the new self created in the likeness of God
Jesus continues His teaching on true righteousness, contrasting the righteousness of the Pharisees, “you have heard...” with the true righteousness of the Kingdom, “but I say to you...”. Having explained how true righteousness addresses the heart’s attitude toward others, not just violent actions against them (vss. 21-26), the Lord turns His attention to matters of... Continue Reading →
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty... Continue Reading →
Jesus emphasized the importance of righteousness when He declared that citizens of His Kingdom would be those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (vs. 6) and would be “persecuted for the sake of righteousness” (vs. 10). Simply put, righteousness is concerned with doing right. And since only God is qualified to determine right (see Jeremiah... Continue Reading →
The beatitudes reveal two sobering truths about the citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom. First, they are not great by any standard of this world. They are not the rich, the powerful or the wise. Rather, they are poor, gentle and hungry. Second, they are going to be hated and persecuted by the world. Why, what is... Continue Reading →
Each of the eight beatitudes begin with the comforting words, “blessed are...” Those expecting the arrival of an earthly kingdom may have expected more than this simple comfort. They may have anticipated safety, earthly joy and financial prosperity. Jesus promised an even greater reward, namely the “kingdom of heaven” (vss. 3,10), but to receive it... Continue Reading →
Paul Earnhart said of the beatitudes that “they mark off the radical difference between the kingdom of heaven and the world of other men.” This truth should already be evident to us as we’ve seen that the Kingdom belongs to those who are “poor in spirit” and those who “mourn”. Every notion of success and... Continue Reading →
The Beatitudes: Who Are The People of the Code? If asked to describe the citizens of their country, most would choose lofty words like “patriotic”, “independent” and “heroic”. But in describing the citizens of His Kingdom Jesus chose words like “poor”, “gentle” and “persecuted”. As we noted in the previous lesson, the Kingdom would not... Continue Reading →
“Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4.23) The gospel; good news. We hear that term and immediately our minds picture Jesus’ sacrifice, the redemption found only in His blood, the... Continue Reading →
Paul had accomplished the purposes for which he penned his letter to the Roman Christians. He had explained the basis for justification that God has made possible in the gospel, that all men can be justified ONLY by faith in Christ. In doing so he not only showed how the Gentiles could be saved without... Continue Reading →
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus," (Galatians 3.28). We believe that statement to be true because God declared it to be true. However, God’s people don’t always feel like they are one. We know that... Continue Reading →
Built By Him 