Sermon on the Mount -- Preliminary Points

Having outlined the two-fold ministry of Jesus Christ, as He was alive on the earth as the "perfect mam", some may be startled to hear that we are not supposed to live our lives according to the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, at least to the extent that we are expected to earn our salvation through our efforts.

Some things that Jesus preaches in the Sermon on the Mount relate what the believer will become, like Christ, for "As He is, so are We in this world." (1 John 4:17)

Some of the parts of the passage tell us what believers need to rest in and focus on.

Others do outline the importance of God's Word and power in our lives.

The Key to unlocking the truth, love, and power of every message rests on glorifying Christ Jesus and His Finished Work.

The Gospels provide a historical account, both verifying and validating, through the Word of God, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World.

The historical accuracy, the prophecies fulfilled, the harmony of the Gospels, and the differences which reflect the psychology and the accuracy and the integrity of the writers, all enhance the truth and worth of what is record for us.

The Four Gospels tell us what happened. In another way, the Gospels give us the Reporters write-up: who what when where how.

The "why" is taken care of in the Epistles. Paul the Apostle received a greater revelation of what Jesus did at the Cross, even though he was not a historical eyewitness, because he knew the Word of God better than the Twelve disciples.

Yet even more than the knowledge of Paul, there is John, the disciple who Jesus loved, and it is this same Apostle who lived to receive the Revelation, the same Apostle who wrote "God is Love" (1 John 4: 8), not just "who loved me, and gave His life for me (Galatians 2: 20-21).

This love is bound up in the Cross (1 John 4:10), where every sin was punished, where every punishment was cursed, where every curse was fulfilled. There, the grace of God is fully manifested forever. There, righteousness is made fully available to the entire world for all time. There,

The Cross is the focus. Everything in Scripture, from the Beginning to the "Even so, come Lord Jesus" or Revelation, must be seen, discerned, and celebrated.

So, let us look at the Sermon on the Mount in greater detail, resolve the questions which have puzzled many, whether new to the faith, or old in the Lord.