You Have Heard it Said but I Tell You- Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

Sermon: FCC Marianna 3-6-2022 SOTM - "You've Hear it Said, But I Tell You: Mean What You Say, Say What You Mean" Scripture: Matthew 5:33-42 Today we continue our survey through Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. Remember, surveying the Scriptures is the idea of digging into the Word, examining what ends up in our hands, then sifting through it to find the nuggets of truth and wisdom that the Holy Spirit is sharing, and storing those things away for further examination later on. The Sermon on the Mount is divided into distinct parts: the Beatitudes, the Believers' impact on the world, Jesus' rejection of old teaching and practices, and Jesus' calling to the Listener. Last week, we covered Jesus' second and third introductions of His new standard over the old Law. We examined how Jesus confronts our tendency to judge our righteousness by the letter of the Law while ignoring our hearts' posture before the Spirit of the Law or the fact that we could be technically innocent before the letter of the Law while our hearts are dark and filthy. We examined Christ's teaching on adultery and divorce and how the easy part of these sins is the external action, while the tough part is recognizing and excising the internal thoughts and focus that make up the internal part of these sins. We looked at how these sins are caused by a heart that is not focused on God- that is filled with the seeds of sin that are being allowed to grow and develop. We looked at how murder grows out of the seeds of anger, hatred, and malice; adultery grows out of the seeds of lust; divorce grows out of the seeds of lust, discontent, and poor communication. Today, we are going to examine two more of Jesus' comprehensive additions to the Law, His new standard, for Believers. But, remember, as we examine these: we are going to look at the change in heart before the Father that keeps us from getting close to breaking the Law- when we can get out hearts right before God, we will not need to worry about potentially getting too close to breaking the Law, because our actions follow the position of our hearts. If our hearts are following Jesus' new standard, our actions will not break the Law. Read Matthew 5:33-42 here: Pray here! -One of the most profound things about the Sermon on the Mount is the number of times that Jesus focuses on things that those listening to Him already thought they had a good handle on. Murder? Easy- just don't go kill people. Adultery? Check- just don't cheat on your spouse. But Jesus digs deeper: you must not even allow your heart to be caught up with hatred, anger, or lust. The two we are covering today are similar: "Don't break your oaths" becomes "Don't even swear at all." Seeking revenge becomes "Not only don't seek revenge but seek to bless those who harm you." It is a standard that is so contrary to the norm of the day. Jesus' standard is the opposite of what our flesh desires to do, so Jesus reaffirms to us: "Don't listen to your heart; follow after My heart!" He says, "You think you've got this figured out, but I'm here to take you deeper into the Father's heart, into His purpose and plan for you!" Main point: Jesus came to fulfill the Law; the Sermon on the Mount, then, is presented to expose the sham that the Pharisees (religious institutions) had made of the Law and our relationship to it and presented as the path to take us into a deeper understanding of its purpose in our lives. -Where the first half of Jesus' comprehensive examination of the Law involves making a heart change in order to change how we even approach the Law- remember, our actions follow the posture of our hearts; if our hearts are pure and focused on God, then our actions won't even get close to crossing the boundaries of the Law: no hate, nor murder; no lust, no adultery or divorce- now this second half takes a more active examination of our actions and intentions. Point #1 Don't break the oaths you take; actually, just don't take oaths- just be people of honesty and integrity! Matthew 5:33-37 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.' But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." -This command in the Mosaic Law was given in response to man's propensity to lie to one another, to purposefully deceive others, and to use oaths made before God to manipulate the behaviors of others. The purpose of the Law is to direct mankind toward honesty, but just like all of these others that Jesus focused on, man has perverted it- rather than seek after honesty, we sought after finding a way to circumvent the requirements of the Law. The Law was given in response, not just to man not being honest, but also because of the dishonor being shown to God by making oaths in His name and then breaking them or not taking them seriously. This is what the Law says about making oaths in God's name: Leviticus 19:12- "You must not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God; I Am Yahweh." Numbers 30:2- "When a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to put himself under obligation, he must not break his word; he must do whatever he has promised." Deuteronomy 23:21-23- "If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, it will not be counted against you as sin. Be careful to do whatever comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed what you promised to the Lord your God." The Pharisees were notorious for making oaths without planning on seeing them through. It was a form of manipulation, and it was very dishonest. So, because they knew the Law, the Pharisees knew they needed a workaround- they knew that swearing in God's name meant that He was your witness and that He would take it very seriously if your broke your word, especially your word made in His name. They knew that breaking your oath was sin, so the Jews sought to avoid the impropriety of swearing falsely by God's name by simply substituting God's name for anything else: heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or their own heads. In this way, if they wanted to break their oath, they could argue that since it hadn't been sworn in God's name, the oath was not binding. Jesus' condemnation here is threefold: stop being dishonest, stop swearing falsely by the name of God, and stop trying to get around holding to the oaths that you make! The circumvention of the Law was hypocritical, but it was also useless- you can't avoid swearing by the name of God by simply substituting another name. The Pharisees got this wrong: God is the ultimate witness, the partner with you in any oath that you make, whether you try to keep His name out of it or not. Here we see the Pharisees again sticking rigidly to the letter of the Law while misunderstanding the spirit of the Law: not saying the name of God in your oath changes nothing; He is Lord over everything- whether you swear by heaven, by earth, by your own head, or on your momma's grave, which is common today, you are held to your oath just as if you swore it in God's name! Jesus' response? His new standard is that for Believers and between Believers, oaths should be unnecessary. Jesus doesn't condemn oaths themselves (He responds to being placed under oath in Matthew 26:63-64; Paul does the same in 2 Cor. 1:23 and Gal. 1:2; making a covenant with another person before God is taking an oath/ pledging yourself), but He is clear: you should be very selective of the oaths you take and if you swear an oath before God you must keep it. Rather, because we are supposed to be people of honesty and integrity, then our "Yes" and "no" should be as good as swearing any oath. Jesus' standard goes beyond simply "Do not break your oaths" to "Be so honest, such amazing examples of integrity and character, that no one will ever have any reason not to trust even your simplest of answers." Can you imagine what the world would look like if this was the character of everyone who calls himself a Follower of Christ? The standard of "Yes" and "No" means that there is not even a hint of deception or shading the truth to be found within us! We are called to be people of honesty and character for Jesus! Point #2 Grace over retaliation! Matthew 5:38-42 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." -When a person was wronged within the Mosaic Law, judgment was merited based on the Law of Retaliation, which allowed for proportionate revenge being meted out on the guilty party: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. A leg for a leg, a cow for a cow, a life for a life. The Law of Retaliation was both a command to punish wrongdoing and a limit to the punishment that could be paid out. The punishment could not exceed the crime (you couldn't respond to an innocent child being hurt by going and killing the offender's entire family in retaliation). We see this Law of Retaliation play out naturally. It fits our sense of fairness- my brother hit me, so I hit him back; he stole my toy, so I squashed his cupcake. Then it's over and things can go back to normal. We also see this a lot in gang or mob culture, in highly family-oriented, honor-driven cultures: you killed my friend, so I will kill yours; you harm a woman, then all of her uncles and brothers and cousins are coming to teach you a lesson. But this sense of justice and fairness can quickly get out of hand and become an endless circle of violence and revenge. Of course, Jesus has a new standard for His Believers: follow His example. Jesus sets His higher standard of righteousness: His disciples should not seek after retaliation at all; rather, they should seek to reflect the grace and forgiveness that He has already shown to them. Jesus instructs His followers to offer no resistance when confronted by an evil person. The examples that Jesus gives are for when confronted personally; a Believer should not get angry and seek revenge- but this does not mean that a Believer should not be filled with righteous anger and step in to act when someone is harming someone innocent or defenseless- even then, however, any physical action should only extend till the person is out of harm's way. Remember, this entire standard that Jesus sets for Believers with the Sermon on the Mount is that those who follow Him will follow Him will be a reflection of who He is and what His purpose was on this earth. We covered that with the Beatitudes and with each aspect of the Law that Jesus has addressed. This is no different. Jesus says that when a Believer is wronged by being struck on the cheek (largely to be examined as being dishonored or insulted), sued for personal property, or forced into servitude, a man of righteousness would be characterized by humility and selflessness. Following Jesus means putting aside my right to retaliation and to pursue peace- to show grace by not striking back, by not insulting back, by not demanding repayment, and instead turning it over to the Lord who will one day settle all accounts. Retaliation shuts down any opportunity to be a reflection of Jesus. We show grace and forgiveness because Jesus has showed grace and forgiveness to us. [Discuss: My mom forgiving Alex after Justin's death- him struggling with his response to that forgiveness until ultimately he wanted to know more about Jesus.] Moving beyond retaliation, though, Jesus instructs generosity from His followers. Not only are we to go above and beyond in restraining ourselves in showing retaliation against those who are harming us, we also are called to go the extra mile and to show grace by pouring ourselves out generously, with our time, with our possessions, with out wealth, to those in need. That homeless man that asks for a dollar? Buy him dinner instead. That single mom asking for help buying food for her kids? Pour out generously as much as she will allow you- buy the groceries, buy the diapers, give her a safe place to stay if she needs it, give her rides to work or buy her a cheap car to get back and forth. Whatever it is, help in any way that you can! Don't turn away from those who ask anything of you! You never know how the generosity you show will be used by God to plant seeds that may later lead to opportunities to talk to that person about Jesus. And that's our purpose here, right? To have as many opportunities as possible to tell people about Jesus. [Share: Generosity is the root of my spiritual legacy. Share about Becky, Marcia, and Juanita going out of their way to help my mom and provide for us, which led to her coming to know Jesus, and how she has done the same for other single moms, and how Sarah and I have begun to do the same wherever we can. But who knows who, what, or where I would be had those women not showed my mom Christ's love through their generosity!] Closing Question: What does this mean for you? One of my mom's favorite sayings? "Say what you mean and mean what you say!" You are called to be a person of honesty, integrity, and character! You are called to be a reflection of Jesus to the world around you, including treating others the way that Jesus treated you first and by showing generosity!