ResponsiveReiding

From Matthew 6:9-13 / Praying then like this: Recognition and reverence; Looking to the fullness of God’s plans and purposes as the ideal sought; Personal submission to God’s will and the benefit of it as universal; Personal lack and dependency confessed and met in Christ; Personal and corporate guilt – met in Christ; Personal refusal to rely upon self and recognition of self-deceit and and the enemy – to be met in Christ. 1. Recognize who it is you are praying to – Your Father and Christ’s. Revel in the relationship. Let it sink in that Christ’s death has purchased this place for you. The Father will hear you as really as He will Christ Himself. Note that your Heavenly Father offers what earthly Fathers so often fail at: a. Safety. You are always safe with Him as your Father. He will not leave. He is not peevish. You can speak freely, un-guardedly, without any pretense. b. Acceptance. Even when we fail Him, He does not reject us. He receives us. There is no hint of keeping us at arm’s length. He knows our every quirk and oddity and is not put off by it. He delights in His children. c. Approval. Even though He cannot approve of all we do – He approves of us AS His children. He owns us as His – happily so. He encourages us when fall. He is as excited at our successes as we are – more so. This is MY child! “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” – is ours by extension – for we are IN CHRIST. And note how all the pronouns are: Personal, Plural. Note the Position of the One to whom we pray. He is ruling and reigning over all. 2. Revere His glory in your own heart and mind. Nothing more reveals the and mind of Jesus than this petition. And as His slaves – we are to be about His business -engaged in His priorities and pursuits. And this is HIS passion – that the universe would be restored to the place where every sentient being knows, and loves His Father even as He does. This is reconciling all things to God in Christ. As Paul unfolds so powerfully in Romans, it is man not honoring God AS God which is at the very bottom of all human rebellion, sin and the destruction which follows it. Oh for that day when every creature will once again truly honor God as is fitting His glory, and our creation. 3. When we see Him “as He is” we are transformed to be like Him. What a goal! To have our whole beings – and thus the universe – slaves of His love. Governed by grace. 4. Can there be a more glorious existence imaginable than for His will to be absolutely carried out without challenge or opposition of any kind?

5. More of Christ TO us. 6. More of Christ THROUGH us. 7. More of Christ IN us.

Father – I want to know you in such a way – that the preciousness of who you are becomes my all consuming passion: and that others would come to know you as I have. Hallowed be your name. So then – help me find you out! Have first PLACE in my heart – Be my highest PRIORITY. Be my highest PASSION. Be to me all of life’s PROVISION. Let no earthly thing draw me more than you, and no earthly thing frighten me above you. Hallowed be your name.

From Matthew 6:5-8 / Prayer part 1 – From the earliest days of humankind, concourse with God has been a reality. This is true in the first place because “God is a speaking God” as D. A. Carson is wont to say. And as Genesis 2 notes, as soon as God made Adam and placed him in the Garden, “the Lord God commanded the man, saying” (Gen. 2:16). Prayer at its most basic is simply speaking to God. What we pray for and how we pray is as varied as the flowers of the field. But that we are meant to pray, to hold discourse with God is evident. The problem is, sin has horribly impacted the connection. So it is we read the wonder of what Jesus has done in this regard in Eph. 2:18 “through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father”; and Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.” Indeed, our text here in Matthew is founded upon the privilege of prayer. And the Father, in His great accommodation to the damage sin has done to us, does not leave us alone with dulled ears that cannot hear His voice correctly – but has written His Word that we might consult it, study it, and hear Him with a clarity we no longer possess the capacity for. But make no mistake, of all Christ has won for us, access to the Father through the Spirit is a benefit that simply cannot be overstated. When Spurgeon was asked which was more important, reading the Bible or prayer, he quipped “which should I chose, inhaling or exhaling? I need both to live.” And so it is. The great subject matters of prayer Jesus Himself introduces in the next section. But in this opening part He emphasizes 4 things: First -our prayers are not to be uttered so as to gain the approval of others. Those who do so, will find the only thing they gain from their prayers is just that – the approval of others. But nothing from the Father. Prayer is not about how we sound to others, but the gasping of “abba, Father” to our Heavenly Father’s ears. Second, private prayer is more important than public prayer. Indeed, if there is no private prayer, public prayer is less than useless; it is only show. For in private, we truly commune one on one, and trust He will answer accordingly. Third, prayer can easily become superstitious – a matter of repeating the same phrases over and over as if repetition magically makes things happen. Nor is it dependent upon physical posture (lying down, sitting, standing, kneeling, prostrate, etc.), or the use of Elizabethan speech patterns as though the use of “thee and thou” are also magic words that unlock prayer’s power. Fourth, prayer is to be entered into in faith – believing, more- KNOWING the Father knows what you need before you even ask Him. Trusting His care for you. Freeing you up to give your attention to His priorities, since He has already taken notice of your before you pray. This is praying in faith. This is praying in the Spirit. “It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir up the man in us to will what God wills, but only to persuade God to will what the man in us wills.” Thomas Aquinas.

From Matthew 6:1-4 / WHEN you give – 3 things. Note first: The idea here isn’t that everything must be done in secret, but rather that the motive must not be for the admiration of people, but for the pleasure of God. We do what we do that HE might see and be pleased, like a child seeking his or her parent’s approval – and no one else’s. This then will serve to build integrity in us. For this principle remains whether we are alone or in a crowd. We remain consistent for it is not for the approval or disapproval of any other but our Heavenly Father Himself – whether alone in the dark, or on the street corner. Note second: The idea is not that we might somehow earn brownie points or EARN His favor, but like a little child who learns a trick or a skill and then says to the parent “look at me”. Not out of great pride, but out of wanting the approbation of the one they love and look up to most. And oh how our Father, loves to see this in His children. How He delights in us. And how He responds with such joy and approval. Though the acts are so trifling in themselves, He looks upon us with such tenderness. Note third: As also with praying (5-6) and fasting (7-8) the operative word in each is WHEN, not “if”, when. There is an assumption on Jesus’ part that those who are His, will have bountiful hearts like His. When He turned the water into wine @ Cana, it hundreds of gallons. Far more than needed. When He fed the 5,000 there were 12 basketfuls of leftovers. When He fed the 4,000 there was again an abundance of more. In Luke 5 when He told Peter to let down his net again after catching nothing all night – the filled two boats nearly to the point of sinking. And when He died for our sins, grace abounded far more than our sins. There is no sin so great, so long indulged in, so heinous that the blood of the Lamb of God is not sufficient for – and not just for one – but if the whole world to repent and call out to Him. He gives and gives and gives. And without ostentation. Every drop pf water could be inscribed – proved by The Son. Ever leaf could bear the stamp of His name. He makes the sun to rise and the rains to fall on the just as well as the unjust. And John reminds is in 1 John 2 that if we do sin – we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He, is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. Not only is there no lack in Him, there is abundance beyond our ability to imagine. Believer, look to Him for everything. And give out of the abundance that has been given to you. Unbeliever – come. His blood is sufficient, even for you.

From Matthew 5:43-48 / What if? – In the age of social media, news “pundits”, endless op-ed venues and “cancel culture” – what if prayer for those who oppose our views or we theirs – dominated over discourse? What if? What if we actually prayed for them, and not just about them? What if we took just 1 minute out of every 5 of tirade, conversation and complaint to ask God to bless those who vex us so? What if for every skewering post we pass on to others, we offer up another one that shines the light of the Gospel? What if we began to be truly broken over how our fallenness in Adam has poisoned our minds so, that we wept for the abortionists as well as for their victims? What if every time we groaned to one another about the state of wickedness around us, we closed by turning one another’s eyes back to our Sovereign God? What if for every newspaper or online article we read castigating our enemies, we stopped and prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”? What if we shined the light of Jesus’ substitutionary death, every time – or even in place of – cursing the darkness? Christians are realists. We do not and should not ignore nor whitewash evil. We are duty bound to call it out for what it is. But if we stop there, and do not bring the Gospel in along side; if we do not seek the good of those whose ideas and actions we oppose (and they ours), we’ve done nothing more than any still lost and outside of saving grace. But what if we stopped fighting the fire of this age with the same fire, but instead, were ignited in prayer to weep with the Spirit’s fire? What if the Spirit of the One who “while we were enemies” completed the work of reconciliation to the Father, spilled over just a bit into us. What if we took Jesus seriously here? What if?

From Matthew 5:38-42 / Above and Beyond. If there is a misunderstood portion of Scripture that is nearly universally misunderstood, it is Jesus’ quotation in vs. 38 of

Exodus 21:24 / Lev. 24:20. Most commonly this dictum is assumed to be sanctioning harsh retribution. In fact, the concept is to prevent over-punishment. Justice is to be meted out equitably. One cannot sue for millions of dollars over a paper cut. Justice needs to be administered, but only in proper proportion. And in the context of what Jesus is saying here, is that for Christians, we are to deal with one another on an even higher scale – going above and beyond in manifesting the grace of God toward others. Don’t immediately retaliate in kind when there are personal affronts. Go one better. Get a thicker skin. And if someone has a legitimate case against you so as to sue you – don’t make bare satisfaction. Make more than amends, go one better. And if the government overreaches some – don’t become incalcitrant – flex as far as you can. Go one better. And in lending to those who borrow, be generous. Go one better. Give, and it will be given unto you. Now is this all about ethics? Not on your life. True, the principle has ethical implications. But the point is – this is how God deals with us. It is a practical exposition of Romans 5:20 “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” God in His love and grace goes far beyond merely forgiving our sin, He counts us righteous with the righteousness of Christ. And He doesn’t stop there – He adopts us into His family. Nor does He stop there, for He promises us eternal life. And beyond that He is determined that He will “demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:7 – NET). To make us experience the lavish and endless waves of His kindness toward us for all eternity. As Annie Johnson Flint’s famous refrains remind us:

1. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,

He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;

To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

3. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,

Our God ever yearns His resources to share;

Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;

The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

4. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Note: Annie’s Mother died giving birth to Annie’s sister. Annie was only 3. A kindly “Aunt” (not a blood relative) cared for the 2 girls for 2 years, as their Father was terminally ill and would die a short time later. This “Aunt” prevailed upon a couple to take Annie and her sister in, and they adopted them. Under their tutelage, Annie was taken to Church and revivals and came to faith in Christ at the age of 8. When but a teenager, she and her sister were orphaned a second time. And shortly after that, Annie began manifesting severe arthritis which became debilitating over time. Within 2 years, she could no longer work as a teacher. She spent more than 40 years without a pain free day. As she grew worse, that same “Aunt” made arrangements to bring her to a sanitarium in Clifton Springs NY, where she would live out her days. She supported herself creating hand-lettered greeting and Christmas cards with her poems. A ministry she would continue throughout her life and always in severe pain. Where the ravages of what sin brought into the world – Annie showed that God’s grace abounded all the more. So her song lyrics attest so sweetly.

From Matthew 5:33-37 / Knowing God – As Jesus continues through these 6 “you have heard” statements, it is easy to miss the backdrop of them in favor of just seeing them as injunctions for us to follow. Each one, tells us something of the nature of God Himself. And having been created as His image-bearers, Jesus is unpacking the reality that our problem is not one of mere, mechanical obedience, but that our basic nature has been so polluted by sin, it no longer bears His image. Why is hatred in the heart an issue? Because it is contrary to the very nature of God. Why is adultery so important as an expression of the lust behind it? Because God is holy, and so lust is not in His nature. Why is the issue of divorce important? Because God is ever faithful. Or our portion today, that of bearing false witness. God is a God of truth. His word is always to be trusted. If your word cannot be trusted without an oath, something is very wrong. There is a fundamental soul problem. In 38-42 – God is not petty and vengeful, but merciful and gracious even to His enemies. If it were not so, there would be no salvation at all. And in 43-48, though He will in time judge all sin and sinners in perfect justice, He nevertheless is merciful and gracious and kind and blesses His enemies day in and day out. Jesus’ call to us here is not a plea for behavior modification, but of showing us how desperately we need Him. How in our deepest parts sin has corrupted and defiled us. That our basic problem is that we have lost the true image of God we were meant to reflect to the cosmos. And so He clearly and carefully lays out the case of why we are in such need of saving. And in a very short time, He will Himself become the means of that salvation by dying on the Cross for our sin, for our corruption, for our defilement, rebellion, and every expression of it in life. He will make an atonement in His own blood. A means of satisfaction for all who will believe. So that we might be reconciled to the Father, and one day, find His image wholly restored in us. Oh how precious our Jesus is.

rom Matthew 5:31-32 / Divorce – Divorce is ugly. Always. And while not everyone who is divorced has sinned in doing so, there is no such thing as divorce without sin on behalf of one or both parties. Some absolutize a passage like Malachi 2:16 where God says “I hate divorce” (NASB) to such a degree, that they virtually create a new unpardonable sin. In the process, they fail to recognize passages like Jeremiah 3:8 where God declares that He Himself sent Israel away with a decree of divorce. And certainly He did not sin in doing so. Divorce is ultimately a complex issue in the Scriptures, and it is not meant to be easy on any account. The debates about divorce and remarriage in Jesus’ day were hot, and raged mainly between 2 schools. One side argued that divorce was always wrong. Period. The other, said divorce was legitimate given certain grounds – like adultery. Sadly, the second group also had a contingent that allowed a man to divorce his wife and remarry for almost any grounds at all. In the end, divorce always includes one or both parties acting faithlessly against the covenant of marriage itself. As for this portion, questions arise over the statement that one who divorces a wife who has committed no sexual immorality makes her commit adultery. 2 main explanations are that exemplified by Lenski where he argues that the man who divorces his wife un-lawfully makes it look like she is an adultress – he stigmatizes her horribly. It becomes a false witness. John Holland in the NIGCT poses that by virtue of his having divorced her without Biblical warrant, they are in effect still married and so she is unwillingly drawn into his adultery (in a new marriage) and a partaker of adultery herself. Like splashed by a passing car through no fault of one’s own – one is still soiled, tho not culpable. In any event, divorce always includes this element: one or both parties breaking the marriage covenant, and acting unfaithfully. And why is that so heinous? Because as marriage is meant to display the relationship between Christ and His Church, he is ever faithful. Always faithful. He is a God, who never breaks His covenant promises. He always and ever remains true. And that is why every Believer can trust Him to keep every promise and remain ever faithful to us no matter what. Divorce makes it look like He may be unfaithful too. And that, is a slander upon our God and Christ. God’s divorce of Israel was due to her unfaithfulness, not His. What He hates, is unfaithfulness. For in His image bearers, unfaithfulness lies about Him.

From Matthew 5:27-30 / The Problem with Sin – The lead in to the six statements of vss. 21-48 – each one headed by “you have heard it said” or its equivalent – is Jesus’ words in vs. 20 that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. It is then end capped by vs. 48 – that the bottom line is that to be accepted by God based upon our own righteousness – it would take being as perfect as God Himself. All along Jesus is showing the impossibility of the necessary standard. And thus He also exposes the hypocrisy of any who imagine themselves righteous enough to be approved by God, in and of themselves. While in the first example, Jesus’ shows that the root of murder – hatred – is the real issue, not mere behavioral and mechanical obedience, this second case moves it even further. As J.C. Ryle notes: [Jesus] “shows us that the law, as expounded by Him, was a far more spiritual and heart-searching rule than most of the Jews supposed.” And let me borrow from Ryle here a set of important and useful takeaways from all of it.

1st., this entire section “teaches us the exceeding holiness of God.”

2nd., “It teaches us the exceeding ignorance of man in spiritual things.”

3rd., “It teaches us our exceeding need of the Lord Jesus Christ’s atoning blood to save us.”

4th., “this passage teaches us the exceeding importance of avoiding all occasions of sin.”

I cannot agree more. Over the years I’ve heard many proclaim that the way to live is to follow the Sermon on The Mount – but I’ve been left wondering if they have ever really understood it. If they did, they would realize how it is Christ expounds a standard of righteousness and holiness so beyond our grasp, that nothing short of the supernatural work of the triune God in sending Jesus Christ as our sin-bearer, to be received by faith, and the imputation of HIS righteousness to us can suffice to reconcile us to God. As Proverbs 27:22 reminds us, you can crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle, but his folly can’t be separated out. Our sin is so systemic and endemic, so native to us, only the miraculous saving work of Jesus can make the fundamental change in our nature necessary. Sin is so all pervasive and inbred. But praise God, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” What a wonderful Savior!

From Matthew 5:21-26 / Exceeding Righteousness – Having just told us that the righteousness we must have needs to exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus then goes to explain what He means by it. It is not be found in following the mere letter of God’s Law. It must go into the very heart of man at the deepest level, and call out of Him the very righteousness of God, which can come only from God Himself. Even the simplest, most normal of human reactions and responses must be weighed by God’s standard. Nothing will be overlooked. Hence He shows that the kind of name-calling He is addressing is that which comes out of personal animus. It is not that we cannot call out foolishness and fools when we see them, but those judgments must come from personal disinterest. When it is human aggression and a personal attack, it is sin. In today’s social media and internet climate, scorning others has become a way of life. We walk around perpetually angry with others, flinging insults and invectives everywhere we go and denominating everyone a fool who does not agree with us on anything. Father, deliver us! And I have to say, I’ve not let this well inform my own soul in terms of how it emphasizes the dignity of all mankind as made in the image of God. How quick I am to disparage those who do foolish and stupid things. How quick I am to disdain them inwardly, even if I restrain myself outwardly. It is a sin. It is a failure to grasp just how precious all souls are in the mind of God. And how I need to regard them as such, value them as such and grieve at how the Fall may have damaged them, considering afresh how it has damaged me. Father, forgive me. There is nothing wrong with calling out error and saying “you’re wrong.” There is something wrong with defaulting to things like “you’re and idiot”, or a “moron” or a “fool.” Especially in terms of personal anger. Those too, are made in the image of God. And so we consider how He treats us in our foolishness. With infinite restraint. Thank you Jesus.

From Matthew 5:17-20 / Something Old, Something New – Verse 17 is an astounding statement Jesus; one which is of vital importance. He is at one and the same time showing that there is no disconnect between His ministry and the Old Covenant revelation- but also, that it is not a mere continuation of it. Indeed, later, Jesus Himself will inaugurate the New Covenant in the Last Supper. But there is a radical TRANSITION which must be reckoned with. What is evident is that something in His teaching this way is so radically different from what they already knew, that He has to qualify what is being said by this statement. It is in defining the precise nature of the relationship between the two which is at the heart of so much confusion and division within the Church. How did Jesus fulfill the law and the prophets? In at least these 3 ways. 1. He obeyed all on our behalf – out of pure, holy desire. He fulfilled its REQUIREMENTS. 2. He fulfilled all that it typed and foreshadowed. He fulfilled all of its PROPHECIES. 3. He fulfilled its punishments on our behalf. He suffered in our place on the cross. He fulfilled all of its PENALTIES. In other words, all that was and is foreshadowed in the OC constructs, must be entirely fulfilled and completed in Christ. Every aspect down to the tiniest particle must be fulfilled (for they were not the substance but the shadow) and all in Him and Him alone. Therefore, the Old cannot simply be thrown away; instead we must see it, understand it and teach it as it relates to Christ. If we fail in this, we miss everything. We don’t teach the Old Covenant as mere precepts in themselves, but as revelations of Jesus. To do any less (i.e. to teach them as mere precepts) will bring us into judgment. Only as this leads us to and opens Christ to us, can our righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees. For they are experts in mechanical obedience. And something far greater is needed – infinitely greater has come. Anywhere we reduce the Law’s demands, we make less of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. But praise God, He had indeed fulfilled all for us!