Okay, so Matthew chapter 5 and this is going to be a part 2 as a part 1, I think we only
got through about a dozen verses.
So last week, yeah, we looked at those dozen verses and we looked at how the narrator states
that Jesus is teaching his disciples, yeah, we saw that.
And Jesus then teaches them how these usually maligned types of people are actually blessed.
First of all because they're saved, yeah, it's repeated time and time again, it's because
they're saved, but we also looked at the blessings that come in life too from being these types
of people.
Obviously in verses 1 to 11 there.
So we saw how that as God's children, they're the types of qualities that we want to aspire
to have, even the persecution.
So it's kind of like, you could almost call it a badge of honor, couldn't you?
If you're being persecuted, you're probably doing things right as long as it's persecution
for Jesus Christ's sake, for righteousness sake.
He then said in verse 12, as we saw that, rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is
your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
And we talked about how we are the prophets of our day, preaching the truth in a hostile
world.
And I'm going to go to the Lord in a quick word of prayer before we continue.
So Father, I thank you for this great chapter in the Bible, please help me to just preach
it clearly now, help me to teach it accurately, and just to expound your word as you'd want
it expounded.
Help me to help people here to have open ears, to have open hearts, to want to hear what
your word's got to say to them.
Just fill me with your spirit, Lord, help me to preach boldly in Jesus' name I'm proud
of this, Amen.
So verse 13, we start off with in Matthew chapter 5 here where we're continuing from
where it reads, ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith
shall it be salted?
It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot
of men.
Now how are Jesus' disciples, and that would include us, if you consider yourself a disciple
I hope you all do, how are we the salt of the earth?
Well, salt preserves and it improves taste, doesn't it?
And that's what salt does, it preserves things and it also improves the taste of things.
But basically we do preserve the earth, don't we?
We preserve the earth.
How do we preserve the earth?
Because you could forget charging people for carrier bags, couldn't you?
Because that's not really going to do much for the earth, is it?
As much as, you know, it seems to have gone up and up now, we're up to about 50p a bag
now I think in a lot of shops, but that's not going to preserve the earth.
Charging people a big part of a day's wage to drive into London, where people have to
drive in and many businesses have to drive in, it isn't going to preserve the earth,
is it?
You know, cows farting, stopping cows from farting isn't going to preserve the earth.
Yeah, I don't think that's going to make much difference, and forget how many long-haired
hippies with very greasy, unwashed hair stand around telling you that they've got a way
of saving the earth, I don't think they're going to save the earth either.
Because who's really going to save the earth?
Who's at least going to preserve the earth and keep the earth going?
It's actually God's children, it's us.
It's Christians, saved Christians here.
It's the red meat eating, diesel truck driving, carrier bag using independent Baptists, right?
We're who preserve the earth, and why is that?
We're the reason that God hasn't let it all progress to marks in the hand and in the forehead
and stuff, isn't he?
Isn't it?
That's the reason.
It's because we're still here.
We're still doing something.
See, God's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But how do people not perish and come to repentance?
It's from us going out and preaching the gospel, isn't it?
So it's from us going out and preaching the word of God that basically preserves the earth.
Romans 1.17 says, you don't have to turn there.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the
just shall live by faith.
So it is from someone preaching the gospel.
You have to preach the gospel for people to get saved.
Each and every one of you, if you're saved, you have a responsibility to preach the gospel
because that's how the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
And if we don't preach the gospel, people aren't going to get saved, are they?
Now, yeah, there are ways, there are people that have some great YouTube videos out, which
has helped and probably helped a few people in this room get saved.
And I've said before, that's a sad state of affairs, isn't it, in this nation that we
had to get a video from thousands and thousands of miles away to be able to hear the gospel
just preached as God wants it preached as clearly from the word of God, not adding any
works to salvation or anything else.
But look, those people still were going out and preaching the gospel because the righteousness
of God is revealed from faith to faith.
And that's how we preserve the earth.
Now, look, yeah, it's great if we can preach some truths and it's great if we can get
people righteous and it's great if we can shine the light on sin.
But ultimately, it's from there being righteous people in this nation that this nation's
even preserved.
And it's from righteous people in this world still that the world is still going and still
continuing.
Because when it comes to the great tribulation, fleeing for our lives and no flesh shall be
spared, that's when God finally intervenes, isn't it?
And that's when there wouldn't be anyone else at the end.
I kind of believe it's getting to that point because if you think about the build-up, the
beginning of sorrows are kind of really just all the grounds just in the right kind of,
you know, it couldn't be in a better situation for people to get saved, to believe the gospel
with wars and rumours of wars, with famine, with pestilence.
All those things, you know, if people don't get, I said this before, if people don't get
saved, then they're not going to get saved, are they?
And it's kind of like, we go through all that and then it's like, right, now it's the tribulation.
Then the believers start getting wiped out and then it's time, isn't it?
Then it's time.
And that's kind of what we get to now.
That's when he does send, at that point, when we, praise God, end up getting raptured, that
that's when he sends in the big guns, doesn't he?
Then it's 144,000.
Then it's the two witnesses.
And then, you know, during that final period of wrath, there'll be some final salvations.
And then it's kind of time, isn't it?
Then it's done.
Now, he said here, if the salt have lost its savour, wherewithal shall it be salted?
So savour is taste, it's smell, it's ability to preserve, yeah?
If it loses that, it's good for nothing, isn't it?
If we don't have that, if we don't have the taste that comes and look, you know, God wants
a sweet smelling savour, doesn't he?
And if we're not doing anything, if we're not preserving the world by getting people
saved, then we're good for nothing, aren't we?
Yeah.
And wherewithal shall it be salted, the earth, well, where's it going to get salted?
If it's not by God's children, no one else is going to preach the gospel because it has
to come from faith to faith.
And that's what we're here for.
And look, you know, I don't think this stuff can be preached enough.
Oh, well, you've got a church of soul winning Christians, brother Ian.
Yeah, but a church of soul winning Christians can quickly become a church of not so many
soul winning Christians.
Yeah, this stuff needs preaching regularly because if we're not sent out, people stop
preaching the gospel.
And there are many people that were convicted of preaching the gospel many years ago, soon
after they got served and were listening to good preachers, encouraging them to preach
the gospel, who no longer preach the gospel.
And there are many people that probably are on their way to not preach the gospel very much.
There are many people that will find excuses not to preach the gospel.
And look, the flesh a lot of the time doesn't want to.
But just to remind that, it is great though, isn't it?
Isn't it great preaching the gospel?
I was just talking to someone when they come in earlier and just saying like, isn't it
fun though?
Isn't it great?
And what you come across and yeah, sometimes you've got to be thick skinned and yeah, sometimes
it can be pretty rough at times, but isn't it great?
Even when you don't get the salvation, it's just out there, the exciting stories.
You'll never get bored going out and soul winning, will you?
I mean, you look back and you think, what did I used to do before I went out soul winning?
And how much do children learn from being out soul winning as well?
They see all this, you know, because it's one thing, isn't it?
Sitting at home going, don't drink, don't do drugs, don't fornicate, don't do all this stuff.
Another thing when they're out there just seeing the product of that and you're knocking
on the door and someone's saying, oh yeah, I'm not really interested, oh hell's a good idea, isn't it?
You know, you just get this and well, it's the best lesson they could learn, isn't it?
Yeah.
No, we're not telling them to hang out with them.
Yeah.
I'll say you disappear in there little one and I'll come and get you later.
But you know what?
They learn a lot, don't they?
They learn a lot and they learn a lot about life, soul winning and we learn a lot as well,
don't we?
And it's, well, isn't it a reminder so often when you're knocking on those doors and all
you can smell is the smell of whatever drug it is, or you can see the piles of bottles
of booze outside the place or, you know, or just the way people are dressed and everything
else and they open a door and usually they're not a very good investment for it, are they?
They're not.
And it's a good reminder for us as well because sometimes we can get a bit in our cocoon,
can't we?
And we can just kind of get into our own little bubbles, our own family bubbles, especially
those that are homeschooling as well and sometimes people even out in the workplace, sometimes
they can just get into their own comfortable bubbles.
Some people are self employed.
A lot of people work from home now.
But going outside when he makes a difference there, doesn't it?
It does make a difference then.
Look, but if we've lost our savour, then, well, like it said here, but if the sort of
loss is savour, wherewithal shall it be sorted?
Is them't forth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men?
And look, we don't want to be cast out, do we?
Yeah, cast out and trodden underfoot.
Now what does that mean, to be cast out and trodden?
Does that mean you lose your salvation?
No, of course it doesn't, because you can't lose your salvation.
But that means that you can easily just end up at a church, you can easily end up just
out of the things of God, you can easily just end up like a bit of a wayward child who then
ends up getting trodden underfoot of men.
And don't they get trodden underfoot of men?
You see Christians that end up just pulling away from the things of God, and they end
up trodden under the foot of men.
They end up back in the bondage of sin, and I don't mean about eternal salvation here,
but just back in that day-to-day bondage of sin, and they end up in a much worse state
it seems than when they started.
Baxter and Christians are not a nice thing to see, are they?
And we don't want to end up being cast out and trodden underfoot of men.
So we want to make sure that we continue to be the sort of the world.
Ye are the light of the world, he then says in verse 14, a city that is set on a hill
cannot be hid, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel but on a candlestick,
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.
What's a bushel?
A bushel, basically it's a vessel used for measuring dry measures, and they're huge measures.
So think of a big box, yeah, a big box.
We're the light of the world, okay?
So that means that it's criminal to hide that light, isn't it?
If you're the light in a dark world, why on earth would you hide that light?
But again, how many saved Christians hide that light?
How many saved Christians are ashamed of that light?
How many saved Christians just get on with the things of the world and don't even try
and shine that light?
But it is criminal, and he says here that we should be like, basically, a city that
is set on a hill.
Ye are the light of the world, and a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
If you think about that, whenever you've seen that, especially at night, and you drive past
a large hill, mountain, something like that, and you see a city up there, wow, it's lit
up, isn't it?
You can see that there's a city up there.
And that's how we should be, shouldn't we?
We should be like a city on a hill that is apparent to everyone.
It should be pretty clear we're Christians.
It should be pretty clear that we're living right, it should be pretty clear, because
we're preaching the gospel, it should be pretty clear what we are.
And look, in a generation like this, it is pretty clear, isn't it, that you're different?
It should be.
If people just have no idea, then you're going massively wrong, aren't you?
Because how far away is this, look, I'm not saying this country was some great place
before, I'm not trying to look back and say things are so much better, what I am saying
is that people at least pretended to believe the word of God, at least some principles
were based on the word of God in this nation, and that's not the case anymore.
So we stick out like a sore thumb even more.
Yeah, there's always been wickedness.
Yeah, a lot of those people were liars and fakes, and you know, in wicked religions like
the Church of England and Catholicism and everything else, but they at least claim to
want to follow the teachings of God.
Nowadays, we have more of an opportunity to be that light on a hill, and obviously
not worried about who might see us, because it's no good being, you know, if that city's
up on a hill and it's worried about it, well, it's going to be a pretty dark city, isn't
it?
Because all the lights are going to be off.
If they want some sort of lights out, well, they're not going to be doing much up there
and it's going to be a pretty grim place to be.
We want our light shining.
Now turn to Philippians 2, because is our light shining, is that just preaching the
gospel, do you think?
Is our light shining just, well, as long as you preach the gospel, you're shining
that light, well, or is it maybe preaching the gospel and avoiding major sins?
Is that it?
Well, as long as you preach the gospel, as long as you dress well and, you know, the
ladies don't dress like men or like whores, and the men don't dress like, you know, too
shabby or dress like they're some sort of, you know, queer boy or something, does that
mean that we're somehow a light in this world?
Well, look at Philippians 2 and verse 14 says, do all things without murmurings and disputings.
So by the way, as we're going to see, it includes murmurings and disputings.
God hates murmurings.
So being a light in this world includes not murmurings and disputings.
If we're coming away from church, coming away from our jobs, coming away from our lives
to our unsaved family, friends, people in our lives and constantly murmurings and disputing
and complaining about things in our life, we're not a light in the world, are we?
Because verse 15 then says that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without
rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as lights in the
world.
So doing things without murmurings and disputings makes us blameless and harmless, the sons
of God without rebuke.
And we're in the middle of a crooked and perverse nation among whom we should be shining as
lights in the world, shouldn't we?
Yeah, so we should be shining as lights in the world and that includes obviously the
mind of things.
It's not just about preaching the gospel, it's about how we live, it's about how we
come across to other people and it's not, that shouldn't be your goal, ultimately your
goal should be living for the Lord, shouldn't it?
And then with that, when we live right, when we follow the word of God, God should look
down, sorry, people should look, God should look down and be blameless and people should
look and go, what a light, what a shining light, what a city on a hill.
But therefore then, what do we then see?
We then see people take verses like this and then think that it's just how we live.
Yeah?
You've seen those types, the lifestyle evangelism types, the ones who are just, well, as long
as you live right, as long as you live right, you are that light in the world, shine your
light before men, you know, mention church, mention God now and again, you know, cut out
the major sins.
Like we talked about the other day, don't get angry because they consider anger apparently
as a sin nowadays or don't, you know, don't, don't, don't use cuss words because that for
them is one of the most important things, but there are many ways that we should be
a shining light, aren't there, without murmuring and disfutings being one and just basically
living right, but also it's also by preaching the gospel.
Verse 16 says, holding, holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day
of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
So it's preaching the word too, isn't it?
Preaching the word, preaching the gospel, holding forth the word of life, living by
the word of God and that includes going out and preaching the gospel.
So shining your light before men isn't just about looking good, it's not just about trying
to, trying to look like you're very holy, it's about preaching the gospel as well and,
and we have to shine that light because it's the light of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't
it?
Verse, verse 16, back where you were in Matthew 5, verse 16 said, let your light so shine
before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven
because they go hand in hand.
Preaching the gospel whilst living right for the Lord, well look, it's one thing living
right, but they need to know how to glorify your Father which is in heaven, don't they?
How do they know how to glorify it?
By you explaining to them from the word of God with the explanation of a saved Christian
explaining exactly how you get saved, yeah, and how to, how to put your faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
So verse 17 then says, think not that I am come to destroy the law, all the prophets
I have not come to destroy but to fulfil, for verily I say unto you, till heaven and
earth pass, one jot and one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Now a jot is an iota, the smallest letter in Greek, tittle is like a point or stroke
of a letter, okay, so this is like the minutest parts of the law, he said not one, he said
not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus is saying that even the smallest part of the law will not disappear because he's
not come to destroy it but to fulfil it.
So here obviously he's not talking about the meats, drinks, divers, washings and carnal
ordinances okay, he's talking about the moral law, the moral law, turn to Romans chapter
3, well I read Galatians 3.24, your turn to Romans 3, Galatians 3.24 says, wherefore the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.
So the law shows us our need for a saviour, it teaches us that all have sinned, doesn't
it?
Yeah it teaches us that all have sinned have come short of the glory of God, it makes it
very clear without the law that no one would know that, it brings us to the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Romans 3 where you've turned to verse 31, Romans 3.31 says, do we then make void the
law through faith?
God forbid, yea, we establish the law.
The law isn't void okay, the law isn't void, the reason that faith in Christ is needed
in the first place is because of the law, isn't it?
It doesn't mean then the law's just discarded, ah right now I'm saved, that's it, law's done.
Because the law's perfect, isn't it?
The Lord is truth, the Lord is righteousness, the Lord is, well it's amazing, turn to Psalm
19 and we'll see that.
But while you turn now I'm going to read to Romans 7.12 which says wherefore the law is
holy and the commandment holy and just and good.
And again look we talk about it a lot because it just seems that we have liberal Christianity
pretty much everywhere in this nation which believe that the law is some sort of bad thing,
the law is some sort of old, the old testament thing and now that we're saved that we should
just live how we want.
Well that's not the case is it because the law is perfect, the law is good, the Lord
is just.
Psalm 19, turn to Psalm 19 and verse 7 reads the law of the Lord is perfect, converting
the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is sure, make him wise and simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoice in the heart.
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea they're much fine gold, sweeter also than
honey and a honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Great verse there isn't there, in keeping of them there is great reward.
You keep the law, you try and live for God and you're going to get rewards in heaven
and that's amazing isn't it?
But what it does do, it also brings us to Christ because the law shows us clearly our
need for a saviour doesn't it?
Because the law, look, everyone here is going to fail, everyone here sins, everyone here
has sinned and continues to sin and the law shows us our need for a saviour but the law
is also something to love, the law is not just something to be angry at, that law it's
so strict.
No look, when you live, when you try and live by the law, when you have those good times,
when you live right, isn't it a great thing?
Don't you feel better about yourself, don't you feel good about life?
But because it's, it's, it's, his, his judgments are more to be desired are they than gold,
yea they're much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and a honeycomb, honeycomb but who really
believes that here?
Do you really believe that, that the law of the Lord, his judgments are to be sought more
than gold?
Are you as happy when you read the word of God as you are, as you would be if you found
a bar of gold?
Let's be honest now, we all fail at that don't we?
Yeah?
Everyone's going to be cheering for, you know, jumping for joy, they've just, you know, they've
done a bit of digging in the garden, I've got a massive lump of gold but I bet you don't
feel like that when you, when you get your King James Bible out but we shouldn't, shouldn't
we?
Yeah because the, look, the word of the Lord, it helps you so much in life doesn't it?
The law of the Lord helps you and it's not just to bring us to Christ, no back to where
we were in Matthew 5 and verse 18, he said, for verily I say unto you, till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.
Now here's a question, how would that work if the law of the Lord was only in the originals?
How would that work?
How could not one jot or tittle pass from the law if it's just a general gist of it?
Makes no sense does it?
How would that work if it's only based on some original manuscripts that no one has
anymore?
And, well, as long as it's something, it does it, does it?
It has to, like, the word of God clearly promises that the word will be preserved, yeah?
And, look, the Bible's clear about that, you know, we've gone through, I'm not going to
go into one on this, you know, because we've heard it many times, I think everyone here
knows that, that God promised to preserve his word, he's preserved his word, and that's
why he can say here that not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law
till all be fulfilled, because it won't, till heaven and earth pass.
And when are we talking about here?
We're talking about at the end, we're talking about at the end of the millennium, we're
talking about at that point, well, why could then one jot or one tittle, because there
won't be any more sin anymore, because it will only be there for people with glorified
bodies at the very end, that's going to be a great time, isn't it?
And with that, there will be no need anymore, but it's still going to be great to have it,
isn't it?
It's still going to be great to have the word of God, but I think you have the word of God
just written on your heart, can you imagine with your glorified body, with a body like
in the likeness of Christ, that's going to be amazing, isn't it?
Now verse 19 says, whosoever there shall, therefore, shall break one of these least
commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the kingdom
of heaven.
So first off, break even small commandments and teach others to do so is a bad thing,
yeah?
And that's a good thing to remember, because some people, look, everyone here, and it's
something I have to be careful of, don't I, as well, is that, look, a lot of people like
to teach.
And sometimes it's not necessarily a good thing, because if you're not sure about what
you're teaching, if you're trying to teach the word of God and you're telling people
it's okay to break this commandment, it's okay to break that commandment, and you're
teaching people to do that, you're going to be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
And that's not just talking about the guy behind the pole, because everyone can do that.
You can do that with your kids, you can do that with your wife, you can do that with
your family and friends, you can do that with new believers, you can do that with a person
you've just not saved at the door.
Oh, well, don't worry about coming to church, as long as you watch some online call pastors,
you'll be alright.
There were people that were doing that before, they were going out from here and trying to
recommend other preachers, oh, yeah, yeah, just go and listen to something else, you'll
be alright.
So, look, you want to be trying to get them into church, don't you, yeah?
Because that's what the sin is, and, oh, it's sinful to not listen to people online, yeah?
The sin is forsaking the assembly of ourselves to get them to the manor summits, yeah?
So, look, that's something we should be encouraging people to do, shouldn't we, is come to church,
and there are many ways that we could be teaching people ourselves to break these commandments.
So, before we want to jump, get out the Bible in church, after church, and, you know, teach
people the Bible, we want to make sure that we're teaching correctly, right?
And, look, like I said many times before, it's weird when you see people with Bibles
out after, look, it's one thing to talk to each other and chat and chat about the Bible,
when you see someone with someone who's fairly new and green and sitting down and trying
to teach them, it's, I don't know, a lot of the time they're red flags, guys, yeah?
Okay, that sort of thing that our pastor says to watch out for, okay?
So, just to bear that in mind, yeah?
Okay, look, the teaching comes from the pulpit here, yeah, okay?
Not in little corners of the church and stuff, you know, trying to show people and make yourself
into some sort of teacher, but teaching others to break the small commandments, okay, that
will make you called least in the kingdom of heaven.
Now, keeping the commandments and teaching others to is a great thing.
So, something, look, we should be doing that, shouldn't we?
But we want to make sure when you teach your family, when you teach your friends, when
you're teaching new believers, you've just got saved.
When you're teaching people the word of God, look, that's a good thing, yeah?
Teaching people to keep the commandments, but not trying to teach someone to be a liberal
type Christian, not trying to teach someone that, well, brother Ian and that sort of church
or whatever church, they're a bit strict, but don't worry, you know, you just need to
be a bit more laid back, a bit more easy about these things, because I'm a bit more loving,
you know, that sort of attitude you get from people, you know, oh, yeah, don't worry about
that.
That's not good, is it?
And those preachers that preach that out there, that's wicked, isn't it?
Isn't it wicked?
Because if they're not preaching, if they're not teaching people to keep the commandments,
which how many churches are not teaching people to keep the commandments and just bending
to the world or bending to their own liberal interpretation, well, look, if they're saved,
they're going to be called least in the kingdom of heaven, if they're saved.
But it is a good thing to teach people to keep the commandments.
Now, here's another thing to notice from that verse, notice how someone breaking commandments
and even teaching others to do so, so they're breaking commandments, they're teaching others
to break commandments.
Where are they still?
In the kingdom of heaven?
They're still in the kingdom of heaven.
Shock horror.
Can you believe that?
You can break commandments, you could teach people to break commandments and still go
to heaven.
Why?
Because that's got nothing to do with going to heaven.
Because going to heaven is based on faith alone.
It's not based on what you do.
It's not based on what you teach.
It's not based on what commandments you keep and don't keep.
And that's just the life and the pit of hell.
It's just another workspace salvation, whatever which way round you do it or you put it.
Now, verse 20 then says, for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the squires and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom
of heaven.
Now, obviously, you know, he's just made this clear point in verse 19, hasn't he?
Okay.
About people that are in the kingdom of heaven, least in great the kingdom of heaven.
Then he goes on to say, well, except your righteous shall exceed the righteousness
of the squires and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
So Q, you know, the work of salvation is going, look, see, you've got to be really great to
get to heaven.
Well, but that's not the truth, is it?
Because how does your righteousness exceed the Pharisees?
Obviously, these are people that they looked up to in that in that nation as being the
holy people, right?
These were the holies, a lot of them sadly holier than thou.
And unfortunately, people do look at holier than thou's and think, wow, what a holy person.
And again, look, there's once you've got one side of the scale, you've got the liberal,
you know, just trying to teach that you just, you know, forget all the commandments.
And then you've got the holier than thou's and the holier than thou's that like to appear
to be so much more holy than they are.
Okay.
And people looked at the squires and Pharisees and thought how holy they were.
But as we know, they're full of hypocrisy, aren't they?
Full of dead men's bones.
But on the outward, the outward appearance, the outward of the cup and platter was very
unique, you know, like whited sepulchres on the outside, weren't they?
So, but it would be a bit of a random measuring stick, wouldn't it?
If that was the how you get into heaven, that's a bit of a random measuring stick.
Well, which scribe and which Pharisee?
But the scribes and Pharisees, they just come as a plural?
Do they all just live in the same way?
Which scribe or Pharisee?
He's just said, like we saw in verse 19, whosoever therefore shall break one of the least commandments
which teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
He's still in the kingdom of heaven.
Because there's only one way that we can be righteous enough.
It's through faith in Christ, isn't it?
And we need a reminder of that in verses like this, because you do have to study to show
thyself approved.
A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly divine the word of truth.
See people could open up the Bible, get out Matthew chapter five and go, see, you're going
to be, your righteousness has to be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees to go to heaven.
But that's not what the Bible says, does it?
When you compare it together, Jesus Christ is making a point here.
Well, what's the point?
Well, turn to Romans chapter four, like I said, that the point is that there's only
one way we can be righteous enough, yeah.
Through faith in Jesus Christ alone, Romans chapter four, and from verse one says, what
shall we say then that Abraham, our father is pertaining to the flesh and found, for
if Abraham were justified by works, he hath wear off to glory, but not before God.
Works such as your own rights to succeed in that and scribes and Pharisees.
Well, so how does that work?
Well, look, verse three, for what saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, and it was
counted unto him for righteousness.
Now to him that worketh is a reward, not record of grace, but of debt.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that just fath the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness.
That's how our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.
It's by faith in Jesus Christ, it's belief in Jesus Christ, because his righteousness
is imputed unto us, right?
Verse six then says, even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is a man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
And that's a really good reminder that first before we then go into this next part of Matthew
chapter five, don't forget those verses.
Blessed is a man to whom the Lord will not impute sin, their future sins.
Let's carry on with Matthew five then because verse 21 then says, ye have heard that it
was said by them of all time, thou shalt not kill.
And whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment.
I'm going to continue just for a few more verses and we'll go back to it.
But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be
in danger of the judgment.
And whosoever shall say to his brother Arachah shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever
shall say, thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath
altered against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way.
First be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him, lest at any time
the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and
thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou has paid the uttermost
farthing.
You have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery.
But I sound to you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after hath committed adultery
with her already in his heart.
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee, for it is profitable
for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast
into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable
for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast
into hell.
So what's going on here?
What's going on here?
Should we still get cast into hell for calling someone a fool?
Should we be plucking out our eyes like it says here and cutting off our hands to avoid
going to hell?
Well, like I said, we just read Romans 4.8 which said, Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin.
And just again, just a reminder, turn to John chapter 11, while you turn I'll read John
10, 28 to 29, which says, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
and neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand.
John 11 and verse 25, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Believeth thou this?
If you if you live and you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will never die.
Spiritually, you will never die.
So with that in mind, let's look at this again.
Verse 21 says, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill.
And whosoever, that's a key word here, shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.
So he's quoting what was said by the scribes and Pharisees.
He's just talked about the scribes and Pharisees.
He says, Ye have heard that it was said by them, that's the scribes and Pharisees of
old time, thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.
So the scribes and Pharisees are saying, well, if you if you kill someone, you're you're
in danger of judgment whosoever.
OK, that's anyone.
Right.
Yeah.
We talk about whosoever a lot.
Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but ever last alive.
Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.
Now, because he's talking to save believers here, but he's talking about the whosoever
here.
He's talking about people in general.
He's talking about the proverbial just you people, because he then says, but I say unto
you that whosoever.
Yeah.
Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
And whosoever shall say to his brother Raca shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever
shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire.
He's saying it's not just murderers, it's those even with just undeserving anger.
He's basically saying, like, when we go to the door and we say to someone, you know,
the thought of foolishness is sin.
You think it's just murder that's sending you to hell?
You think that if you avoid murdering someone?
No, he's saying, he's saying here whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment.
He goes on to say whosoever shall say to his brother Raca shall be in danger of the council,
but whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire.
Yeah, look, it's not just some major sins that ought to send you to hell.
It's a minor sins as well.
That's what he's saying to them.
Raca, by the way, means empty, worthless, good for nothing.
That will get someone in front of the council, and I think he's just saying, like, going
to court here, but saying thou fool is enough to send you to hell.
And by the way, fool a lot of the time in the Bible is often referring to the worst
types of people.
So it's basically just giving out, you know, a harsh insult to someone is enough to send
you to hell.
Well, but like I said, notice how it's whosoever.
He's not talking about the saved.
He's explaining that all sin condemns you to hell, right?
All sin condemns you to hell.
Now with that in mind, the saved should then respect that, shouldn't they?
They should respect that bearing grudges, being unforgiving is sinful and hinders our
prayers and walk with God, because then look, look at the beginning of verse 23, therefore,
okay, so, whosoever, basically, look, even this will send you to hell, this is all sinful.
Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember'st thy brother with
altar gates, see, so now he's talking to the saved here, he's saying, look, if you bring
your gift to the altar, and you remember that your brother had altar gates, so basically
you're bringing an offering to the altar, you're bringing, in our terms, you're bringing
an offering to church, leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way.
Let's be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift.
So he's saying, look, you want to offer things to the Lord and feel good and this is over
and above, this is an offering, this isn't, I believe, just a tie, this is over and above,
well you want to make sure you're reconciled to your brother.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him, lest at any
time the adversary deliver thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer
and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid
the uttermost farthing.
Okay, now, you could look that at two ways, you could say it one way, look, if you're
just going out and causing trouble and getting in grief and everything else, yeah, you could
end up in some sort of punishment, some sort of worldly punishment, but also, look, we
get chastised by God, don't we, but it's not talking about hell, because how on earth
would it then say, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost
farthing?
Well, obviously not a picture of eternal punishment, no, it's not, but in Luke 16 and verse 26,
Abraham says to the rich man in hell, and beside all this between us and you there is
a great gold fix, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can
they pass to us that would come from thence.
So you can't go from one to the other, okay, you can't come out from thence when you've
paid the uttermost farthing, okay, that's not what it's talking about.
Here in Matthew 5 he's talking about chastisement in life as a safe believer, he's saying that
look if you're going to just bear grudges, if you're coming to church and you've just
got all this enmity, animosity towards others, you're not forgiving people, but then you're
coming and hoping to receive blessings from God, you're going to get the opposite, okay,
you're going to get chastised, you're going to get punished, and then you're going to
have to basically pay your dues for that, yeah, you're going to have to pay for that
in terms of through physical chastisement.
Now look at verse 27 in Matthew 5, he then says you have heard that it was said by them
of old time thou shalt not commit adultery, okay, now them again the Pharisees of old
time, the Pharisees have said from old time that thou shalt not commit adultery, now the
context here is being in danger of the judgment from verse 21, right, and how our righteousness
must in fact exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees that we saw from verse 20, but obviously
that's through Christ's righteousness imputed unto us, but I say unto you that whosoever,
it's whosoever again, yeah, whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, committed adultery
with her already in his heart.
Look, Jesus goes further doesn't he, and by the way this is like, this is a great passage
for those who are like Jesus Christ has done away with the law, when they try and interpret
the fulfilled as if like now the law is done, no Jesus Christ is going even stricter, isn't
he?
He's expanding, yeah, he's fulfilling the law, you could say as well by expanding on
the law and saying no basically you've heard this, but I'm going to tell you that in fact
you even look on a woman to lust after her and you've committed adultery already in your
heart, yeah, see how sinless you can all be with that, yeah, obviously talking to the
men here, what all these men here what you think they haven't ever looked to a woman
to lust after her already in their heart, because look that's something that a lot of
men have to deal with sometimes don't they, he's saying, he's saying here that whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her have committed adultery with her already in his
heart, okay, it's another whosoever, and by the way just start that quickly, okay, just
a quick, just extra on that, women, you don't want men committing adultery with you in their
heart do you, you don't want to be a partaker of the men committing adultery by looking
on you to lust after you, so I would hope to God that a God-fearing woman here who cares
about their brothers and sisters and doesn't want to cast stumbling blocks isn't hoping
either by the way they dress or the way they act or the way they flirt or the way they
talk to men in whatever way it is to try and encourage them to commit adultery in their
heart, because that's wicked isn't it, because they are a partaker then, and that's one of
the reasons why it's not oh well well it's just about wearing a dress, no, but it's the
whole thing, it's the whole package isn't it, yeah, we should be like flirting and acting
like that, and I don't think we have that at this church, but look we want to make sure
we never do don't we as well, yeah, okay, so he said, so that was a, like I said, that
was another whosoever there, now look, then he goes on to say, he then goes on to say,
and remember the context now is here in this next verse, and, it starts with an and, okay,
talking about whosoever looks on a woman to last up, and if thy right eye offend thee
pluck it out, and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell, if thy right hand
offend thee cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of
thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell, okay,
is he telling them to do that, is he telling them to pluck out their eyes and cut off their
hands, no, he said that if someone, whosoever looks on a woman, yeah, that whosoever remember
we saw, if someone, the person that's trying to achieve that righteousness, he would be
better off plucking out his eye or even cutting off his hand than being cast into hell, because
that's how bad hell is, you would be better off, yeah, to pluck out that offensive eye
and cutting off that offending hand than to end up in hell fire, he's saying that someone
would need to go further than to avoid hell based on their own works basically, isn't
he, look, you're going to have to start cutting off hands and plucking your eyes, and let's
be honest, that still wouldn't be enough, would it, yeah, he's giving a complete extreme
here because you cannot be good enough, because if it's based on even looking on a woman to
lust after her, that's pretty much every man done, okay, every red blooded male at some
point in her life, they're done, okay, then if you go on with all the rest of it, he's
saying that even having anger with their brother without a cause, well, that's everyone
done because at some point people have been angry with people and they haven't really
had a reason to do that, being unforgiving and everything else, and by the way, that's
just a couple that he's decided to expand upon, because you cannot achieve it yourself,
can you, you cannot achieve it yourself, okay, he then carries on correcting false doctrine
because it's false doctrine that he's correcting here, isn't it, he's talking about them, they,
what the Pharisees have been teaching, he then says it had been said, whose servant
shall put away his wife, let him give her a right of divorcement, and notice how he
didn't say that they have said this because, because it's an interpretation here, this
is where they get it wrong, is the interpretation of it, but I say unto you that whosoever shall
put away his wife, save him for the cause of fornication, cause of her to commit adultery,
whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery, so the scribes and Pharisees
are trying to condone divorce for any cause, aren't they, they're just saying, because
later on they say to him, you know, master, you know, is it okay for someone to put away
their wife for any cause, you know, this is what they've tried to interpret that verse
as saying, turn to Matthew 19, where we see Jesus explain this clearly, and now this is
not a popular teaching, but just because it's unpopular, do we not teach it, but we teach
the word of God, and Matthew chapter 19 verse 1 says, and it came to pass, Matthew 19 1,
that when Jesus had finished his sayings, he departed from Galilee and came into the
coast of Judea beyond Jordan, and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there, the
Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him and saying unto him, is it lawful for a man
to put away his wife for every cause, and he answered said unto them, have you not read
that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause
shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be
one flesh, wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh, what therefore God adjoined
together, let not man put asunder, and that includes yourself, that includes someone else,
okay, trying to break up marriages, trying to, whether yourself's doing it, whether someone
else, it's wicked, okay, it's wicked. Now, verse 7 says, they say unto him, why did Moses
send command to give her a right to give divorcement, and to put her away? So, they're saying, well,
he said that you can give a right to give divorcement, well, keep a finger there, and
that means that you've probably got two fingers now, one there, and one in Matthew 5, and
we're going to turn to Deuteronomy chapter 24, which is what they're referring to, Deuteronomy
chapter 24, and verse number 1. Deuteronomy 24 and verse 1 reads, Deuteronomy 24, 1, when
a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour
in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her, that's a key point here, then let
him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
Okay, so what's it mean to find some uncleanness in her? Well, we just read, saving for the
cause of fornication, we read earlier Matthew 5, 32, that's the uncleanness. Now, fornication,
in case you are unsure or unclear about this, this is physical relations outside of marriage,
this is before marriage, or people who are unmarried, where there's no married party
involved, otherwise it becomes adultery. So, for there to be fornication, that's something
that's happened before the marriage, so basically, this is what it's based on, is if someone
is under the impression that they're marrying a virgin, okay, they're under the impression
they're marrying a virgin, and then when it comes to coming together, they realise actually
she's not a virgin. Now, that is the one, the one time that divorce in God's eyes is
acceptable, okay, and again, it's more like he's giving them that for the hardness of
their hearts, because he's even saying in an ideal world, you love this woman, you want
to marry her, and for her own good, and for your own good, really, really, you should
still stay married. But here's one thing, if it's too much, the bit that you just can't
deal with that, okay, you can write, give her a writing, so you can, you can write her
a bill of divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his house, okay, and what
do we see there, he had found something uncleanness in her, that's talking about basically sexual
uncleanness, and when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's
wife, and if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement and giveth
it in her hand and sendeth her out of his house, or if the latter husband die which
took her to be his wife, her former husband which sent her away may not take her again
to be his wife, after that she is defiled, for that is abomination before the Lord and
thou shalt not cause the land to see in which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
So she's gone out and got married again, basically, he can't then take her back afterwards, okay,
that's done, okay, that's weird. Right, so go back to Matthew 19 with that in mind, that's
the one exception, and Matthew 19 and verse 8 says, He saith unto them, Moses, because
of the hardness of your heart, suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning
it was not so. And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, accept it be for
fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery, and whoso marrieth her which is
put away, doth commit adultery. Look, it's not popular, and honestly, yeah, my, my, like,
I, be honest, yeah, my heart does break for people in that situation, yeah, I feel, I,
I, honestly, yeah, I feel gutted for people that are in that situation, that have been
divorced, especially people that have almost been forced into a divorce, and, and other
people that, that for whatever reason and unsaved have got divorced, and look, and,
and look, we, we, because we've all done many, many sins, so this isn't preaching against
people that have had a divorce, this is preaching and, and preaching against people to take
marriage seriously, and preaching against everyone here who's married to never get divorced,
preaching to kids to not marry until you're sure you're marrying it, and look, that's
a good lesson as well, like, there's no, there's no rushing into marriage, yeah, okay, you're
not in a rush, there's no, there's no countdown timer on, just, just make sure that you make
the right, as much as you can, that you make the right choice there, but, in the same way,
it's also to say, God doesn't then condone it, if it's something that's happened before
salvation, there's no, there's no clause in there that said, well, unless it was before
you were saved, unless it would, look, because marriage is in the eyes of God, marriage is
an institution of God, and when you get married, you're, you're basically making a vow to God,
okay, so after that, whatever's happening, God's eyes, you're still married, because
divorce, unless it's for the cause of fornication, he doesn't, he doesn't accept that, now, I've
had people ask me, go, what am I meant to do, what am I meant to do, well, serve the
Lord, for starters, try and reconcile if it's possible, and that's not, that's not necessarily
possible for many people, but serve the Lord, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and
need not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths, serve God, use that time to serve God, because there are people in
the world that probably would like to be in your situations, those of you that might be
in this situation, there are people out there that, you know, kind of, look, marriage isn't
always a bed of roses for many either, and I'll tell you something interesting as well,
second marriages are definitely not a bed of roses, because they're much more likely
to end in divorce, okay, and third marriages are even more likely to end in divorce, which
sounds ridiculous, because you think, look, you're kind of doing it the third time now,
you're surely not going to divorce, no, because a lot of the time, look, if you, if, if you've
got a divorce, that means there is some issue there, isn't there, and something that, that
a lot of the time, people are more likely to then divorce again, okay, and second and
third marriages don't have the blessing of God either, and if you're a Christian, you
need the blessing of God in your marriage, okay, because you have enough pressure, enough
attack from the outside, to not want to go into it without the blessing of God, so if
you're in that situation, be patient, yeah, be patient, there's no, look, trust in the
Lord, try and reconcile, you never know what might happen with that, and you never know
what might happen in the future, and you don't know, you know, life is short, you don't know
what might happen, and in, with, and before that, instead of, without even planning that
sort of stuff, just serve the Lord, right, serve the Lord, and, and the Lord will make
things clear to you, and that can be a great life for serving the Lord as well, okay, so,
it's not popular though, is it, it's not a popular teaching, and look, ultimately, you
can choose to do what you want, and if someone here was divorced, and they decided, no, I'm
gonna, I don't, I don't care what God says, I would definitely advise against it, I would
definitely preach against it, and you chose to go and do that, look, that's your choice,
yeah, and maybe, you know, I, I would, I would seek counsel on that, it might be that
we decided you might need a bit of time out of church for a while, but, look, ultimately,
it's not like you're banned, it's not like I'm never gonna talk to you again, you can
choose to do that, but I would, I would strongly recommend you don't, because as soon as you're
going outside of God's will, and something that's, that's a serious big deal as well,
look, adultery isn't, adultery isn't just, oh, well, it's like, you know, a bit of a,
bit of a foolish thought, yeah, it's just a bit of a, what we might consider a minor
sin, look, the top tree's a massive sin, okay, that's a death penalty sin, yeah, it's
not a death penalty sin for a laugh, it's a death penalty sin because God hates it,
okay, and look, we don't want to be getting into those sorts of sins and planning those
sorts of sins, yeah, okay, let alone doing those sorts of sins, just, just, that's like,
just, should just be out of bounds, okay, verse 33 says, again, you have heard, back
to Matthew 5, sorry, Matthew 5 verse 33 says, again, you have heard that it had been said
of, by them of all time, thou shalt not forswear thyself but shalt perform unto the Lord thine
oaths, now, forswear is to swear falsely, purger yourself, basically, to God, for example,
I swear that if you give me this new car, I'm going to go to church, three services
a week for the rest of my life, yeah, and then, you know, by week two, you really start
missing them because the football was on or something else, yeah, okay, so, forswearing
is basically a false oath, yeah, swearing falsely, now, what is, now, what has Jesus
Christ said, so he says it's been said by them, again, the Pharisees not to, not to
swear false oaths, yeah, we shouldn't swear false oaths but Jesus goes even further on
this, he says, but I say unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's
throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of
the great king, neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou couldst not make one
hair white or black, so obviously, some people used to swear by their head, but let your
communication be yay, yay, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil, so what's
he saying here, well, there's obviously different things people swear by, I swear by, you've
heard probably people make stupid sort of, I swear by, but I swear by my life, it's probably
the version of I swear by my head, yeah, that you might hear right now, I swear by my life,
that that's true, but should you really have to say that, and isn't it annoying, like,
I hope you probably, I don't really get this now, people going, swear to me, if people
are going, do you swear, then if they know you well, you're probably a bit untrustworthy
if they need to be saying that, really, because that's what Jesus is saying there, isn't he,
but when people do do that, and go, do you swear, do you promise, well, I wouldn't say
otherwise, yeah, because we want to be people of integrity, don't we, so you don't want
people just wondering, yeah, I don't know about that, probably lying, yeah, mate, and,
you know, I've said this before, I hate it when people lie to your face, because you
can't prove they're lying, but they're lying, yeah, and you and them both know they're lying,
and it's like, you have to play this game where, well, I can't accuse you of lying,
because I can't prove that you're lying, but we're just going to have to just kind of carry
on anyway, that's really frustrating, isn't it, yeah, and there's a lot of people like
that, and by the way, there's a lot of Christians like that as well, because a lot of people
just lie, and they kind of just go to it, just to lie, you try and pull them up on something,
they just lie, just straight off lie, straight off the cuff, and look, that's something that,
if that's you, if you're sitting there going, oh, I took off the baby, you really need to
get right with that, because that's a bad way to be, isn't it, yeah, and that's definitely
not shiny light material, but here he's saying, look, we should, our communication should
be yay, yay, yay, yay, nay, nay, if you say you're going to be somewhere, you should just
be there, shouldn't you, yeah, I said, I talked about this the other week as well, like, look,
we should just be people, if your word, like, there's an old saying, my word's my bond,
yeah, my word is my bond, if I say something, I'm going to do it, yeah, if I tell you I'm
going to do something for you, I'm going to do it, and look, some of it, look, sometimes
you can genuinely forget something, sometimes there will be genuine reasons that come up,
but it shouldn't, when you say yes to something, it shouldn't be a sort of, we'll see, if in
your mind you're thinking, well, I'll see how I feel on the day, then, look, that's
not yay, yay, nay, nay, yeah, that's sort of, well, who cares about them, I'm just going
to say, oh well, we want to be, we want to have good integrity, we want to be known as
being honest, Jesus Christ is saying that you're yay and you're yay, you're yay and
you're nay, so it should be enough, he then says in verse, yeah, I'm going to hurry up
for sake of time now, you have heard that it's been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth, now turn to Leviticus 24 quickly, and this is in a few places in the Old Testament
by the way, but Leviticus 24 and verse 17 is just a clear place where it does say an
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, he says in verse 17, Leviticus 24 17, and he
that killeth any man shall surely be put to death, and he that killeth a beast shall make
it good, beast for beast, and if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour as he hath done,
so shall it be done to him, breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, if he hath caused
a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again, and he that killeth a beast he
shall restore it, and he that killeth a man he shall be put to death, now, yes, under
Old Testament Israel the law was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, yeah, okay,
but just interestingly here, they are now under Roman rule, aren't they, yeah, they
can't, they can't live under their, the full laws of God that God gave them to live under,
and really that nation was never going to be self-governing again, was it, because when
it eventually rebelled it then got destroyed, didn't it, by the Roman Empire in AD 70, so
that's kind of the end of that until obviously we get to the millennial reign of Christ,
so that can't continue, can it, and obviously God knew that, and as Jesus Christ comes he's
saying okay well you've heard that, but I say unto you that you resist not evil, but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also, and if any man
will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat let him have thy cloak also, and whosoever
shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain, give to him that asketh thee and from
him that would bore of thee turn not thou away. Now there's a few things to take from
this because like I said firstly they're not now self-governing anymore, so what are they
meant to do because this is based on, you know, the Old Testament law of how they're
meant to make retribution for things etc, well now he's just flipped around and said
you've got to take this stuff, and you could look at that and go that is a challenge isn't
it that is a challenge that if someone smites you strikes you on your right cheek to turn
to him the other also that is a challenge that if someone sues you to take away your
coat basically sues you and makes a claim off you to give him something extra and whosoever
shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain if someone tells you you've got to go
on this distance as some sort of you know someone in authority then you then you go
double the distance give to him that asketh thee and from him that would bore of thee
turn not thou away. Now that is a challenge and look God does want us to be model citizens
God does want us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves but turn to Romans 12 because
I think Romans 12 helps you to understand this a little bit as well when you compare
it Romans chapter 12 where the Bible reads in Romans 12 and from verse 17 recompense
to no man evil for evil provide things honest in the sight of all men okay so we should
be trying to live like that if it be possible sometimes by the way it's not possible that
could be when you're defending yourself defending your family etc look you don't just have to
lie down and just take it yeah you don't just have to cover up and take a shooing look
self-defense is okay if if it be possible as much as life then you live peaceably with
all men yeah we should try and live peaceably that try our utmost to live peaceably dearly
beloved avenge not yourselves but rather give place unto wrath for for it is written vengeance
is mine I will repay saith the Lord therefore if thine enemy hunger hunger feed him if he
thirst give him drink for inside doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head be not
overcome of evil but overcome evil with good so what do you do when you turn the other
cheek what are you doing when you give them extra when they sue you what are you doing
when they compel you to go a mile and you go further you're basically letting vengeance
go to God aren't you yeah okay yes you're letting God take vengeance now yeah look I'm
not saying you should just be like I can't wait for them to get what look if you can
live peaceably if you can reward you know evil with good look great you're gonna be
happier anyway aren't you but ultimately then you're putting it into God's hands because
as soon as you put it in your own hands well I think you've foregone then God dealing with
it and look like I've said before our punishment ain't nothing on God's is it yeah yeah what
are you gonna do compared to what God's gonna do what you're gonna do that's not gonna end
up with you in trouble because it's no longer a self-governing nation so now suddenly you
start trying to do an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth you're gonna in in this
situation they're gonna come under Roman issues and in our situation we're gonna have the
wicked British government and all their bizarre perverse laws and perverse judges dealing
with you if you try and seek vengeance yourself for things so look you're better off to leave
it to the Lord right go back to where we are with that in mind then in Romans 12 saying
avenge not yourself but rather give place unto wrath for it is written vengeance is
mine I will repay saith the Lord and remember he said that if you're giving them these things
you're heaping coals of fire on his head then verse 43 and wrote in Matthew 5 says you have
heard that it has been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy I'll tell
you what turns quickly to Leviticus 19 18 oh we've got five minutes so Leviticus 19
and verse uh and verse 18 okay and this you know I think you could say he's referring
to this verse here where he says thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the
children of thy people but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself I am the Lord okay
now this is talking about the people their people their neighbor here and then he says
and hate thine enemy and if you think about that's in a few places in the word of God
where he's talking about hating for example the the Moabites and Ammonites and and these
people who are the enemies of of the Lord and enemies of them here but he then says
in verse 44 but I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them
that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you now again if you
compare that to Romans 12 well firstly you're putting it into God's hands but secondly just
bear in mind he's talking about loving your enemies he didn't say God's enemies okay he
didn't say love God's enemies because as the psalmist said do not I hate them that hate
thee yeah am I not green with them that lies up against I hate them with perfect hatred
yeah I hope I didn't butcher that but look it we do look we should hate those that hate
the Lord because look the Lord makes it clear there are people that he hates the children
of the devil the sons of Belial the reprobates we are to hate them but here he says love
your enemies yeah our own personal enemies and many of us will have personal enemies
that aren't enemies of God and we should try and love them but ultimately when you love
them and you do good to them then you put it in God's hands to deal with them right
but this isn't talking about God haters it's not talking about people that hate the things
of God it's not talking about people that want to want to destroy the things of God
that want to turn you away from the things of God that want to preach false doctrine
and want to destroy churches okay those people we should hate because they're the enemies
of God right okay so he but he said love your enemies bless them that curse you do good
to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you that
ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise
on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain the just and on the unjust so God ultimately
he still lets people have the blessings of life doesn't he yeah we still get the blessings
of life we people whether they're evil or good they still seem to be able to get through
life don't they okay and we leave that to the Lord and obviously on on his enemies we
don't have to punish them ourselves again it does come down to God in the end doesn't
it with that okay but it's funny sometimes you look around you think wow how's that person
even still living how does that person you know we talk a lot about ah you know that
that children are a blessing of the Lord and then you look and you see some like flaming
reprobates having kids and stuff you're thinking what on earth you know but look God allows
it to to to the son to rise evil and on the good and send the throne the just and the
unjust but look ultimately they're gonna burn in the lowest depths of hell these people
aren't they for if you love them which love you what reward have you do not even republicans
the same and if you salute your brethren only what do you more than others do not even republican
so be ye therefore perfect even as your father which is in heaven is perfect and look we
we if we only love them that love us well we don't get a reward and that's saying that
we can get reward yes you want rewards love people that aren't just those that love you
and you know the best way you can do that preach the gospel yeah preach the gospel because
you know is there any greater love than that than getting someone saved for God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son yeah and look we we should love others and
the first way we can do that is go and preach the gospel it's not by just going around and
telling people that we love their sin and we because that's not loving is it it's not
loving to not rebuke sin it's not loving to to keep quiet about the things of God but
but it is loving to go and preach the gospel to them and help them help them understand the
gospel and to try and get them saved and again saluting your brethren well that's just giving
respect and being polite basically to other people and again shouldn't we do that shouldn't
we be polite respectful to people be there for perfect that's complete even as your father which
is in heaven is perfect and on that let's pray thank you for a great chapter there the Bible
thank you thank you for them many things we can learn from that thank you for just make it clear
with a little study just just how to explain what some people find hard verses to explain we know
that we're saved by grace through faith but sometimes it you know we need to compare scripture
we need to look for the for things such as words like whosoever and and and Jesus kind of giving
that what some would call hyperbole or just explaining what what the difference there if
you're trying to go by works and then you've got to basically be be 100% perfect and none of us can
be 100% perfect and and thank you that that we don't have to be 100% perfect thank you that you
died for us that you gave us that free gift of salvation help us to preach out loud and clear
help us to be shining lights help us to be the salt of the earth help us to to want to want to
be that want to want to even just with this nation to get that blessing on this nation and to want to
go out and and and be what you want us to be to get more people saved to get the blessings here
and and help us to to do that you know with the rest of this week and return on Sunday to our new
building for you know a great day in your house in Jesus name pray all of this Amen
you