Christ, not the Bible, is the True Word of God; Tyranny

"It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, who is the true Word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit, and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him. But we must not use the Bible (our fathers too often did) as a sort of Encyclopedia out of which texts (isolated from their context and read without attention to the whole nature and purport of the books in which they occur) can be taken for use as weapons." – C.S. Lewis. The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis.

"You diligently study the Scripture because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me." – John 5:39.

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock.

Verses That "Did Me"

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Mt 7:24). [A Rock Solid Life.]

What are some of my "hear and do" verses? Verses that "did me" and that led to self-discovery, enlightenment and transformation.

1. Gen 1:2. I found my true self.
2. Gen 2:16-17. This led to my conversion.
3. Mt 6:33. This prioritized my life, along with Lk 9:23. Otherwise it is too easy to be driven by ego, selfish ambition, pleasures.
4. 1 Cor 15:36. In some peculiar way, this gave me courage and conviction to marry.
5. Ex 20:5. This is my parenting verse. It helped me practice my two favorite pair of words: "fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12) and "humility and tears" (Ac 20:19).
6. Mt 11:29, 28-30. Humility (and gentleness) should be the foundation of my character (Mt 5:3; Phil 4:5).
7. Prov 29:25. I discovered the key to boldness and confidence.
8. Jer 31:3. This gave me reassurance at one of my lowest points of life.
9. Mt 5:23-24. There is never any excuse not to always seek reconciliation.
10. Ac 20:27. This gave me the motivation of the scope of Scripture I should strive for.
11. Ac 20:24. This gave me a singular focus. Kiekegaard said, "Purity of heart is to will one thing" (Mt 5:8).
12. My trifecta of Grace (Ac 20:24), rest (Mt 11:28) and freedom (Gal 5:1; 2 Cor 3:17), in contrast to faith, hope and love (1 Cor 13:13). With grace I never have to prove anything to anyone. With rest, I am never tired or bummed out. With freedom I will never be enslaved.
    

Poor in Spirit (Matthew 5:3) [Outline of the Sermon on the Mount]

The indispensable condition of receiving the kingdom is spiritual bankruptcy. Charles Spurgeon said, "The way to rise in the Kingdom is to sink in ourselves."

To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge spiritual poverty, our spiritual bankruptcy in ourselves, before God. It is to acknowledge that we are sinners, under the wrath of God, and deserving the judgment of God. It is to acknowledge that we have nothing to offer, nothing to plead, nothing with which to buy the favor of heaven, as the hymn says, "Nothing in my hand I bring."

"He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit. To such, and only to such, the kingdom of God is given as a free gift." John Calvin. This blessedness is an absolutely free and utterly undeserved gift. It can only be received humbly, like a little child.

No oppressors in God's kingdom, only those who humble acknowledge their neediness. The "poor in Spirit" ("poor" in Lk 6:20) describes an impoverished person (economically, physically, spiritually) or oppressed person who recognizes his or her need and trusts in God for full redemption. They comprehend that they must be faithful in the midst of oppression and also form solidarity with other oppressed people. They love God enough to trust God, love the self aright, and love others enough to form alliances of hope, compassion, and justice. The antithesis of the "poor in spirit" is the rich oppressor (Jas 1:9-11; 2:1-13; 4:13-5:6). The "poor in spirit" is a perfect blend of the economically destitute who nonetheless trust in God and put their hope for justice and the kingdom of God in God. In contrast, the rich who are self-sufficient struggle to enter the kingdom (Mt 19:23-24).

Turning the world upside down. From the outset Jesus contradicted all human judgments and expectations with regard to the kingdom of God. The kingdom is given to the poor, not the rich, to the feeble, not the mighty, to little children, not to powerful soldiers, to the publicans who knew they were bad, not to Pharisees, who strongly believed they were good and better than others, to those who did not know the Bible well, not to those who were sure they were the Bible experts.

A counter cultural revelation. Jesus blesses all the wrong people, those whom no one else blessed. Jesus goes against the grain. He finds all the "wrong" people on God's side and all the "right" people against God. Beginning with the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-12) Jesus shapes the entire servant and jolts us into listening attentively. We ought to ask, "If these are the people who are in, what does that mean for me? If this is how Jesus' in-group lives, how should I live?"

Not to strive for... "Too often those characteristics (of the Beatitudes) ... are turned into ideals we must strive to attain. As ideals, they can become formulas for power rather than descriptions of the kind of people characteristic of the new age brought by Christ... Thus Jesus does not tell us that we should try to be poor in spirit, or meek, or peacemakers. He simply says that many who are called into the kingdom will find themselves so constituted." Stanley Hauerwas, on the Beautitudes.

A fulsome translation for "blessed" is "God's favor is upon..."

Christ's Portrait of a Christian: A Study of the Sermon on the Mount (John Stott)

1. A Christian's Character (Mt 5:1-16).
2. A Christian's Righteousness (Mt 5:17-48).
3. A Christian's Ambition (Mt 6:1-34).
4. A Christian's Relationship (Mt 7:1-29).

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)

The Sermon on the Mount (TSOM) is certainly the best known and possibly the least heeded part of the teaching of Christ. In this sermon Jesus listed the chief characteristics which are to mark the citizens of the kingdom of God. It is Jesus' own description of Christians or Jesus' people. It is not just how a Christian lives, but who a Christian truly is. It is the expression of his life that exudes from the very core of his being that has being touched and transformed by Christ. It sets forth his ideals for Christian discipleship.

St. Augustine was the first to call Matthew 5-7 "The Lord's Sermon on the Mount." Augustine also said that TSOM was the "perfect standard of the Christian life."

Quotes regarding TSOM:

"The Sermon ... isn't just about how to behave. It's about discovering the living God in the loving, and dying, Jesus, and learning to reflect that love ourselves into the world that needs it so badly." N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone.

"The sermon...is not a list of requirements, but rather a description of the life of a people gathered by and around Jesus." Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew.

"(Jesus') life is but a commentary on the sermon, and the sermon is the exemplification of his life." Stanley Hauerwas (American theologian, b. 1940).

"The Sermon on the Mount is not a statement to be treated in a cavalier fashion -- by saying that this or that isn't right or that here we find an inconsistency. Its validity depends on its being obeyed. This is not a statement that we can freely choose to take or leave. It is a compelling, lordly statement." Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

"What Jesus teaches in the sayings collected in the Sermon on the Mount is not a complete regulation of the life of the disciples, and it is not intended to be; rather, what is taught here is symptoms, signs, examples, of what it means when the kingdom of God breaks into the world which is still under sin, death, and the devil. You yourselves should be signs of the coming kingdom of God, signs that something has already happened." Joachim Jeremias (German Lutheran theologian, 1900 - 1979).

"The Sermon on the Mount has a strange way of making us better people or better liars." Dean Smith.

A Rock Solid Life (Matthew 7:24-27)

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Mt 7:24, NIV). "...and does them" (ESV). "...and acts on them" (NASB, HCSB). "...and follows it" (NLT).

The Sermon on the Mount is probably the most famous of all the teachings of Christ. (A General Introduction by Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

1. What are "these words of mine" that Scripture encourages people to take to heart (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20-21; Ps 1:2; 119:97)?
2. Why do you think Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) with the wise and foolish builders (7:24-27)? What is the contrast? How might they appear similar? Why can't they be distinguished? When does the difference become apparent? What does this suggest about those who profess to be Christians and believers?
   
3. Since "hears these words" is similar in both groups (24a, 26a), what is the difference? What does this mean (7:24a; Jas 1:22; 2:20-22; Isa 8:16, 20)? What would be the result of doing so (Mt 13:23; Mk 4:20; Lk 8:15)?
4. How is this "like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (7:24b-25; Ps 62:2; 112:6-8; 20:7; Isa 28:16; Jn 16:33)?
5. What is the problem of the foolish person (7:26-27; Isa 6:9-10)? What usually reveals one's true colors?

• Do you do what you say? Do you do what you know? How important is this?
• What "words" have been significant and instrumental in your life (Mt 6:33; 11:29; Lk 9:23; Phil 4:5; Ac 20:24, 27)?