For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. John 12:49

He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. John 14:24

Jesus’s words were not His own. Steadfastly submitted to His Father’s authority, He only spoke what He was given to say. This includes the Sermon on the Mount.

In the Chapter Five Summary, we proposed that Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes and several humanly impossible commands to lay a foundation for our understanding of the normal Christian life – a life of being (i.e., not doing), as we are made by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit into the sermon’s description of a Christian (e.g., poor in spirit, meek, peacemaker). Only Jesus Christ can live such a fully committed life. The Scriptures instruct and encourage us that He has come to live that life in and through us (Galatians 2:20).

The first disciples did not have the advantage of understanding the “exchanged life” Jesus offers His followers, but still, they determined to trust and follow their Master. Their faithfulness challenges and encourages us to embrace the truth: Jesus would only command that which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are willing and capable of doing in and through us.

It is essential that we embrace (and share) this revelation, lest the sayings of Chapter Six be confusing and/or discouraging. Jesus made it clear from the beginning that our hope must not be in our self-will and power. The normal Christian life is the life lived by Christ through His followers.

If you have not understood and embraced the sayings of Chapter Five, go back and allow the Holy Spirit to transform you through the renewing of your mind. Only then will you be prepared to hear and do the sayings of Chapter Six.

The General Message of Chapter Six

The overarching theme of Chapter Six is sacrifice. From giving up the praises of men and our right to hold others accountable for their sin against us, to foregoing earthly treasure and security for the eternal kind, Jesus’ sayings leave no doubt that we must sacrifice our earthly desires to participate in His Father’s purposes and plans. This, of course, should not surprise us.

… whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. … whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27 and 33

As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:15

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20:21

Sometimes we just have to hear the most obvious truths over and over again; because our minds have a sneaky way of passing over (or forgetting) them. Jesus’ walk on this earth, from start to finish, was one of sacrifice. He calls His disciples to follow Him. Where do we think that following will take us? Why would we expect the normal Christian life to look any different than what our Master experienced?

Links to the Chapter Six Articles

As you consider the following list of sayings in Chapter Six, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance toward those He would have you work out with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). You will discover the ways God has established for joining Him, His Son, and the Holy Spirit in the good work they have promised to do in and through us – the normal Christian life.

• Do Them God’s Way
  
• Position Yourself to Pray
  
• Forgive Their Trespasses
  
• Fast to Please God
  
• Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Part 1)
  
• Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Part 2)
  
• Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (Part 3)
  
• Get Focused and Stay Focused
  
• Seek the Kingdom of God (Part 1)
  
• Seek the Kingdom of God (Part 2)
  

There are many sayings like these within and outside of the Sermon on the Mount. Most Christians know and give assent to their existence. Far less hear and do them with the necessary passion.

We have been lovingly and justly warned: Waiting until the storm hits to begin hearing and doing the sayings of Jesus is to invite our destruction. It is foolishness.

God bless you with grace, courage, and passion for the normal Christian life.

Humbly yours and forever His,

Rob

#iamjustthepen