bible reading day 5

Today's reading: Genesis 5; Matthew 5.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:1-3 ESV)

The Gospel of Matthew contains several large sections of Jesus' teachings. Chapters 5 through 7 are called "the Sermon on the Mount." His teaching is direct, powerful, convicting, and beautiful. We should not rush through our reading of it.

We tend to fall into one of two errors concerning the Sermon on the Mount:

First, we may dismiss it as not applicable nor very practical for today's believer since we are under grace and some of these teachings seem unattainable or could be taken in a legalistic, or perhaps ascetic, way. We may think it applies to some future state of the Kingdom. But there's really nothing in his teaching that would seem to indicate that it is not intended for his followers today.

Secondly, we may make the Sermon to be a kind of self-improvement plan, a sort of new law for people who want to be like Jesus. I think this viewpoint does not take into account the high and exalted nature of these teachings. To try to justify oneself as a good person by "trying to live out the teachings of Jesus" will inevitably result in despair at the end, if one is honest. Or, if he is not honest, he will end up proud and deceived, thinking that merely trying to live like Jesus would be sufficient enough for God's acceptance.

I believe the best way to think of this sermon is to understand that Jesus is the only One who in himself could fulfill these truths. These passages are a kind of portrait of his own holy mind and character. Life in the Kingdom follows the character of the King. By the gracious working of his Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18), this portrait is also the image into which we are being transformed! It is practical and applicable, though impossible to fulfill by the flesh. Later, when talking with his disciples about salvation, he would say, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26).

Thus the Sermon on the Mount reveals a beautiful gracious character and a mindset that belongs to every citizen of Christ's Kingdom because it reflects the heart and life of our King. Today, as believers we may live this out imperfectly, but one day we will fulfill it perfectly:

"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." (1 John 3:2-3 ESV)

Photo above: a view of the Sea of Galilee.

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Prie...

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

sword and trowel

"From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me." (Nehemiah 4:16-18 ESV) The great London preacher, Charles Spurgeon, published a monthly magazine called The Sword and The Trowel; A record of combat with sin and of labour for the Lord. It was published from 1865 to 1892. The cover of the journal had a drawing taken from Nehemiah 4, which included both a trowel (representing the work) and a sword (representing the fight). The sword was necessary to protect what the men with trowels were building. These citizen-soldier-builders would successfully complete the wall aroun...

my burg

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