I’m just smouldering – giving a lot of smoke but little light. Lord, please, set me alight!”

b)    Trim the wick – carefully and consistently work at your lifestyle to remove less-than-satisfactory living that hinders your glow.

c)     Replenish the oil – draw deeply on the God-given resources of the Holy Spirit and the Word.

d)    What’s you motivation? A candle doesn’t shine just to be seen – nor to illuminate other candles. [There are some Christians whose over-riding ambition is simply to be seen – they have a problem.  There is too much darkness out there to be concerned with self-glorification. Our works are to glorify our Father in Heaven.

Jesus doesn’t want us to be useless and dull and irrelevant.

He wants us to be useful, attractive, relevant, full-of-life people who draw others – not to us – but to Him!

Being a salt-and-light Christian.

Matthew 5:9 – Peacemakers

 

I don’t think that it is without significance that we come to this Beatitude on Remembrance Sunday. Esp. as we look back on a week in which the UN Security Council passed a strong resolution demanding weapons inspectors be readmitted to Iraq and a week where US troop build up continues in the Gulf.

WW1 was supposed to be the war to end all wars, yet more were killed in wars during 20^th C than all previous centuries combined.

Why are there wars in the world?

Why does world peace elude our government leaders?

Why are there at numerous civil wars going on all the time in various parts of the world?

Why, on a smaller scale are there conflicts within local communities and families?

Some people are never seem happy unless they are fighting with someone. A peacemaker on the other hand finds great satisfaction in removing hostilities and effecting reconciliation between adversaries.

Most world leaders won’t acknowledge it but the source of the problem is within the human heart – old-fashioned selfishness and greed. Until there is a change in the heart there will never be a solution to the problems on the surface. What is in the heart of a person inevitably comes out of that person.

As we have seen in previous Beatitudes these are not natural dispositions, but dynamic spiritual changes in a person’s heart — a life changing encounter with God. That life-changing experience affects the way we approach every relationship in our lives.

SPIRITUALLY PROSPEROUS PEOPLE ARE PEACEMAKERS

Blessed = Spiritually prosperous

The Spiritually prosperous, are in no way kin to the “prosperity gospel” cult in our day [those who reduce God’s blessing to only health and money]. Rather Spiritually prosperous are those who have a right relationship with God based upon a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Peace” is God’s highest good for man. In the NT sense “peace” is not just the absence of trouble; it is everything that makes for our highest good.

GOD

ILLUS:

Creation – shalom – equilibrium – sin caused disequilibrium.

In OT Jehovah – Shalom “the LORD our peace” (Judges 6:24), and in NT our Jesus is the Prince of Peace – God’s Peacemaker. “He is our peace” (Eph. 2:14). He has brought us near by His death on the cross (v. 15) and brought us into the presence of the Father and introduced us to Him (v. 18).

Jesus gives us His peace (John 14:27; 16:33).

John 14:27 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (NIV)

John 16:33            33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of peace. He applies and supplies the peace of God to our hearts (Gal. 5:22).

Galatians 5:22 22 … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (NIV)

The one clear objective of the peacemaker is that the LORD God be glorified.

Jesus is our best model for a peacemaker. His concern was to glorify the Father at all times (John 17).

Peacemakers – who are they?

“Peacemakers” are those disciples who strive to prevent contention and strife. However, they are not keepers-of -peace at any price, but are active makers of peace. They use their influence to reconcile opposing parties among individuals, families, churches, and the community. They change hostile attitudes to attitudes that seek the best interests of everyone.

Now peacemaking is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation. Indeed, the very verb, which is used in this beatitude of us, is applied by the apostle Paul to what God has done through Christ. Through Christ God was pleased “to reconcile to Himself all things, . . . making peace by the blood of His cross.” And Christ’s purpose was to “create in Himself one new man in place of the two (sc. Jew and Gentile), so making peace” (Col. 1:20; Eph. 2:15).

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the particular blessing which attaches to peacemakers is that “they shall be called sons of God.” For they are seeking to do what their Father has done, loving people with His love, …. It is the devil who is a troublemaker; it is God who loves reconciliation and who now through his children, as formerly through his only Son, is bent on making peace (The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, p. 50). John R. W. Stott

It must be kept in mind that “the peace of God is not peace at any price.” God brought sin out in the open and dealt with it. God made peace with sinful humanity at “immense cost.” Only the blood of Jesus Christ can make propitiation for us (Romans 3:24-25). “Jesus Christ the righteous . . . is the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 2:2). “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (4:10). Propitiate [means what??] – “the turning away of wrath by an offering.” God’s wrath is His settled, controlled, holy antagonism against all sin. Propitiation is the appeasement of the wrath of God by the love of God through the death of Christ.

God Himself takes the initiative in sheer unmerited love. He turns His own wrath away by the death of his own Son. God’s justice has now been satisfied. Our sin has been dealt with. His holiness is satisfied. God’s wrath is turned away from us on to His Son who died in our place.

Any other concept of peace with God is a “cheap peace.” True peace with God is an expensive treasure. We must never compromise with truth just to bring about peace. The moment we do we cheapen it. A false peace is more dangerous than open war. All it does is cover up the symptoms. James wrote, “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” (3:17). We enjoy peace with God at a very high price.

Are these peacemakers those who make peace between man and God or between man and man? Probably either interpretation is possible, however, you can never bring peace between men until they have peace with God. His peace is the solid foundation for all other relationships.

ILLUS.: Ant Greenham – Israel and Jordan – no peace without regeneration of heart and God-given ability to forgive.

 

Peace with God

Peacemakers are at peace with God  Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (NIV)

Romans 5:11 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (NIV)

You cannot be an active maker of peace until you have first found peace. Peace with God involves a new nature, and a pure heart. Only the person who is pure in heart can become a peacemaker. There must be no hidden agendas, not selfish ambitions, and no double-mindedness with the peacemaker. The person who if filled with envy, jealousy, covetousness, hostility, etc. can never be a peacemaker.

“Peace” is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22; Phil. 4:7). We most resemble our heavenly Father when we are filled with peace.

“The perfect peacemaker is the Son of God (Eph. 2:14f.)” (McNeile).

These “peacemakers”demonstrate in their own lives how to have inward peace with God and how to be instruments of peace in the world. We can never be peacemakers until Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives and sin is put to death by the work of the Holy Spirit. We have been called to be ministers of reconciliation because “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Therefore, because we are no longer at war with God we are no longer at war with ourselves. The “peace of God that passes all understanding” reigns in our lives (Phil. 4:7).

Peace with other people

John Broadus said, “There is no more Godlike work to be done in this world than peacemaking.”

Peacemakers show they are “children of God” by using every opportunity to bring about reconciliation with others. God is a peacemaker and they are like their father. “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:18-20).

Peacemakers seek to live at peace with others (Rom. 12:17-21; 14:1, 13, 15-20; 15:1-2, 5-7; I Thess. 5:13; II Tim. 3:16; Heb. 12:14; 1 Cor. 7:15; 1 Pet. 3:11).

Ministry of reconciliation

Ultimately peacemakers are concerned that all men be at peace with God. That essentially is the role of the peacemaker.

A great example of a peacemaker is the apostle Paul. If anyone was transformed from troublemaker to peacemaker it was Saul of Tarsus. How would you have liked him as a friend before his conversion to Christ? Luke tells us the very air he breathed was “threats and murder” against believers in Christ (Acts 9:1). Then he met Christ on the road to Damascus and he became a “man in Christ.” Stephen’s death was a testimony to Saul of God’s peace. As Saul’s henchmen were stoning Stephen to death he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! . . . Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:59-60). You can’t kill a peacemaker because the source of his peace is an eternal God who shall never die.

Even today in many parts of the world peacemakers give up their lives making peace. Men still treat them like they did our Lord.

Warren Wiersbe writes:

As you and I seek to be peacemakers, men will treat us as they did Jesus. They will misunderstand us and not honestly seek for the truth. They will criticise us and accuse us. Eventually they will condemn us and crucify us. Hatred blinds, while love sharpens the vision. Hatred looks for a victim, while love seeks a victory. The man of war throws stones, and the peacemaker builds a bridge out of those stones. The man of war comes with a sword, and the peacemaker disarms him with love and beats that sword into a ploughshare. The man of war throws his spear, and the peacemaker beats it into a pruning hook. The peacemaker does not avoid the battle; instead, he transforms the battle into a ministry of reconciliation. How does he do this? Certainly not in his own strength! “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). “But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . peace” (Gal. 5:22) (Live Like a King! p. 135).

THE OPPOSITE OF PEACEMAKERS

The world has its share of troublemakers. They are also called agitators, rabble-rousers, instigators, dissidents, heretics, insurgents, mavericks, misfits, rebels, renegades, and turncoats.

I am not talking about those agents of change we need in every organisation including the local church. We need those individuals who make us think, evaluate, and don’t always think the way we do, or see things the way we see them.

However, the opposite of a peacemaker is one who has attitudes which are hostile, indifferent, angry, bitter, judgmental, obsessively critical nit-picking. (Cf. III John 9-11).

John Stott – “true reconciliation can be degraded into cheap peace.” Visible peace in the church must never be obtained at the expense of doctrine. “We have no mandate from Christ to seek unity without purity, purity of both doctrine and conduct.” There are shortcuts to peace that we dare not take.

HOW DO WE BECOME PEACEMAKERS?

Let’s examine our attitudes and behaviours.

Observe our own behaviour and attitudes toward other believers, the church, and its leadership. If we are prone to be a bearer of gossip, bad news, negative attitudes, bitterness, resentments, hostility toward others, then let’s start working at changing attitudes toward ourselves and others.

Let’s decide now to make love a priority in our lives.

Let’s make the building of relationships based on love and grace an emphasis in our lives.

Take some time and do an in-depth study of the principles of interpersonal relationships in the Bible. Study Romans chapters 12-16. You will be amazed at how many passages are addressed to interpersonal relationships. These chapters’ emphasise good relationships in the body of Christ.

The peacemaker also learns to be quiet. “Be swift to hear, slow speak, slow to wrath,” is the behaviour of a peacemaker. There are times when it is best not to reply, don’t make comment, and don’t react with your natural instincts. Don’t repeat what you hear. Don’t take sides. Lay aside your personal biases in decision–making. Strive to be objective. Know when not to speak. Humble yourself before man and God and ask for wisdom from Him.

 

Pray with thanksgiving – Paul says, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” (v. 6b). Have you sincerely prayed for God’s will to be done? Have you prayed that God will bless your enemy? – be specific.

 

Change what you are saying about these individuals.

Do what you know to be the right thing to do. Instead of expressing your bitterness, pause and don’t say a word. Find something encouraging to say, or don’t say anything.

Start taking off your own masks. Remind yourself out loud that just like you they are sinners saved by grace!

Remind yourself of the good things in life. Become a peacemaker.

Do what you know to be the right thing to do. It is a volitional choice; it is something we do.

Corrie ten Boom who was imprisoned by the Nazis in WW2 and whose sister died in a camp – tells of an experience while speaking at a church in Munich, Germany.

“It was at a church service in Munich, Germany, that I saw him, the former S S man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing centre at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there––the room full of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, my sister’s pain-blanched face.

As the church was emptying, he came up to me. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein. To think that, as you say, [God] has washed my sins away!”

His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? “Lord Jesus,” I prayed, “forgive me, and help me to forgive him.”

I tried to smile; I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer: “Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.”

As I took the man’s hand, the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on God’s. When God tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself (“When We Can’t, God Can,” Decision, May 1992, p. 34).

WHAT IS THE REWARD OF THE PEACEMAKER?

The peacemaker enjoys inner peace and security in relationships with God, others and himself.

“God will call them His children” (TEV). “To be called” means “to become.” “They shall be called children of God” means “owned.” “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be owned as the children of God.”

God has made peace with man. “He has humbled Himself in His Son to produce it,” Peacemakers do what their Father has done.

Lloyd-Jones: If God stood upon His rights and dignity, upon His person, every one of us, and the whole of mankind, would be consigned to hell and absolute perdition. It is because God is a “God of peace” that He sent His Son, and thus provided a way of salvation for us. To be a peacemaker is to be like God, and like the Son of God. He is called the “Prince of Peace,” and you know what He did as the Prince of Peace. Though He counted it not robbery to be equal with God, He humbled Himself. There was no need for Him to come. He came deliberately because He is the Prince of Peace (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, p. 126).

Jesus is our peace because He gave Himself that we might be at peace with God.

The promise is that you will be “called sons (and daughters) of God.” If you want to resemble God, be a peacemaker.

Every time someone is led to Christ the tide of world history is changed. You can’t legislate it, you can’t socialise it, and you can’t educate it. The problem is so deep in the heart of humankind that there has to be a radical change. Only God can do that.

Are you concerned about world peace? Then you need to be concerned for World evangelism?

All the Politicians in the world will not bring peace – there may in places, at times be absence of conflict BUT until the human heart is at peace with God peace between people will remain elusive

Are you at peace with God? If not you can be, that is why Jesus died on a cross – that what he desires for you above all else.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons (and daughters) of God

If you are a child of God then you must reflect his characteristics and be a peacemaker.

Carson

Wiersbe

Lloyd-Jones

Wil Pounds (c) 1999.

Stott

Barclay