He changed His Son into living flesh to die, so that you could change from dying flesh into a living spirit, and at no time in the process - before or since it took place - were you worthy.
[This sermon is one of a series entitled "Sermon on the Mount, Concentrating on the Beatitudes," which is being preached on Sunday mornings by Pastor Tim Senter.]
Last week again was a builder for this week. Knowing the imperfection of man’s love can give us a greater appreciation for the perfection of God’s love for us. Last week we considered a variety of man’s attempts at perfection, all of which resulted in destruction, death, and disappointment.
In our opening discussion, we looked at man’s attempt to bring these great scriptural principles down to a level where he resides. In his attempt to develop the perfect form of love, man sees it as a return on an investment. If you invest love, you will receive it. Paying back, so to speak, what it is that you have received. This says nothing of the love of God that gave regardless of return. In fact, God gives His love despite the hateful denials and rebellion that are levied against Him by man, woman, and child.
We talked about man’s greetings and the superficiality that man cannot only engender in others, but accept in function. No longer is an individual held to account for true honesty, but only for the image which they portray, whether factual or farce. However, man accepts the imperfection of others in this fashion – not demanding truth. Truth becomes relative to each individual and an individual’s hate or attitude is acceptable depending upon that relative truth. We found that all of this fails in the face of the perfection of God and His truth. In today’s society, it is frowned upon when people demand excellence. Tolerance is the cry: tolerance for school shootings that kill our children; tolerance for murderers in jail to luxuriate and never pay the penalty for their crimes; tolerance for the woman unable to control her own body, who destroys a life created within her. Tolerance for all that is ungodly in a society that claims God.
Then we find the ultimate end for that relative feeling that is unique to each individual in society and we do not like it, but we will not face it. Death, murder, mayhem, chaos, human domination, and coercion are just a few results of man’s perfect tolerance and relativism. Man teaches this relative truth, and then when it actually strikes him in the face he is surprised that it appears so hateful and violent instead of lovely. The problem is in the core belief that man is inherently good. Mankind has no concept of the true human spirit, which is wicked at its core. Man thinks that relatively speaking, we will evolve to be better. Nevertheless, man has proven himself repeatedly to evolve into something more violent and hateful as his power grows, or as his affluence increases. Only with the indwelling Holy Spirit does man have any chance of defeating the evil that lurks in every single human being. To further exemplify this, we just read in the paper that a woman who has three children already, bore her fourth in her home alone, then promptly stepped outside and strangled the newborn in the yard. Mankind is surprised at this viciousness, but condones abortion. Ironically, if she had gone to an abortion clinic and permitted a medical professional (I use the term here pejoratively) to murder the child, she would be a free woman. The human society makes no sense because it cannot operate outside itself, only on individual wants and desires. All of these wants and desires stem from a fallen heart that seeks wickedness in all things, whether intentionally or not. Man wants death and destruction for all except his own person. Each individual wants strict control of as much as they can envision. No, mankind fails in every attempt to develop a perfect society because it fails to recognize there is only one perfection; God the creator of all.
Today we consider God and Christ’s perfect love in Matthew 5:46-48. This last exposition in this section, which began in verse 17, brings a fine point to the entire instruction. The last verse especially encourages the believer to step into the realm of God and change to become more like Him in all that is endeavored. We should never confuse this with becoming God. This change is perfectly described in the Beatitudes and the Beatitudes should perfectly describe the changed Christian. Christians are special.
Christians are very special people. In this reality, we should adopt a more specific terminology for man as opposed to Christian. Christians, after all, can be just as base as any other man, woman, or child in the world. We should refer to the unsaved as “natural man” to distinguish their natural tendency to sin and propensity to gravitate toward selfishness, hate, chaos, self-destruction, and sin in general. This is in direct opposition to the Christian who focuses upon the things of Christ, daily displaying in a greater way the things in the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5, and the Beatitudes in our current study. This is the distinction we must make between the natural man and the Christian. One is bent upon fulfilling self-will; the other is bent upon fulfilling God’s will.
Where last week we looked at a few egregious examples, today we should briefly, as part of an introduction, give some more typical, if not general examples. We talked about the paradox presented here and the understanding that Christ says we cannot achieve perfection, but we must. We talked of man’s attempts at this. Man can be morally reserved in his activity, his actions, his life, and his relationships – yet not be Christian. Man can live a life of morality, live his life, and exhibit what many might call biblical morality. Man can make decisions about his life and live it in a fashion such that even when death comes, he handles it with dignity and with great reservation. However, natural man only faces these things in a negative sense. The thoughts are: ”I may not maintain my positive image.” “No one will believe me because I will loose credibility.” “I will lose my status in the community.” “I might lose the success in business that I currently enjoy.” “I would never think of breaking the law.” To be accused of lying or of cheating is an affront to the natural man who is moral. Their morality and life exhibit their pride in self-imposed control, intellectuality, honor, and rectitude. Can people be moral and be of the world? Yes, absolutely. Therefore, the Christian is something different. Again, we could use the term “weird” as we did a few Sundays ago.
The difference between the natural man and the Christian is the overall response due to internal change. Where the moral man can make a decision to abide by the 10 commandments and obey them as carefully as possible, the natural man in him simultaneously resents their restriction and looks at the edge of obedience. Natural man purposefully takes himself to the edge and teeters there. Because of this bent to always ’push the limits’ of lawlessness, he often falls off this razor’s edge. The Christian takes joy in obeying them and rejoices that they are there to provide structure in life, for worship, and in society. The Christian looks to actively implement these commandments in their lives in such a fashion that they endeavor to go above and beyond the letter of the law to the heart of the law. The Christian knows that there is more to life than “love thy neighbor” and rejoices to fulfill this love in anyway possible, not just where required.
Death – the separation of the living from the dead – probably provides the most stark example. Death to the natural man is a normal function of life and may be faced with a rather stoic and generic attitude that presents a wonderful composure. However, there is always a level of lament that says, “Did I do everything I could with my life?” They may even voice that they hold no regrets, yet inside they debate the finiteness of the event and wonder if there is not something more. On the contrary, the Christian looks at this event as a point of freedom. Freedom from this world of sin, hate, strife, and being on guard continually for those who are “offended” at the mention of the Savior. The Christian rejoices in the scripture that says, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” and realizes what Paul felt when he said, “having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.”
Even those Christians around the deceased display wholly different attitudes than the natural man’s relatives at his funeral. At the funeral of the unbeliever, there is great grief, great pain, great loss, and great lamenting for their departure from this life. This is in part due to the tragedy of the deceased, but it is more evident as time continues that this lament is selfish. They have lost a loved one. They have lost the opportunity to be with them. They have lost the life’s spark that was evident in the presence of the deceased. Funerals wakes, and other gatherings are for those present, not actually for the deceased. It is a very selfish and self-centered thing designed to make all of them feel better about the incident. The Christian on the other hand, although lamenting the loss, rejoices at their brother’s or sister’s release from this world to the presence of the Savior. They may quietly lament their personal loss, for a Christian a special blessing to have as a friend. However, the Christian’s entire focus is on the deceased and their great pleasure they are now enjoying in Abraham’s bosom. The Christian also takes this opportunity not to share sadness and regret, but joy and hope in salvation with everyone at the event. This displays the true heart of man and the contrast to the natural man’s struggles in life and death. The Christian still has the sin nature of man, therefore he laments the loss of fellowship. Conversely, the Christian rejoices at the comfort and great grace given to the deceased. These stark contrasts are the mark of the Christian over the natural man. These are also the differences in love to the Christian as opposed to the natural man.
As natural man defines love, it is an emotion or a feeling. Love is something that develops because of an overall sense welling up inside his or her soul. To the natural man, this is normally a simple lust or desire toward the object. Many have actually described these “feelings” as the guttural desire to procreate, when felt between man and woman. This flies in the face of modern pop psychology that condones homosexuality as some sort of natural aberration of the human sexuality. Is lust a desire to procreate, or is it a desire for physical satisfaction? Either way – it is not love, never was love, and never will be love. Love to the Christian is intellectual, volitional, emotional, and spiritual just as it is with our Father.
In this passage, we learn that “the Christian is easily distinguishable from moral natural man.” Many people think they are on their way to Heaven because they are “moral” and “good” and “honest.” Essentially, “Man says, “I’m essentially good, so I’m in.” God says, “You are perfected in Me (Deut 18:13; 1 Kng 8:61; Matt 5:48).”
The first verse in our exposition concentrates on this love. We learn there are possible rewards in giving love unconditionally.
I. Unconditional Love (Verse 46)
We discussed reciprocity in depth last week. The point being, what worth is it to love someone just because they love you? Love is really a one-way event, not a two-way event. We are to love as our Savior loved (John 15:9). This means, we are to love and not expect love in return. God commended (caused to be known by personal physical action) His love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). How many would say they were worth another man’s life? I certainly am not. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever shall believe in Him shall have everlasting life (Jn 3:16). That is the love of the Father. A Father of Fathers. One who loves us so much that He gave His own Son – God Himself – came down to atone for our sins so we could “be called sons of God.”
Tax collectors in the time of Christ were the most reprehensible of all the people. For a Jew, they saw them as not only people who took your money, but they were Jews and supposed to be on your side. These were turncoats. Further, they had a reputation of being ruthless, confiscatory, and dishonest. They were known to take more than needed and keep back some for themselves. Here, in this verse, Jesus selects the most detestable as an example of those whom we are to love. You should know, tax collectors loved one another. I am confident their love and appreciation for one another took on a very different form – reciprocal perhaps – than that being espoused by Jesus. The problem here is not with tax collectors. The problem is with those whom they are afflicting. Jesus is not preaching to tax collectors, He is preaching to those who are afflicted by them. Those afflicted are the ones Jesus is encouraging. The tax collectors are dealt with in the example of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.
Consider if God determined to operate as man says life should operate, on a reciprocal basis. Not one single individual, even Adam or Eve, would be in glory with Him. God loved us before we loved Him. When Christianity really begins to hit home for the believer is when they come to a heart wrenching understanding of Romans 5:8 where we see we were unlovable, we were sinners, we were unworthy of Heaven, we were reprobates attached to this world, yet He died for us. If it does not bring you to your knees to contemplate this scripture, you have not faced your true heart and have not truly changed for the Father. He changed His Son into living flesh to die, so that you could change from dying flesh into a living spirit and at no time in the process before or since it took place were you worthy.
God is the perfect example of loving the unlovable. You too must stretch out your heart to those who may seem unlovable. It is not easy. These unlovable people do not always take the shape of the unkempt homeless on the street. These unlovable people are not always like the drunkard, devoid of inhibitions. These unlovable people may in fact be your mother, your father, your sister, or your brother. The best thing you can do for them is the same thing Christ did for you – die to yourself and submit to God’s will. Jesus said, “nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” Jesus died well before the cross at Calvary for each one of us. He gave His life for you and me when He submitted in the Garden of Gethsemane to the Father’s will: for His life to be given, for Him to be tortured, for Him to undergo separation from the Father for the sins of mankind.
I hear people scoff at this all the time, “How can one man atone for all the sins of the world?” It’s relatively easy; not easy to do, but intellectually simple if you think about it. Yet, those who most scoff at it are the intellectuals. They display their lack of understanding and familiarity with scripture in the question. First, the motive is love. God loves us. Just as a loving mother and father love their children regardless of their rebellion and hate, so God even more perfectly loves us. Second, the ability is in His deity. He is God. Only God can forgive sins, and Jesus’ life atonement did so. Third, the reason is a sin. He only had to atone for one sin. Scripture says if we are guilty in one part of the law, we are guilty in the whole. God operates above the world of natural man and only has to atone for one sin. It is the one thing that man fails at continually; the one sin that all other sins can be boiled down to; the one thing that resulted in Satan and his demons being ejected from Heaven - that one sin is pride. If you think that is too simplistic, one could easily argue that the sins of man are all found in the 10 commandments. Either way, it is not difficult for God who knows all, sees all, is capable of anything outside of sin, to atone for all the sins of the world. The natural man who attempts to over-complicate the atonement does so because he is natural man, not because he is intellectually inclined. Simply put, sin is transgression of the law; therefore all Jesus had to die for was the transgression of the law for all of mankind. We need not name each individual sin; we only need to name one – breaking the law – any law, of God.
Now the natural man cannot place himself in a comparative battle with these truths. In fact, he refuses to. Therefore, he attempts to make his own rules. “I’ll love you if you love me” becomes his motto. That is fair, that is just, that is right – by the standards of natural man; however, God says we are to love the unlovable. Natural man’s reciprocal process fails God’s requirement miserably and pales in any comparison to our great, glorious and loving God.
You should consider the most detestable person in your life – the one person whom you would least prefer to speak to, let alone associate yourself with. That person you must love and love actively as Christ loves, and as God loves. Do not look at anything in this world and consider it to be related to God’s love. Nothing adequately shows the selfless love of God in this cursed land. We live out the curse after the fall of man every day in death, disease, and pain. What God pronounced as good, we began destroying with the first sin in the garden. We continue to destroy even the fallen world with our pride, hate, and calls for fairness. A call for “fairness” means we were not treated “fairly” according to our own perception. It is pride (which is sin) for which God in His infinite love died. His love rescues us from this whole world. His love is perfect, even toward the unlovable. Since you are called to be perfect as He is perfect, since you are called a child of God, since He is your Father, you are to be like your Father and become perfect. You are to be like Him.
Loving perfectly is only an outpouring of the Holy Spirit within us that changes us into something we are naturally not – a child focused on doing God’s will with pleasure. What of the discussion concerning saluting or greeting one another?
II. Unconditional Greetings (Verse 47)
Now Jesus turns His attention to our every day life. When Jews greet one another, it is customary that they do so with a single word, “shalom.” Shalom means peace. But, did you know that to the Jew this was a prayer – that you have peace. Jesus is not referencing some ubiquitous “Hey, how ya doin?” or the even more esoteric, “hello.” He is telling those in attendance that this was a prayer, a greeting, a point of worship with them and God. To the Jew, and to any believer, a greeting cannot be compulsory, or even just some simplistic response to seeing someone. This is a point of worship in how we present ourselves as Christians to other people, whether they be Christian or not.
Do you greet everyone as though you could talk to them forever? Some people do. My wife accuses me of it all the time. I love people. I did not used to, but I have been given a heart for people. But this scripture says we are to do more. This too is an aspect of life that does not flow naturally from man. Natural man deals with others in the fashion which conforms to their particular society. We showed last week that, depending upon the society, that is quite divergent in operation. In our society, we are encouraged to greet as part of a welcoming. We naturally greet others with whom we either want to engender friendship or a level of trust, or with whom we simply need to do business. The form of greeting is irrelevant, but in our society it is typical for men to offer a handshake. For women it can often be a hug. This scripture says everyone does that, but the Christian does more. The question is, “What more do I do?”
Verses 38-42 tell us what it is we are to do. If we are compelled to go one mile, go two. If we are to give our cloak, give our coat also. If we are asked to lend to people, do so. The Christian does not just look at the speed limit and say, “I’ll obey it;” they are joyous that it is there because it is a protective measure for society as a whole. The Christian does not do things out of compulsion, but out of joy, out of a heart bent upon pleasing God, filled with His Spirit. The Christian is not just an individual that has a compulsory reaction toward others, and especially brothers in Christ; but also one who enjoys these interactions, looking for opportunities to fellowship around our great God and Savior. The Christian looks at all opportunities that present themselves and operates not on the literal plain alone, but on the spiritual plain as well. The implementation of these spiritual conditions in the life of the believer is what distinguishes them from the natural man. Natural man completes tasks out of a robotic compulsion to maintain either their façade or personal honor. The Christian does not greet others with happiness from some sense of duty to witness, but in joy and happiness and excitement to be free from the bonds of sin and a desire to share this freedom (Acts 20:24). Furthermore, the Christian does all they do for the glory and honor of God (1 Cor 10:31). Often we hear the natural man say, “You are in our thoughts.” This, as with most socially generous gestures, is an ineffectual reference to indicate that they care or are concerned. The Christian does not just “think” but they “pray for those who persecute them.” Christians are always rejoicing in the hope of salvation; they are instantly in prayer for those whom they meet, and always offering every prayer with joy in persecution and tribulation (Phil 1:4; Rom 12:12).
Christians greet others as no man can greet them. They see others and hope to talk about the Savior to them. They are given to this attitude because they hunger and thirst after righteousness, and when they find another soul that is poor in spirit and pure in heart, the Christian wants fellowship with them.
The question for you Christian is, do you? Are you? Have you? Does your greeting take on the simple worldly ethical and socially acceptable greeting, or do others see you as special or different? Do people see you as one they know they could talk to if they needed to? Are you actively attempting to connect with individuals in a joyous fashion, looking for an opportunity to discuss the Savior with them? Have you sought God in prayer on ways in which to do this, meditated concerning these opportunities, and looked for them in your daily life? What more can glorify God than to always look for opportunities to worship Him and fellowship around Him? This is the difference in the natural man’s robotic and many times stoic, responsive greeting and that of a believer greeting anyone, but especially another believer.
I try hard to greet people in businesses by calling them by their name. Many think it strange that when I walk up to check out, I address them by their name. I then introduce myself to them. Some even stop to look down at their nametag, or if they do not, they give me this strange look like, “How did you know?” Alternatively, some give even a more perplexing look, “Do I know you?” Think about this though: the perfect God of this world knows each and every person’s name.
III. Unconditional Perfection (Verse 48)
By way of exposition, we should note that the phrase “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” is not a command in the normal sense, it is not an imperative. It is a future indicative, but still carries the weight of a command – an expectation more exactly. This is a statement of a future occurrence through the development in the present. This is a statement of sanctification in the believer who is developing perfection, as God is perfect. This eases the second piece of the paradox then to an expectation that is aided by God (Deut 18:13). This is encouraging. God does expect perfection out of us, but only with His direct intervention and assistance. God is perfect; therefore, we shall be perfect in Him. He is our perfection. He is our God. Because now we are the children of God and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He (God the Father) appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. We are unable to see Him as He is in this body, because it would kill us. However, we will see Him, therefore we will be in another body when we do (1 Jn 3:2 - sermon on this text here). While here on earth, we are to seek perfection in His teaching, and through His Spirit.
This perfection is developed in the Beatitudes where the perfect are perfectly poor in spirit. They mourn for a more perfect spirit with which to worship God. They are meek in their perfection and never haughty. We hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God in order to grow perfect as He is perfect. When we see others fall or fail, we exercise mercy upon them knowing our natural heart and our imperfection. We develop a pure heart that is compatible with God’s perfection. As we grow in Him and He abides in us, we grow in our ability to keep His commandments (1 Jn 3:24 – sermon on this text here). We are the perfect peacemakers, never deceiving to compromise, but providing the love of God to promote peace and harmony to all those around us. Yet, for all this perfect goodness, love, care, and concern, we are persecuted because natural man fights against that which he does not understand. Natural man wars against that which is godly (Rev 19:19). Natural man is at enmity with God (Rom 8:7; Jas 4:4).
The Christian stands in clear and stark contrast then to the natural man. The Christian wants nothing to do with “societal norms” only and unless they conform to God’s standards and norms. Where the Christian stands for biblical norms as called for by God, they equally speak out against the ungodly for their light shines upon the darkness of the world and exposes the evil that is there (Matt 5:14-16;)sermon on this text here).
Do you appear as a child of your heavenly Father, or as one of your earthly father? To be called the children of God is a privilege not to be taken lightly. Are you aware of this calling, and are you, Christian, taking steps to honor your heavenly Father by becoming more like Him? Are you seeking Him for this strength, guidance, and overall change in your life? Are you more than just moral, just, honest, fair, and good? God, not man, is the perfection you are called to become. Do you stand as a stark contrast to the moral man? Do you stand as a brilliant light against the darkness that is the world? Contrarily, are you just seen as a good person, or a nice person? We have included many of Lloyd-Jones quotes in these expositions, and what a wonderful exposition he was gifted to give to us. In closing, we should sum these teachings with a lengthy quote from Lloyd-Jones that I believe best describes the teachings of our Savior:
“I end, then, with this searching question. It is the most profound question a man can ever face in this life and the world. Is there anything special about you? I am not asking whether you are living a good, moral, upright life. I am not asking whether you say your prayers, or whether you go to church regularly. I am asking none of these things. There are people who do all that and still are not Christians. If that is all, what do ye more than others, what is there special about you? Is there anything of this special quality about you? Is there something of your father about you? … Is there just that much of God about you? That is the test. If God is your father, somewhere or another, in some form or another, the family likeness will be there, the traces of your Parentage will inevitably appear. What is there special about you?”[1]
Are you determining in your spirit that you will never, with the grace of God and indwelling Holy Spirit through Christ, do anything to hurt another person; that you will never angrily lash out; that you will never slink up to one in lust; that you will never slip away from someone stealthily; that you will never verbally oil someone up in dishonesty; and that you would never protectively strike back, or lie? Where do you stand, Christian? Is it clear and apparent that God is perfecting you?
[1] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, One-volume edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 282.
