Introduction
Let me begin with a discipleship question: will we trust and obey Jesus in the real decisions of everyday life? Christ forms us through truth received, repentance practiced, and obedience lived out.
Main Points
Repentance and Renewal
if you have your bible turn to matthew chapter five we're going to end the fifth chapter the really our uh first of three parts in the sermon on the mount chapter five and what a climactic ending we will come to today i want to read these verses and i tried my best to find a reason to share a few photos with you guys into some places that we were at so after i read the section of scripture we're going to be in this morning i want to share a couple photos that i hope will be a reflection of how i feel or how i've responded to these verses that we're reading this morning so as i said this is a climactic ending to the beatitudes and the teachings of jesus to really help his people his disciples understand what his kingdom is all about it says in verse 38 you have heard that it was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but i tell you not to resist an evil person but whoever slaps you on the right cheek turn the other to him also if anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic let him have your cloak also and whoever compels you to go one mile go with him too give to him who asks you and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but i say to you love your enemies bless those who curse you do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons of the father in heaven for he makes his son to rise on the evil and on the good and sends out rain on the just and the unjust for if you love those who love you what reward have you don't even the tax collectors do the same and if you greet your brethren only what do you do more than others do not even the tax collectors do so therefore you shall be perfect just as your father in heaven is perfect uh these verses are probably something that you have heard in some context or another whether through a sermon or just the common language of what it means to try to be a good person because jesus saying these words have echoed ever since and they've infiltrated all sorts of different areas of the culture surely you've heard the phrase to go the extra mile as a way to say to be a good person to be a kind person to be a loving person and surely you have heard this idea that jesus comes onto the scene and preaches a message of love that goes so far that he wants to apply it to evil people and enemies love your enemies is a very common way to encapsulate the teachings of jesus and yet when you take time to meditate and to study and to not just look at it but to try to live it becomes something that is so much more than a phrase and it becomes almost a daunting a weight that when you think about actually doing this you begin to understand the fear of god you begin to understand what it's like to feel this sense of unworthiness towards the task and so allow that to introduce my first photo to share with you i want to show a picture we were just the last place we were at before boise was a little place called moab in utah i'd never been before it was incredible uh you drive in and there's just these amazing rock formations and cliffs and beautiful red rock and then these little streams where water has burst forth and it is awe-inspiring and you can if you've never been to moab maybe you can relate to seeing some other beautiful uh scene of nature that you got to experience whether it be the redwoods of california or the grand canyons for me and here's another picture coming up this is a picture of niagara falls this is the this is the farthest apart that we got from moab to niagara falls and i want to share these two and then this picture specifically because there's a difference between viewing something from afar and then getting up so close to its beauty that it terrifies you and that's what this picture is my kids were so excited we're everywhere we went we tried to give him a little preface of where we were going we saw some beautiful things on this trip we got to see the ark which is incredible we got to see glorious parts of nature and all of them were inspiring and exciting to get to go see but there was a couple moments where our kids were so excited to get there because you get out of the car and we were telling them stories about these places but when we got to both moab and niagara falls the beauty turned into fear it's like you see moab from afar and it's like man i want to go see that and then you look at it and you're looking down you think i want to go back to the car and when you look at the face of my young daughter at this in this picture you'll see the beauty and the fear altogether because she's running with me to go see it niagara falls is a feat of god's creation you look at it from afar and you can't help but to just be inspired and if you get too close you tremble and you can see that in her face in fact i told my wife i was going to share this she's like no look at her face i said that's the exact point this is the passage of scripture that i just read to you it is so beautiful from afar don't you love the lord that we follow that we have chosen to give our lives to and to study every week to listen to his words and think that's our savior that's our lord he says that there is a love that goes so far beyond our understanding and comprehension and he says apply it to enemies and we think that's our lord how amazing and incredible is jesus and then he says to the disciples come with me now i want you to do this with your life and it's like coming to the top of niagara falls and thinking it's beautiful from afar but when i get too close to this i want to turn back i want to tremble and this is why we're like at the top of the mountain now we're at the top of the pinnacle of the sermon on the mount because at the bottom remember jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit we think cool someday i'll be poor in spirit when god really breaks me and he says keep reading because where i am taking you i'm going to take you to a place where you tremble at your knees at the thought of actually following me the thought of actually living out matthew chapter 5 not just from the sanctuary's view like we have this morning how beautiful jesus commandments are the constitution of the kingdom is to say love the evil person and the enemy what a beautiful statement of christ especially when he's living it out on our behalf but then he says to us follow me you do it and this should be a verse that brings us to that place of poor in spirit as if to say we get so close to jesus this morning that we start to tremble at the idea of actually doing this and this is why blessed are the poor in spirit because in your poverty of spirit you now not become someone who is interested in jesus but someone who needs the spirit of jesus in you to do what he's calling you to do so this morning i'll do my best to try to put into a sermon something that is as beautiful and terrifying as it's like trying to take a picture of niagara falls in fact there's another lesson in the picture i showed you because you can see windy's face trying to get a picture of niagara falls you can't take a picture of it and in the same way you really can't encapsulate and try to fit into 30 minutes of sermon what god is calling you to do to be his representative on earth this is something i'm drawing you into that you will only experience when you get up close and personal with it with your own life so in my best effort i've tried my very best to break this down into three ways that we can think about applying this to our life that we might just get close enough to it that it terrifies us enough to worship god because that's what ultimately happens when you come to these places in god's creation it terrifies you enough to say how great is our creator god that made the cliffs of moab and caused niagara to fall in a in a wondrous roar and causes his people to love like he loves a an inspiring terrifying moment between god and his people so the three ways we can break this down the love of enemies is the pinnacle of the mountain it's the cliff upon which we stand and we look down terrified and it tells us three things in this passage of scripture one you will have them that's a that's a this is just a reminder for us in our day and age and our culture that we are not called to be so in love with god and so insulated by his protection and provision that on this side of eternity we have now freed ourselves from the tension the conflict and the pain and the burden of enemies so if you're trying to live your life that way there's a reminder this morning that says you actually will have them god wants you to come to the cliff the second part is you will love them according to the spirit in you he says by this you will be manifested at the sons of god as people not all of you but of those of you who have accepted the spirit of god in you are now representative of god you now represent his love to the world and your love will be a reflection of god's love which is a love that applies so much farther than we would want it to apply without god in our lives so you will have them you will love them and this is maybe the edge of the cliff it says therefore you will be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect there is part of your completion in the in the way that god is maturing you to be like christ by indwelling his spirit in you and calling you a son of god part of your process of sanctification or him maturing you or him completing you or him perfecting you is seen in how you respond to the evil person and to the enemy of your life you will have them you will love them and you will be perfected by them there's the cliff don't we wish that wasn't true so let's look at the first idea in this jesus doesn't actually state it in this passage of scripture but he does it in others uh in this passage of scripture he just takes it as a reality of the fallen world that we live in he says not to resist an evil person and then he also says to love your enemy built into the program this morning is the reality that as jesus talks to his disciples and he pulls people into a closer relationship to himself as a disciple of christ as a follower of christ you will be met with opposition in this world it's not a point that i'm going to belabor longer than i have to other than what jesus has already told us he says don't be surprised when you have trials and when you have tribulation when trouble comes to you in this world don't act like it's this shocking thing to your life like god you've abandoned me because now i have trouble and tribulation and it's coming through the words and the actions and the behaviors of people don't be surprised that by that john 16 33 jesus says take heart i've overcome but don't be surprised he says in luke chapter 6 which is maybe more acute to where we're at this morning because luke 6 is the gospel of luke's version of the sermon on the mount he says woe to you when all men speak well of you so did their fathers to the false prophets so this morning there's a warning of scripture coming from the words of jesus in a similar setting in the gospel of luke that says be really careful when you live your life as to not offend anyone be really careful when you live your life and everyone that you meet hears your message here's your purpose sees how you're living your life and they think fine by me doesn't offend me we speak well of you've done nothing to offend our particular worldview jesus says that's not good that's not good one of the reasons that's not good is because we live in a world that is full of conflicting purposes we live in a world where there's all sorts of different passions applied to different goals and they conflict all the time and so jesus says if you're really living for him you're living as a light in the darkness thank you john whitaker and the darkness is where evil deeds are happening and the light exposes that so if you're actually living as the salt and the light you are living against the darkness of this world and you should have people say turn the lights off i'm trying to do stuff in the dark be quiet i don't want to hear the message if you don't have that happening then your light is pretty dim or it's non-existent he says the student's not greater than the master they persecuted me they will persecute my disciples so the first built-in lesson to this is that the people of god living in an insulated culture as we are need to remember that we are not called to live as allies to the entire world it's a very popular phrase right now i will be an ally to you'd be an ally to me there's your tribe here's my tribe and we will always do anything we can to work in alliance that's not the gospel the gospel comes with good news and the truth will set you free but first it will make you mad and we're not called to be friends of the world will be called to be friends of god and the world has rejected god that's just the reality i love this quote by not a theologian but sometimes street level people have some really good wisdom from god this is a man named mike tyson and mike tyson is uh he's street level let's put it that way here's a here's a quote that all of us should kind of just hold on to in our smartphone digital platform communication online day and age he says social media made you all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it thank you mike tyson and he's right up until this current era of the world which is like thousands of years of human history you knew who your enemies were because there was no such thing as hurling insults and then just turning your computer off or blocking people or unfollowing people and not actually having to deal with the tensions of humanity hitting and fighting and doing enemy-like things well now we live in an inside other world and you can do things that make you an enemy or hurl insults at the enemy and then you can just live as if it never happened that's not reality is the gospel we should be unashamed of it because it comes as an offense to those who are the outside and when you speak the truth in love people will react as if they're reacting to god in their life which is hard-hearted raising the fist and turning the back are you afraid to have enemies would you rather not listen to this portion of scripture because you really don't want to come up with a playbook for what it looks like to follow jesus so closely that you run the reality risk of offending the non-believing non-cro christ-following non-god-fearing non-scripture as authority people of this world and if i'm being honest sometimes i'm like yeah i wish that was the case and every sunday rolls around and i think god i have to say this again like someone here is going to be offended but i guess thank you for proving the point so you will have enemies and that's okay christ had enemies the second part of this is where christ's playbook turns into something that is so different and set apart and should change the way we think about trying to avoid enemies the second part of this is you will love them jesus says you've heard it said an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth but i say don't resist an evil person whoever slaps you on the right cheek turn the other to him also this is a radical shift in the narrative of how people dealt with a fence in their day he goes on to give a num another a number of different examples someone wants your tunic give them the cloak someone wants you to carry their things and go a mile go with them an extra mile and what jesus is doing and he's done this throughout matthew chapter 5 is saying here is the minimal requirement of the law and here's what you're going to do to take my love and go beyond the law because the law said if a roman soldier asks you to carry his things for a mile by roman decree that's just part of the law so imagine yourself and you are a first century jew and you are it's a nice sunday morning today and you have just enjoyed a picnic on the hills of galilee of the sea of galilee and a roman soldier comes up and they're gang of roman soldiers and you're sitting there with your family and he looks at you and says hey i'm tired of carrying my things you're required by law to walk enough steps to cover a roman mile and you have the decision on whether or not you want to break that law whether you want to defy that law or you can meet the law's minimum and you can say okay because it's the law i will i will count my steps i will i will count my steps and when we get to the end i will as politely and rudely as i can throw your things back at your feet and go back begrudgingly with my family that's the law but there is a way that love supersedes the law and this is what jesus is getting at the entire sermon there is a way that love goes so far beyond the letter of the law there is a way that you cannot commit adultery by the letter of the law and there's a way that you can be so faithful to your to your wife and to your neighbor's wife that you are loving them beyond the law don't even lust don't even let your mind go there and that is what's happening here and by the way jesus is going to point out something very important for us to know about what love looks like in these circumstances because he will go on to give them a seed of hope that they already know how to do this he says to them for if you love those who love you what reward do you have in other words take everything that we just read in matthew chapter 5 in how we should treat enemies and evil people by turning the other cheek by offering more than what was asked by offering the cloak not just the tunic by going the extra mile and he says you know you already know how to do that with people you love and isn't it true instead of reading these verses through the lens of how you treat your enemy think about reading these through the lens of who you love the very most in your life so parents think about all of these in regards to your children if your child insults you which is the phrase here the backhanded slap of the face it's an insult what do you do with your children i forgive you and you can insult me again and i will still forgive you and i will listen to all the insults as they come and i will be here loving you after if your child needs something from you don't withhold something that could bless them even more the tunic was the undergarment but the cloak was the warm garment and by law you didn't have to give up the cloak they couldn't sue you for a cloak because somebody might freeze to death and jesus says give them the warm garment too give it give it go be above and beyond the law so that they know beyond the shadow of a doubt you are motivated not by law but by love and if your child asks you for something sometimes to our fault it's our heart to give more and same with going the extra mile in fact here's a another picture i smuggled into the sermon because when you travel a ton with kids you learn this lesson pretty quick this is i could have shown you a thousand pictures of me just carrying my kids around because we're going places that require walking we're walking through museums we're walking through the streets this is actually us leaving niagara falls and my kids can only walk so far and then they come up to me and say please carry me and as a father by law i'm actually not required to do that if i wanted to show them the books i could say i'm on the books for food shelter i can't neglect you no hot car in the summer uh you got to have like the basic the basic needs met but by law i ain't got to carry you but that's not what i say i go beyond the law i pick up my child and i carry them beyond even what my arms could carry and so what jesus is saying you love those who love you back he's saying the world knows how to do these things the tax collector the pagan in luke chapter six he'll say the sinner knows how to forgive the insult when it comes from someone within their tribe the sinner the pagan and the tax collector knows how to give to those who they love and will give back the sinner the pagan and the tax collector actually know how to go beyond the law for those who are within the tribe and here is what the message of the gospel needs to go out for our day for our church and for our world today the people of jesus go beyond the tribe they go beyond the circle by which this comes naturally to you everybody can do this when you apply your favorite name your favorite person the one that you would do anything for you can do all these things it's in you but where god changes the narrative of human history is when he brings a different kind of love a love that goes beyond what is natural to us what we would do anyway and that's where although i try my very best to avoid translation and original words because i trust the translators of the bible but this isn't a translation issue this is actually an english problem because the word love is not a great word in our language have you noticed that when you talk about the things that we love there's a pretty broad spectrum of the way that we apply the word love in our vernacular i went to chicago and i got deep dish pizza and i said i love this pizza and then we got to the very the very peak of uh we got to the spot in new york city that my wife and i went to our honeymoon in and we stood under the building of the empire state building i looked her eyes and i said i love you is she respond by saying you love me like you love pizza she could i said them both that's just a problem with our language we love everything i love you know being here i love your shirt i love the sports team we're gonna watch later i love i love food i love people i love god and all of it for the same word and so this is one of those times where we have to go back and say man if only there were more words for love maybe we'd understand this better and there actually are in the original in the original language of the greek there's other words you may have heard the book the four loves by c.s lewis where he breaks down the different the different ideas behind love so that we can understand what jesus is getting at here so if you haven't read the book the four loves if i can remember them off the top of my head um phileo you've heard that brotherly love city of philadelphia right i went there they need to repent they've got some work to do that's the love that you have for the person at church you're sitting right next to you see them every sunday you give them the high five you're like i love you're my bro in christ you're my bro in the neighborhood uh you have eros of course that's the romantic love that we often think about that is the popular uh love that is sung about and written about it i love this person because they're the one i was waiting for and my desire to overcome loneliness and have companionship uh there's storge and this is actually uh in the four loves by c.s lewis it's not one that we find in the original greek of the bible but it's worth looking at because you see examples of it in the bible storge is the family love that's the love of me carrying my son wherever i need to because he's too tired that's the love of the families that exist this morning that hope for god's best for each other none of those loves or those words in the greek are what jesus is talking about now and this is the love that will in fact revive a church change a culture and actually represent or manifest the sons of god to the day and age that we live in and that is the agape love the agape love let me read you the definition agape love is sacrificial love given without conditions it exists in good times and in bad re
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.