The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom (Preaching the Word) by Hughes R. Kent

Author:Hughes, R. Kent [Hughes, R. Kent]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781433536236
Publisher: Crossway
Published: 2013-04-30T00:00:00+00:00

18

Christianity without Hypocrisy

MATTHEW 6:1–8

THE RUSSIAN AUTHOR Turgenev wrote, “I do not know what the heart of a bad man is like, but I do know what the heart of a good man is like, and it is terrible.”

The Sermon on the Mount exposes the state of the heart of the believer. First, the Beatitudes (5:3–12) provide us with a description of the ideal character of the true believer. Then after two convicting metaphors (vv. 13–16) we are given six illustrations of the surpassing righteousness to which we are called (vv. 20–48), a righteousness that supersedes and fulfills that of the scribes and Pharisees—and indeed that of the Old Testament. This exposé of the heart brings us to an honest admission of what we really are, and it is not a pretty picture.

However, that is ultimately good because seeing ourselves as we are opens us up to God’s grace. That is precisely the significance of the first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit [the spiritually bankrupt who realize they have nothing to commend them to God], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3). When we see our spiritual wretchedness, we are candidates for spiritual greatness. Or as Pascal said, “Man is great insofar as he is wretched.”

Expanding this positive perspective, we should notice that the Sermon on the Mount not only exposes the believer’s heart but defines it. None of us completely meets the standard of the Sermon on the Mount. But at the same time, if we are true believers, something of the character of the kingdom, something of each of the Beatitudes, will be authentically present in our lives—spiritual poverty, humility, spiritual thirst, mercy, peacemaking. Along with this, there will be the presence of the surpassing righteousness of Christ. We may fall at times, but we will practice righteousness. Anger, adulterous thoughts, insincere talk, and retaliation will progressively vanish from our lives. Agape love will become characteristic of us. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and with his Word, including the explicit teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, we will practice righteousness.

However, this is where the danger lies. For once you begin to fulfill the righteousness of God, once you are flying spiritually, once you are living a life full of good deeds, it is very easy to begin “practice[ing] your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.”

Jesus’ Warning to the Righteous (v. 1)

Being well aware of our danger, Jesus issued a warning at the beginning of chapter 6: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

In normal, everyday conversation most of us have learned to use absolute words such as always and every sparingly. We know that statements such as “You always leave your dishes on the table” or “Every time I want to talk to you, you’re watching television” or “You always want to be in control” can get us into hot water.

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