*Below is Pastor Andrew’s teaching outline from Sunday’s sermon, not a word for word manuscript. This is meant as aid in seeing the thought and direction of the sermon.
How then shall we now live……..
The Believed history of the Golden Rule
-Emperor Severus Alexander(222-238)
Had the Historic Hebrew teaching: "Do not do to another what you would not have done to yourself " Inscribed onto the wall of his bedchamber in Gold that he would rule justly over Rome.
-This version was made popular by Rabbi Hillel who said it summed up all the Torah and the rest is just commentary.
Though he had no Christian or Jewish roots he found the teaching a good guide for moral and ethical living.
Here as in other place historically the negative form of this teaching is prominent.
But as we dive into the text to day we wills we Jesus has a much wider and broad application for his teaching, because the Law is much more than a call to avoid action but to actively participate in the life of faith in the world around us making a choice ultimately of which Kingdom we belong.
So as we move forward in our text we are confronted with how we may fulfill the Law & then from that we are forced to make a choice.
The Golden Rule (v12)
Matthew 7:12 ““So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
The whole sermon on the mount has lead to this point:
Matthew 5:17–20 ESV
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
After describing to us what the character of those who living in the kingdom look like in the begging of Chapter 5 Jesus than began to unpack for us what it means to have a righteousness greater than the pharisees. Each step along the way over the last year we have been unpacking what this means. What true Kingdom living looks like, step by step leading to this summation of the whole:
Matthew 7:12 ESV
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Again I want us to see how different this is from Rabbi Hillel or from other ancient teachings. this is the first time it is ever put in an and active positive position.
-Jesus is teaching us to actively do good
-Not simply to avoid doing wrong
-Jesus is calling believers to place themselves is the positions of others for their good
-Not simply to avoid their harm
-Jesus us call us to do
-Not simply to not do
How does this fulfill the law well we see Jesus echo this again as well as the apostles when in many ways what we are seeing is the call here is to love:
Jesus Teachings brings a more specific element on the Topic again in Matthew
Matthew 22:37–40 ESV
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Paul:
Romans 13:8–10 ESV
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Galatians 5:14 ESV
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
James 2:8 ESV
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
Choosing a Path (v13-14)
Matthew 7:13–14 ““Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
- Enter by the narrow Gate:
Where are we entering: The Kingdom of Heaven
How by the narrow gate
What is the narrow gate: Christ & His teachings
What are these teachings: The way of life found in this sermon summarized in Matt. 7:12
Matthew 7:12 ESV
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Kingdom of heaven is for those who have believed and then thought the work of the spirit continued to walk and grow in Christ following his instructions.
- Avoid the Wide Gate
While some translation leave out the term gate the meaning here is the same, we must not stay the course or enter into the wide way simply because it is where everyone is going.
-It is easy to get caught up in the crowd
-Historic peer pressure
-To do what people you respect
- Know the reality of both Gates:
With Each Gate Jesus also Highlights the reality of the path set before them:
Reminds me a bit of Robert Frost’ the road not taken:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
A point of decision must be made what road will you travel for they are not the same and from the outset they will not be of the same difficulty
A lot of our anniversary trip this past month had walking tours that we went on in each of the different cities we saw and each tour had a normal walk (through city square up and down hills through uneven roads) and a leisurely walk that avoided any of the difficult walking areas.
As the trip went along the leisurely group got larger and larger each day.
-Narrow: Hard but rewarding
-The narrow gate is a rock and hard road, not easily traveled
-The whole of the sermon on the mount is before us
-It requires work and effort
-Discipline & repentance
-It is the gate few will enter
Wide: Easy but destructive
-Requires no effort
-A Passive existence
-Following the passions of the flesh and the daily desires of the mind
-the end result is an easy life and a treacherous end
-It is the natural end to humanities life
Conclusion:
The whole of life comes at us faster than we think. One day everything is moving along as normal then in a second it changes.
We are not guaranteed another day to make a decision. The past month has been a real reminder of that.
-My father passed away in early February he was 85 years old. he lived a long life with plenty of years. He had a long road
-This passed week I got a call from a close friend who lives out of state that one of our buddies from our tight group of friends in high school and college was found dead when his wife when to wake him up for work. He was 41. A much shorter path.
God calls us to choose for the way is not the same length for all of us, but with breath in our lungs there is a moment to choice.
-Do we place our full life and hope in Christ.
-Do we repent of our sings turn from the wide path seek the narrow road and walk it joyful though it be tough or do we remain on the wide path assured that one day I can travel that path, but for today this way is much smoother and the better on my arches.
-I would employer you today to choose the narrow gate enter into the love of our savior who actively sought our good his death and secured salvation for all who would repent and believe in his resurrection.
-
2 Paths & A Golden Rule
Andrew / General Adult
How then shall be now live……..
The Believed history of the golden Rule
-Emperor Severus alexander(222-238)
Had the Historic Hebrew teaching: "Do not do to another what you would not have done to yourself " Inscribed onto the wall of his bedchamber in Gold that he would rule justly over Rome.
-This version was made popular by Rabbi Hillel who said it summed up all the Torah and the rest is just commentary.
Though he had no Christian or Jewish roots he found the teaching a good guide for moral and ethical living.
Here as in other place historically the negative form of this teaching is prominent.
But as we dive into the text to day we wills we Jesus has a much wider and broad application for his teaching, because the Law is much more than a call to avoid action but to actively participate in the life of faith in the world around us making a choice ultimately of which Kingdom we belong.
So as we move forward in our text we are confronted with how we may fulfill the Law & then from that we are forced to make a choice.
The Golden Rule (v12)
Matthew 7:12 ““So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
The whole sermon on the mount has lead to this point:
Matthew 5:17–20 ESV
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
After describing to us what the character of those who living in the kingdom look like in the beginning of Chapter 5 Jesus then began to unpack for us what it means to have a righteousness greater than the Pharisees. Each step along the way over the last year we have been unpacking what this means. What true Kingdom living looks like, step by step leading to this summation of the whole:
Matthew 7:12 ESV
“So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Again, I want us to see how different this is from Rabbi Hillel or from other ancient teachings. this is the first time it is ever put in an and active positive position.
-Jesus is teaching us to actively do good
-Not simply to avoid doing wrong
-Jesus is calling believers to place themselves is the positions of others for their good
-Not simply to avoid their harm
-Jesus call us to do
-Not simply to not do
How does this fulfill the law well we see Jesus echo this again as well as the apostles when in many ways what we are seeing is the call here is to love:
Jesus Teachings brings a more specific element on the Topic again in Matthew
Matthew 22:37–40 ESV
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Paul:
Romans 13:8–10 ESV
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Galatians 5:14 ESV
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
James 2:8 ESV
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
Choosing a Path (v13-14)
Matthew 7:13–14 ““Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
- Enter by the narrow Gate:
Where are we entering: The Kingdom of Heaven
How by the narrow gate
What is the narrow gate: Christ & His teachings
What are these teachings: The way of life found in this sermon summarized in Matt. 7:12
Matthew 7:12 ESV
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Kingdom of heaven is for those who have believed and then thought the work of the spirit continued to walk and grow in Christ following his instructions.
- Avoid the Wide Gate
While some translation leaves out the term gate the meaning here is the same, we must not stay the course or enter into the wide way simply because it is where everyone is going.
-It is easy to get caught up in the crowd
-Historic peer pressure
-To do what people you respect
- Know the reality of both Gates:
With Each Gate Jesus also Highlights the reality of the path set before them:
Reminds me a bit of Robert Frost’ the road not taken:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
A point of decision must be made what road will you travel for they are not the same and from the outset they will not be of the same difficulty
A lot of our anniversary trip this past month had walking tours that we went on in each of the different cities we saw, and each tour had a normal walk (through city square up and down hills through uneven roads) and a leisurely walk that avoided any of the difficult walking areas.
As the trip went along the leisurely group got larger and larger each day.
-Narrow: Hard but rewarding
-The narrow gate is a rock and hard road, not easily traveled
-The whole of the sermon on the mount is before us
-It requires work and effort
-Discipline & repentance
-It is the gate few will enter
Wide: Easy but destructive
-Requires no effort
-A Passive existence
-Following the passions of the flesh and the daily desires of the mind
-the end result is an easy life and a treacherous end
-It is the natural end to humanities life
Conclusion:
The whole of life comes at us faster than we think. One day everything is moving along as normal then in a second it changes.
We are not guaranteed another day to make a decision. The past month has been a real reminder of that.
-My father passed away in early February he was 85 years old. he lived a long life with plenty of years. He had a long road
-This past week I got a call from a close friend who lives out of state that one of our buddies from our tight group of friends in high school and college was found dead when his wife when to wake him up for work. He was 41. A much shorter path.
God calls us to choose for the way is not the same length for all of us, but with breath in our lungs there is a moment to choice.
-Do we place our full life and hope in Christ.
-Do we repent of our sings turn from the wide path seek the narrow road and walk it joyful though it be tough or do we remain on the wide path assured that one day I can travel that path, but for today this way is much smoother and the better on my arches.
-I would employer you today to choose the narrow gate enter into the love of our savior who actively sought our good his death and secured salvation for all who would repent and believe in his resurrection.
-
