The lesson this morning is in
Matthew 5. I'm going to cover a lot of verses
because these verses have to do with examples of what he's
talking about. And because of the length of
it, it's going to eat too much of the time up for me to read
it to you. I'll refer to some of them as
we go, and the rest I'm going to leave to you to read this
afternoon. But there's five things contained
in these verses, verses 21 through 48 of Matthew chapter 5, that
demand our undivided attention. They're vital things. The Sermon
on the Mount. As He came before the multitude
and began to teach them and preach to them the gospel, There's five
things contained in these verses that demand our attention. They're
vital things. They're things necessary to the
salvation of our souls, the understanding of these things. Our hope's in
Christ. But that hope in Christ is given
to us and taught us in doctrine. And these doctrines are contained
in this sermon. They're vital things and things
necessary. Having stated clearly in verses
17 and 18 that it did not come to alter or change the law in
any form or fashion. Now, this is what men said. And
he's going to give us the reason why they said it here in just
a minute. But he states. that he did not come for that
purpose. He's not going to change the law. He's not going to alter
the law in any sense. And now he goes on to tell us
about the law that he refuses to alter. He's going to tell
us about that law. Now, these Pharisees, who came
to him and made these charges that he came to alter the law
and all, they thought they understood the law. They were experts of
the law. These were legalists. Legalists believe they understand
the law. They believe they have an outstanding
understanding, a knowledge, a perfect knowledge of the law. Paul said,
from his point of being a Pharisee at one time, as touching the
law, I was blameless. And so now the Lord moves on
to tell it and to tell us what this law is. Now, there's five
things here in these verses. And the first of these is this.
The first of these five vital issues concerning the work of
Christ and the faith of God's elect is a right understanding
of the law. He's going to get this out first.
And this is so vital. at the very root of all self-righteous
religion. I think self-righteous pretty
much covers the gamut. It runs from sea to shining sea
in religion. And at the very basis of that,
at the very root of self-righteous religion, is an ignorance of
the law of God. Now, if you understood the law,
you could not have any hope in the law. But they don't understand
the law. Paul wrote to the Galatians and
he said this, these legalists, these same type of people, now
they compromised a little bit. You know, false religion is like
a chameleon. It just changes colors according
to its environment. And when these legalistic Jews
began to creep into the churches, to God's churches, to the true
church, began to creep into those congregations, they wanted to
carry over this legalism and mix it with grace. And that's
what they came and began to do little by little in the churches
around Galatia. And Paul wrote to them, and he
said, tell me ye that desire to be under the law. They made
the law attractive to them. They made the law seem necessary
to them. They made the law seem right
and just to them. And so they began to adopt this
law and began to observe some of those old customs again. Not
all of them, but just a few. And Paul said, tell me you that
desire to be under the law. Do you hear the law? Do you know
what the law says? Do you understand the law? You wouldn't seek to be under
it if you understood the law, if you could hear the law, hear
what the law says. And if you're here this morning
and your hope of acceptance and favor with God is based on your
obedience, In other words, when you obey God, do you feel better
concerning God than you do when you don't? Is that your basis? Is that what you hope in? That's
self-righteousness. That's what that is. That's self-righteousness. And we're all guilty of it. But
if this is what your hope's built on, I'm asking you the same question
he asked them. Do you hear the law? Do you hear
what this law demands? The law is not a standard to
attempt to reach and be accepted based on our best efforts. The
law don't demand your best efforts, it demands perfection. Absolute,
total perfection. That's what the law demands.
It's not like the laws of our lands that we pick and choose
what to obey and hide from the rest. Or we take some and we
put them way up here and we take others and put them way down
here. Our Lord said if you break one of the least of these commandments,
you're guilty of the whole law, of the whole law. And the law does not leave its
meaning to be argued over in court or changed by popular vote. The law of God, first of all,
is absolutely unchangeable. You can't alter it. What God
gave, and the reasons He gave it, and the way He gave it, and
the very nature of the law are never going to change. Not even
the appearing of Christ altered the law. Now, that's the first
thing He told them. I didn't come to alter this law.
Nothing is going to be altered in this law until all be fulfilled. This law is not going anywhere.
Not one jot or tittle of it is going to be compromised. Not
one thing is going to be left out. until all be fulfilled. And the holy law of God was and
is an expression of God's own nature, and it cannot be changed
without compromise to God himself. For God to change or alter this
law in respect of salvation. Now think with me here just a
minute. He's got those condemned on this
side, and he's got those justified on this side. to save one of
these condemned. And we're all condemned, aren't
we? All right, to save one of these condemned, will God compromise
His law? Will He alter something in that
law? Absolutely not. He can't without compromising
His own nature, because His own character is what this law is. It's an expression of God's own
character. And the only way to get past
the law is to fulfill it. And then secondly, He teaches
us this, the law is spiritual. It's spiritual. What's that mean? That means it goes beyond the
letter. Now this is what I never understood. I never understood
the law. The whole time I was in religion, they taught law,
they taught us to keep the law, they taught us what the law said. We had little sheets with ten
commandments on them. They had them written on the
walls and so on. The law goes beyond the letter.
And all ideas, now listen to me, every idea of self-righteousness
is born from the idea that God's law only requires outward obedience. All false religion is based on
that. Based on that. To this preconceived
notion, the Lord gives several examples taken from the law to
tell what men interpret and then tell what the law really says.
He's going to show us that the law is spiritual. Now listen
to this. Here's the first example in verses
21 through 26. He said, you have heard that
it was said by them of old time. In other words, the preacher
got up and said, here's what Moses taught. And he didn't read
what Moses taught. He told you what Moses taught. Listen to how it's written. You
have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt
not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment. Now, that's what I was taught
in Sunday school when I grew up. That's exactly what I was
taught. If you asked me what that commandment
meant, that's what I would have told you. It means thou shalt
not kill means thou shalt not kill, don't it? No, it means
more than that. It means more than that. It means more than the letter. More than the letter. Here is
what the Lord said, verse 22. Now this is what these Pharisees
said that Moses said. This is what these Pharisees
said that the Law said. Now here is what the Law really
said. I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in danger of judgment. And whosoever shall say to his
brother, Raketh, what's that mean? That means you're a filthy
heathen, a lawless heathen, an ignorant heathen, shall be in
danger of the council. was those who carried out the
punishment. So that's what he's saying here. You're going to
be in danger of judgment. You're going to be in danger of falling
into the hands of the council. You're going to be guilty to
be taken out in stone. And what's this? But whosoever
shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire. In other
words, this commandment of killing Doesn't just mean the trigger
you pulled or the knife you used or whatever was used to murder
or to kill somebody. But to be angry, just to quit
talking, just get mad and just do this. And I ain't talking
to you. You just killed him. You guilty
of murder. Or to talk to him like he's an
absolute idiot. Talk to him like he's a worthless
heathen. That's what rake him in. Talk
down to him like, you fool, you know. Be careful. You just murdered him. You just
killed him. All evil speaking, all evil speaking
is to be guilty of murder. Boy, I didn't know it meant all
that. Well, that's what it means. And that's why you can't keep
it. And that's why there's no righteousness in it. And then
the practical example and the chief example, let me go there
first. The chief example of this is
our unbelief toward God. We murder God when we reply back
to Him in rebellion. We're attempting to murder God. Now, He shows us that in the
crucifixion of Christ. He shows us that. They didn't
want Him to be released. They didn't want Him to be punished.
They wanted Him dead. They wanted Him dead. So that's
the chief example. If men murder God in their heart
with unbelief and rebellion, But the practical example he
gives us here is a worshiper coming to Christ. In other words,
we all came in here this morning to worship God, and he said,
now, but you've got some aught with you and your brother. You've
got a problem with another believer. And you're going to come in here
and worship God and keep the problem. He said, just whatever
gifts that you brought, just leave them right there. Go get
that straightened up first. Then come back in here and then
we'll talk about worshiping God. Because you've murdered your
brother. You've murdered him. And you're
not going to murder your brother and come in here and worship
God. Not going to happen. The law requires first and foremost
that we love one another. And we don't have a carnal material
altar like they had years ago. Christ is our altar. And as we
bring our gifts and gratitude and praise to Him, but being
convicted over these unsettled offenses with our brother, we
need to get them straightened out. We need to get them straightened
out. And then come in here to worship. All who are in Christ are one
in Christ. And all for the same reason and
on the same basis. And I tell you this, grace will
not tolerate hatred, envy, and strife. It's not of God. Not of God. He's not going to
tolerate it. It's the same as murder. And then the second example he
gives us here of this law, this spiritual law. You see what I'm
saying? The law, it doesn't say, in other words, it's OK to go
out here and lambast your brother. It's OK to go out here and curse
at your brother, but it's not OK to pull the trigger. Cain
was a murderer when he rose up against Abel in the field, long
before he slayed him. He was a murderer in his own
heart. But here's the second example
of this spiritual law is in adultery. Verse 27, you have heard that
it was said of them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery.
But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed. A fellow argued with me one time
about this. And he said, yeah, but he said,
that's not committing. I said, that ain't what Scripture
said. He said to look on a woman and lust after her, Now listen
to this, is to commit, he hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart. He's guilty. Guilty. And the
Pharisees, that sect of Jews most commonly associated with
self-righteousness, they believed that because they abstained from
the outward act of adultery, that they were righteous on this
charge. And the Lord gives us two examples
of this. He gives us one example in the
natural and He gives us one in the spiritual. Both, both manifested
by these Pharisees. You'll remember the young woman
that they took in the very act of adultery. And I've often wondered
how they knew where she was and what she was doing at that very
time in order to go get her. But they went and got her, took
her in the very act, took her up to Christ, threw her on the
ground, and said, she's guilty of adultery. She was taken in
the very act. Now here's what the law says.
Here's what the law says. What do you say? What do you
say? And here's what he told them.
And don't tell them what he wrote in the sand. But I kind of suspect
that he wrote on there the thoughts of their own heart. concerning
this. But whatever he wrote in the
sand, he's telling them this. Anybody here that's not guilty
of this, you can take the first stone and stone her. He that is without sin, let him
cast the first stone. And they all departed. Why? Because they's all guilty. They's
all guilty. And then the other example he
gives is in the very same chapter, toward the end of that chapter,
Our Lord told them that their father was the devil, and they
said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. He said, we'd be not born
of what? Fornication. Isn't that what
they said? They're saying we're not physical
adulterers, and we're not spiritual adulterers. But in their eyes, they were
neither physical or spiritual adulterers, yet that's exactly
what our Lord said they were, and it's what the prophets described
them as and judged them for. To look with lust is adultery,
and so it is in either sense. And to find yourself in agreement
with, or a defender of, or respecter of false religion, that's a spiritual
adulterer. That's what that is. And then
the third example he gives is the common understanding of using the Lord's name in vain. Now, if you would have asked
me when I was a child what that meant, I would have told you
real quick that that was an angry oath that somebody swore toward
somebody else. They used the Lord's name in
vain. And I think if you ask the average
person that question, that's what they're going to tell you.
It's to curse. But it means a whole lot more
than that. It's to use his impeccable name to promote your own reputation. What's the first thing men say
to you when you question what they're saying? I swear to God.
Ain't that what they say? They're using His name in a common
sense to recommend their own reputation. They use His name. People say it all the time. And
it's to use His name in any common conversation, thought, or expression. And at the basis of it is an
irreverence for God. That's what it is. and ignorance
of what that name really is. You wouldn't use that name. Do
you know when the Jews wrote the Scriptures that when they
wrote His name, they threw the quill away? They used it one
time to write His name. And in respect and reverence
of that name, they threw that quill away. They wouldn't use
it anymore. And so it is. We just are ignorant,
ignorant, totally ignorant of the glory of that name. but to
use His name in any common conversation, thought, or expression. And then
the common use of an oath is to reinforce a simple yes or
no. And that's what those verses
are dealing with there. To say anything more than yes
or no is to use the Lord's name in vain. And that's what we do.
That's exactly what we do. John Gill said this, honest men
don't need an oath. Their yes means yes, and their
no means no. I don't need a note. I don't
need a note. The law is spiritual. In Hebrews
4, verse 12, it said, The Word of God is quick and powerful,
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but
all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom
we have to do." God's law judges the thoughts and intents of our
heart. It's spiritual. And you who would find some comfort
or assurance because of something you've done or are now doing,
do you hear the law? The law is spiritual. It's spiritual. And those who still cling to
the law of religion and decisions and legalism and ceremonialisms,
I ask you this, do you hear the law? Do you hear the law? All worldly religion, works religion,
are born out of an ignorance to the law. By the law, Paul
said, is the knowledge of sin. That's all you're ever going
to learn in the law is that you're a sinner. It's just going to
keep telling you, you're guilty, you're guilty, you're guilty,
you're guilty. No hope in it. Holy and righteous law can only
convict and condemn. Paul said, what the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may
be stopped. It takes away your excuses. It
convicts you. It convicts you. All it can do is convict and
condemn the guilty sinner, and all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Paul said, we have before proved
both Jew and Gentile, they're all under sin. And then secondly, let me tell
you this very quickly. Let me give you the purpose of
the revelation of the law. It's to show us our need of a
Savior. That's why it shuts our mouth. It shows us our need of a Savior. And so long as a man has it in
his head and in his heart that he can somehow save himself or
reform himself or heal himself or exalt and honor that law in
some way, he'll never seek the Savior. He'll never do it. He'll chase after that self-righteousness
in that law. He'll just keep going after it
until he discovers that that righteousness is not what God
requires. He requires perfection. Christ
was made under the law to redeem them that were under the law,
to redeem them that were under its curse, under its judgment,
under its scrutinizing demands, and under its holy requirements.
And it cannot be compromised. It cannot be altered. It cannot
be broken in word, thought, or deed. And it commands and demands
continual obedience. All you have to do is break it
one time. Now, we break it every time we open our mouth. But all
you have to do is break it one time. You can't undo what you
did. You can never pay for what you
did. You can never get around it.
You can never overcome it. Sin must be paid for. And that
one interaction with the law triggers like a row of dominoes
falling down in the law. You're guilty of the whole law
because you didn't love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul,
mind, and strength, or you wouldn't have offended the law. And we become guilty of the whole
law. It demands continual obedience,
unbroken from the cradle to the grave. Listen to this. Cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the
book of the law to do. The law offers no second chance.
The law allows for no flaw, no interruption. The law makes no
allowance for ignorance or weakness or disability. The law demands
the same things from those who are ignorant as to those who
know. It demands the same. Ignorance of the law, you've
heard that all your life, is no excuse. And believe me, I've
pleaded it before the judge before, and that's exactly what they
told me. It's no excuse. And it's impossible for any fallen
son of Adam to approach God or hope to find favor with God before
or after conversion based on their obedience to the law. The
law is our schoolmaster. That was an old... highly honored
servant of a big family like Abraham's bond slave, let's say,
for example. And he was given charge over
Abraham's children. And his duty was to take that
child to the teacher. That's what his duty was. That's
what his purpose was. He was the schoolmaster. And
he'd come and get that child, and he'd walk him over there
and leave him. And that's what the law was.
It's our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ to be justified
by faith. The law shuts us up to the Savior. And there's no two things in
this world more completely opposite to one another than law and grace. They will not mix. Yet the depraved
mind, because of its ignorance of spiritual things, insists
on mixing what cannot be mixed. Paul said, if it be of grace,
then it's no more work. Is it? Otherwise, grace is no
more grace. And if it be of works, if that's
the stand you're going to take, then it's no more grace. Otherwise,
work is no more work. These two things are not going
to mix. But one way the law can offer you any comfort, and that
is the law fulfilled. Now, that's what Christ's teaching
in this chapter. Don't run over here to the law. And don't think
that salvation is based on altering that law in any respect. What
that law does is leave you in the hands of the Savior who justifies
you and gives you faith. It's only in the imputed righteousness
of Christ that we can do what the Lord commands us to do at
the end of this chapter. He said, be ye therefore perfect. That's what the law demands.
Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. Wow! That's perfection. There's no other way you can
do that except by faith in that accomplished righteousness in
Christ. That's it. That's how we walk.
Now hear me. Hear me when I say this. We don't despise the law. And
we don't run out here and break the law simply because we have
a freedom from the law. We desire that same perfection
that we see in Christ. That's what I want. I want that. I want to obey. I don't want
to murder anybody. I don't want to have ill feelings.
I don't want any of those. I want that perfection. And I
strive for it, even knowing that I can't have it. I still strive
for it, and one day I'm going to have it. In glory, I'll have
it. I'll have that perfection. But
until then, I walk in the righteousness of Christ. That's my righteousness.
And that's the only way you can walk and have any peace of mind
is to have that righteousness. And that's what he's telling
them here. Do you hear the law? Do you hear the law? If you did,
you wouldn't be talking about Christ rearranging it and changing
it and altering it. He doesn't do any of those things,
does he? But that's exactly what religion says that he did do,
alter the law. He didn't do that. He fulfilled
it. And that's our hope.